Gender Diversity in Tertiary Education and Disadvantages Faced by Non-English Speaking Individuals and Women

Future of Work Research Project
How non-english speaking background women don’t have the same opportunities in terms of
promotions
Introduction
Rationale
Literature review - 1500 words
1. Exploring gender & diversity in society
2. Exploring gender & diversity in a tertiary education environment
This section will introduce an exploratory study on the gender and diversity in a tertiary education
system. The lack of certain resources might not portray the actual situation that prevails in the
particular system mentioned. However, there have been certain amount of researches conducted that
would provide an in-depth research into the topic, thereby shedding light on the different aspects of
gender diversity in the contemporary world.
What is gender diversity?
Gender diversity is the fair and equitable rights for all human beings that would represent the fairness
and equality in all types of gender. Women face a regular discrimination in all organizational aspect
including the tertiary education sector. The male dominance in all the strata including the tertiary
education system is stark, which is the basis of this discussion (Hoffman, Blessinger and
Makhanya 2018). While speaking of gender diversity, it must be noted that the discrimination is
well applicable on lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and queer communities along with women,
thereby making the topic a comprehensive one. There should be equitability in all spheres of the
scenario in order to achieve social justice (Burke, Crozier and Misiaszek 2016). Therefore, there is
a dire need of eliminating the gender biasness and integrating a diverse culture to achieve a greater
equilibrium. It is also vital for a positive atmosphere and the efficacy in a society.
Importance of gender diversity in tertiary education system
In the 21st century, it is imperative to include gender diversity in tertiary education system. There have
been a widespread discrimination regarding gender differences in every field which needs to be
addressed (Kakabadse 2015). Numerous instances of discrimination are conducted every moment
just on the basis of gender. The human rights campaign are active in making their voice heard in
various sectors to remove this disparity.
The importance of gender diversity in the tertiary education is important due to a variety of reasons.
The lack of women acknowledgement in the sphere of education has been substantial in many places
of the world. There have been an increased entry of women in the education faculty sphere since the
20th century (Burke, Crozier and Misiaszek 2016). Since then, an immense amount of resistance
has been made to remove the disparity that has existed. The Australian universities often faces diverse

problems relating to the change in the government, communities and industrial pattern. Moreover,
there have been a predominance in the male hiring in the tertiary education system, which affects the
gender balance and promotes biasness. The male members mostly holds the higher positions and
therefore, enjoy greater status, high authority and financial freedom (Icaza Garza and Vázquez
2017). On the other hand, the females are deprived of this situation thereby creating inequality. While
recruiting, the human resource team should be careful about the selection of candidates according to
the gender equality policies. The underrepresentation of the female in the higher sector of the
educational system not only creates the differences but also denies the basic human rights of the
gender (Icaza Garza and Vázquez 2017).
Challenges of promoting gender diversity
The challenges pertaining to the promotion of gender diversities are immense. The hindrance for the
promotion of gender diversity is due to the societal structure where the suppression of other genders
have been deep rooted (Winchester and Browning 2015). The important factors that impede the
promotion of gender diversity are mentioned down below.
 Cultural factors
The cultural factors which restricts the promotion of gender diversity are the sense of low confidence
among women to reach the top authority. According to (Cumming-Potvin and Martino 2018), the
rate of women who believe in their corporal success is lower than that of men. Moreover, the fear of
disruption in work-life balance have also been one of the factors that has constrained women to aim
for a higher status in the work life (Christiansen et al. 2016). In addition to that, there have also
been grievances against the dearth of proper leadership style in the organization.
 Male perception
The inherent patriarchal society is also responsible for the inequality that exists in the tertiary
education system. According to (García-Holgado et al. 2018), most of the men are of the opinion
that it women are less capable than women to reach the authoritarian level. Along with that, the
challenges faced by the women are often ignored, thereby causing a hindrance in the promotion of
gender diversity. It should also be noted that the skills of women are also not recognized in certain
cases which ultimately paves the way for discrimination.
Apart from these evident factors, researches have suggested a drop in female participation from the
higher education scenario to a significant aspect. This particular factor is mostly applicable to the
poorer countries with high rates of gender discrimination (García-Holgado et al. 2018). The
policies needs to be structured and introduced in accordance to the prevalent flaws in the inequality
that exists in the tertiary education system, in order to promote social equilibrium.
 LGBTQ context
In the context of other genders that exist beyond male and female, the cultural factors becomes a
major deterrent for the promotion of gender diversity. The stereotypical perception and not
acknowledging the other gender aspects have led to the widespread discrimination in the tertiary
education system regarding gender diversity (Icaza Garza and Vázquez 2017).
Aims and objective of gender diversity
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights have the vision to promote gender
equality in all sectors and eliminating the discrimination related to it (Sattari and Sandefur 2019). In
the context of tertiary education, there needs to be policy implementation that needs to be
comprehensive about the entire gender scenario where establishing equality among all the genders is
the pivotal need. The policies should also aim at the research and innovation areas in order to explore
more significant grounds on this aspect. The aims should also be directed towards the improvement in
the education related to gender equality which would ultimately help in the strengthening of the social

justice and attainment of equilibrium (Stoet and Geary 2018). Moreover, it also focusses on the
abolishment of gender inequalities and the cultural perceptions on the stereotypical views and the
facilitation of men and women in the educational researches.
In the context of the lesser developed countries, in-depth analysis should be done for the promotion of
good quality education. Only this can help the society to progress and achieve equity when education
is provided in every segments, since, the major cause of inequality exists due to lack of proper
education (Nikolaou 2017). Moreover, the societal policies should focus strongly to determine the
various aspects which becomes the main factor for difference in unequal outcomes pertaining to the
marginalized and the backward parts of a society. In this scenario, it is also pivotal for the education
curriculum to be more inclusive and an inclination towards promoting gender equality should be
taught (Kakabadse et al. 2015). Therefore, quality education should be the primary focus for the
elimination of distinction in gender roles and the discrimination attached to it.
Conclusion
In the lights of the study conducted on the tertiary education sector on the aspect of gender diversity,
it can be said that the there is a dire need for the implementation of various policies that would
support the women to carry on higher education and academic research leadership area. Along with
that, the improvement of the prevailing working conditions need to be looked into thereby
encouraging the women to come forward and take lead role in the senior positions. The restructuring
of the policies that addresses the issue of discrimination should also be taken into consideration which
will eliminate the existing gaps. Though there have been certain improvements in many areas where
gender diversity is achieved to a significant extent, there is still a need for the proper revisal of the
strategies and planning that would promote an inclusiveness in the gender scene of the society. The
government also needs to take certain steps and formulate strategies that would foster the gender
equality landscape in any country. Local level awareness also needs to be promoted, especially in
regard to the LGBTQ community. The promotion of women welfare and the increase in the cells that
would specifically address the issue should be increased. Achievement of all the goals would increase
the positivity of the tertiary education sector, and focusing on the better aspect of improving the
societal condition.
3. How non-english speaking individuals are at a disadvantage
People from non-English speaking backgrounds face daily hardships when going about their day-to-
day lives. This demographic are often discriminated against in the community on the basis of their
race & ethnicity (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2000) and as part of their disadvantage they
are somewhat predisposed to less opportunities in the workplace.
Research conducted by Gorman, D (1999) delves into the nature of disadvantages non-English
speaking background individuals face due to a plethora of cultural factors. Some important aspects
that shed light on this reality include: