The university environment: opportunities, constraints and challenges for senior women

Abstract

This paper discusses the way in which the university culture as typified by the work environment and working conditions impacts on women academic staff who have atypical careers. Feminist standpoint theory provides a rationale for using case histories from a New Zealand and an Australian academic to explore the university as a workplace from the perspective of those outside the mainstream and the issues raised in negotiating their
place in the organisation. It analyses the wider context of the changes in the tertiary education sector in each country, including the impact of managerialism on women’s academic careers and argues that a broad range of approaches can be taken to get into and on in the male-centric university.