Examining the ‘gendered’ places and spaces of UK doctoral education using multilevel modelling

Bibliographic Data

ID8962387
AuthorsLaura Sheppard (0000-0003-2522-3625, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis University College London London UK, corresponding author), Jonathan Reades (0000-0002-1443-9263, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis University College London London UK), R P J Freeman (0000-0003-0614-5203, Faculty (United Kingdom))
Year2025
Volume50
Issue3
Publication date2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTransactions of the Institute of British Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-2754 • E-ISSN: 1475-5661
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/tran.12745
OpenAlexW4407057889
LanguageEN
References cited55

Research on gender in higher education frequently focuses on micro‐ or macro‐scale factors—power relations and working practices, or disciplinary norms and the educational ‘pipeline’—overlooking the meso‐scale of ‘place’ embodied in departments and institutions. This study bridges that gap by applying data science and multilevel modelling within a quantitative feminist geographical framework to analyse gendered PhD completion patterns in the UK from 1990 to 2020. Using the British Library's E‐Thesis Online Service (EThOS), we identify ‘department‐like units’ as pivotal, accounting for 10.7% of the variation in the likelihood of a PhD student being female—more than any other grouping. Overall, STEM fields remain male‐skewed, while the Arts and Humanities, and Social Sciences show a female skew. Institutional histories and geography also matter: in Scottish and Northern Irish universities students are more likely to be female compared with English universities, while the likelihood in Wales is lower. The use of statistical methods through a feminist lens offers a foundation for targeted interventions: our results suggest a greater focus on departments in equality initiatives like Athena SWAN and adjustments to funding policies to enhance diversity in PhD cohorts, particularly in male‐dominated disciplines. Future work should integrate intersectional approaches to deepen understanding of these dynamics, but these findings emphasise the value of place‐based analysis in addressing gender disparities and guiding policy

Discipline · Diversity (politics · Ethos · Geography · Irish · Political science · Public relations · Scale (ratio · Social science · Sociology · Diversity and Career in Medicine · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Studies

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