Gender, Power and Politics in the Academy

Gender inequality has been a long-standing issue in academia, and it remains an unresolved challenge, despite progress made in recent decades through policies implemented at various levels to foster gender equality and inclusion. Extensive scientific literature has been produced over the last thirty years from various perspectives and on different aspects of the gender gap and power asymmetries in the academic profession. Scholars have highlighted the role of many factors in producing and reproducing gender inequalities at different stages of an academic career and in different contexts. Structural and cultural factors are related to individuals, organizations, and institutional contexts, and analyses can be developed at different levels: micro, meso, and macro. It is from this analytical perspective that our bibliography moves. From the vast body of literature on gender inequality in academia, we have identified a selection of resources based on their originality, impact, and contribution to the debate. We first present references for a general overview of the topic, followed by a section on the different types of gender gaps in academia, alongside references to online resources related to data and technical analysis of gender inequalities in academia at a global level. The following sections are organized according to the level of analysis adopted. The section on micro-level perspectives presents references from studies focused on individual factors; the meso-level section includes studies looking at the organizational structures, cultures, and practices of universities and departments; while the references included in the last section—on macro-level perspectives—examine the role of policies and institutional actors. Finally, policies and plans for fostering gender equality in universities and different kinds of resistances are considered.