Gender on campus: intersectionality of social categories in Indian higher education

Abstract

Gender as a socially constructed identity is significant in shaping experiences and regulating socio-political dynamics in all social institutions, such as family, religion, economy, politics, and education. Precisely speaking, how gender operates in society is totally different from how it does on higher educational institutions. Gender stereotypes and inequality in society are direct, familiar, and known social expressions/manifestations. But the idea of gender and associated stereotypes on university are covert and would not disappear abruptly. Rather, they take different form, content, language and means of politics to manifest. Therefore, analysing gender on campus must pay attention to more nuanced, subtle, and invisible forms of gender inequalities, that are crystalised in academic spaces, for university spaces claim to provide the theoretical equality to all genders.