Becoming and being academic women: Perspectives from the Maldives

Title
Becoming and being academic women: Perspectives from the Maldives
Publication Date
2015
Author(s)
Maxwell, Thomas W
Mohamed, Mizna
Mohamed, Naashia
Naseer, Badhoora
Zahir, Arminath
Nashida, Aminath
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Cogent OA
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1080/2331186X.2015.1121062
UNE publication id
une:19176
Abstract
This exploratory study aimed at understanding the role of women teaching in a university in the Maldives is a first of its kind. The many studies of academic women in Western countries guided the 20 semi-structured interviews. The data were thematically analysed with the assistance of NVivo. Becoming an academic appeared to be an independent decision for the majority of women. There was little parental influence. A common theme was the women perceived that, in general, they worked harder than men. They perceived little or no work differences, despite the observation that men filled senior positions at the university. Although work/life balance was difficult to maintain, a striking finding was that the majority of the women were quite satisfied. From the point of view of most of the women interviewed, gender was little or not an issue, in that there was no indication of frustration or anger amongst the women interviewed. Several issues are identified for future research.
Link
Citation
Cogent Education, 2(1), p. 1-11
ISSN
2331-186X
Start page
1
End page
11

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