Hacking through the Gordian Knot: can facilitating operational mentoring untangle the gender research productivity puzzle in higher education?

ABSTRACT

In spite of a number of drivers for change in the pursuit of gender equality in higher education in the UK and beyond, the gender gap in research activity is still widely recognised across most subject disciplines. Over recent years, mentoring strategies have often been seen as the Alexandrian sword capable of cutting the gender deficit ‘Gordian Knot’. However, analysis of current practice and dialogue points to a lack of a consistent approach in addressing and implementing HE policy in this area with many initiatives providing standardised non-evidence-based provision aimed at addressing an alleged confidence deficit and exhausting an already fatigued group of successful senior women. This paper seeks to triangulate existing literature with an analysis of data collected from a funded UK-based research project ultimately proposing a five-step institutional mentoring approach aimed at providing some inroads into alleviating the gender deficit in research productivity in the academy.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• research activity
• equality
• diversity
• obstacles
• progression

Acknowledgements

Thank you is given to Anthony Cliffe who provided invaluable support as research assistant on this project and also to the institutional project Steering Group which collectively acted as a critical friend throughout. Equally, acknowledgement is given for the funding and support of the research institution’s Research and Knowledge Transfer Office.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Chantal Davies http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0532-7366

Ruth Healey http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6872-4900

Notes

1 The term Post-1992 university is defined by the Higher Education Funding Council for England as a HEI (usually a previous polytechnic) which has acquired university status as a result of the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.

2 Athena SWAN is a charter mark established in 2005 by the UK Equality Challenge Unit. This Charter recognises and encourages commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths, medicine, arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law in professional and support roles within HE and research (ECU 2017).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Chester.