Outnumbered and outranked: a macrostructural snapshot of gendered inequalities in higher academia in Jordan
International Journal of Organizational Analysis
ISSN: 1934-8835
Article publication date: 13 May 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to illuminate the gendered organisational structure of higher education in Jordan by collecting and analysing a national-level snapshot of the current distribution of women and men in leadership positions and academic ranks across Jordanian universities to pinpoint inequalities in specific levels and fields.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded in gendered organisational theory, this study presents a snapshot of the gender composition of 10 public and 14 private universities in Jordan. The snapshot, collected in September 2022 from these universities’ websites, examines counts of male and female administrative leaders as well as academic staff across all ranks for all faculties in both STEM and liberal arts fields.
Findings
The distribution of women and men in leadership positions in universities across Jordan is highly unequal, with men outnumbering women in the uppermost positions by nearly 10:1. This gap decreases as the rank of positions decreases, indicative of a highly gendered organisational structure, with only three to four fields approaching gender parity.
Research limitations/implications
This paper offers a comprehensive and detailed quantitative foundation for researchers to investigate the underlying social, cultural, legal, political and economic factors perpetuating gender inequality in academia in Jordan and in comparative studies.
Practical implications
This study is relevant for targeting policies for advancing sustainable development goals, specifically 5.5, which aim at women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making.
Originality/value
This study provides the most detailed and extensive macro-level analysis of the gender composition of universities in Jordan.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research stems from an organisational initiative launched by the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation (AHSF), which broadly aims to advance knowledge, research and academic institutions in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Arab region. The team is grateful for the support of the team at AHSF, especially Ala Al Shorman and Ala Abu Lail for their help, as well as Yazeed Al Awaysheh’s efforts in the research process. The team also thanks Dr Wafa Al Khadra and Dr Lama Nusair for their valuable insights and constant support. Finally, the team would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of this article for their valuable comments. Any errors are solely the authors’ responsibility.
Funding statement: This study received no external source of funding.
Citation
Hawatmeh, C.Z., Abu Hashish, I. and Alazzeh, R.R. (2024), "Outnumbered and outranked: a macrostructural snapshot of gendered inequalities in higher academia in Jordan", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-09-2023-3953
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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