Female representation in the higher education of geography in Hungary

Abstract

This paper charts the changing female representation in the higher education of geography, connecting it with the faltering development of feminist geography in Hungary. The transition from socialism to capitalism has compounded gender inequalities while many of the relevant statistical data display gender blindness. Gender issues fail to form a coherent part of national political debates while women's opportunities in Hungarian higher education and research have only recently been examined. Constraints on issues of equal opportunities within Hungarian geography are discussed.

Keywords:

• Women in academic geography
• gender blindness
• transition economies
• Hungary

Notes

Correspondence address: Judit Timár, Center for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Békéscsaba, Pf‐185, H‐5601, Hungary. Email: [email protected]

In Hungary in 1995–1996 58 per cent of all graduates were women, compared with 59 per cent in 12 PHARE countries and 53 per cent in 12 EU countries a year later. (Ministry of Education: http:/www.om.hu/phare/loboda)

In the academic year 1999–2000 48 per cent of all earth science majors (teachers of geography, professional geographers, geologists, meteorologists, cartographers) were women (see Figure 1).

In Hungary 73 per cent of all teachers are women compared with 82 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively, in 12 PHARE and 11 EU countries. (Ministry of Education: http:/www.om.hu/phare/loboda)

This interrelationship also holds true, to an even greater extent, for other faculties of natural sciences (in Hungary geography faculties are included in natural science faculties) where there is female dominance in full‐time teacher training programmes and male dominance in majors that do not lead to a teacher's degree. Furthermore, at the end of the decade, enrolments for majors that do not lead to a teacher's degree were higher than for teacher‐training programmes.

Only 21 per cent of those holding some university or academic degree are women. From the seven academics at the top of the hierarchy only one is a woman. From the 35 persons with a DSc (academic doctor of geographical science) only two are women (Trócsányi & Tóth, 2002). However, it should be noted that though the above‐mentioned three women teach at earth science faculties, they specialized in mineralogy and geology, respectively. No woman holds a DSc in geography.

Those wanting a career as a geography teacher or professional geographer and applying for a university place have to sit an entrance examination in geography, which creates serious competition. For only those individuals who manage to obtain a certain number of scores, set by demand in a given academic year, are allowed to enrol. Those with scores above a number that is smaller than the number of scores originally set still qualify for a place but they have to pay for their tuition.

This is a serious decline even in light of the fact that the communist regime kept the political participation of women ‘high’ with the help of a kind of quota system.

The Group was formed within the framework of the European Commission Research Directorate‐General in 1999.

These discussions were held with four heads of human geography departments out of the five universities training geography teachers and professional geographers in Hungary.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Judit Timár

Correspondence address: Judit Timár, Center for Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Békéscsaba, Pf‐185, H‐5601, Hungary. Email: [email protected]