Project duration: 2020-2021

Donor:

Lead Partner: Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade

Partners: Scientific Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts

IFDT research team: Jelena Ćeriman, Irena Fiket, Balša Delibašić

The project aims to examine the topic of gender inequality in academia from a comparative perspective. Based on the extensive research on gender in both Slovenian and Serbian academia by both project parties, project takes a novel approach by focusing on the main problems and challenges of gender inequalities at the early stages of academic careers and its connection with the socialist legacy in both countries. We aim to discuss how the common historical experience of Yugoslav socialism and its gender policies relate to the current gender inequalities at the beginning of scientific careers, particularly in the segment of work-life balance, since practices of care influence career advancement of female academics. We found this approach as particularly relevant if we want to analyse (and fight) shared vulnerabilities and instabilities that result in the waste of women’s skills in academia caused by the global processes of neoliberalization of academia.

Project aims:

  • To detect the dis/similarities in Slovenia and Serbia in gender inequalities in academia and address them from the point of view of shared socialist legacy.
  • To analyse the role gender in transnational processes of neoliberalization and commodification of academia with the emphasis on the national, regional and transnational level.
  • To foster best practice exchange in order to produce new knowledge that can be used to combat gender stereotypes in academia.
  • To provide better understanding of different actors within academia, primarily women and their strategies to combat stereotypes, their ways to get empowered in relation to the wider global processes.
  • To bring unique contribution to the area of gender research by providing new knowledge that can be used in a policy measures for academia in order to gain better access to the female talent pool in Slovenia and Serbia.

IFDT has a role to conduct online research on a topic that is in the focus of the project, which would increase the corpus of scientific knowledge in the topic area, but also based on the results of the research to offer recommendations for improving situation in the field.