A COMPARATIVE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF INDIRECT FORMS OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION FROM ROMANIA AND DENMARK AMONG HIGHER EDUCATION EMPLOYEES
A COMPARATIVE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF INDIRECT FORMS OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION FROM ROMANIA AND DENMARK AMONG HIGHER EDUCATION EMPLOYEES

Summary/Abstract: Background: Romania, a country with only 3 women rectors out of 54 public state universities, is at the opposite pole of gender equality to Denmark, which reached a 30% threshold of females in higher management positions in academia. Nevertheless, despite the cultural differences, this paper manages to identify similar indirect discrimination issues between the two countries. Methods: Extending a previous systematic review focused on Romania, the study employs similar research methods to draw a comparison between Denmark and Romania. Four databases (Research Gate, ProQuest, JSTOR, and EBSCO) were searched for academic papers referring to indirect forms of discrimination that occurred at some point in the Danish Higher Education. The papers had to fit one of the four categories previously identified: recruitment & selection, evaluation, promotion, and collaboration with students, colleagues, and supervisors. Results: A total of 11,056 articles were identified in the first step of the search, however, only 24 checked all the selection criteria and were included in this systematic review. The focus was to identify if current issues still happening in Romania, occurred at some point in Denmark too. This reasoning helps us to not only draw a comparison between the two countries but also to identify the period when a leading country dealt with similar indirect forms of discrimination. Discussions: Stereotypes affect women’s careers even in a country where the vast majority of the population embraces gender equality. In Danish Academia, more women than men were employed in temporary positions or part-time contracts, and the glass ceiling and glass escalator effects are still encountered, but at a lower rate. Furthermore, in a similar manner to the Romanian culture, the segregation was attributed to individual preferences, instead of recognizing systemic discrimination occurring in the workplace.

• Details
• Contents