Background: Learner-centered syllabi influence students' perceptions of their instructors; however, studies have not investigated the gender identity of the instructor. Objective: We sought to investigate whether the gender of the instructor and the syllabus design affected students' perceptions of the instructor, course, and memory of the…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute to the existing literature on the importance of mentorship in academia, particularly in higher education. Specifically, this study aims to address the research gap related to academic mentorship from a gendered perspective. The Productive Mentoring Framework and relational--cultural theory…

Mexico, the second-largest economy in Latin America after Brazil, has a gender gap index score of 76.4% in 2022 compared to 75.7% in 2021 and is ranked 31 out of 146 countries for 2022. Mexico has become one of the world's leaders in gender-political equality, which shows that the gender ceiling is cracking, and it is yet to see if gender parity…

The impact of the feminist movement has resonated in the field of Higher Education, giving rise to an increasingly large body of research that is sensitive to the gender perspective. Since Political Science educates future professionals, it is desirable to carry out research into the effect of gender biases on the learning process of Political…

Universities are expected to strive for excellence but also for gender balance. Narrow interpretations of excellence in universities hinder women's advancement in academia. In this paper, we ask if there are ways that these policies may be reconciled. Excellence is an "empty signifier" that must be filled with meaning. We have…

Sex differences in human performance have been documented across a wide array of human endeavours. Males tend to exhibit higher performance in intellectually demanding and competitive domains, and this difference tends to be more pronounced the higher the level of performance. Here, we analyse publishing performance for the whole population of…

Despite the implementation of equality interventions within higher education, progress towards gender parity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) remains slow. Male educators often exhibit poorer engagement with diversity initiatives, potentially contributing to persisting gender disparities in STEM given men's longstanding…

This qualitative study explored a targeted recruitment initiative that was designed to attract and recruit female academic staff in STEM disciplines at an Australian University. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with female and male key informants: 16 Panel Members and six Applicants. Codebook Thematic Analysis was applied…

Although Eastern Canadian liberal arts universities are portrayed as progressive work environments that cultivate inclusivity and diversity, the corporatisation of these public spaces has transformed them from institutions that once encouraged pluralism and acceptance among all social groups to spaces that unevenly distribute privileges among…

Student satisfaction surveys are widely accepted for measuring the quality of students' overall experience with the received teaching and informing the design of improvements in higher education. However, several studies have shown that these surveys have biases that may lead to discrimination or unfair decisions against female academics. Yet it…

Hélène Cixous is perhaps best known for her paper, 'The Laugh of the Medusa' (1976) and her literary contributions outside academia. In this paper, we pick up a lesser known Cixous text, 'Le Sexe ou la tête?' that offers an interesting and provocative perspective on the traps associated with being feminine in a masculine environment. As we…

This research examines the extent to which issues identified in "Breaking Anonymity" (The Chilly Collective, 1995) are still salient despite new EDI mandates/programs which support increased research excellence through EDI principles. We present survey results for Canadian academics who identify as women (n = 244) regarding their…

How do we know if a faculty teaching evaluation is biased? "Biasing factors" studies are an influential source of evidence for arguing about biased teaching evaluations. These studies examine existing evaluation data and compare the results by gender, race, or ethnicity, interpreting a significant difference between subgroups as evidence…

Most universities are working committedly towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The University of Alicante (UA) (Spain) has designed a series of strategies to help crystallize its aims within these goals, including those related to gender equality (SDG 5). Given the context, the aims of this study are (1) to find out whether…

Women have been underrepresented, and even excluded from academic life throughout history. As countries look to address ongoing inequality in academia, state-mandated gender quotas for academic boards and committees have emerged as a recommended practice in Europe. Although an increasing number of countries have adopted this policy model, little…