Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562 – 571

www.elsevier.com/locate/wsif

Quantitative and qualitative dimensions of gender equity

in Sri Lankan Higher Education
Chandra Gunawardena a,⁎, Yoga Rasanayagam b , Tressie Leitan b ,
Kanchana Bulumulle c , Asha Abeyasekera-Van Dort b
a
Faculty of Education Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
b
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
c
Open University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka

Synopsis

In Sri Lanka, the impetus for gender equity came from a commitment to a liberal-democratic philosophy that led to a better
representation of girls and women in general and University education. With the exception of Engineering disciplines, young
women perform as well or better than their male peers in higher education. However, this quantitative change has not been
accompanied by a change in the quality of education. Overall participation in teaching and learning, engagement in extra-curricular
activities including politics, and engagement in decision-making bodies by women is negligible. Numerical parity is not
accompanied by equity in outcomes. This article attempts to explore the reasons why increased access in numerical terms has not
succeeded in empowering women in university education, both as students and as staff. It is based on documentary analysis,
interviews and observations undertaken under the auspices of the Gender Equality in Commonwealth Higher Education (2004–5)
research project.
© 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction tion has not always been accompanied by a change in

Women's low representation in certain disciplinary
areas and especially at professorial grades and in posi-
tions of power and decision-making is a recurring theme
in higher education research (Jackson, 2002; Suther-
land, 1994). In recent decades, higher percentages of
women have enrolled and performed highly in univer-
sity education, but academic women's career progres-
sion has been much less evident across the globe. In Sri
Lanka, while numerical parity is often shown as an
achievement of gender equality, the quantitative change
indicated by greater access of women to higher educa-
⁎ Corresponding author.
0277-5395/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2006.10.005
the qualitative dimensions of the outcomes of education.
Sri Lanka with a human development index of 0.751
and a gender development index of 0.747 is often cited
as a success story (UNDP, 2005). Sri Lanka, in fact, has
reached a high degree of success in ensuring equal
access to educational opportunity—the cumulative re-
sult of the long-term vision of policymakers and their
commitment to liberal-democratic policies in the early
years of independence (Jayawardene, 1985; Jayaweera,
1985). The system of free education from kindergarten
to university level introduced in 1945 was complemen-
ted by a number of incentives and services like sub-
sidized transport, free text books, free mid-day meals
and free school uniforms that contributed towards re-
ducing social and economic disparities. As explained by
 C. Gunawardena et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562–571
the National Education Commission (NEC) (2003).
Report of the Special Committee on Education, Ceylon.
Sessional Paper XXIV of 1943:
projected a vision of social change from the inequal-
ities created by colonial education policy to recogni-
tion of the universal right to education, the need for
free education as a prerequisite of a democratic so-
ciety, and the role of education as an agent of upward
socio-economic mobility for all individuals. This
vision became embedded in public consciousness so
that any curtailment of this right became a politically
explosive issue for successive governments.
At the level of the family, parents did not have to
weigh the cost or the opportunity cost of sending their
sons or daughters to school resulting in a gender neutral
demand for education. In 2001, literacy rates were
92.3% among males and 89.2% among females
(Department of Census and Statistics, 2002, p18).
As facilities for secondary education expanded, there
was a corresponding increase in the demand for uni-
versity education. The University College established in
1921 became a fully-fledged university—the University
of Ceylon—only in 1942. However, in the space of six
decades the number of universities has now increased to
15, mainly as a result of a demand to provide an op-
portunity for higher education for the increasing number
of secondary school graduates who became eligible for a
university education and also as a result of the demand
for the establishment of a university per administrative
province.
Pertinent theoretical and empirical literature
Among the theoretical perspectives that attempt to
explain gender equity, the person-centred perspective
links women's characteristics to the psycho-social at-
tributes, including personality characteristics, attitudes
and behaviour skills of women themselves. Third World
researchers have argued that as far as women are con-
cerned, access (to education) is ‘culturally defined’ and
the relevance of formal education is determined by the
societal expectations of what is ‘feminine’ (UNESCO,
1987).
