Women in the Moroccan academic field : respectability and power

Abstract

This paper aims at outlining the power and academic respectability that women have in Moroccan academia. The data, which privilege the perceptions that these academics have of themselves, were collected by means of a questionnaire distributed to 49 female professors, associate professors, assistant professors, assistants and researchers from three universities in Morocco. 12 of these women were also interviewed. Due to historical and cultural factors Arab women have entered the academic field only relatively recently, that is between three to four decades ago. There has lately been a very significant increase in the proportion of women in academia, and in some sectors more than 30% of University teaching staff are women. However, due to traditional and social constraints, these academics are not satisfied with their position and status. In this regard, the Moroccan academic field can be still considered to be dominated by men. This domination is crystallised in the way appointments to posts of responsibility are made, in the decision-making process at the administration level which, in most cases, favours men and in the attitude men have towards the academic abilities and achievements of women. In this respect, in spite of their scientific and cultural capital, many Moroccan women academics consider that the status and the recognition accorded to them leave much to be desired.