2009

ImplementingGenderinHigher
Education:AnAnalyticalOverviewofthe
UniversityofJosGenderPolicy

OLUWAFUNMILAYOJ.PARAMALLAM,PhD
PaperpresentedattheNational
ConferenceonGenderMainstreamingin
HigherEducation,UniversityofJos,
Nigeria

DepartmentofResearch,National
InstituteforPolicy&StrategicStudies,
Kuru
2/26/2009

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

1. Introduction
It is widely acknowledged that education plays a
cardinal role in accelerating national development. A
major distinctive of the 21st century is the centrality of
knowledge acquisition and utilization in the creation
of wealth and in the attainment of global economic
and, indeed, political power. The Asian Tigers and
China have carved out a comfortable niche in the
global political economy on account of heavy
investments in human resource development. In spite
of its abundant human and natural resource
endowments Sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag far
behind other regions in the mobilization of human
capital and scientific and technological prowess.

Success can be
measured according to
policy stages and policy
output: good gender
mainstreaming is found
not only in policy and
planning but also in
implementation and
evaluation. European Training

Since independence in 1960 successive Federal,

Foundation, 2006:9
Regional and State governments have put education at
the centre-stage of political rhetoric and programmes.

The YarAdua administration is no exception; it lists

human capital development through investment in
education as a component of its 7-point agenda. There
is no evidence so far that the government is conscious of the gender issues and factors that play a
crucial role in harnessing Africas latent human resource potential namely women. Nor does
the 7-Agenda articulate gender as a critical planning variable in the context of a comprehensive
development strategy. On the other hand, institutions of higher learning like the University of Jos
are seeking to re-orient institutional thinking and behaviour towards the mainstreaming of gender
through new policy guidelines and procedures.
This is a trend that reflect a growing awareness among the makers and implementers of
educational policy that although education plays a key role in promoting sustainable
development and holds numerous potential benefits to individuals, groups and entire societies or
nations it can also be a vehicle for perpetuating those gender discriminatory norms and practices
firmly embedded in socio-cultural customs and institutions. Unless concerted efforts are made to
ensure that all educational settings and processes are non-discriminatory in terms of access,
curriculum, learning environment/procedures, participation and outcomes the full benefits of
education or gender mainstreaming policies will not materialize for women and girls.
This paper uses A Toolkit for Mainstreaming Gender in Higher Education in Africa (WGHE,
2006 hereafter referred to as the Toolkit),1 with some reference to the Gender Mainstreaming
Manual in Education and Employment, to present an analytical overview of the University of Jos
Gender Policy objectives, strategies and focal areas with a view to drawing attention to essential
conditions for its effective implementation. The Toolkit set outs important policy guidelines,
benchmarks and performance checks without which the impressive objectives articulated in any
gender policy document are likely to remain lofty, yet fanciful ideals.

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

2. Brief Historical Background of Gender Mainstreaming in Education

As a policy framework gender mainstreaming began to gain currency in development and public
policy planning/programming since the early 1990s. Since then certain African educational
institutions, notably Makere University, Uganda and the University of Cape Town, South Africa
blazed a new trail to make important inroads towards the integration of gender perspectives and
good practices into their curricula, training, research and administrative procedures. However,
although the trend has slowly gathered momentum over the last two decades efforts to inculcate
gender issues within academic institutions have usually taken the form of adding gender
courses/modules onto existing university programmes (WGHE, 2006). Gender mainstreaming in
the educational sector was highlighted as a comprehensive global action strategy in1995, first
under the Beijing Platform for Action and then as a strategy for member governments of the
Commonwealth.
The Beijing Platform for Action, to which Nigeria is a signatory, recognizes that access to
education is a critical economic resource, and lists it second among its 12 critical areas of
concern (i.e. Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to education and training) in
relation to the empowerment of women. In fact, the BPfA classifies education as a human right
and an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality, development and peace. The document
highlighted Sub-Saharan Africa as one of the regions in most dire need of addressing gender
disparities in education at all levels. Furthermore, the latest MDG performance measurements
show the region lagging behind all others with regard to school enrolment in primary and
secondary schools. Figure 1 shows persistent gender gaps for 1990, 2005 and projected figures
for 2015.
The Commonwealth Plan of Action on Gender and Development put forward a cross-sectoral
strategy in which it prioritized the development of special and diverse training for women and
the use of gender-inclusive curricula to facilitate their participation in all disciplines with special
emphasis on science, technology and industry. It also specified the institutionalization of gender
mainstreaming policies, measures and frameworks for increasing and improving the delivery of
education through all tiers of government and relevant institutions of learning at all levels.
Taking a cue from this international impetus and in response to the advocacy efforts of
indigenous scholars, activists, and development practitioners the Obasanjo Administration finally
approved the National Policy on Women in July 2001. The NPW identified education (formal,
vocational and informal) as the first priority sector for intervention strategies for women
empowerment, once again with particular emphasis on science and technology for the
development and adaptation of indigenous technology to suit womens needs.
Subsequently, in 2003, 22 years after the University of Jos became a full autonomous University
the Jos-Carnegie Partnership Programme was instituted as a precursor to mainstreaming gender
issues into the Universitys academic and administrative operations. It is noteworthy that prior to
this the University had drawn up a Strategic Plan back in 2000 in which it had expressed an
interest in gender issues.