A structure-centered paradigm argues that the behav-
iour of women is defined by the disadvantaged position
of women in the organization—discriminatory appoint-
ment and promotion practices, male resistance to
women in management positions, absence of policies
and legislation to ensure participation of women and
limited opportunities for leadership training and for
development of competencies as a result of the power
563
structure (Bond, 1996). Women can succeed in higher
education, but they do so at a price (Thomas, 1990). The
implications of combining an academic career with
family life are that they may be viewed as a liability to
departments in terms of research contribution and thus
perpetuate and strengthen the discrimination against
women. Raddon (2002) points out that it becomes
necessary for women academics to develop the ability to
resolve the contradiction between the ‘successful aca-
demic’ and the ‘good mother’. Morley (1999) explains
further about micropolitics, that is, how power is relayed
through everyday practices and contributes to our
understanding of the obstacles to women's professional
efficiency and advancement. Morley points out how
power-laden micro-processes are notoriously difficult to
challenge through policies for equality.
The male culture of the universities discriminates
heavily against women, with a lack of women mentors
and role models for both students and academics. Walsh
(2002) refers to institutions where women (and other
non-traditional members) are still ‘new’ and ‘different’.
“Though some individual staff members may have been
there for many years, they remain ‘other’, intruders in a
place whose historical purpose has specifically worked
to construct and defend the difference and differentials
which render us ‘woman’ to the ‘man of reason’.”
(Walsh, 2002). Seymour and Hewitt (1997) referred to a
fear of visibility that could silence women even when
they wish to articulate their viewpoints.
The culture-centered approach links the person-
centered and organizational structure perspective in the
social construction of gender and the assignment of
specific roles and responsibilities and expectations to
men and women. Gender relations are kept in place
between the actors, both the dominant and the sub-
ordinate to social and organizational reality (Smulders,
1998). The gendered division of domestic labour is
often mirrored in the academic workplace, where
women academics carry disproportionately high teach-
ing, pastoral and administrative loads, circumscribing
their participation in research (Bagilhole, 1993). Women
are also typically concentrated on departmental and
faculty committees which are not decision-making
bodies (Brooks, 1997). The kind of ‘cultural annexation’
(Spurling, 1996) is sometimes referred to as a ‘glass
wall’ rather than a ‘glass ceiling’.
Researchers have also pointed out that women have
less access to the formal and informal networks in the
research community (O'Leary & Mitchell, 1990). Suther-
land claimed that the university is a ‘man's world’
and the ‘old boy network is influential’ (Sutherland,
1985:25). Women lack sponsors or mentors, supportive
564 C. Gunawardena et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562–571

relationships where older and experienced academics Table 1

contribute to younger colleagues' career development. Female representation in university admissions by discipline: selected
years

The study Discipline 1990/ 1995/ 1998/ 1999/ 2000/ 2001/

91 96 99 00 01 02

This article presents the findings of the study con- Arts 63.3 64.4 69.7 69.8 71.4 73.03
Management 43.6 41.3 50.9 51.9 46.6 53.2
ducted on Gender Equity in Commonwealth Higher
Studies
Education (GECHE) in Sri Lanka with sponsorship from Commerce 47.6 49.5 50.8 51.6 52.8 54.4
the Department for International Development in UK, as a Law 59.5 61.1 68.1 78.7 7.6 79.5
part of the project in five Commonwealth countries. The Science 42.6 44.8 39.1 35.9 37.6 38.3
University of Colombo was selected as the research site Medicine 43.1 40.9 44.0 51.1 47.6 53.3
Agriculture 46.4 47.9 54.5 52.8 54.9 50.5
and three interventions on access, curriculum trans-
Engineering 10.5 0.2 17.7 14.7 16.3 18.1
formation and staff development were selected for Total no. (%) 7238 8464 11,896 11,805 11,962 12,144
study. Under access, the District Quota Scheme and the (47.7) (48.1) (52.4) (51.5) (52.1) (53.8)
Mahapola Scholarships, which are equity interventions, Source: University Grants Commission, University Statistical Hand-
were studied while the Master of Women's Studies books (1990/91 to 2001/02).
