About this Research Topic
In this Research Topic we seek to address the gap in the literature on the working conditions and career progression of women in regional universities. We define regional universities as those universities that are located outside major metropolitan cities. Like their urban counterparts, regional universities can be public, private, or for-profit. Metropolitan universities often dominate national and international research league tables. Regional universities tend to focus more on their immediate surrounds. They generally have strong links to industry as well as the local community and are key sources of education, employment, and research in these areas. In addition to the challenges and opportunities for women's careers and career progression in universities, women working in regional universities experience different issues and this warrants further exploration.
This Research Topic aims to investigate the experiences of women working in regional universities. While metro-centric narratives often dominate literature and discussion, the experience of women in regional universities can be quite different from those working in large cities that may have several tertiary institutions. Women may choose to live in regional areas for reasons related to lifestyle and community. However, these women may be less geographically mobile which can affect opportunities for professional development, mentoring, networking, and career development. They often remain in the area because of community ties, family, and partners. This makes their career pathways different to their urban counterparts and creates fewer opportunities for career mobility and advancement. The requirement to travel between dispersed campuses, including nights away, can be challenging for people with caring responsibilities (White and Goriss-Hunter, 2021). This imperative to travel is further complicated due to the gendered divide of domestic labour. Managers do not necessarily acknowledge the impact of travel between campuses on workloads and other responsibilities. The reliance on communicating across campuses with video conferencing is complicated by a range of social and cultural factors. This article collection will therefore explore career pathways and strategies to improve the working lives of women in regional universities.
We encourage submissions on Gender and Career Progression in Regional Universities, exploring themes including (but not limited to):
• The relationship between universities and their regions and the impact on women working in regional universities.
• The impact of travel on women’s careers at regional universities.
• Using innovative technologies to improve communication across campuses that are advantageous for women’s career progression.
• Challenges for women working on outlying campuses.
• Discuss how identity factors such as race, class, disability, health, and neurodivergence intersect with gender in relation to women’s careers in regional universities.
• The effect of gender equity policies on career progression.
• The impact of global casualization and austerity measures on gender equity in the Higher Education sector.
• The role of women as sustainability activists in regional universities.
This Research Topic aims to investigate the experiences of women working in regional universities. While metro-centric narratives often dominate literature and discussion, the experience of women in regional universities can be quite different from those working in large cities that may have several tertiary institutions. Women may choose to live in regional areas for reasons related to lifestyle and community. However, these women may be less geographically mobile which can affect opportunities for professional development, mentoring, networking, and career development. They often remain in the area because of community ties, family, and partners. This makes their career pathways different to their urban counterparts and creates fewer opportunities for career mobility and advancement. The requirement to travel between dispersed campuses, including nights away, can be challenging for people with caring responsibilities (White and Goriss-Hunter, 2021). This imperative to travel is further complicated due to the gendered divide of domestic labour. Managers do not necessarily acknowledge the impact of travel between campuses on workloads and other responsibilities. The reliance on communicating across campuses with video conferencing is complicated by a range of social and cultural factors. This article collection will therefore explore career pathways and strategies to improve the working lives of women in regional universities.
We encourage submissions on Gender and Career Progression in Regional Universities, exploring themes including (but not limited to):
• The relationship between universities and their regions and the impact on women working in regional universities.
• The impact of travel on women’s careers at regional universities.
• Using innovative technologies to improve communication across campuses that are advantageous for women’s career progression.
• Challenges for women working on outlying campuses.
• Discuss how identity factors such as race, class, disability, health, and neurodivergence intersect with gender in relation to women’s careers in regional universities.
• The effect of gender equity policies on career progression.
• The impact of global casualization and austerity measures on gender equity in the Higher Education sector.
• The role of women as sustainability activists in regional universities.
Keywords: Gender, Career Progression, Regional Universities, Local communities, Family ties
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
