Women Faculty Members' Work and Lives in State Islamic Universities in Indonesia

Khumaidah, Sofkhatin (2018) Women Faculty Members' Work and Lives in State Islamic Universities in Indonesia. Doctoral thesis, Flinders University, Australia.

Text My Thesis downloaded from Flinders.pdf - Other Download (4MB)

Abstract

As students, women in universities across the world outnumber men, but they remain a minority
as faculty members, especially in the highest academic and managerial ranks. This is often
explained in terms of gender relations, as women’s double burden as paid workers and the main
holders of domestic and care responsibilities. Accordingly, their academic and career performance
is affected in deficit ways. Women faculty in Islamic higher education in Indonesia are also
surrounded by cultural, religious, and policy issues affecting the ways they manage their work and
lives. These issues constitute the main focus of this research project.
In order to explore the experiences of the women faculty members in managing their work and
lives, field work was undertaken in two State Islamic universities in East Java, UIN Sunan Ampel or
UINSA and UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim or UIN Maliki. The study comprised in-depth interviews with
17 long-serving women faculty in various academic and management roles and was supported by
analysis of policy documents and both universities’ websites. Through the framework of social
constructionism and using feminist standpoint methodology, I understood and analysed their work
and lives in relation to Islamic religion, Javanese culture and relevant state and university policies.
Given their ages, the interviewees were a mix of the 'Old Order' (1945-1965) and 'New Order'
(1966-1998) generations. Most attended pesantren or other Islamic education institutions for
schooling and undergraduate study, but secular universities for their postgraduate qualifications.
Growing up, they were advantaged by policies granting equal status to secular and religious
education institutions.
Despite gender mainstreaming policies in higher education, UINSA and UIN Maliki had no
segregated data on staff, portrayed women faculty in stereotypical ways, and did not include the
gender study centres in their websites. At work, women faculty adopted normative femininity and
tolerated gender harassment to avoid accusations of militant feminism and establish successful
careers. Most interviewees progressed slowly in research for reasons including overloaded teaching
and their domestic and caring responsibilities which are rooted in Javanese and Islamic norms.
Some interviewees reported that informal networks limited promotion opportunities. The developing
discourses on gender, including gender in Islam, were not able to penetrate the patriarchal culture
in either university.
In domestic life, women faculty were often reminded of their kodrat, being cultural and religious
norms legitimated by the Marriage Act prescribing women as the main holders of household
responsibilities. They shared domestic work with maids, husbands or family, and adopted a range of
career strategies to protect their husband’s status and family harmony. In so doing, the women
faculty maintain that they successfully negotiate both their work and domestic lives

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	13 EDUCATION > 1301 Education Systems > 130103 Higher Education
Depositing User:	Dr. Phil. Sofkhatin Khumaidah
Date Deposited:	16 Apr 2023 15:57
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2023 15:57
URI:	http://digilib.uinkhas.ac.id/id/eprint/22643

Actions (login required)

View Item