Programme and the gender courses in the Arts Faculty and Disciplines of Dental Science, Veterinary Medicine, Architecture,
the activities of the Staff Development Centre were Quantity Surveying, and Computer Science with low students numbers
are not included.
studied under curriculum transformation and staff devel-
opment. International, national and the selected Universi-
ty's policy documents on gender equity were reviewed to as qualified teachers at secondary school level, to gain
provide a backdrop to the study in hand. An analysis of admission to prestigious courses for which keen compe-
national level statistics on admission, enrolment, achieve- tition exists. The Mahapola Scholarships provide a basic
ment, output in university education, employment of stipend to students to pay for their living expenses during
women graduates and the career progression of women the period of university education. This assists students
academics into managerial and leadership positions was coming from deprived socio-economic backgrounds who
carried out to understand the context within which the are unable to afford the various costs of university educa-
University functioned. This analysis was replicated on tion. Scholarships are available for both men and women
statistics related to the above aspects in the University, and students.
supplemented by interviews of a sample of representa- The Master of Arts in Women's Studies (MAWS)
tives from different stakeholder groups (18 students, 21 was one of the first two programmes to be offered by the
staff and 18 policymakers) and observation of classes and Faculty of Graduate Studies when it was established in
meetings. Under access, five classes: Computer Science, the mid-1980s. Courses with a specific gender perspec-
Botany, Physics, Financial Management, and Accounting tive were introduced by the Departments of Economics,
and two meetings were observed — Faculty Boards of English, Political Science and Public Policy, Sinhala,
Education and Arts, under curriculum, six classes — and Sociology. The Staff Development Centre had been
Human Rights Law, Journalism (3), Humanitarian Law established for the purpose of improving the quality of
and Family Law and under Staff Development, two academic work in the institution. There was no gender
workshops and four meetings — Council (2), Senate and component in the Staff Development course.
Faculty Board of Graduate Studies. The article attempts to interpret the data collected
The two affirmative action interventions—the District through documents, interviews and observations to
Quota Scheme and the Mahapola Scholarships—do not understand how and why increased access in numerical
specifically target gender equality but were introduced to terms has not succeeded in empowering women in
ensure that students from rural and poor families gained university education, both as students and as staff. The
access to higher education. The District Quota Scheme findings are viewed from the three perspectives de-
was put into effect fully from 1975 in deciding on the scribed above to explain the situation prevalent in Sri
university admissions. At present, 40% of the places are Lankan higher education with regard to gender equity.
decided on merit, 55% on District Quotas and the balance
allocated to students from extremely disadvantaged dis- Women in education—a quantitative overview
tricts (University Grants Commission, 2002:5). District
quotas give an advantage to students from rural districts Overall admission of women to university education
that have less access to schools with good resources such has improved from 47.7 in 1990/91 to 53.8% in 2001/02
 C. Gunawardena et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562–571 565

(see Table 2). Yet when admission to different disci- Table 3

plines is examined, variations are discernible. In 1990/ Graduate output of universities by academic stream and sex: selected
years
91, the percentage of women admitted to the Arts
Faculty was 63.3%, however, only 10.5% gained ad- Discipline 2000 2001
mission to Engineering. Eleven years later in 2001/02, T %F T %F
the percentage of women entering the Arts Faculty fur- Arts 3656 71.4 2980 73.0
ther increased to 73.3% but their admission to Management 1646 49.8 1559 53.2
Engineering had only marginally improved to 18.1%. Commerce 802 52.9 1060 33.9
Law 173 76.9 182 79.7
Table 1 presents some achievements, with a few excep-
Science 1264 37.5 922 38.3
tions: more admission to some professional disciplines Medicine 904 48.1 801 53.3
such as Management, Commerce, Law and Medicine Agriculture 249 53.4 242 28.9
is evident but not in technological spheres, namely Engineering 548 16.2 653 18.1
Engineering. Total 9374 57.0 8224 55.8
Table 2 indicates that women are well-represented in Source: University Grants Commission, University Statistical Hand-
most of the academic programmes. In 2001, the percent- books (2001; 2002).
