Annanya Kashyap

In a world that is becoming more and more inward looking and parochial, understanding the need for equality of opportunities for everyone and strengthening those discriminated based on gender bias is crucial. Social conditioning across the globe has entitled men to think that they are superior. Astonishingly, it has also successfully conditioned a majority of both men and women to believe that the latter is the ‘second’ sex- where men are the default, while women are the ‘other’. 

Higher education has been redesigned by neoliberalism and the wide-reaching objectives of standard political liberalism, and the persistent assessment of its gendered and racial marginalization. Academia is currently a mechanism for socio-economic progress, being also dependant on resonant utilization of capitalist patterns of efficiency and assessment. Higher education makes a vital contribution to sustainable development by generating and disseminating knowledge. The effective management of this domain merits top priority at a time when universities worldwide face critical challenges due to the unprecedented expansion yet drastically reduced resources of higher education. The numerous and complex issues facing society further demand that social investment in institutes are fully justified in terms of its returns to the community.

The gender gap in universities in the recent years have tilted in favour of women due to increased inclusion and access of women to institutes of higher education. However, this is not an indication of achievement of gender equality. A numerical advantage of women does not prevent gendered power relations between both sexes; despite increased representation of women on campus, relations have not transformed much. Women still are subject to patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity that manifests itself in various forms of discrimination. Moreover, when stringent cultural gender roles are strong and gender equality mainstreaming is slow or absent, higher numbers of women does not equate to decrease in gender bias, stereotyping and violence. Sexist relations between men and women, patented from casual ‘banter’ to physical attacks, are mostly targeted at women, although men have also reported being sexually harassed.

Such heterosexual, masculine culture and sexism on campuses produced and reproduced by students and professors alike, with its differential treatment erodes self-esteem and opportunities for women. It also damages the male students’ experiences, as men disengage from campus social and academic life when they feel the pressure to conform to its problematic aspects, by being passive or engaging in denigrating, belittling, or humiliating women or other vulnerable groups.

More than often, such a culture is not explicit as gender bias is not fostered intentionally, but are a part of the accepted and taken-for-granted social relationships and communications, where “non-conscious hypotheses about sex differences” are naturalized and reinforced in classrooms and co-educational activities. Such inherent sexism reveals itself when people tend to focus more on women’s appearances than accomplishments, paying more attention to a male when he speaks, and attributing a woman’s achievements to something other than her abilities. Such ‘benevolent sexism’ binds women to concepts of weakness, delicacy, sensitivity, incompetence and in constant need of protection, thus reducing them into inferiority. Women who abide by these norms are esteemed as ‘good girls’, whilst those who don’t, are implicitly seen as questioning the authority of men or occupying traditionally reserved positions of men.

Benevolent sexism leads to women doubting their own cognitive capabilities, resulting in degrading performance in work and education. Women might internalize such negative feelings, blaming themselves for all problems- belittling behaviours, sexual advances and sexism that they experience. Institutes usually have services in place for reporting such incidents, yet many students feel that they are unable to challenge the perpetrators and are uncertain about whom to approach or how to seek help. They may also fear backlash and victim blaming if they report. That’s why women find it easier to exhibit compliance, obedience, respect, loyalty and dedication to earn goodwill of those in influential positions of determining their careers. Often those engaging in harassment are respected members of academia, and some are even unaware that they are making women around uncomfortable, which means “a woman has to challenge the status quo if she does not challenge herself instead”.

Beyond higher education, UNESCO has observed that men have edge to wield more power across diverse societies. As a result, women don’t benefit as much as their male counterparts from the equivalent degrees or quality of education. Women are expected to educate themselves more to acquire the same jobs and encounter disparities of power and voice, and thus struggle to actualise their potentials to the fullest.

Women also experience trouble in engaging with male supervisors and a tendency to be left out in circles where men feel welcome. In such episodes of female isolation, male students benefit from more friendly and respectful attitude from their supervisors. Such ‘brotherly comradeship’ grants men greater professional advantages whilst studying.

At the professorial level, research have found that much more is expected of female academicians than their male counterparts. They are held to a different standard, especially by students who are more biased towards female professors and lecturers and expect them to conduct themselves in a motherly way while engaging as expert professionals. Reports on overlooking and exclusion of women at conferences, and on harassment and sexual advances women usually face during them highlight how male-only panels have very much been the academic norm, which has not undergone much scrutiny until quite recently.

In promotion and leadership, gender equity is a dream, yet to be realized. Researches across countries have revealed that despite having access to elevated positions, “women may leave leadership roles due to continued norms of masculine-oriented culture that overlooks gender issues in the workplace.”

Women’s progress in academia and work settings are also hampered by particular gender roles assigned to women, stemming from age-old traditions. Many women experience guilt for working instead of caring for their families, due to which they adjust their career and lifestyle expectations according to their family demands, disregarding their own interests. This double burden prevents them from advancing to senior roles.

While contexts are diverse and application of experiences are not equally shared, “patriarchy and misogyny are sadly almost universal and are sustained by similar force”. Bias-free training and inclusive dialogue mirroring how culture, traditions, systems and individual attitudes traverse is core to permit higher educational communities to respond more efficiently to this multi-dimensional, venerable obstacle. It won’t simply vanish, and the “glass ceiling” won’t be broken just because women are at a numerical advantage in university spaces. Thus, concluding in the words of Nelson Mandela, “Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all kinds of oppression”.

Annanya Kashyap is student of History at Cotton University, Guwahati.