Underrepresentation of Women in Universities: Seeking Answers in the Bedrooms of Women Academics

Abstract

Three decades after the implementation of gender equality policies in Europe, women academics continue to languish in the ivory basements of higher education centers. A growing body of literature on the participation of women academics in universities has identified reproductive work as a factor that may explain their low levels of representation. Recent research on the effects of COVID-19 on academic work has shed light on the impact of this “private matter” on the lives and academic careers of women and on the scientific system. The central role of reproductive work, in which it is assumed that women and men participate unequally in the care and attention to children, excludes other “private matters” that may help explain the underrepresentation of women in higher education institutions. Here, through the narrative reflection of a female academic who, for over a decade, held a high position at her university, we share the “private matter” that ultimately led to her divorce. By introducing women's voices into the debate on their underrepresentation in universities, we provide a way to recognize ways in which culture “does gender” and to raise awareness about forms of gender that, although silenced, shape our lives (gender in disguise). This autobiographical story identifies four themes that challenge power structures through recognizing silenced stories and promoting honest discussion about the true barriers and failures that persist in universities: the maternal ideal, the retraditionalization of gender, postfeminist “we can have it all” rhetoric, and the shame and fear faced by female academics.