Gender mainstreaming in student admissions in Zimbabwean state universities: The gap between implementation and ideal practice

Abstract

Gender equity remains a critical issue on the agenda of higher education worldwide. In this vein the Zimbabwe National Gender Policy (ZNGP) (2000) requires all state universities to implement gender equity programmes through gender mainstreaming to ensure gender equity in the higher education system. Gender mainstreaming is aimed at establishing transformative processes and practices to benefit both women and men equally by systematically integrating policies and programmes addressing gender into all aspects of an organization's work. Thus, to mainstream gender is to move gender from the periphery to the centre focus of any activity. This paper reports on the qualitative component of an investigation of the implementation of gender policy programmes in student admissions in two selected Zimbabwe state universities. Data gathering was conducted through documentary analysis and interviews from expert informants to explore the effectiveness of gender equity in student admissions. Findings, through an appraisal of current gender policy implementation in student admissions, revealed yawning gaps between implementation obtaining in the institutions and ideal practice. The main recommendation of the study is the need for a new shift in policy program implementation, and the study outlined the main cardinal points of this new paradigm.