Gender Mainstreaming in Academic Leadership From the Experiences of Female University Academic and Administrative Staff at a Higher Education Institution in Southern Vietnam アカデミックリーダーシ ッ[.]
Gender Mainstreaming in Academic Leadership: From the Experiences of Female University Academic and Administrative Staff at a Higher Education Institution in Southern Vietnam アカデミックリーダーシ ップにおけるジェンダー主流化― ベトナム南部の高等教育機 関における女性の大学教職員の経験から Graduate School of Arts and Sciences International Christian University 国際基督教大学大学院 アーツ・サイエンス研究科 May 17, 2021 2021 年 05 月 17 日 TRINH, Kim Ngan チン, キム ガン Gender Mainstreaming in Academic Leadership: From the Experiences of Female University Academic and Administrative Staff at a Higher Education Institution in Southern Vietnam アカデミックリーダーシ ップにおけるジェンダー主流化― ベトナム南部の高等教育機 関における女性の大学教職員の経験から A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, International Christian University for the Degree of Master of Arts Public Policy and Social Research Program 国際基督教大学大学院 アーツ・サイエンス研究科 公共政策・ 社会研究 専攻提出修士論文 May 17, 2021 2021 年 05 月 17 日 TRINH, Kim Ngan チン, キム ガン Approved by: NISHIMURA, Mikiko 西村幹子 Thesis Advisor 論文指導教 Abstract The thesis examined efforts in mainstreaming gender equality at a public university in Southern Vietnam, the essence of being a female academic leader, and factors that were essentially affecting gender mainstreaming efforts at this university A case study was conducted to explore the phenomenon of how women academics were empowered through experiences recounted at their leadership positions Document analysis, semi-structured indepth interviews conducted on female academic leaders and policymakers, and a questionnaire administered to the university staff, all combined to provide rich data in generating meanings for a detailed description of the phenomenon at this typically progressive case Even though the case university presents favorable conditions for mainstreaming gender equality, findings suggested that certain micro-inequities were still persistent such as the age in gender training policy, misrecognition and the ambivalence towards a female being a senior academic leader The incongruence in individual needs and the ways the university celebrated the gendered self also reflected that the idea of gender mainstreaming was not fully understood in the context of the study Implications were included for the female academic leaders of the case university and for other relevant public university contexts in Vietnam Policy implications concerning quality assurance, autonomization and research orientation were also proffered, aiming towards setting the background for future trajectories of gender mainstreaming and its role in deepening understanding and shaping academic leadership in Vietnam’s higher education governance i Acknowledgement “It takes a village to raise a child.” The child here is my thesis And also, me I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis advisor, Professor Nishimura Mikiko, for her dedication and continuous support for my M.A thesis and research journey at International Christian University (ICU) Her work ethics inspired me, and her timely advice always kept me on the ground, which all together helped me grow as a researcher It is wholeheartedly appreciated that all of my courses at ICU and the meaningful discussion that I had with my professors, classmates, and dear friends did cultivate my personality, mindset and competence Pursuing graduate study at a liberal arts university had thus become such a fantastic experience I am indebted to all of my research participants, who had helped me unconditionally and had provided me with the valuable information that directly contributed to the materialization of this thesis In addition, I would like to thank all the researchers whose works I was able to build this thesis Finally, I would like to send my special regards to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) for supporting and funding my two-year knowledge quest at ICU All of the JICA and ICU coordinators did their best in helping me and my fellows not feeling like a fish out of water We thrived together on this meaningful journey of becoming dedicated, thoughtful citizens ii List of Abbreviations HCMC Ho Chi Minh City HEIs Higher Education Institutions HERA Vietnam's Higher Education Reform Agenda IWA Intellectual Women’s Association MOET Ministry of Education and Training VNU Vietnam National University VWU Vietnam Women’s Union iii List of Tables Table 2.1 Gender Distribution in Higher Education Leadership in Vietnam 30 Table 3.1 Demographic Information of Interview Informants 51 Table 3.2 Distribution of Questionnaire Items 55 Table 3.3 Conceptual Clusters Generated from the Theoretical Framework 57 Table 3.4 Research Questions and the Corresponding Research Instruments 58 Table 4.1 Current Practices and Policies at University A through the Lens of GM 63 Table 4.2 Composition of University A’s Communist Party Members 54 Table 4.3 Opinions of Staff on Gender-Related Aspects of Work Environment 68 Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics Associated with Staff’s Gender and Opinions of Work Environment 70 