Diversity in times of austerity: documenting resistance in the academy

Abstract

!What happens to feminism in the university is parallel to what happens to feminism in other venues under economic restructuring: while the impoverished nation is forced to cut social services and thereby send women back to the hierarchy of the family, the academy likewise reduces its footprint in interdisciplinary structures and contains academic feminists back to the hierarchy of departments and disciplines. When the family and the department become powerful arbiters of cultural values, women and feminist academics by and large suffer: they either accept a diminished role or are pushed to compete in a system they recognize as antithetical to the foundational values of feminist priorities of social justice. Collaborative work to nurture diversity and interdisciplinarity does not register as individual accomplishment. This paper considers the necessity of this type of academic work to further the vision of a society committed to the collective values espoused by feminism and other areas in social justice.

Gender, ethnicity and feminism: an intersectional analysis of the lived experiences feminist academic women in UK higher education

“…However, experiences are diverse and affected by complex intersections of gender and ethnicity. There are considerable challenges to maintaining social justice agendas within an increasingly neoliberal university, especially those agenda which are sensitive to intersectionality (Moscowitz, Jett, Carney, Leech, & Savage, 2014). As such, it is increasingly important that an intersectional lens is to be maintained if the challenges and opportunities for feminist academics are to be properly understood.…”

Gender Inequalities in Tech-driven Research and Innovation

“…The gendered implications of competitive R&I funding have been discussed in an increasing manner during the last decades by focusing on R&I funding agencies and the austerity measures in academia (that is, Husu and de Cheveigné, 2010;Moscowitz et al, 2014). However, the complex interplay of funding, R&I institutions and the grassroots level experiences of women has rarely, if at all, been researched.…”

The Academic Library and Social Justice: Exploring Librarian Attitudes at One HSI

“…Although recognizing the university as a symbol of advancement, those on the outside looking in often feel that it projects an alien, elitist, and exclusionary façade (Alire & Stielow, 1995). Many academics, particularly those who identify as racial minorities, immigrants, or women, as well as those whose backgrounds lack social and economic capital, recognize the university as a site of negotiation “where different ways of knowing are forged in history and the relations of power” (Moscowitz, Jett, Carney, Leech, & Savage, 2014, p. 8).…”