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation
Fig. 1

Gross School Enrolment Ratio (Girls/Boys): Regions of the World 4

ME&NA

82 94

LA&C

101
99

SA

70

90
2015

EC&A
EA&P
SSA

96
98

2005

89 99

1990

7986
0

50
100
150
Regions:
ME&NA
LA&C
SA
E&CA
EA&P
SSA

Middle East and North Africa

Latin America and the Caribbean
South Asia
East and Central Asia
East Asia and the Pacific
Sub-Saharan Africa

Source: The World Bank, 2008

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTGLOBALMONITOR/EXTGLO
MONREP2008/0,,contentMDK:21709440~menuPK:4860358~pagePK:64168445~piPK:6416830
9~theSitePK:4738057,00.html

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation
Indeed, the second objective of the Plan was specifically concerned with instituting gender
equity and gender mainstreaming practices in the University system. It was the UNIJOS
Strategic Plan that earned it the Jos-Carnegie Project award. The UNIJOS Gender Policy is just
one of the many outcomes of that programme. In 2004 its Gender Issues Team submitted a draft
Gender Policy for assessment by the Jos-Carnegie Partnership Committee2 then to the ViceChancellor for onward submission to the Senate and Governing Council.3 The draft policy
emerged at the end of a broad consultative process among female and male staff and students of
the University and external/international partners. It also considered good practices in sister
African institutions in Tanzania and South Africa. Finally, in 2006, after a period of internal
reviews and intensive advocacy of top-level decision-makers by members of the GIT and other
concerned individuals, the Council ratified the Senates decision to approve the University of Jos
Gender Policy the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Two pertinent questions arise from the involvement of donor funding and foreign participation in
the historical development of the Policy: 1.) to what extent is this a home-grown policy that
addresses critical gendered experiences of women and men in a Nigerian University
environment? 2.) How will gender continue to be institutionalized after the termination of the
Jos-Carnegie Programme? The answer to these questions impinges directly on the extent to
which the policy will achieve its stated objectives and attendant outcomes. This analytical
overview will examine the implementation strategies of the Policy in light of both questions.
The next section provides a brief overview of the Toolkit, its basic assumptions and guidelines,
followed by some conceptual clarifications on gender mainstreaming in Section 4. The rest f the
paper reviews major features of the University of Jos Gender Policy.

3. A Brief Overview of the Toolkit

The Toolkit is a home-grown manual that was developed by a team of experts under the auspices
of a collective effort of the Working Group on Higher Education set up by the Association for
the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the Association of African Universities
(AAU).4 Its aim is to provide institutions of higher learning with a synchronized policy approach
to integrating gender into all university functions and programme content. It begins with an
assessment of the general university institutional climate in which gender issues are frequently
regarded with suspicion and fear as a result of ignorance of basic gender concepts and the
misconception that they derive from western donor-driven programmes. Consequently, agenda
for gender equity and justice meet with resistance evidenced by a refusal by university
administrators to face up to blatant and concealed gender-biases that characterize numerous
processes and practices that exist within the ivory towers. These include inter alia violence and
intimidation of female students and staff, sexual harassment, male-centred and/or genderstereotyped teaching material and methods, insensitivity to legitimate gender-specific needs and
male-bias in the distribution of resources including appointments, promotions and other official
perquisites.
This section presents an outline of the 10 modules contained in the Toolkit (see list in Box 1).
Each module begins with a concise assessment of factors in the African social and higher
institutional contexts that warrant gender policy design and action.

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

Basic Gender Concepts: The manual goes beyond a mere definition of key gender terminology
to explain their usage and describe
problems that may arise and how they
Ten Modules in the Toolkit
may be correctly applied in various
institutional contexts. The concepts are
meant to help:
a. Inculcate
gender
issues
into
curriculum and teaching
b. Ensure that understanding of gender
dynamics is factored into learning
and teaching methods
c. Develop indicators for measuring
the extent to which gender justice
and equity are institutionalised
d. Inculcuate gender equity principles
into the professional and personal
lives of staff and students.

1. Basic Gender Concepts

2. Forming Policies and Strategies
3. The Role of Human Resource
Development and Management
4. Mainstreaming Gender in the
Curriculum
5. Research and Gender Sensitive
Methods
6. Faculty and Support Programmes
7. Student Access and Retention
8. Gender Violence and Sexual
Harassment
9. Gender Disaggregated Data
10. Resource Mobilisation for
Gender Equity

