From denial to window dressing? Resistance to gender equality plans at technical universities and the role of formalized implementation structures
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14689930 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Claudia Schredl (0009-0001-8532-4914, Paderborn University), Anke Lipinsky (0000-0002-2738-947X, Central Gender Equality Office, University of Cologne, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-13 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-11 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075079.2025.2544231 |
| OpenAlex | W4413129802 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 24 |
The implementation of gender equality plans (GEPs) at universities provokes resistance from privileged groups. However, technical universities (TUs) in the European Research Area (ERA) are increasingly committed to developing and implementing GEPs. This study asks how institutionalized forms of resistance to GEPs in TUs interact with contextual factors – specifically, the level of formalization of implementation structures. In our qualitative content analysis of interview data from change agents and decision-makers at four TUs in the ERA, we theorize that implementation structures are crucial contextual factors to structure our data and interpret our findings on forms of resistance. We find that some forms of resistance are unrelated to the level of formalization of implementation structures, others are more prevalent in TUs with low-formalized implementation structures, and still others are predominant in TUs with high-formalized implementation structures. Our findings suggest that although a high level of formalization of implementation structures in TUs is associated with less denial of the existence of gender inequalities, resistance to GEP implementation persists but is more nuanced. We demonstrate that the dynamics between the meaning of gender equality and resistance change with the level of formalization of implementation structures and conclude that these dynamics are reciprocal rather than one-directional. Our findings contribute to theory-building on resistance to organizational change in higher education institutions. As a practical contribution, they can help change agents at TUs to better understand and respond to resistance to the implementation of GEPs
Biology · Denial · Grounded theory · Higher education · Knowledge management · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Psychology
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| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |