Academic Women and Hidden Discrimination in Finland
Academia promises much for women. Formal obstacles to women's access as women to higher education or advancement to even the highest academic posts are rare. Women have made great gains as recipients of higher education, and in many countries over half of the student population is female. However, women's underrepresentation among academics and gender inequalities in academia are persistent and global phenomena. This is also the case in Finland, one of the foremost countries in the world when it comes to overall gender equality, and a country with the highest proportion of women in the professoriate within the European Union.
Sexism, Support and Survival in Academia approaches academia as gendered organisations, characterised by gendered divisions, symbols and interactions. It draws on over 100 semi-structured interviews and written accounts from women in eleven Finnish universities and all main disciplinary fields. In examining academic women's gender discrimination experiences and related responses and copingm it explores how persistent gender inequalities are both reproduced and challenged, in the seemingly gender equal Finnish setting. Specific issues explored include sexual harassment and motherhood in academia; academic women's support in their careers; and the survival strategies they employ.
Sexism, Support and Survival in Academia demonstrates how sexism and hidden discrimination continue in the daily life of academia, but also underlines the various ways academic women continue to challenge this. The book is addressed to not only academic women but all concerned with changing academia, science and society towards greater equity, increased inclusion and the full valuation of women in the production of knowledge.
