The number of women graduating from Australian universities with a degree is far out-pacing men. Two-thirds of university students are women and some people (men) are so alarmed by this that they are highlighting it as a gender inequality issue that has to be urgently rectified.
Yep, we’ll get right onto that.
Any hoo, if women are graduating from universities with all these degrees, what are they doing with them? We know they aren’t all using them because men are over-represented in most industries and get paid more to do the same jobs.
Then there’s the issue of tertiary institutions themselves and those students who want to enter research programs, achieve doctorates and maybe even become professors. It’s here, in the upper echelons of tertiary education in Australia, that most institutions more accurately reflect the rest of society.
There just aren’t many women getting to that level.
One of Australia’s top mathematicians is Nalini Joshi. She is a professor at Sydney University and also co-founding chair of the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) initiative. Professor Joshi says when it comes to female representation among professors, “Australia is frozen in time.”
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Tenured academics are at the top of their field, this takes dedication and there will be times where it is incompatible with family friendly/work-life balance preferences, and sacrifices will need to be made. Arguing that the system should be changed to accommodate people who are not as single minded in their approach to achieving excellence in their field is like arguing the Olympic games are biased against casual exercisers. Being the best of the best in any industry is rarely compatible with work/life balance, and expecting the same rewards for part-time effort as people get for single minded dedication is grossly dismissive of the sacrifices these people make. You don't get Olympic medals for jogging around the block, and you don't get highly sought after competitive academic jobs by putting in part-time/work around my other commitments/need some me time effort.
To be honest, I don't think scientific facts based on measured study and University research care what gender you are.
You do see a distinction apparently.