Courses with low enrolment are not indicated.
age of women in total student enrolment was 53.8
(University Grants Commission, 2001).
The above figures indicate that the majority of to motivate women into Engineering (Gunawardena,
women are mainly enrolled in Arts-oriented disciplines. 1994).
The area in which women are in a low minority is The success of women gaining admission to univer-
Engineering. Table 3 gives the output of Sri Lankan sities is due to a widespread faith in higher education as
universities by academic stream and sex that reiterates a means of social mobility by all social strata and the
the trend emerging from the earlier two tables. equal value that is accorded by parents to the education
It is clear that women's access to secondary and of both sons and daughters (CENWOR, 1987; Guna-
higher education has considerably improved over the wardena, Jalmert, Lekamge, Dissanayake, & Bulumulla,
years. The only major area in which access has not been 2005), which could also be linked to the high level of
guaranteed to the same extent so far is Engineering literacy (91.1%) in the general population (Department
which could be linked to such factors as traditional social of Census and Statistics, 2005, p76). District quotas
perception of Engineering to be a male domain, lack of a benefit the women candidates from under-developed
sufficient number of Physical Science female teachers rural areas. Moreover, the Mahapola Scholarships
at senior secondary level, and an absence of efforts enable women students with financial difficulties not
to depend only for parental sponsorship.
Table 2
University undergraduate enrolment—(% female): selected years From access to equity
Discipline 1990/91 1995/96 2001 2002
Merit as a criterion has achieved positive results for
Arts 52.3 59.7 77.4 69.8
women's access. Overt discrimination in relation to
Commerce/Management 44.5 43.4 50.1 50.1
Studies access does not seem to exist. Our interview informants
Law 52.9 58.9 48.4 47.3 affirmed that families play an important role in moti-
Science 41.6 37.1 48.4 48.1 vating and encouraging girls to pursue education. Belief
Medicine 42.1 41.6 47.1 46.9 in the value of education extends to extended family
Dental Science 48.2 52.5 53.5 53.5
members and communities as well. The interviews with
Veterinary Medicine 45.2 50.7 51.3 51.3
Agriculture 41.5 42.8 51.7 51.8 students seemed to indicate that parental socio-econom-
Engineering 11.9 11.7 16.4 11 ic background does not seem to obstruct students' entry
Architecture and 35.2 38.1 43.7 43.7 into a university or their choice of academic stream as
Quantity Surveying the students came from varied backgrounds and had
Total no. (%) 31,447 36,797 58,035 58,205
parents with varying levels of educational qualifications
(42.9) (45.4) (53.5) (53.6)
and occupations. Even the three students who faced
Source: University Grants Commission, University Statistical Hand- financial difficulties were encouraged to study by their
books (1990/91 to 2001/02).
Courses with low enrolment such as Education. Mass Media,
parents who had made personal sacrifices to enable their
Performing Arts, Indigenous Medicine, Labour Education are not daughters to attend university. Economic and social
included. aspirations that motivate families to invest in their
566 C. Gunawardena et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562–571
daughters' education, the need to have job security
through higher education, and the perception that edu-
cation will serve as an alternative to dowry for girls in
the marriage market were the reasons given by infor-
mants for the value placed on education. The logic
envisages a young woman with higher education quali-
fications as someone with future potential to be an
income earner even though the parents may lack
material assets to bestow at the time of marriage.
Higher education can provide opportunities for up-
ward social mobility, a career path and improved life
chances make higher education a kind of “family
survival” strategy for the majority of middle and low
income Sri Lankans. (Faculty Member)
Interviews revealed that both women staff and stu-
dents believe that women are more committed to their
academic studies. Behavioural traits considered as facil-
itating high academic achievement—diligence, dedica-
tion, and perseverance—were perceived to be feminine
traits as they were more often found in females.
