Female Academics' Perception of Gender Roles in Working Life: A Qualitative Research Example in Türkiye

Female Academics' Perception of Gender Roles in Working Life

Abstract

This study examines the perceptions of female academics working in Türkiye towards gender roles in working life. The main purpose of the research is to understand the experiences of female academics in business life, the difficulties they face, if any, and their perceptions shaped in line with gender roles. For the research, a semi-structured interview form was used and 18 female academics working in Türkiye were interviewed. Content analysis was used for the analyses. According to the findings, gender role perception for female academics refers to the roles attributed to females and men. On the other hand, it has been revealed that being a mother and wife as a female is the most prominent gender role. The negative situations they face in terms of gender roles are work-life balance, glass ceiling syndrome in career and the emotional pressure of not having time for children. The positive situations, on the other hand, are the pride of having a respectable job, the support received from spouses and family (solidarity behaviours of the Turkish family structure, grandmother, grandmother and grandfather taking care of the children, one of the parents of one of the spouses helping with housework and cooking during busy times, etc.), the comfort of having partially flexible working hours and being able to catch up with housework, positive discrimination towards female and especially mothers in the workplace. As a result, this study will be a guide to the effects of gender roles perceptions of female academics on their working lives and for further research to be conducted in this field. It is important to develop policies to support female academics and to ensure gender equality.