Table 4.5 Results of Independent-samples t-Test on Staff’s Gender and Opinions of Work Environment 70 Table 4.6 Opinions of University Staff on Human Resource Policies in 2020 71 Table 4.7 Meanings of Academic Leadership Dimensions 75 Table 4.8 Female Leaders’ Description of Leadership Styles 76 Table 4.9 Opinions of University Staff on Female Academic Leaders 81 Table 4.10 Descriptive Statistics of Staff’s Gender and Opinions about Female Academic Leaders 82 Table 4.11 Results of Independent-samples t-Test on Staff’s Gender and Opinions of Female Academic Leaders 83 Table 4.12 Female Leaders’ Perceptions of Micro-Inequities in Academic Leadership 84 Table 4.13 Categorization of Meanings: University A as a Gendered Organization 89 Table 4.14 Opinions of University Staff on the Relevance of Gender in the Workplace 93 Table 4.15 Frequency and Chi-Square Results for Gender and Understanding of GM 94 Table 4.16 Categorization of Meanings related to Women’s Empowerment at University A 98 Table 4.17 Membership Distribution of Survey Respondents 103 iv List of Figures Figure 1.1 Shared Percentage of M.A and Doctorate Degree Holders by Region and Sex, 2016 Figure 2.1 The Organizational Structure of the Vietnam Women’s Union 14 Figure 2.2 Dimensions of School Leadership Nature 19 Figure 2.3 Distribution of Public Universities by Governing Authority in Vietnam 27 Figure Administrative Career Path to Mid-Level Leadership 32 Figure Academic Career Path to Mid-Level Leadership 32 Figure 2.6 Step-by-step Model of Leadership Development 38 Figure 3.1 Conceptual Framework 44 Figure 4.1 Staff’s Experience with Previous Training Related to Gender Issues 67 Figure 4.2 Staff’s Level of Familiarity with the Concept of Gender Mainstreaming 94 Figure 4.3 Staff’s Level of Confidence in Addressing Gender Equality Issues at Work 95 v Table of Contents Abstract i Acknowledgement ii List of Abbreviations iii List of Tables iv List of Figures v Table of Contents vi Chapter Introduction 1.1 Research background and problem statement 1.2 Purpose of the study 1.3 Significance of research 1.4 Outline of the thesis Chapter Literature Review 2.1 The gender outlook in Vietnam: Feminist views in a socialist country 2.2 Gender and academic leadership in higher education 19 2.3 Gender mainstreaming in academic leadership 34 2.4 Reflections on previous literature 40 Chapter Methodology 43 3.1 Research questions and conceptual framework 43 3.2 Research design 45 3.3 Selection of research site and participants 47 3.4 Data collection procedures 52 3.5 Research instruments 53 3.6 Data analysis procedures 56 3.7 Reliability and validity considerations 59 3.8 Reflexivity 60 Chapter Findings 62 4.1 Efforts in mainstreaming gender equality 62 4.2 The essence of being a female academic leader 74 4.3 Factors affecting gender mainstreaming practices at the case university 88 Chapter Discussion 105 5.1 Emergent themes in exploring gender aspects in academic leadership 105 5.2 Vietnam HEIs as gendered organizations: commonalities and discrepancies 113 5.3 Implications 116 vi Chapter Conclusions and Recommendations 120 6.1 Concluding thoughts 120 6.2 Contributions of the study 121 6.3 Limitations of the study 122 6.4 Recommendations for future research 123 References 125 Appendices 135 Summary of Master’s Thesis 156 vii Chapter Introduction This chapter provides a panoramic view of the thesis The first section introduces the research background on gender in academia in Vietnam’s context and the need for carrying out the study From this departure point, the purposes of the study are clarified in the second section The third section presents the research significance in the theoretical, practical and contextual realms Finally, the fourth section provides an outline of the whole thesis 1.1 Research background and problem statement Gender inequality in leadership is a worldwide systemic problem In the context of higher education, the under-representation of women academics, especially in senior leadership positions, is not only framed as an international phenomenon but also a social justice issue (Aiston et al., 2020) Across national boundaries, women leaders are exposed to analogous stereotypes that form sexist prejudice in organizations; and to the media that scrutinize their physical appearance, clothing, and family responsibilities while portraying the male counterparts as dealing with substantive issues (Cheung & Halpern, 2010) A general sense is that, when discussing gender inequality, the focus is usually directed at women and their experiences There is an assumption that, in highly competitive, research-intensive environments, academic women might face even more significant barriers in their career advancement (Aiston et al., 2020) While research performance is the pathway to promotion in the “global prestige economy of higher education,” there is extensive evidence indicating a gendered research productivity gap (Kandiko et al., 2018) Also, Asian culture places a premium on Your age range: • 22-33 • 31-40 • 41-50 • Over 50 Section Previous experiences in training for/ encounter with gender equality Have you received an introductory