An Analysis of the Views of Female Academics Working at the University on the Problems they Experience

Abstract

Women have become visible actors in scientific areas with increasing numbers over the years as a result of the effect of the women's movement and various developments around the world. According to the data of the Council of Higher Education, the number of female academics in our country, which was 81 thousand 661 in 2020, increased to 2199 in 2021 and rose to 83860. Besides, the rate of female academics was determined as 46%. While the rate of female administrators in higher education (rector, dean, department head, graduate school director) is 23.7 percent in EU countries, it is 28 percent in Turkey and the rate of female researchers in higher education is 42.3 percent in EU countries and 43.2 percent in Turkey (https://www.yok.gov.tr/Sayfalar/Haberler/2022/turk-akademisinde-kadinlar-daha-da-guclenen.aspx). Although the academy has a higher rate of female employment compared to many other fields, this does not mean that female academics do not have problems and that more women participate in the decision-making mechanisms in the academy. Indeed, Şentürk (2015) noted that working as an academician in some departments at universities is not attractive for men, since working in other areas ensures higher income. Therefore, more opportunities are provided for women in such departments in the academy. In fact, female academics face various problems that women face in working life. Thus, it is of great importance to determine the problems experienced by female academics and to develop solutions for them. This study is an attempt to “identify the problems experienced by female academics working at the university and the solution proposals for these problems”. The study employed a qualitative research design and the working group consisted of 10 female academicians working at state universities in 5 different provinces. Data were collected through an opinion form prepared by the researcher. Content analysis was used during data analysis. The results revealed that female academics had numerous problems related to their families and colleagues in the working environment. They were also exposed to various psychological pressures by these groups.