Girls occupy only a few tutorial jobs in Ghana. Tradition and society’s expectations are accountable

In lots of components of the world, males dominate the upper training sector. A 2022 UNESCO report discovered that, globally, fewer than two out of 5 senior lecturers are girls. In an earlier report it confirmed that less than 30% of the world’s researchers are girls.

Ghana is not any exception. The nation has made some progress in enhancing gender parity and inclusion by means of numerous national policies. However this progress has not prolonged to jobs within the larger training sector. In 2009, drawing on information from six of the nation’s public universities, the regulator for tertiary establishments, Nationwide Council for Tertiary Training reported that simply 19.5% of educational workers have been girls.

Our latest research suggests these figures haven’t improved previously few years. We got down to perceive why so few girls occupy tutorial positions in Ghanaian universities. We did this as a result of understanding the explanations will assist efforts at growing applicable coverage responses.

Our findings confirmed that conventional gender norms have been the principle barrier to Ghanaian girls pursuing tutorial careers. There are set concepts in Ghanaian society about what girls can and will do. Examples embody the truth that girls are seen primarily as caregivers and moms fairly than as professionals looking for careers. Entrenched concepts about what girls can or ought to do is a serious difficulty as a result of it evokes unfavourable gender stereotypes. Many ladies have in lots of circumstances internalised these stereotypes and shared them. In flip, this has contributed to the low numbers of ladies lecturers in Ghanaian universities.

Low illustration

The gender composition from 9 Ghanaian universities primarily based on data from the Ghana Tertiary Training Fee confirmed that:

• Solely 10.2% of all full professors – essentially the most senior tutorial stage – have been girls

• Girls accounted for simply 14.2% of these ranked as Affiliate Professors

• Solely 13.4% of senior lecturers have been girls; the determine was 22.8% for lecturers and 26.4% for assistant lecturers.

These numbers replicate comparable numerical developments elsewhere on the planet. For example, in Australia, girls held 54.7% of lecturer ranks, 46.8% of senior lecturer ranks, and solely 33.9% of ladies held ranks above senior lecturer. In Nigeria, women represented solely 23.7% of educational workers in universities within the 2018/2019 tutorial yr. In Sierra Leone, out of the 1779 full time tutorial workers solely 267 have been girls representing only 18% of the full tutorial workers .

What girls advised us

We interviewed 43 feminine lecturers who represented a wide range of tutorial disciplines categorised into three tutorial domains. These have been organic/agriculture sciences, humanities and social sciences, and engineering/Info Expertise.

Respondents included 3 professors/affiliate professors, 4 senior lecturers, 29 lecturers and seven assistant lecturers. The interview questions have been centred on members’ personal experiences and occasions inside their work atmosphere and the broader society. We additionally requested about feminine employment participation in larger training.

Quite a few respondents stated that society anticipated them to have kids whereas they have been nonetheless younger and that there was a perceived age restrict for getting married. Training was solely valued up to a degree, as one respondent defined:

Everyone would wish to see their baby full (a) first diploma and as soon as you might be executed with that you’re just about by yourself. A variety of us would wish to get married proper after and that’s when you find yourself fortunate to have been grabbed while you have been in class. And the subsequent factor you’ve got in society is that you just get married and settle. And when you get married, within the first yr everyone is anticipating you to have a toddler. In case you are deferring your childbearing to pursue training, society will elevate quite a lot of considerations.

Others stated that being extremely educated restricted their prospects of marriage. Ghanaian society felt males ought to care for ladies fairly than girls having a profession of their very own or being extra profitable than their husbands.

An interviewee advised us:

… often (in households) the person is named the bread winner, so it’s simply regular that they are going to sacrifice the lady’s training for the person to enhance and to be extra economically safe to have the ability to maintain the household.

Cultural and societal norms meant that males have been seen as being higher suited to educating at a college stage and forging careers in academia. Girls, then again have been thought-about to be higher lecturers on the primary training stage.

The interviewees additionally advised us that, of their expertise, tutorial establishments have been unaware of the bias towards them.

An interviewee advised us:

… A lot of our establishments are gender-blind within the distribution of PhD scholarships and different profession improvement alternatives. They don’t even know that the small variety of girls lecturers within the departments and schools is an issue and that they should do one thing urgently to handle it.

This is named gender blindness. It reveals that, even with the rise and widespread dissemination of nationwide coverage actions on gender equality, inclusion and grassroots activism, adjustments in behaviour and attitudes haven’t reached all establishments.

What subsequent?

There’s a nice alternative to change social buildings to enhance employment outcomes of ladies within the larger training sector – ranging from societal norms, the place attitudes and behavior want to alter.

This requires a multidimensional method together with social reconstruction by means of advocacy, social change activism and laws. Whereas the state ought to be driving laws and social change advocacy, gender-based civil society organisations, universities, households and people even have a job to play.

The restricted variety of girls occupying tutorial positions in Ghanaian universities undermines authorities efforts and nationwide coverage actions designed to enhance gender equality within the workforce throughout the totally different sectors of the financial system. Research has proven that there’s vital worth in a various gender combine in employment. It will probably assist to realize social justice and social inclusion with main financial advantages to the financial system.

Altering society’s expectations is essential. However Ghanaian universities ought to set up clear gender-neutral insurance policies in the direction of recruitment and promotion.