Issues of Gender Mainstreaming in Mozambique: A Case Study of Eduardo Mondlane University

This PhD project is an empirical investigation of the issues surrounding gender mainstreaming at Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) in Mozambique in relation to an ongoing donor-funded research program.

What are the challenges and opportunities of implementing gender mainstreaming at Eduardo Mondlane University?

For this project I have interviewed 47 people divided into four categories according to their role in the UEM-Sweden program: managers, coordinators, supervisors and PhD students. Through a qualitative analysis, this thesis discusses the interviewees' understanding of gender mainstreaming, the difficulties of converting this concept into practice, and the importance of discussing and implementing this policy strategy in the university environment.

UEM provided HE for most women who are now occupying senior leadership positions in the country. Still, it lags in increasing the participation of women at university courses and staff positions, particularly in STEM courses, leadership and professorship levels. Amid prevailing inequalities in access to resources, gender mainstreaming offers an institutional opportunity to end patriarchal relationships that oppress women at university, excluding them from collegial boards, well-paid senior decision-making positions and research opportunities (Acker, 2006; Bacchi and Evelin, 2010; Powell, 2016). 

The project aims to identify issues/challenges of gender mainstreaming that constitute barriers to creating gender equality at the institutional level, including the efforts made to overcome the barriers and increase the number of female PhDs and integrate gender perspectives into PhD research projects.