Chinese scholars ‘see gender equality despite contradictions’

Chinese scholars generally believe that they work in a gender equal atmosphere, even though many of them have observed gender bias and discrimination, a study has found.

The paper, which takes a rare look into perceptions of gender biases in Chinese academia, also shows a mismatch between male and female scholars’ views.

“Male academics believed that there was no gender discrimination in academia, while female academics believed there was no obvious discrimination,” write study authors Hugo Horta and Li Tang.

Still, the researchers note, “manifestations of explicit and subtle discriminatory practices against female academics were found, such as discriminatory recruitment, acceptance of gender roles and essentialism, stereotypes, cross-gender social exclusion and struggles for recognition”.

The researchers, whose paper was published in Higher Education Research and Development, conducted interviews with 40 tenure-track academics from various career stages, including 10 full professors and four deans at a leading Chinese research university. They found that – despite both subtle and overt gender discrimination – most scholars were confident that their workplace was mostly free of bias.

“From our findings, it can be argued that ‘gender blindness’ is prevalent and likely most Chinese academics, female and male, have it to different degrees, albeit nuanced,” said Dr Horta, an associate professor of education at the University of Hong Kong.

“All academics show a firm belief in merit-based rules for promotion, eg, if one publishes more and in leading journals, or if one is more successful at obtaining funding, then that academic should be promoted or promoted first,” he said. “The power of individual choice is perceived to be the key factor for the career progression of all academics, including that of female academics.”

According to the study, both male and female interviewees often used phrases indicating their belief that the sector was basically equal, such as “‘same requirements’, ‘achievements are most valued’, ‘a system not discriminating against women’ and ‘more equal compared to overt discrimination in industry’”.

Yet there were differences in male and female academics’ observations, Dr Horta and his co-author noted.

Men recognised that discrimination against women occurred in the hiring process but believed that outside recruitment it played little part in daily university life “due to the merit-based standards of academia”. Female academics, however, cited ongoing issues, such as women’s desire to have children and their familial commitments being dismissed as personal choices and managers being reluctant to make accommodations for them.

Some interviewees’ comments showed that biased views still prevail, even if behind closed doors.

“To be honest, when chatting with my colleagues, we often mention reluctance to admit female doctoral students” because of the possibility of them dropping out to raise children, one male professor admitted.

One female deputy dean told the researchers she was wary of the “ruses” that she believed her female peers used to win promotions, saying: “Intuitively, I think that men are better than women in terms of ability.”

Dr Horta said he was surprised by the “apparent ease” with which Chinese academics voiced views that many peers in other countries might deem to be “politically incorrect”.

While there existed similarities in the career struggles of male and female academics related to “extreme competition, unequal allocation of resources, and neoliberal influenced evaluative practices”, both groups faced specific pressures, the study found.

Male academics felt that they had to progress quickly up the career ladder or risk being labelled “failures”; women, meanwhile, faced the “double burden” of housework and childcare and were often forced by their outside obligations to make decisions that “hamper their career progression”.

Even as discrimination remains a barrier in academic careers, there has been “little to no” effort among institutions to tackle it, with many female scholars refraining from pressing the issue and their male colleagues not considering it a priority, Dr Horta said.

While he believed the system needed to address shortcomings and bolster equal opportunities for men and women alike, Dr Horta warned against pushing Western-style solutions, which focus on the promotion of women, at Chinese universities.

“These policies should not jeopardise the perceivably ‘fair’ meritocratic system that all Chinese academics seem to believe strongly in,” he said.

pola.lem@timeshighereducation.com