workforce
Still looking up
The number of women in top jobs at higher education institutions has gone stagnant; the reasons why are in the culture. By Antonia Maiolo
Although Australia has gone to great efforts to close the gender equity gap across the workforce, progress within our higher education institutions has stalled, new research suggests.
Professor Tanya Fitzgerald, associate dean research at La Trobe University, has found that across Australia women occupy only a relatively small percentage of senior management positions within universities.
“ Paradoxically, although many universities host research centres and acclaim the intellectual contribution of academics engaged in research in gender, work and organisations, they appear to turn a blind eye to how this applies in their own workplaces,” Fitzgerald says.
The“ tougher jobs in universities,” she says, appear to be most often occupied by males. The same goes for New Zealand.
Even when compared with other highskill industries that are heavily dominated by male leaders – such as medicine, law and architecture – women are less likely to be in senior management positions.
“ The rate of change in prestigious research-intensive universities is particularly slow,” Fitzgerald says.“ In Australia, there’ s only one woman vice-chancellor appointed to a Go8 university.”
The situation is similar in other countries. In England, there is one woman VC at the 24 universities in the Russell Group. In New Zealand, there have been only two women VCs.
Further, Fitzgerald found that when looking at the top senior positions within all Australian institutions, women were 40 per cent of PVCs, 34 per cent of DVCs and 18 per cent of VCs.
In Europe, women made up 9 per cent of VCs in research intensive universities and 13 per cent at all universities.
There are no women VCs in Denmark, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Lithuania or Hungary; in Ireland, a staggering 85 per cent of all management roles in universities are held by men.
Fitzgerald’ s findings are based on her research into the experiences and perceptions of women at universities in Australia and New Zealand and are detailed in her recently published book, Women Leaders in Higher Education: Shattering the Myths.
Fitzgerald, who has had extensive leadership experience at universities in Australia, England and New Zealand, wanted to uncover the contribution of women as senior leaders and to examine why women seek to be leaders, how they enact leadership and the perceptions of their female colleagues.
After interviewing a selection of women within higher education, Fitzgerald found the biggest challenge they face moving into senior roles is trying to break through cultural and structural barriers.
Fitzgerald defines the institutional culture as an“ invisible web” that sets rules for what is accepted and what’ s not in institutional life. This involves behavioural aspects within senior teams often dominated by men, as well as what female colleagues think about women leaders.
One woman Fitzgerald interviewed said:“ It’ s complicated, but I believe that the boys’ club, the mates club, absolutely exists and that they are quite powerful and for female leaders that can be difficult to negotiate around … Sometimes that boys’ club is intimidating.”
The boys’ club, Fitzgerald says, can be defined by what topics are discussed and the type of language used. For instance, she says many interviewees emphasised sport talk as something men often use in meetings, and that whilst it can bond men it can isolate women.
On the other hand, another interviewee
32 | campusreview. com. au