Importance of the diagnosis of gender equity in higher education institutions: a case study

Abstract

In Mexico, more than two million students, during his school career, listen to classmates or teachers say that women should not study, which is not conductive to gender equity. That is why it has been recognized that universities require indicators ordered and disaggregated that contribute to decrease the inequality and exclusion of the female population. The objective of this research was to make a diagnosis of gender equity in students of a public university to detect situations of gender inequality. The research was held at the Technological University of the Mixteca, located in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, one of the ten most populous entities in the country. It was used the Gender Equity Indicators System in Universities, generated by the University Program of Gender Studies and the National Women's Institute, which has been suggested by the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES), since this system allows to homogenize criteria. The population analyzed was 714 students, 43% women and 57% men, from the third, fourth and last year, of the nine careers that offers the university analyzed. A 25 questions survey was applied and their answers were analyzed using descriptive statistics.  The results show that 3.3% of male students have excellent school grades. This percentage is duplicated by female students (6.6%) that have equally outstanding school grades, in spite of the fact that they have to take care of children or old people. In addition, 55% of the female students chose their career by vocation and none did considering gender issues. On the other hand, 14% of the female students defend their ideas and answers more than men, who only do it by 7%. Eighty three percent of the female students perceive that female teachers respect equally their opinions and those of their male classmates. On the other hand, male students are in some cases more aggressive, since 7.5% of women and 4.6% of men received letters or messages of unwanted sexual nature from a male student, while only 1.6% of women and 1.7% of men received this kind of message from a female student. No student was reported to contact lawyers or ask for advice from the institution to address a situation of gender inequality. It is concluded that it is extremely important to carry out gender-equity diagnoses in universities, because if they are not performed, important aspects, triggers of risk situations for students can be overlooked. In the analyzed university, there are not gender equity problems. However, it is suggested to strengthen the mutual respect between students and to create formal mechanisms for students to express, and the authorities to sanction, any gender inequality, no matter how small.