training or orientation on gender issues? A Yes B No C I not wish to mention If yes, include information of the training taken (optional): Time Topic Duration Provided by Are you clear about the difference between gender mainstreaming and equal representation? • Yes • No 10 Please indicate your level of familiarity with the concept “gender mainstreaming”: • Not at all familiar • Quite familiar • Very familiar • I use this concept in my everyday work • I not wish to mention On a 5-point Likert scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neutral, (4) agree, (5) strongly agree), please indicate your opinion about the following ideas from Questions 11 to 13: 11 “Gender concerns” may influence the everyday work at your unit affiliation 12 It is necessary to address gender equality in the current context of the university 13 It is necessary to address gender equality in the current context of your unit affiliation Section Opinions about gender relevance in academic leadership: On a 5-point Likert scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neutral, (4) agree, (5) strongly agree), please indicate your opinion about the following ideas: 149 14.1 University A promotes a family-friendly work environment 14.2 University A’s organizational culture values women’s leadership 14.3 Female leaders are good at relationship building and management when it comes to internal affairs 14.4 Female leaders are good at establishing rapport with other stakeholders outside the unit 14.5 Female leaders focused more on change to individuals and institutions whereas male leaders appear to focus more on changes at system level 14.6 Female leaders will face more difficulties than male leaders in work-life balance 14.7 The appointment to leadership positions at University A is equal for both male and female 14.8 In general, the senior-level leaders exert their attention to gender mainstreaming 14.9 In general, the middle-level at my unit exert their attention to gender mainstreaming Sections Future capacity development needs 15 How confident are you in addressing gender equality issues in your work? • Not confident at all • Not confident • Neutral • Confident • Very confident 16 What kind of support would you need to improve your confidence in addressing gender equality issues in your work? A Training sessions on gender mainstreaming B Guidelines, tools and methods on gender mainstreaming C Case studies, best practices dissemination D Gender-awareness raising activities E A gender advisor/unit to consult on gender issues F Others 17 If you choose F (Others), please indicate your specific preference:… 18 Please share any thoughts or comments about your university or this study 150 Appendix H Cronbach Alpha for Likert Scale Questionnaire Items Construct Work environment Cronbach’s Number Items Description Alpha of items (Taber, 2018) 686 Q14.1, 14.2, Reasonable 14.7, 14.7, 14.9 Female leaders at A 647 Q.14.3, 4, 5, Adequate The relevance of gender in 838 Q11,12, 13 Reasonable everyday work 151 Appendix I Presentation of SPSS’s t-Test results: Gender and Work Environment Table I1 Descriptive statistics for male staff’s means Table I2 Descriptive statistics of female staff’s means 152 Table I3 SPSS Independent-samples t-Test Results 153 Appendix J Presentation of SPSS’s t-Test results: Gender and Female academic leadership styles Table J1 Descriptive statistics of male staff’s means Table J2 Descriptive statistics of female staff’s means 154 Table J3 SPSS Independent-samples t-Test Results 155 Summary of Master’s Thesis 修 士 論 文 要 旨 Gender Mainstreaming in Academic Leadership: From the Experiences of Female University Academic and Administrative Staff at a Higher Education Institution in Southern Vietnam アカデミックリーダーシ ップにおけるジェンダー主流化― ベトナム南部の高等教育機 関における女性の大学教職員の経験から Graduate School of Arts and Sciences International Christian University Public Policy and Social Research 国際基督教大学大学院 アーツ・サイエンス研究科 公共政策・社会研究 専攻 May 17, 2021 2021 年 05 月 17 日 TRINH, Kim Ngan チン, キム ガン 156 Background of the Study In Vietnam, the percentage of women attaining masters’/ doctoral degrees was still lower than that of men in all disaggregated groups involving urban and rural areas, as well as regional contexts (GSO, 2018) This indicates, at first glance, the idea that female scholars tend to be considered the consumer rather than the producer of knowledge With male intellectuals usually occupying larger representation, it is also important to inquire whether this discrepancy affects women intellectuals' experience when it comes to academic leadership and professional advancement Public universities in Vietnam present an interesting case study as they are situated in the “socialist gender regime” of Vietnam, yet the presence of gender mainstreaming is not widely perceived by its human resource, especially those at critical leadership positions As emerging issues are expected to be present in each particular university context, this case study is considered relevant in revisiting the interrelatedness among gender mainstreaming, women’s empowerment and academic leadership, which would consequently become contributive to improve university