Researching AIDS, Sexuality and Gender: Case Studies of Women in Kenyan Universities

6. The Status of Women in the Sampled Universities

6 The Status of Women in the Sampled Universities Dominant groups remain privileged because they write the rules, and the rules they write enable them to continue to write the rules Reskin (2000: 257) Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to address the question: What is the status of women in the management of the two universities in the study and how can their positions explain their silences and invisibilities in relation to university AIDS policies and programmes? Universities have been singled out as places where women continue to be under-represented in senior academic and administrative positions (Mabokela, 2003). I wanted to gain insights into women’s experiences in the two universities. I hope that these insights will inform the process of creating institutional environments that are supportive of women’s professional endeavours. I believe that knowledge about women’s career experiences would especially be helpful in informing HIV and AIDS policies and programmes in the two universities. InChapterTwo,InotedthatKenyanwomenarefacedwithmany challenges, which often keep them in lower ranks in the workplace. In this chapter, I use the findings of this study to show the gender disparities that exist in Weruini and Holy Ghost Universities. Researching AIDS, Sexuality and Gender 126 This is followed by a discussion on the barriers that women in this study pointed out as hindering their career progression. My aim is to show that the under-representation of women in senior positions, coupled with failure by the two universities to recognise the need for policies and practices that can protect women’s rights, increases women’s invisibility when faced with challenges like those presented by HIV and AIDS. The chapter comprises the following: • A brief overview of the status of women in universities globally and how this is reflected in Kenya; • Some sex disaggregated gender segregated data of seven most senior academic and administrative positions that are comparable in Weruini and Holy Ghost Universities; and, • A discussion of factors seen to contribute to the lower status of women compared to men (they include cultural/gender stereotypes, women’s career experiences, limited access to doctoral studies, and lack of support for women’s research). A Brief Overview of Women’s Status in Universities Globally and in Kenya The under-representation of women in the academic and administrative hierarchies of universities has been a concern for many feminist researchers as demonstrated by the amount of literature available (Ankrah, 1996b; Coate, 1999; Currie et al.; 2002; Grunberg, 2001; Hall, 1996; Kearney, 2000; Lund, 1998; Mabokela, 2003; Morley and Walsh, 1996; Onsongo, 2005). Research about the status of women in Kenyan universities continues to show that women hardly rise to senior positions both in academics and administration (Kamau, 2002; Kanake, 1995; Khasiani, 2000; Manya, 2000; Onsongo, 2005). One would expect universities to have norms associated with gender equity, which would afford women equal opportunities for academic advancement. The Status of Women in the Sampled Universities 127 On this lack of gender equity in universities, Acker (1994) observes that academic life is one area where, in theory, women would find few barriers to opportunity and it is in universities where women could have successful careers. However, this is not always the case as Acker (1994) notes: What needs to be explained is why we find women academics so relatively disadvantaged and men so firmly in control. Why we have a man-centred university with some women in it (p. 137). Research into higher education has suggested that in order for academics to rise to seniority, they not only need to teach, but they also need to carry out research, publish and present their work in conferences (Bagilhoe, 1994; Khasiani, 2000; Kwesiga, 2002; Mabokela,2003;Miroiu,2003;Morley,1999;MorleyandWalsh,1996; Onsongo, 2000, 2005; Probert, 2005; Singh, 2002). However, these studies suggest that even when women meet these criteria, often set by men (because of their majority in the decision-making bodies), women hardly manage the break through the ‘glass ceiling.’ While socio-cultural conditions facing female academics differ significantly in different countries, their experiences are remarkably similar.Furtheranalysisofuniversitieshasindicatedthatinstitutional policies and women’s personal and domestic challenges contribute to their remaining in lower ranks compared to men (Anderson andWilliams, 2001; Brooks and Mackinnon, 2001; Kamau, 2002; Mabokela, 2003; Morley, 1999, 2003b; Onsongo, 2005). As I have noted in Chapters One and Two, HIV and AIDS have presented a new set of challenges for Kenyan women, especially the...