Trends and Paradoxes of Gender in Higher Education in Pakistan
Keywords:
Gender, Higher Education, Bourdieu, Gender Inequality, StudentsAbstract
This study examines gender trends and paradoxes in Pakistani higher education, with a focus on access, participation, and outcomes. One key paradox is that, although female university enrolment has grown rapidly at times surpassing that of males in certain fields, women remain underrepresented in leadership roles and are concentrated in feminized disciplines. This progress is accompanied by persistent contradictions. Female students frequently excel academically but remain underrepresented in leadership roles, disproportionately concentrated in feminized disciplines, and constrained in translating educational attainment into meaningful labor market participation. Another paradox is that increased education for women does not consistently translate into strong labor market participation. The study uses human capital theory, gender role theory, feminist institutionalism, intersectionality, the capability approach, and Bourdieu’s ideas. Thus, higher education acts as a source of both empowerment and inequality: structural barriers, patriarchal norms, and institutional practices limit women’s agency even as opportunities expand. The findings underscore a persistent paradox: women have more opportunities, yet gender hierarchies persist. Achieving genuine equality require reforms beyond increased access, with direct measures to challenge cultural barriers, institutional biases, and structural inequalities.
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