Australasian university management, gender and life course issues
- Authors: Neale, Jenny , White, Kate
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Vol. 33, no. 4 (2014), p. 384-395
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues arising for women and men in senior management in New Zealand and Australian universities where life course and career trajectories intersect, and analyses how the stereotypical masculinist culture of universities can create additional problems for women. Design/methodology/approach - The data presented here comes from 47 interviews undertaken with women (27) and men (20) senior managers - a total of 26 interviews from New Zealand universities and 21 from Australian universities. "Senior Management" was defined in this study as those academic managers with university wide responsibilities, who were currently in senior management positions. Findings - Life-course issues for women aspiring to senior management roles in universities are framed around hegemonic constructions of masculinity; notions of academic careers subsuming personal life in professional roles; and structural constraints making rational choice impossible for many women. Furthermore, the excessive hours worked in such roles equate with the definition of extreme jobs. The paper concludes that the way in which women and men in senior HE endeavour to balance work and family life differs but creates issues for them both. Research limitations/implications - The structure and operation of Australian and New Zealand universities make gender diversity and management difficult to operationalise, given the competing imperatives of work and other life course trajectories. It is crucial to reframe life course and career intersections are conceptualised to ensure that diversity can be maximised. Originality/value - This paper focuses on women and men in senior management positions in New Zealand and Australian universities, but the findings can be generalised to other countries with HE systems based on the British University model. In discussing how institutional culture affects the intersection of career and life course trajectories, this paper highlights the detrimental outcomes for individuals and the resultant lack of diversity in the sector. Copyright © 2014 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
Top university managers and affirmative action
- Authors: Carvalho, Teresa , Machado-Taylor, Maria , White, Kate
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Equity, diversity and inclusion: An International Journal Vol. 32, no. 4 (2013), p. 394-409
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse if the existence of equal opportunity legislative frameworks and affirmative action programs make any difference to the way senior managers perceive the role of top university managers in influencing women's position in their institutions. A comparative study was therefore undertaken between a country with traditions in implementing AA in universities – Australia – and another which has no tradition in this domain – Portugal. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative methodology was chosen to collect and analyse data. A total of 44 interviews with male and female university senior managers – 21 in Australia and 23 in Portugal – were conducted by the principal researcher in each country. Findings – When describing the role of top managers, gender equality was not often mentioned, suggesting that it may not be a topic on the current institutional political agenda either in Australia or in Portugal. When specifically asked about gender, respondents considered that Rectors and VCs in the two countries took opposite positions with Australian VCs being more aware of their role in improving gender equality. The study therefore concluded that the existence of equal opportunities frameworks and AA policies may have an influence in increasing top managers’ awareness of their roles in improving women's representation in management teams. Research limitations/implications – The research was restricted to public universities. In Portugal the system is more diverse and comparing HE with private and polytechnic institutions could provide important insights about senior managers’ roles in relation to improving women's position in HE. More in‐depth qualitative studies are needed, to obtain top managers’ perceptions of the variables that impact on their views and attitudes to women in senior management. Practical implications – This study provides new and innovative contributions to knowledge about the perceptions of senior managers of their top managers and their roles in eliminating gender discrimination and the influence of affirmative action in HE in these perceptions
Top university managers and affirmative action
- Authors: Carvalho, Teresa , White, Kate , Machado-Taylor, Maria
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Vol. 32, no. 4 (2013), p. 394-409
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse if the existence of equal opportunity legislative frameworks and affirmative action programs make any difference to the way senior managers perceive the role of top university managers in influencing women's position in their institutions. A comparative study was therefore undertaken between a country with traditions in implementing AA in universities - Australia - and another which has no tradition in this domain - Portugal. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative methodology was chosen to collect and analyse data. A total of 44 interviews with male and female university senior managers - 21 in Australia and 23 in Portugal - were conducted by the principal researcher in each country. Findings - When describing the role of top managers, gender equality was not often mentioned, suggesting that it may not be a topic on the current institutional political agenda either in Australia or in Portugal. When specifically asked about gender, respondents considered that Rectors and VCs in the two countries took opposite positions with Australian VCs being more aware of their role in improving gender equality. The study therefore concluded that the existence of equal opportunities frameworks and AA policies may have an influence in increasing top managers' awareness of their roles in improving women's representation in management teams. Research limitations/implications - The research was restricted to public universities. In Portugal the system is more diverse and comparing HE with private and polytechnic institutions could provide important insights about senior managers' roles in relation to improving women's position in HE. More in-depth qualitative studies are needed, to obtain top managers' perceptions of the variables that impact on their views and attitudes to women in senior management. Practical implications - This study provides new and innovative contributions to knowledge about the perceptions of senior managers of their top managers and their roles in eliminating gender discrimination and the influence of affirmative action in HE in these perceptions. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of using affirmative action programmes by analyzing a dimension which has not been explored - its impact on senior managers' perceptions of their role in promoting gender equality in HEIs.