Gender perspective into university teaching of Economy and History

Abstract

The introduction of a gender perspective into university teaching needs a deep rethinking about the concepts and analysis of the academic mainstream, identifying gender biases, promoting a broader and more complete interpretation of reality and easing gender awareness among students. It means, essentially, a reorganization of contents, a critical review on the concepts, models, theories and approaches of analysis, as well as the introduction of new cases, practical examples, reference sources, etc. This article shows the results of a teaching innovation project that aims to take the first steps into that direction. It has been implemented in the degree of Business Administration and Management and the degree of Political Science of the University of Barcelona. The main action consisted on a study of the teaching plans where a systematic bias was identified in most of the subjects, reflexion and sensitization activities in class and a validation of learning questionnaires. Altogether, 480 students participated. The results show that, despite the progress made in legal and administrative terms, the position and role of women in the economy and history continues, in general, to be invisible. It is also apparent that women are more aware of the existence of inequalities and more permeable to teaching activities that incorporate gender as an issue. Finally, it is stated that the teaching actions that incorporate the gender perspective do contribute to change the perceptions of the students and have positive effects on their awareness on it.