I also think that it is by the very fact that women
have persevered. I don't know, we find that women
are much more committed to what they do. It is the
same in the Medical Faculty. (Faculty Member)
Pursuing higher education and staying on in acade-
mia were the future career plans of more than half of the
students interviewed. National level data (Gunawar-
dena, Rasanayagam, Leitan, Abeaysekera-Van Dort,
& Bulumulle, 2004) as well as at the research site,
(Gunawardena, Rasanayagam, Leitan, Abeyasekera-
Van Dort, & Bulumulle, 2005) showed more women
were joining as academics.
Political commitment
The early achievement of equality in educational op-
portunities, however, has led to State complacency and
subsequent educational policies and programmes do not
adequately challenge and attempt to address existing
social inequalities. This is, perhaps, most evident in the
absence of a discussion on gender in policies and
programmes. Education is seen as a gender-neutral
arena, and policymakers have ignored, or perhaps failed
to understand, not only the impact socialization in gender
roles and norms has on how women experience educa-
tional opportunities, but also the role education plays in
perpetuating these roles and norms.
From the perusal of recent policy documents on
higher education in Sri Lanka it was clear that at policy
level the emphasis is on quality rather than on equity.
Thus the Higher Education Sector Survey Part 1 (Task
Force and Working Committees, Ministry of Education
and Higher Education, 1995) reiterated the state's pri-
mary responsibility for the provision of free education to
the first degree level to be recognized as a right in the Sri
Lankan democratic society despite its economic impli-
cations and increasing state investment in higher edu-
cation. Yet what was emphasized was quality through
the introduction of measures such as flexibility in the
curriculum, learner-centered education, staff training,
comprehensive assessment, development of communi-
cation skills, introduction of computer literacy, curricula
to match employment needs, establishment of an Em-
ployment Advisory and Liaison Units, interaction with
employers and short-term graduate training.
The ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimi-
nation of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has
had an impact on the national level policies that enacted
necessary legislation, and instituted certain organiza-
tional mechanisms to put into implementation the policy
decisions. But higher education appears to have swerved
away from the concerns with equity matters, including
gender equity, towards aspects of relevance, quality and
efficiency, which emerge as priority issues in the context
of globalisation and privatisation (Asian Development
Bank, 2000; Presidential Task Force on University
Education, Sri Lanka, 1997; University Grants Com-
mission, Sri Lanka, 2003).
Gender is considered as a non-issue in higher edu-
cational policies at the national as well as organisational
level due to the belief that numerical access is tanta-
mount to ensuring equity. There is no discernible interest
in promoting any form of equity or addressing problems
of those groups of undergraduates/graduates, including
women through increased support or affirmative action.
Curriculum transformation
Policy emphasis on quality and relevance of higher
education has not included a discussion on incorporat-
ing gender into the curriculum. It is interesting, how-
ever, that although there has been neither national policy
nor formal discussions initiated at the overall institu-
tional or faculty levels regarding curriculum transfor-
mation, a few influential women have made significant
contributions to the process. With the exception of the
Faculties of Science and Management, a gender dimen-
sion has been incorporated into curricula at both the
undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The integration
of gender courses into the university curriculum has
mostly been driven by individuals, who were personally
interested in feminist scholarship and have occupied
 C. Gunawardena et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562–571 567

positions of influence such as Deanships, Headships or introducing not only an alternative perspective, but
as Professors and Programme Coordinators. Not sur- providing the language with which to understand and
prisingly, in most cases these individuals happen to be describe issues of identity. One student related how
women. following gender courses challenged homophobia
While the curriculum transformation process can be by raising her awareness of sexuality and alternative
described as being driven by women, due to the signifi- lifestyles:
cant influence these courses have exerted on the in-
I have become much more aware of issues of identity
tellectual and professional lives of mainly women
and sexuality. Before I would notice certain things,
students, one could argue that the curriculum transfor-
but perhaps didn't have the language to talk about
mation process be also described as for women. A stu-
issues like lesbianism. Now I feel issues of sexuality
dent who was following the Master of Arts in Women's
should be discussed more in the open-people are
Studies in 2004 described how it had helped her pro-
entitled to different lifestyles.
