The Role of Feminist Standpoint and Intersectionality Epistemologies in Providing Insights into the Causes of Gender Disparity in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education plays a critical role in society’s development, particularly in the current era of globalization in which knowledge-based innovations are critical for development. However, women’s underrepresentation in higher education remains a persistent issue of concern, particularly, in sub-Saharan Africa. The gender gap in higher education is created by complex interconnected sets of deep-rooted factors. A clear understanding of the underlying causes of gender inequality in higher education is necessary to develop effective interventions to overcome this disparity. Feminist standpoint and feminist intersectionality epistemologies have been used to provide insights into gender disparities in higher education. Drawing on existing published literature, I will discuss the conceptual and theoretical frameworks of these two feminist epistemologies and explore the methodological implications of these epistemologies for critically examining gender disparities in higher education in the context of sub-Saharan Africa.
 Keywords: epistemology, feminism, gender, higher education, intersectionality

How Far Is Progress? Gender Dimensions of Student Enrollment in Higher Education in Ghana: The Case of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

“…However, this can be argued for both sexes and does not convincingly explain why fewer females persist in the various dimensions. We think, therefore, that familial preferential treatment for males over females in the pursuit of higher education may be of special relevance here (Machira, 2013;Norgbey, 2018;Wan, 2018). Given the limited financial resources of most families, it sounds plausible that when faced with the decision on whom to invest scarce family resources in for higher education, females would be considered less profitable within Ghana's socio-cultural context.…”

“…Notably, many of these structural factors which are argued to be deeply embedded in the organization and functioning of African societies, interplay and manifest within the educational system, leading to disparities in access and participation in education at all levels, especially, at the tertiary level (Molla & Cuthbert, 2014). Patriarchal societal perspectives on gender roles have, for instance, been argued to regulate educational opportunities for female children, such that parents place greater emphasis on the education of boys than girls: a phenomenon which also tends to guide higher education (Machira, 2013; Norgbey, 2018). It is strongly perceived that the principal roles of women are that of a sexual partner and mother, leading to low investments in the education of females (Chisamya et al, 2012).…”

“…While significant progress has been made in increasing access to higher education (tertiary level), gender disparities continue to persist. Current evidence shows that female enrollment in higher education outstrips that of males in all regions of the world except sub-Saharan Africa (SSA; Norgbey, 2018; Saadat et al, 2022; Salmi & D’Addio, 2021). The SSA region has the worst disparity against women with a Gender Parity Index (GPI) of 0.73 in 2015, and 0.8 by 2020 (World Bank, 2022).…”

Intersectionality in Social Work

“…Marxism'den etkilenen feminist duruş epistemolojisi, marjinalize olmuş, dışlanmış, yaftalanan ya da toplumun görünmeyen yüzleri olarak görülen grupların kendi sosyal gerçekliklerini ve bu gerçekliklerle şekillenen sosyal konumlarının anlaşılması için bu kişilerin bilgisine başvurulması gerektiğini vurgulamış ve bilgi üretiminde bu kişilerin epistemolojik olarak imtiyazlı konumuna odaklanmıştır (Norgbey, 2017). Feminist duruş epistemolojisinin kabulüyle, bilgiyi tecrübe edenin bilginin esas kaynağı olarak kabulü, baskı gören kişilerin güçlendirilmesi, kadınların erkeklere referansla tanımlanmasının terkedilerek "kadınlığın" ve "kadın deneyiminin" anlamı tartışılmaya başlanmıştır.…”

Bringing rigor in contextual objectivity: lessons from applying feminist lens in scoping the evidence on girlhood studies in Indonesia

“…The application of contextual objectivity in the scoping review process was motivated by a feminist lens that emphasizes the importance of reflexivity, inclusivity, and the recognition of power dynamics in research. Feminist methodology involves engaging with the situatedness and contextually embedded nature of data, centering the relationship between the researcher and the researched, and valuing marginalized voices (Millen, 1997;Norgbey, 2018;Mootz et al, 2019). Feminist qualitative research often employs methods such as interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and content analysis to explore the experiences and perspectives of individuals and communities (Chilisa and Tsheko, 2014;Morgan et al, 2018;Karimi, 2019).…”