Female academic staff in the University of Malta : a study

Abstract

This study's purpose of inquiry is to obtain a detailed description of the organisational, professional and personal issues of the female academic staff at the University of Malta. The entire population of female academics (116), as identified in the University of Malta's Telephone and Fax Directory, was sent a questionnaire. The returned questionnaires (48%) were examined and a select sample of 15 women was interviewed according to the questionnaire findings. The data analysis presents a perspective of the current climate at the University of Malta, providing insight into issues such as recruitment, career development, promotion, academic roles, committee membership, family responsibilities, equal opportunities, sexual harassment and discrimination. The results draw attention to a pattern of perceived and experienced, entrenched sexual inequality, discrimination and the politics of gender vis-a-vis women who are surviving within the system, though being concentrated in the lower ranks. The study investigates the women's successful strategies for dealing with the problems encountered in a male dominated university, the concept of mentoring within the academe and balancing home/work responsibilities. Findings include the valuing of so-called male attributes in academe, the problem of women's distrust of other academic women and the existence of subtle and not so subtle boundaries between men and women academics. The research is related to recent literature on women's careers in higher education, attesting to the fact that, the formal curriculum of equal opportunities is continually subverted by a hidden curriculum of unequal opportunities. Finally, several possible solutions are proffered to abate the present situation.