fessional development:
It is noteworthy that while there has been no overt
I have become much more proficient in under-
discouragement from any of the faculties to the incor-
standing development and gender issues in my work.
poration of gender into the curriculum, gender discrim-
I am able to deal with my work better. The
ination can take place formally through structures due to
assignments have really helped me improve my
the lack of facilities and resources that undermine the
writing and I have noticed that I write much more
impact and sustainability of the interventions.
critically—I am able to critique the information I am
dealing with. I feel it has also really contributed to my Well, the barriers were really that there was no
personal development. adequate support for actually mainstreaming the
courses in a much broader and more meaningful
Women's Studies has also made a significant impact
way. That was all. It's not that anybody actually
on career aspirations and achievements. The three
stood in our way but when we had to take the sort of
former students interviewed included a freelance con-
entire syllabus in to account…there wasn't that much
sultant on gender, a gender specialist at a bi-lateral
room to maneuver and mainstream gender studies.
donor agency, and a manager at a UN organization. Of
(Faculty Member)
the current students interviewed, all of them wanted to
pursue further studies in gender issues, to get more A lack of policy initiatives and a more universal
involved in gender related programmes, and to think dialogue on curriculum transformation has also under-
more progressively about gender and its influence on mined the impact of these courses on women's lives at
programming. The course has also built the confidence the under-graduate level. As the organizational struc-
of one student to apply for prestigious jobs: tures, mechanisms and societal expectations have con-
tinued to uphold the traditional, i.e. male modes of
…all these UN vacancies that ask for qualifications
thinking and acting, mere participation in these courses
in the area of gender…I feel much more confident to
may not be sufficient to bring about a significant trans-
apply for these kinds of jobs.
formation of attitudes. As one student remarked:
At the personal level, the Master of Arts in Women's
My friend was telling me recently, that ‘it's well and
Studies has helped students to interrogate gender norms
good we learn about these things at university, but
and expectations. Interviewees described how they were
I'm going to zip it up in my purse and leave it with
able to question gender roles and understand them as
my mother when I get married.’ They think about
social constructions:
gender issues as they've been exposed to it, but a
I feel it has also really contributed to my personal majority of them think its very impractical; there is
development. In terms of my personal life, I have no way they can incorporate it into their daily lives.
become more conscious, maybe I am not directly
practicing these things as yet, but I am more “in-
The university as a gendered space
tune”.I have become more aware of how society
defines our roles and how we as individuals accept
Despite parity in numbers in many of the faculties
them without any hesitation.
and gender in the curriculum, the University is a highly
Students who had followed gender courses at the gendered space. Women's overall involvement in uni-
undergraduate level talked about the course material versity life was severely limited by social constraints.
568 C. Gunawardena et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562–571
All students interviewed had hardly participated in
extra-curricular activities as they felt it was not safe for
them to travel alone in the evening. The social reality of
a woman's safety at night augmented by ideological
notions that women who stay late will be viewed as
deviant prevented women from participating fully in
university life. Women feel helpless to fight a system
that perpetuates the culture of fear and shame for those
who deviate. One student remarked:
I can't spend time in the library after 5 and we have
classes till 5. But I am too scared to stay late whereas
the boys stay till late and study in the library. Just
getting around is so difficult for women. We are
always fenced in.
Similarly, another student explained her reluctance to
work in the computer laboratory:
You know the computer lab is always dominated by
men, so it's a little uncomfortable for us to go in
sometimes. Also, it's very noisy, so it's difficult to
get work done
Student led initiation rituals known as ‘ragging’ to
which both men and women are subjected, already
declared as a criminal activity through the Anti-Ragging
Act, have gender implications as young women are
frequently subjected to humiliating and highly sexua-
lised bullying as a type of endurance test (Jayasena,
2002). One student explained:
Ragging was an obstacle in my first year. It was
quite bad…I think ragging is so much about the class
and economic differences amongst students. The
ragging went on for one month. During that time I
didn't feel like coming for classes.
