Assembling Gender Equality? Potentials and borders for gender equality work in Higher Education

• The policy changes of higher education in Sweden have resulted in a more individualized, specialized and measured academic work force (Ball, 2012; 2013). Through policy governance measures of performance, costs and time effectiveness, teaching quality, of work environment as well as of aspects of equality and justice, the intention has been to create a more effective and high performing academicinstitution (Blackmore, 2017). Leaving aside sparks of resistance, within the academe there is a strong consensus about the necessity, effectiveness and “neutrality” of standards through measurement. Previous studies (Alnebratt and Rönnblom, 2016) indicate that gender equality work in Sweden tends to express standards related to “objectivity”, but simultaneously involves activities that are political and transgressive. Therefore, there is a continuous need to investigate what kind of actions that are part of the realization of gender equality in the academe today. This study concerns the institutionalization of gender equality work within this context. How is gender equality work carried out in this academic landscape, and what does this work produce in terms of equality and the understanding thereof? By interviewing influential representatives and by observing how gender equality is realized in different contexts in the academe, we want to identify and deconstruct what we understand as gender equality assemblages (Liinason, 2017) and how they form, but also perform, gender equality in higher education (McPherson, 2015). Thus, in light of recent decades of policy changes, we are interested in what clusters of actions, interests, values or challenges that are involved in and directed to influence gender equality work, as well as their conceptual, practical and political implications for gender equality in higher education.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Higher education

gender

gender equality work.

Lärarutbildning och pedagogisk yrkesverksamhet

Teacher Education and Education Work

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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