Women Academics and Gender Equality in Asia: A Framework for Comparative Study

This paper proposes a framework for examining and comparing the status of women as academics in higher education across four Asian societies, namely Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Known as the ―four Asian dragons‖, these newly industrialized economies have achieved remarkable growth in the past few decades. Women‘s status has improved substantially, but the interplay of masculinized organizations and gender essentialism has stalled gender equality. Our research focuses on the advancement of women in the academia, which is notably a gendered institution. Compared with their male counterparts, female academics tend to publish less and receive less competitive funding or prestigious awards. They are also less likely to be on the tenure track or occupy positions of senior management. While country-specific studies have demonstrated the relevance of explanatory factors such as familial responsibilities and cultural ideologies, there has been few attempts at systematic comparison that analyses similarities and differences across societal contexts. We propose a framework for doing so by adopting the multiple-case study methodology. Drawing on theories of developmental states, welfare capitalism and neo-institutionalism, the framework compares how higher education and funding policies, family and childcare policies, as well as cultural systems and gender perceptions in the four societies produce similar/different outcomes in terms of the incorporation and advancement of women academics. We also compare how the academia in the four societies with different developmental models shapes women‘s experience in the academia. Initial findings based on interviews conducted on academic work-life balance during the pandemic will be presented.