25 October, 2015 Sex, Grades and Silence: The Impact of Feminist Research on Higher Education Globally Professor Louise Morley Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research (CHEER), Department of Education, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex, UK E:

25 October, 2015 Evaluating Research Quality: Knowledge Exchange/ Transfer Research quality = its policy, social, economic and community impact. Scrutiny of public money. Knowledge = X not legitimate in its own right. transferred into diverse contexts and effect auditable/ accountable change/ sustainable practices. Rational-purposive understanding of change (Saunders, 2010). A mechanics of knowing – cause & effect (Hey, 2010).

25 October, 2015 Dominant Higher Education Policy Discourses Excellence Knowledge Economy Innovation and Enterprise Knowledge Transfer Teaching and Learning Widening Participation Lifelong Learning Employability Globalisation Internationalisation Civic Engagement Digitisation Economic Impact Quality Assurance League Tables Privatisation

25 October, 2015 Absences and Silences Learning Landscapes/ Aesthetics/ Spatial Justice/ (Lambert, 2010; Neary, 2010) Affective Domain (Hey, 2009, 2011) Environment and Sustainability (Sterling, 2004) Global North/ South Power Geometries and Cognitive Justice (Connell, 2007; Robinson, 2009; Santos, 2007) Equalities and Intersectionality of Social Identities (Morley et al, 2010; 2011)

25 October, 2015 Contradictory Gender Discourses in HE: Closing the Gender Gap Global Gender Parity Index of 1.08 (UNESCO, 2009). The number of male students globally quadrupled from 17.7 to 75.1 million between The number of female students rose sixfold from 10.8 to 77.4 million. In UK, women are: 57.1% of students 42.6% of academic staff 20% of professoriate 13% of Vice Chancellors (ECU, 2009).

25 October, 2015 Women in Power? 19% of European Union professors are women (She Figures, 2009). 70% Commonwealth countries, all universities are led by men (Singh, 2008). Gender Pay Gap 18.2% UK (ECU, 2010) 21% Australia (Currie, 2011)

25 October, 2015 Feminisation Crisis Discourse or Misogyny Posing as Measurement? A woman’s place is in the minority. Reconstructs dominant group as victims. Assumes that women’s success has come about by damaging males. (HEPI, 2009; Leathwood and Read, 2008; Morley, 2011). White male injury now read as the same as subaltern injury. Resistance to distributive justice/ Subversion of gender equality Ignores gender in wider civil society. UK ranked 15 the Global Gender Gap Index (13 in 2008) (World Economic Forum, 2009).

25 October, 2015 Gender is… rarely intersected with other structures of inequality frequently ignored when women suffer discrimination or under-representation amplified in crisis form when women start to be ‘over- represented’ disqualified from the Impact Agenda/ HE policy?

25 October, 2015 Gender Equality = Representational Space? Is research only used/ heard when it continues dominant narratives? If it disturbs and disrupts, is it dismissed and disqualified? If feminist research fails to transform practices, does this mean that it has failed as research? What are the impact measures of feminist research? Exchanging Feminist Knowledge

25 October, 2015 Gender Mainstreaming? Women and leadership (Valian, 1999); Gender insensitive pedagogy (Welch, 2006); Women and Technology (Clegg, 2011); Promotion, professional development and tenure (Acker, 2009; Knights and Richards, 2003); Knowledge production and dissemination (Hughes, 2002); Curricula and subject choices (Morley et al, 2006). Inequalities and gender mainstreaming (Rees, 2006); Sexual harassment (NUS, 2010).

25 October, 2015 Knowledge Exchange: Global South and Global North How can feminist researchers share knowledge across national and economic boundaries to maximise impact and disrupt the dominant sexual economy?

