Universities lack female representation at all levels

In an effort to bridge the gender gap in academia and tackle the injustices faced by female faculty members in Morocco, a recent study called upon the government to align strategies towards gender equality at all levels of higher education management.

This envisions the introduction of a mandatory quota system in university governing bodies, to approach the university’s general budget in a gender-sensitive manner, and to create safe campuses for women along with establishing a national coalition of women in academia in Morocco.

These measures are outlined in a study entitled “The Cost of Women’s Absence in Decision-making Positions in Moroccan Academia” (published in both Arabic on 26 October and in English on 23 June).

In cooperation with the US-based Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis, the study was carried out by Professor Soumia Boutkhil, the director of the gender, society and human development masters programme at the Université Mohammed Premier (Mohamed First University) in Morocco.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in its Global Education Monitoring Report 2020 titled Inclusion and Education: All means all, which includes data on higher education participation rates, indicated the increase in the number of women in Moroccan higher education.

Morocco, with one of the most gender-unequal tertiary enrolment ratios in the early 1990s (three women for every 10 men), reached parity in 2017 and has more than doubled women’s participation in a period of seven years starting in 2011.

Boutkhil’s study raises questions about whether the growing number of women in higher education – and those who enter academia – have meaningful longer-term career opportunities.

Additional measures

“The introduction of a mandatory quota system in university governing bodies is an excellent idea to face the gender gap in academia in Morocco,” Professor Yamina El Kirat El Allame, higher education adviser and a former vice dean for research and cooperation in the faculty of letters and human sciences at the Mohammed V University of Rabat, told [i[University World News.

Expanding further, Aziza Menouni, programme manager, institutional university cooperation, at the Moulay Ismail University of Meknes, said: “Despite various reports and ministerial directives, it remains astonishing to note to what extent universities have remained hermetic to any measures aimed at including professional equity within their human resources management policy, or even implementing target actions in the direction of strengthening the gender balance.

“At the policy level, an adjustment of governance measures and more transparent conditions of access to decision-making positions is needed. These positions need to be less political and less impacted by partisan affiliation and ‘clanisation’,” Menouni said.

Under-represented at all levels

The study indicated that Moroccan universities severely lack female representation at all levels. Presently, out of more than 20 universities, only two universities in Morocco are governed by women: the Université Hassan Premier Settat is headed by Khadija Essafi, and the Université Hassan II Casablanca is headed by Aawatef Hayar.

“Such positions are perceived as political, so excellence and distinction are not the only criteria for selecting a president. Very often, women lack leverageable support from political parties. Additionally, no quota system exists within the selection process, as is the case with decision-making positions in other sectors. These aspects weaken women’s applications,” the study pointed out.

Moroccan women make up almost half of all enrolled students in undergraduate education across disciplines, but these figures drop significantly at the graduate level and especially at doctoral level, according to the study. For example, while there are 402 men registered at PhD level in the field of economic law and social sciences, there are only 160 women.

The study added that the low proportion of entry-level assistant professor positions, which is a mere 21.36% of faculty members nationwide, highlights the unequal consideration that female applicants receive from hiring committees.

“The promotion path statistics reflect the pattern of discrimination and barriers to advancement that women face as university professors,” the study stated. For example, in 2018 to 2019, women at the associate rank (habilité) number 62 in the age group 35 to 39, compared to 242 men.

Participation in research

“One could also interpret the lack of female participation in research as the result of a preference for a secure job where the pressure to publish is not so high. Many female academics may also be unable or unwilling to set aside family priorities for the sake of job advancement,” the study suggested.

“The meagre state support for research means female academics often have to fund their own research, which adds a significant financial constraint that exacerbates the ability to balance the teaching load with research and family,” the study notes.

Also, the study continues, female faculty members are rarely called on to lead thesis defence juries or to appointment commissions, and are not elected as members of their institutions’ scientific committees. “Bureaucracy becomes a tool to stifle the determination and persistence of female faculty [members] who hold or wish to hold influence.”

“This study is significant,” Menouni pointed out, “since it highlights the fact that women can face real struggles to attain decision-making positions in male-dominated institutional contexts, and depicts how gender inequality is socially institutionalised and routinised.

“Even though national statements and plans include the objective of reducing gender asymmetries, they lack explicit action, and their implementation in practice is quite twisted. Social constraints and traditional gender stereotypes are a major reason for the negative perception of females in decision-making positions.”

A discouraging picture

Menouni said the picture that emerges of gender inequalities in the higher education system in Morocco is “quite discouraging”. El Allame agreed, saying: “No matter how hard we try to describe the situation, we will never be able to report exactly what females really face in the academic world.

“On the surface, we have the impression that all is fair, but when it comes to decision-making positions, males have a serious issue about working under the supervision of a female, even as a chair of a department.

“In some of the oldest institutions, some departments have never had a female chair and positions such as president, vice president, dean or vice dean are very rare for a woman to get, no matter how competent and deserving she is.

“Some prestigious institutions have, so far, never given a chance to a female despite the quality of their projects and their excellent profile. Such positions are perceived as political positions, and excellence and distinction are not the only or not at all the criteria for selection.

“The truth is that we should not blame it all on men or society because women are, themselves, responsible, as many refuse to hold any responsibilities and only very few women dare to compete with men for decision-making positions, and when they do, they are looked at as exceptions.”

At the same time, El Allame said, men are still not ready to give up all the privileges they have been enjoying for decades. They hold slogans for equality and parity in theory only, but they are not ready to see this implemented.