Gendered Inequalities in Higher Education: Structural Barriers, Career Trajectories, and Institutional Practices in Uttarakhand
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31033/IJEMR/16.5.2026.1953Keywords:
Gender Inequality, Higher Education, Glass Ceiling, Gender Parity, Institutional PracticesAbstract
Gender equality in higher education is increasingly measured through women's access and participation; however, numerical expansion does not necessarily imply equality in educational progression, academic employment, career advancement or institutional leadership. This study examines gendered inequalities in higher education in Uttarakhand through a longitudinal secondary-data framework. The study integrates evidence from the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), NITI Aayog reports and relevant policy and institutional documents. The analysis focuses on five interconnected dimensions: participation, disciplinary distribution, academic progression, faculty representation and career advancement. Particular attention is given to the transition from educational participation to academic employment and senior academic positions. The findings indicate a complex pattern. Uttarakhand has comparatively strong female participation in higher education: in 2021–22, female enrolment in universities and colleges was approximately 2.82 lakh compared with 2.86 lakh male enrolments, producing a near-balanced gender distribution. The state's higher-education Gender Parity Index was approximately 1.09, above the national value of 1.01. However, gender parity in student participation does not automatically translate into parity among academic staff. In 2021–22, women constituted approximately 40.0% of the state's reported higher-education teachers, while their representation fell to approximately 26.2% among professors and 35.3% among associate professors. The study therefore identifies a transition from access equality to career inequality, suggesting the presence of a gendered academic pipeline in which disparities become more visible at higher career levels. The paper argues that gender-responsive higher-education policy in Uttarakhand needs to move beyond enrolment targets towards institutional accountability, career progression, mentoring, research support, childcare, transparent promotion systems and leadership development. The study contributes a state-specific analytical framework for understanding gender inequality as a cumulative institutional process rather than a single participation gap.
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