Gender Inequality in the Work Environment at Institutes of Higher Learning in Science and Technology in India

Namrata Gupta and A. K. Sharma

Work, Employment & Society, 2003, vol. 17, issue 4, 597-616

Abstract: Analyses of the work environment in any professional organization in terms of western conceptual categories remain incomplete, in the case of a developing country, without an understanding of the social context in which the organization is placed. This article analyses the problems faced by women academic scientists in the work environment at four institutes reputed for excellence in teaching and research in science and technology in India.‘Patrifocality’ in Indian society forms an essential backdrop to an understanding of this subject. The article examines the rule-related aspects referred to as the ‘formal environment’, and the ‘informal’ interaction in the work situation. The findings reveal that social stereotypes infiltrate the workplace and that there are latent aspects in the work environment that place women academic scientists at a disadvantage. These disadvantages are a function of a ‘patrifocal’ structure of Indian society, a general ‘lack of critical mass’ of women scientists and a lack of ‘universalism’ in science.

Date: 2003
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:17:y:2003:i:4:p:597-616

DOI: 10.1177/0950017003174001

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