To what extent is the culture of a university department supportive of equal opportunities for women?

Abstract

Most British universities now have equal opportunities policies but the extent to which these policies have brought about real change in university departments is not clear. Management theory suggests that when trying to implement change in an organisation it is important to understand that organisation's culture. Opportunity 2000, a business initiative to try to increase the number of women (especially managers) in the British workforce stresses the importance of cultural change. However, there has been little attempt to 'measure' culture in relation to gender in university departments. This article explores the findings from an attempt to use Johnson & Scholes's cultural web to 'measure' the culture in a business studies department in an 'old' British university. © 1998, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.