25 October, 2015 Successful Feminist Impact? Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) gender analysis; gender policy development; appointment of equality advisors; committees for equality issues that report to high level management; the allocation of a budget for equal opportunity; quotas for recruitment; qualification stipends; mentoring for female PhD students, postdoctoral staff and associate professors; networking; a start package for women in male dominated fields; career planning support for women; mentoring and career counselling for women entering HE management. Results 55% increase in the numbers of women professors in 5 years (rising from 9% to 14%) parity in the numbers of males and females recruited (Benediktsdottir, 2009). Excellentia Programme, Austria ( ) Objective: double % of female professors at Austrian universities by 2010 (from 13% to 26%). extra financial incentives for the appointment of female professors. annual budget of € 1,000,000 allocated funding from Council for Research and Technology Development. to qualify for an Excellentia grant, the appointment of an additional female professor had to increase both the absolute number and the overall proportion of female professors in a university. Results By 2011, women were 20% of the professoriate (Wroblewski, 2011).

25 October, 2015 Sexual Harassment: Women Entering Masculinised Work Spaces

25 October, 2015 Globalising Gender Violence Australia (Bacchi,1998) Botswana (Letsie and Tlou, 1997) Ghana (Manuh, Gariba and Budu, 2007; Morley, 2011; Tete-Mensah, 1999) Hong Kong (Chan, 1999) India (Bajpai, 1999) Israel (Kaplan, 2006) Kenya (Omale, 2002) Lesotho (Mapetla and Matlosa, 1997) Nigeria (Bakari and Leach, 2007; Nwadigwe, 2007) Pakistan (Durrani, 2000) South Africa (Simelane, 2001) Southern Africa (Bennett et al. 2007) Sri Lanka (Jayasena, 2002) Tanzania (Morley, 2011) UK (Bagilhole and Woodward, 1995) USA (MacKinnon, 1979; Paludi and Barickman, 1991; Townsley and Geist, 2000) Sub-Saharan Africa (Hallam, 1994) Zimbabwe (Shumba and Matina, 2002; Zindi, 1998) Comparative studies of Sri Lanka, India, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda (Mirsky, 2003).

25 October, 2015 Sexual Harassment… Is sex discrimination because the act reinforces the social inequality of women to men. Is heterosexual male to female harassment in the majority of studies. Creates hostile/toxic learning and working environments. Involves spatial and cognitive justice, with women having to reflexively self-minimise. Is rarely formally reported for fear of victimisation, stigmatisation or lack of confidence in procedures. Constructs women as unreliable narrators. Negatively impacts on women’s academic engagement, health and well-being.

25 October, 2015 Sexual Harassment … Produces negative female learner identities. Is a ‘phallic attack’ (Nwadigwe, 2007). Frequently involves injury denial (Morley, 2010). Reinforces the power of the dominant collective/ assumptive rights of (some) men. Naturalises the hierarchical and gendered power relations within universities into a sexual contract. Is a hidden norm of organisational life (Hearn and Parkin, 2001).

25 October, 2015 Widening Participation in Higher Education in Ghana and Tanzania Measuring: Sociological variables of gender, age, socio- economic status (SES) In Relation to: Educational Outcomes: access, retention and achievement. In Relation to: 4 Programmes of Study in each university. 2 Public and 2 private universities. Quantitative Data -100 Equity Scorecards Qualitative Data interviews with students and 200 with staff and policymakers. (Morley et al. 2010) (

25 October, 2015 Equity Scorecard 1: Access to Level 200 on 4 Programmes at a Public University in Ghana According to Age, Gender and Socio Economic Status (SES) Programme % of Students on the Programme Women Low SES Age 30 or over Mature and Low SES Women and low SES Women 30 or over Poor Mature Women B.Commerce B. Management Studies B.Education (Primary) B.Sc. Optometry

25 October, 2015 Equity Scorecard 2: Access to Level 200 on 4 Programmes at a Public University in Tanzania According to Age, Gender and Socio Economic Status (SES)

25 October, 2015 Globalising Sexual Corruption Tanzania Being a girl costs sometimes…There are some things in which people can take advantage of you because you are a girl…There are corrupt staff… Certain staffs like if you want help they say you have to do this or that, it is not your fault but he does that so that he can get you… get sex (Female student, public university). UK Most male lecturers know that, most years, there will be a girl in class who flashes her admiration and who asks for advice on her essays. What to do? Enjoy her! She’s a perk (Kealey, cited in Reisz, 2009). Australia A PERTH lecturer found to have pressured failing Chinese students for sex in visas-for-degrees trade (Lane, 2010). Ghana Manuh, Gariba and Budu (2007:138) discuss ‘transactional sex’, or ‘sexually transmitted grades’.

