Persistent Inequalities: A Sistematic Review on the Female Presence and Gender Inequalities in Mexican Academia

Abstract

The article presents a systematic review of studies on the experience of women as students in higher education, and their labor insertion as university researchers and professors in Mexico. Our analysis examines historical aspects from the late nineteenth century onward, but its emphasis is on understanding the gender gaps women face in these areas and the transformations that have taken place over the past four decades. The objective is to offer a qualitative overview of the gender inequalities and violence in the scientific-university field in the country. The discussion begins by contextualizing the insertion of women in Mexican universities until the eighties. Next, the nineties are analyzed: a contradictory period of assertion of neoliberal policies, and institutionalization of gender studies. The first decade of the twenty-first century is also summarized, being characterized by a greater presence of women in the academic staff and by the precariousness of their work. For the 2010-2024 period, the text analyzes the persistence of gender inequalities, and the activism of female academics and students. The conclusion discusses the systemic character of the androcentrism in Mexican universities and sciences.