governance Research Purposes A case study on women academics’ experiences at a Vietnamese public university was conducted to provide rich data concerning the experiences of female academics at a public university in the southern, urban context of Vietnam; deepen understanding of how women are empowered in academic leadership in higher education; and extend existing research on gender issues and practices in higher education leadership; Research Questions In order to deepen understanding of the nature of gender mainstreaming and its relevance to academic leadership at public university in Southern Vietnam, the following questions were set out in the study: 157 (1) What have been the case university’s efforts in mainstreaming gender equality? (2) How female academic leaders at the studied university perceive the essence of academic leadership? (3) What are the factors that affect gender mainstreaming efforts in academic leadership at public university? Conceptual Framework The thesis reiterates the idea of leadership in the gendered culture of Vietnam, the connection of empowerment with gender mainstreaming, and the internal micro-political dynamics of the university as a gendered organization The external factors are perceived through the discussion of Vietnam’s culture of gender, which has been revisited based on historical, legal and institutional reviews The particular external factors, in this study, concern only institutions and gender-related policies from outside the university and exerted an influence on the university governance The organizational factors concern more with practices at the university and the dimensions of a “gendered” organization Meanwhile, the personal factors were based on the gender needs of individuals In this regard, the study realizes the need to connect the idea of gender mainstreaming with women’s empowerment constructs (Parpart et al., 2003; Kabeer, 2005; Staudt, 2003) to explore factors that constitute women academics’ 158 capacity and gender needs (Moser, 1993) in deepening understanding of women academics’ experiences The idea of “gendered leadership culture” (Burkinshaw, 2015) that involves the individualist, interactional and institutional approaches also resonates with the “power within, power with, and power to” pillars (Parpart et al., 2003) and the school leadership dimensions proposed by Miller (2018) In general, the theory of gendered organization by Acker (1990) is employed to provide guidance to further explore the concept in the context of universities Overall, these concepts create an overall picture of external, personal and organizational factors that constitute women’s image in academic leadership and affect the gender mainstreaming efforts at Vietnam public universities Methodology Research design In general, a qualitative case study with a phenomenology approach underpins the research questions The central phenomenon under interpretation is how women academics were empowered through the experiences recounted at their leadership positions at the studied university In this study, data was collected in the bounded time of months in a single public university, i.e., University of Social Sciences and Languages (A) The reason to study a single case was that it created a chance to explore the issue to a greater depth The university profile was carefully studied so as to define its typical traits so that certain relevant points could be reconsidered for further generalization in future research Participants - For the school-wide survey: 108 respondents - Semi-structured interviews: policymakers and female academic leaders Instruments 159 Document analysis was conducted during the past six months based on data from the university’s website, newsletters through internal network emails, news articles, Facebook pages and other relevant public documents about the university Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted on female academic leaders and policymakers to generate statements, meanings of statements and eventually, an exhaustive description of the phenomenon A survey questionnaire was designed in order to capture the general capacity of the university in mainstreaming gender equality initiatives All in all, triangulation of methods and information sources was made possible Data analysis The dimensions of gender mainstreaming were applied to answer Research Question While data were inductively generated for Research Question 2, the codes belonging to the concept of academic leadership were also used to code deductively Finally, both theories of women’s empowerment and gendered organization and their respective codes were used to examine and explore factors that either facilitate or challenge gender mainstreaming at the studied public university as Research Question inquires Findings (1) What have been the case university’s efforts in mainstreaming gender equality? The perceived strengths of University A’s gender outlook were based in its equal gender representation at critical leadership levels and its family-friendly work environment The perceived weaknesses were the scattering, unimpressed nature of gender awarenessraising