Inequalities in Academic Employment and Leadership

Equality and diversity in the context of universities has been extensively studied in relation to students, staff, leadership and communities. Equality in the sector presents an uneven profile for these constituent groups. Higher education remains a less progressive sector in terms of all forms of equality for staff. While most scholars would like to believe that the higher education provides an ideal setting to generate and disseminate new and robust forms of knowledge and to promote well informed social, economic and technological practices which draw on evidence. As such many scholars are under the illusion that the higher education sector offer  a setting which fosters freedom, equality and liberty. Yet, a close inspection demonstrates that the sector is lagging behind all others in terms of its equality provision for staff. Inequalities exist across categories of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and many others in terms of recruitment, selection, staff development, and conditions and terms of work. The illusion of equality in the sector render inequalities invisible. Proportions of women and minority ethnic people in positions of power remain extremely low. University management has a flavour machismo internationally. Research shows that efforts to combat sexism and racism are often marginalised in the sector which continues to be driven by instrumental logics.