Editorial: Breaking the Gender Bias in Academia and Academic Practice

Abstract

in exploring and considering how to challenge and address gender bias and representation we are also discussing many issues, approaches and interventions that support the broader equality and inclusion agenda to be progressed within 'The Academy'. From Kara Smith's paper, we then move into two further Opinion Pieces. In the first, Heather Fotheringham continues exploring the theme of academic space with a focus on the importance of women-only spaces in the form of women's reading groups. Heather considers the origins of women's book groups and reading circles, including the 'consciousness raising' groups of the 1960s which provided a space for women to reflect on how sexism affected them personally. Attention then turns to the Women's Reading Group at UHI and how this bridges the historical functions of similar groups while also providing a women's space that has supported engagement in scholarship and the forging of relationships of trust which now extend outside of the group itself. In the second of our two Opinion Pieces, Keith Smyth explores 'male homophily' and associated forms of bias in academic research, publishing and practice. After first acknowledging historical points to which the privileging of the male voice in thought, scholarship and print can be traced, attention then turns to the male homophilic practices that prevail today in forms including male dominated editorial boards and citation bias. Recommendations are then offered to counter gender bias in academia and academic practice, including for editorial boards, research leaders, academic leaders, and in relation to learning and teaching. Published bodies of academic scholarship and literature remain in scope within the case study paper by Karen McAulay. Karen explores how we might seek to break gender bias in a very specific and critical area of work within our educational institutions, which is in the collections and curatorship of academic libraries. Set within the context of the Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which is a specialist performing arts higher education institution, Karen observes how conservatoire libraries support undergraduate and postgraduate students in their specific areas of study, but due to their scale have a narrower coverage of subjects than typical university libraries. From here, Karen outlines her work to increase the Whittaker Library's stock of music by women composers, and scholarly literature about and also by women composers. The measures taken to achieve this, including cataloguing and social media interventions, are outlined. Recommendations are then offered pertaining to how similar approaches can ensure library collections are more representative in other dimensions of equality and representation, including in the parallel steam of work ongoing at the Whittaker Library with respect to curating the work of composers of colour. From here, two 'On the Horizon' papers explore 'in development' or 'emergent' areas of practice and research. In the first of these, Patricia Perlman-Dee provides insights relating to establishing a Corporate Mentor Partner Program focusing on corporate social responsibility at the Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester. While the mentoring programme was devised mainly to provide support for Asian females studying on specific MSc programs, wider engagement and benefits were experienced, as well as pragmatic lessons learned which are offered at the conclusion of Patricia's paper. In the second of our 'On the Horizon' pieces, Susannah Wilson from UHI Argyll articulates how we may seek to support greater gender equality in learning through applying a 'sociomaterial' lens to view the learning process. Susannah's paper explores the changing norms and expectations relating to technology-enhanced learning in the context of the COVID pandemic was a catalyst, and considers the impact of these on gender equality within education and the need for future avenues if research on gender equality in education. Mentoring comes back into scope within our following two contributions, which are in the form of Reflective Analysis papers. In the first, Fiona Kolontari, Megan Lawton and Sarah Rhodes from the University of Wolverhampton explore their use of developmental mentoring and coaching approaches in academic and professional development to address feelings of 'imposter syndrome'. Fiona, Megan and Sarah question the notion of 'imposter syndrome', asking why this might be disproportionally applied to women. Drawing on theoretical, personal, and professional contexts they appraise two different mentoring models, and reflect on how developmental mentoring and coaching can be used in relation to inclusive learning and teaching. In our second Reflective Analysis, and our penultimate paper, Alexandra Walker offers a critical exploration of approaches to professional and leadership development that can be harnessed to break the gender bias in academic practice and progression. Alexandra considers the extent to which professional development and mentoring schemes can challenge the gender bias in academic practice for women in FE and HE, beginning by outlining the barriers and challenges to career progression for women academics. Alexandra questions how fully the aforementioned kinds of interventions can be perceived to positively influence career progression and/or professional practice. From here, the benefits and limitations of moving to a more digital approach to mentoring and professional development are explored, drawing on examples of with initiatives from UHI. The focus on digital approaches introduced above segues into our final contribution to the Special Issue, within which Louise Drumm, a past keynote for the Women's Network at UHI, provides a review of 'Feminist Critical Digital Pedagogy: An Open Book' edited by Susan Koseoglu and George Veletsianos. Louise observes how the book, which is an ongoing and evolving open online volume, is an accessible book that would appeal to readers whether new to feminist pedagogy or not, and offers a variety of windows into what feminist critical digital pedagogy can look like in practice. This was certainly the impression given when Susan Koseoglu, one of the co-editors of the book, delivered a keynote titled 'Feminist critical digital pedagogy: Why our personal stories matter' for UHI's IWD event in 2022 from which this Special Issue has resulted. We hope you will agree that the research, practice, perspectives and personal stories presented within this Special Issue matter, and that what they represent with respect to breaking the bias in academic and academic practice is both critical and essential. With warm thanks and appreciation to all of those who have contributed.