01777nas a2200181   4500008004100000022002200041245009900063210006900162250002600231260002900257300000800286520113100294100002001425700002101445700002501466700003801491856006601529       2021                        eng d  a978-3-030-69686-300aInstitutionalised Resistance to Gender Equality Initiatives in Swedish and Portuguese Academia0 aInstitutionalised Resistance to Gender Equality Initiatives in S  aP. O'Connor, K. White  bPalgrave Macmillan, Cham  a2263 a<p>This chapter explores institutionalised resistance to gender equality initiatives reported by 15 gender equality change agents (GECAs) in Swedish and Portuguese Higher Education (HE). Drawing on qualitative interviews with the GECAs, the study highlights similarities within the two national HE contexts, but also contextual nuances and variations. Feminist institutionalism is used as a theoretical framework which facilitates an investigation of how resistance appears embedded in the structures and processes of HE. The analysis develops the conceptual categorisation of institutionalised resistance embedded in three separate types of institutional structures and processes: (1) legitimation, (2) decision making and (3) resource allocation. The GECAs in both contexts identified the decoupling mechanisms behind these structures and processes: formal institutional rules and policies characterised by gender equality, equal opportunity and meritocracy were compromised by informal practices and routines which preserved status quo. The “mirage of equality” was therefore a reoccurring theme in both contexts.</p>
1 aPeterson, Helen1 aCarvalho, Teresa1 aJordansson, Birgitta1 aMachado-Taylor, Maria, de Lourdes  uhttps://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-69687-0_2