Whose academy? Gender and higher education

This chapter's main aim is explore to what extent research can shed light on how and why this enduring problem remains. It also reviews the issues related to academic women, and in particular research that goes beyond the Western academy. Disciplinary case studies are also explored, particularly in reference to women as undergraduate students, and in the penultimate section a discussion of challenges to malestream knowledge in the academy will be undertaken. The chapter presents the research related to the rise of women's studies, which includes the challenges to malestream knowledge and the status of feminist knowledge in the academy. In tackling the question of whose academy it is, this chapter has considered research that sheds light upon the ways in which women continue to be marginalised in higher education, both as staff and students, demonstrating the importance of continuing research in this field.