Students mentioned the subtle discriminatory behav-
iour of some male lecturers:
There are some who try to put the women down by
asking a question and then laughing at us when we
can't answer it, or ask something just to put us down.
Some male lecturers look at the women in an odd
kind of way. Sometimes you catch them staring at
you in an odd way and when you catch their eye,
they laugh to themselves. We feel quite uncomfor-
table. We can't say what's going in their minds, what
kind of thoughts, vulgar or what, but it happens.
Sri Lankan women's poor participation in politics, an
essentially masculine space, is also mirrored within the
University system. None of the women students inter-
viewed had joined the Student Union as it was seen as an
exclusively male domain. Nor did they challenge the
institution, but accepted it as a social reality. Some of
them felt politics was not for women and did not want to
be involved and said they kept away due to fear and
perception that politics was a male domain. Others
acknowledged the lack of access to the Student Union
was limiting their social life and hampering access to
wider social networks.
This situation was vividly described by one staff
member:
There are no women students who are giving leader-
ship to the unions or any organizations. They don't
because student politics is so dirty, so violent and so
tied up with outside politics. Very few women sur-
vive and one of the tactics men use to scare away the
women, even those who are keen on coming “this is
not for you women because your name will get
spoiled”.
The interviewees reported that there is no focused
mentoring of women students by the faculty. As women
perform well, the involvement of the lecturer in the life
of the students seemed minimal. The students saw
teachers as available for extra academic assistance if
required, but not as role models.
More women, no role models
The tendency to view education as a gender-neutral
arena has also resulted in the absence of a dynamic
dialogue on how gender interfaces with the expected
outcomes of education both for students and members of
faculty. The efforts to introduce feminist pedagogy at the
University have been limited, and where attempts have
been made, there has been no significant impact. This is
perhaps due to the cultural construction of the student–
teacher relationship as a strictly hierarchical one. In Sri
Lanka teachers are the “knowledge bearers” and are,
therefore, given the utmost respect. This rigid structure
resists dismantling and, therefore, perpetuates the tradi-
tional transmission pedagogy. While research mainly
from the West points to male dominance in the class-
room, in Sri Lanka gender relations in the classroom is
compounded by the rigid power structures between
teachers and students.
In observing classroom behaviour both in terms of
student interactions and class participation, it was dif-
ficult to draw clear distinctions between the behaviour
of men and women. In general, both sexes are quiet and
their interaction with the lecturer is at best tentative.
Male students usually speak softly, answer questions
tentatively, are seemingly mild mannered, and do not
 C. Gunawardena et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562–571
display any overt aggressive behaviour. It is only in the
way the men were seated in the middle aisle, directly in
the line of vision of the lecturer and also the relatively
more interaction they had with their peers that one
could infer that male students were marginally more
dominant in the classroom than the women. No overt
gender discrimination was discernible from any of the
male lecturers, who tended to ask rhetorical questions
from the class in general rather than attempting to
genuinely interact with students. However, subtle signs
of gender discrimination were apparent in the way
male lecturers did not make eye contact with female
students and excluded women from even the minimal
class discussions. It is noteworthy that attempts at
transforming the classroom into a more interactive one
have been made, once again, by women faculty
members and have made some difference to women's
participation. These changes, however, cannot be
analyzed as including women's voices in male
dominated classrooms, but rather as the opening of
hitherto closed structures for student voices to be
included. It is significant then that these voices are
mainly women's.
In terms of representation of women in the
academia, the University appears as a model institu-
tion, with high percentages of women occupying
positions of academic leadership. A staff member
commented, however, even though women are numer-
ically more, their participation in decision-making is
less visible. The organizational culture in universities is
such that women are not adequately represented in
elected posts (e.g. Deans) or appointed posts (Heads of
Departments, Directors of Centers or Institutes) or on
Boards and Councils. Even when equal opportunities
are available for women, due to a variety of reasons,
women do not seem to avail themselves of these
opportunities.
