Abstract:

The role of social constructions in shaping and representing the concepts of masculinity and femininity as well as the persistence of gender inequalities have been evidenced, in recent decades, by the feminist movements. Consequently, specific legislation has been adopted in this area, such as the introduction of a gender perspective in higher education. Nevertheless, there are still major socio-political constraints in its application. For this reason, progress in this area requires institutional improvements in terms of awareness and commitment to gender equality.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the gender perceptions of the students of some Social Science degrees at the University of Barcelona (Spain) and University of Cartagena of Indias (Colombia). To this end, ad hoc questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was composed of 30 questions in which students had to show their perception regarding the position of women in social and economic contexts. A student's assessment about their gender training in this university stage was also required.

The survey was conducted to 716 students of the last year, during the academic course 2018-2019. A logistic regression model was used to estimate the main influencing factors in the improvement of gender perceptions. In the first place, according to socialization theories, the results confirm the influence of feminist movements. In this regard, it can be concluded that the socialization experiences lived by this cohort of students through the Metoo movement, improve their awareness on gender perspective. Secondly, results showed the relevance of gender training, particularly highlighting the impact of cross-disciplinary training. Finally, differences have been observed in the gender perspective of individuals depending on the socioeconomic context.

We also identify the strengths and weaknesses of both universities in relation to the introduction of the gender perspective. In both cases, the gender perspective was adopted through transversal approach, by introducing specific topics on gender in some subjects or through seminars. In any case, it is interesting to note that the introduction of the gender perspective in university teaching has depended to a large extent on the teacher’s voluntarism, which seems to show huge weakness or lack of an active institutionalization of the academic authorities.

In summary, these finds contribute to support to theoretical notions about the effects of gender socialization and gender exposure as factors that may have contributed to gender awareness.

Keywords:

Gender perceptions, Feminist Movements, Meetoo, Gender training.