Gender, Managerialism, and Performativity in Higher Education in England and Sweden

Jim Barry
Elisabeth Berg
John Chandler

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DOI: 10.2190/WR.17.3-4.n

Abstract

In this article, we consider the implications of managerial reforms and performativity in higher education in Sweden and England, following the introduction of new public management and the development of neoliberalism. The article examines some gendered implications by drawing on the experiences of eight experienced female academics. The data are drawn from a data set of interviews. The first interviews we present were conducted at the beginning of 2001 with two long-serving academics from each country. The rest of the interviews we present were conducted 10 years later, with academics who were, like the previous interviewees, long serving. The same interview questions were used for all the interviews. We found differences between the two countries, in terms of social democratic and liberal traditions, as well as similarities. In the earlier interviews, we found the reforms to be viewed negatively, while the later interviews suggested some accommodation in respect of research and management. Yet, despite this, the female academics in both countries had become increasingly subjected to performativity and were experiencing difficulties in undertaking research as they took on more teaching and administration.

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