practices and the lack of a clearly stated trajectory for female academic leadership development Emergent concerns include the personal nature in the relationship between female leaders of different leadership positions, the differences between male and female staff’s opinion on senior leaders’ engagement with gender mainstreaming, salary issues and 160 the female leaders’ awareness of leadership competence This calls for the need to deepen understanding of female academic leaders’ experiences (2) How female academic leaders at the studied university perceive the essence of academic leadership? The common remark is that female leaders are cognizant of their own strengths and weaknesses in leadership, and placed these strengths and weaknesses in how they fulfill their responsibility Findings emerged from the interviews with female leaders indicate that they are task-oriented and possess multiple roles as a transformational leader in university governance such as a coach for new staff, a designer for faculty’s strategic plans, and an equal co-worker when delegating tasks However, they still faced challenges regarding the disciplinary difference and the micro-inequities in the workplace The different of workload and requirements of teaching hours between the social sciences and the languages faculties lead to dissatisfaction in terms of payment and time allocated for research activities Female academics realized that, besides their administrative duties, they also had the intellectual duties as a researcher Even so, their research productivity has been compromised by various reasons, one of which is how competent they are in mediating the roles of a leader, researcher and lecturer (3) What are the factors that affect gender mainstreaming efforts in academic leadership at public universities? The factors affecting GM practices in reality at the case university are presented in two aspects: the gendered nature of the university and how the concept of women’s empowerment was perceived The following table summarized the meanings generated from documents and interview data 161 Categorization of meanings for collected data Categories Division Symbols Meanings - The published weekly schedule for leaders presents patterns of labor divisions - The Labor Union retained certain activities specific for women - Recent changes in university branding generate contradicting ideas on femininity Social structures - General opinion of staff reflect that gender is quite relevant to their working context Female leaders found issues in the communication happening around them Individual identity - Female leaders not feel discriminated or harshly criticized just because they are female - The overall climate is family friendly and gender friendly The ultimate goal is to maintain harmony in the workplace - Individuals show ambivalence in terms of confidence to address gender issues Organizational logic - Leadership appointment is a comprehensive, transparent process Leadership is merit-based, so gender is not an issue - Criteria for job evaluation vary according to leadership positions, not gender - Quality assurance and quality accreditation are central to university operation Gender does not stand out as a specific concern but rather embedded in human resource development Individual agency - Individual agency: women leaders demonstrate confidence and decisiveness, yet were ambivalent in terms of promotion and professional planning Organizational structure - The Labor Union only plays a formative role in representing female academics and university staff Participatory political process - The Faculties’/Offices’VCP branches are important political units - The university council could be a new actor that brings up micro-inequities and facilitates the university autonomization Women’s sorority - IWA helps female academics become more connected through skills sharing, life-long learning and community service - Implied criticisms are expressed towards (the IWA) Discussion and Conclusion Starting from the point of view of female leaders, the research pinpoints the current critical concern of female leaders: research productivity amidst changes at university The root of the problem may not lie only in ensuring an equal representation, but also in addressing the 162 gendered discrepancies in terms of academic recognition and intellectual development The “malestream” way of recognizing leadership and the role of women in leadership in academia has been proven to be extant in Vietnam and its context of public HEIs This prompts for a need to embed gender impact analysis in the three current processes happening at public universities: research orientation, quality assurance and autonomization The research supports the idea that gender mainstreaming should be contextualized before being implemented Findings from the research inform actions for university leaders in improving their trajectories in gender impact analysis Implications from the study can also serve as a reference source for female academic leaders, not only from the case university but also at public universities in Vietnam undergoing similar processes and dynamics 163