In the absence of any specific gender training for
professional development and a lack of guidance and
mentorship little facilitation of women's academic and
management careers seems to occur. It was clear that
proactive affirmative action is required to support
women's training and development, instead of the “gender
neutral policies” to provide greater opportunities for
women for career advancement.
The interviews revealed a dichotomy of perceptions
that underlay the views expressed by the staff. On one
hand there was a feeling of lack of agency among
women themselves while at other times what was
hinted at was a hidden force that prevented the women
from asserting themselves or standing up for their
rights.
569
Democratic institutions such as Faculties, Senate and
Council exist, but they do not function democrati-
cally because members, including women members
do not actively participate to make these institutions
function democratically.
The veracity of these perceptions was confirmed by
the observations. In all three board meetings observed,
the chairperson was described as being receptive to
the views expressed by participants, inviting members
to express their views, and appreciative of the inputs
given by members on various issues. They had in all
cases not displayed any partiality towards members of
their own sex and worked with collegiality towards
members of the other sex. Participation of junior
female members in discussions and certain boards was
less. It was thus clear that covert processes appear to
operate which make the environment less conducive
for women to participate actively in discussion or in
decision-making.
On being asked for suggestions on how gender equi-
ty in higher education can be promoted, one participant
pointed out that ‘if we promote the gender approach, of
course, we can change all these issues and we can sort
out all these issues’. Another felt “we need to change our
mind-set, attitude” supported by a colleague “I suppose
if we can have a standard gender program in school at
least we can try to balance out because a lot of people
don't know about these things and all that we have are
traditional. They become so timid.”
Another identified a basic need:
May be sort of like how to speak at meetings and
those types of things because they are so quiet. So
that kind of leadership training; To stand up for their
own like gender or what ever rights, to stand up for
them.
As one senior faculty member argued:
Gender equity cannot be realized without creating a
general environment within the university for effec-
tive democratic participation, discussion and deci-
sion making. A university that has an intellectually
lively community, committed to democratic values is
an essential prerequisite to realizing gender equity. I
do not believe that this environment exists in this
University.
Conclusion
It has been more than 50 years since Sri Lanka
achieved numerical gender equality in education and
570 C. Gunawardena et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 29 (2006) 562–571
access to most areas of higher education. As such,
gender is considered as non-issue in the higher educa-
tion policy at national as well as organizational levels.
Sri Lanka thus presents a good example of the operation
of politics of representation in which policy activity
ceases once quantitative targets have been met as
pointed out by Louise Morley (2004).
However, the attainment of the expected outcomes of
education—the development of human capabilities and
an improvement in the quality of life through social and
economic empowerment—has been diluted by the wide
socio-economic inequalities within the population and
the socialization process. The realities of a stagnant
economy characterised by high unemployment among
youth and the demand for low-skill low-paid workers
fuelled by globalization have also undermined wider
access to employment opportunities and upward occu-
pational mobility (Gunawardena, 2003).
The study clearly brings out the multiplicity of
forces that impact on the achievement of gender
equity in higher education in a developing country. On
the one hand, progressive educational policies have
ensured access to higher education for women rarely
seen in the developing world. On the other, traditional
socialization processes which give primacy to males in
society, especially in the family, impose limits on
career aspirations of women who are caught between
their dual roles as professionals and home makers. In
addition, interviews clearly bring out how micropo-
litics of the institution, its structures, process and the
culture impinge upon women's status and participation
(Morley, 1999).
It is clear that educational policies and programmes
formulated and enacted without a long-term vision for
the country's development as a whole can only result in
frustrated aspirations and a perpetuation of the existing
socio-economic inequalities. Most importantly, ig-
noring the social dimensions of gender inequality
and the role education can play in challenging it will
only result in the attainment of qualifications but not
empowerment.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance
received from the UK Department for International
Development (DFID) for conducting the study in Sri
Lanka, Professor Louise Morley of the University of
Sussex, the Coordinator of the research project for
continuous guidance and the lead researchers and the
teams in participating countries at different stages of the
project.
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