25 October, 2015 The Doxa Of Sexual Harassment / The Discursive Enactment of Hegemony Sexual harassment is a way of life at this university … and people don’t like to talk about it … the female students are very vulnerable to lecturers... and the girls think that’s a legitimate way to get marks. Boys think the girls have an advantage because they can get marks that way and the men think if the girl comes to me and she’s a grown up she’s asking for it...(female academic manager from the public Ghanaian university).

25 October, 2015 Sexual Harassment = Grade-enhancing Capital 17 males and 9 females out of 100 students interviewed in Ghana saw gender difference in terms of preferential treatment for women. Women’s failure = evidence of their lack of academic abilities and preparedness for higher education. Women’s achievement = attributed to women’s ‘favoured’ position in gendered academic markets. Post-feminism/ young women’s assemblage for productivity/ vengeful patriarchal norms reinstated (McRobbie, 2007).

25 October, 2015 Reverse Discrimination Sometimes, we marvel you know... we wrote certain exams and a particular lady was not in the class but when the results came she had an ‘A’ and you know some of us said we wished we were ladies, you know, it’s like they get special favours (Male student, private university, Ghana). Sometimes you will see a woman or a lady in a class or maybe in a group discussion…you wonder how she got admission? But when the paper comes she performs better than you. …Sometimes some women have been favoured (Male student, public university, Ghana).

25 October, 2015 New Gender Regimes Transactional sex perceived not as a patriarchal abuse, but as women’s aggressive, competitive and capacious actions and agency. Phallic girls/ladettes. Gender hierarchies/ male privilege untheorised. The duality of sexual difference is re-confirmed. Gender norms are re-consolidated and re-stabilised.

25 October, 2015 Reclassifying Sexual Harassment as Women’s Strategic Agency We do have a lot of females who come to this place with a mind to learn do well, get their grades and go out. And we have those who have come with the mind that they are doing everything to get what they want. … so if you are the type of person who really wants to compromise positions in terms of having sex with lecturers to get grades, you will get it. The avenue is there, you will get it…if you want to compromise that much I would say it will definitely favour you. (Female student, private Ghanaian university)

25 October, 2015 Women Are corrupt/ fraudulent learners. Are not entitled to higher education. Are post-feminist strategic agents, not victims. Construct corporeal style to manipulate essentialised male desire.

25 October, 2015 Impact: Dissemination Seminar in Ghana Academic and Managerial Staff- Policy and Prowess Stressed existence of policy on sexual harassment. Some men blamed women students’ ‘indecent dressing’/ suggested that we interviewed the ‘wrong’ students. Many women wanted to support/ raise awareness. Students- Activism and Agency Angry and outraged- started a zero tolerance campaign. Wanted student union representation on disciplinary hearings. NGOs- Partnerships Wanted coalitions to challenge gender violence Challenged sexist assumptions about dress etc.

25 October, 2015 Morley, L. (2011). "Sex, Grades and Power in Higher Education in Ghana and Tanzania." Cambridge Journal of Education 41(1):

25 October, 2015 Summary The Impact Agenda = simplistic, linear, techno- rational, situated, overlooks resistance, attribution and contexts. Lucid, convincing evidence repeatedly ignored. Abusive practices/ misrecognitions repeatedly enacted. Impact is not a neutral concept. A lot of sensationalism, but little transformation. Considerable global knowledge but very limited exchange! (Hey, 2010) How Impact interacts with gender regimes. How to capture the effects of feminist research on communities of practice and activity systems?

25 October, 2015 Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research (CHEER) ESRC Seminar Series: ‘Imagining the University of the Future’ Special issue of Contemporary Social Science (Volume 6:2, 2011) entitled: ‘Challenge, Change or Crisis in Global Higher Education?’