Forming Policies and Strategies: The

manual provides a rationale for
developing gender policies in higher
institutions predicated on a human rights
and social justice perspective as well as
a proven efficiency and productivity variable in national development. A gender policy is a
framework for uniting political will with technical know-how for the promotion of gender equity
and equality.
The Role of Human Resource Development and Management: HRD and HRM are deemed
critical intervention points for gender mainstreaming. Here practical and strategic intervention
strategies are suggested to redress gender imbalances in recruitment, appointments, promotions
and staff development, as well as to address gender-specific needs in the allocation of benefits
(e.g. health services, housing, loans, pension).
Mainstreaming Gender in the Curriculum: technically speaking mainstreaming is the
cornerstone, and indeed the essence, of gender policy in that it seeks to incorporate a gender
perspective into every facet of university life (see Section 4 below). However, the Toolkit singles
out curriculum content in recognition of its critical role in the production and reproduction of
knowledge. The curriculum is broadly understood to include formal course/programme content
and unspoken ideas about the roles and value judgements ascribed to men and women and their
appropriate or inappropriate sexual behaviour. Both require structural transformation to create
harmonious gender relations and a more gender-fair society. This requires integrating gender into
all taught courses and research, including science and technology where the manual places
particular emphasis owing to the paucity of female involvement in those areas.

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

Research and Gender Sensitive Methods: The Toolkit asserts that the absence of gender as a
critical development variable from mainstream development planning in Africa is one reason for
the continents continued poverty and underdevelopment. It argues that institutionalizing
gendered research through the incorporation of gender concepts and issues into university-wide
research objectives, methodology and methods will help to promote evidence-based development
planning that will have tangible impact on the livelihoods and life chances of boys and girls, men
and women.
Faculty and Support Programmes: Owing to the climate of hostility, ridicule and ignorance
prevalent in most African universities there is need for staff and students to have a structured,
non-threatening environment in which to explore gender issues in a dispassionate and scholarly
manner. This can be done through the establishment and funding of gender institutes, short
courses, ad-hoc gender committees, activities and activism.
Student Access and Retention: This concerns a better understanding of the structure and
processes of poverty in impacting student retention and the development of gender-sensitive propoor indicators to facilitate resource allocation for teaching and learning. It also requires that
staff members are sensitized to recognize and deal with student poverty in a gender sensitive
manner.
Gender Violence and Sexual Harassment: The Toolkit interrogates male-tolerant perceptions
and perspectives that constitute gender violence and sexual harassment as defined by the UN
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women as, ...any act that
is likely to or results in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women including
threats or acts of ...coercion, arbitrary deprivations of liberty...private or public, in the family,
community (cited in WGHE, 2006:99). It seeks to institute preventive and punitive measures and
mechanisms to hold perpetrators of such violence accountable for their actions.
Gender Disaggregated Data: A 2005 study entitled, Gender Equity in Commonwealth Higher
Education showed the existence of pervasive gender disparities in learning, teaching,
recruitment, appointments and promotions in African institutions of higher learning all countries
selected except South Africa.5 This underscores the need for systematic quantitative and
qualitative gender databases to provide university gender profiles and in-depth understanding of
how gender impacts on the lives of the campus community in order to initiate positive change in
administrative, regulatory and academic affairs. This may call for a gender audit prior to
designing a gender policy.
Resource Mobilisation for Gender Equity: Universities and colleges in Africa face severe
budgetary constraints that curtail their ability to provide educational services and facilities.
Nevertheless, changing deeply entrenched patterns of gender-insensitive organisational and
institutional behaviour is impossible without the deployment of sufficient financial, material and
human resources. The Toolkit emphasises the need for the institutionalization of genderresponsive budgeting, as opposed to over-reliance on donor-funded gender programmes, to
ensure their sustainability and long-term impact.

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

4. A Conceptual Clarifications
The Toolkit (p.3) defines a gender responsive policy as a blueprint or guideline ... [that]
incorporates basic principles for addressing the imbalances and inequalities that have resulted
from culturally or socially-constructed differences between men and women in a given society.
Gender mainstreaming is both a cardinal and an over-arching strategy for ensuring the
effectiveness of gender policy; it threads through all policy components. The concept of gender
mainstreaming is predicated on the Gender and Development analytical and policy framework
and it has assumed widespread usage in government and development policy discourse and
action. Mazey (2001:6) defines gender mainstreaming as, "A multifaceted, holistic and longterm strategy of integrating gender perspectives into all public policies in order to achieve
equality between men and women in and beyond the workplace." By gender perspectives is
meant the special needs and interests of women and men as a result of their societal roles and the
resultant relations of power and social positioning (i.e. gender hierarchy). It is these role and
power differentials that lead to the gender disparities that gender mainstreaming seeks to address.
According to Leo-Rhynie, (1999:8) gender mainstreaming in the educational sector entails,
The consistent use of a gender perspective at all stages of the development and
implementation of policies, plans, programmes and projects. In the education
sector, this would include not only the activities of governments, but also those of
schools, colleges and education institutions, and, where appropriate, those of
NGOs and the private sector as well. Mainstreaming gender differs from previous
efforts to integrate womens concerns into government activities in that, rather
than adding on a womens component to existing policies, plans, programmes
and projects, a gender perspective informs these at all stages, and in every aspect
of the decision-making process. Gender mainstreaming may thus entail a
fundamental transformation of the underlying paradigms that inform education.
Both definitions preclude the common ad-hoc and compartmentalized approach of adding on
courses and modules, and even departments to the plethora of academic programmes and organs
in existence. Rather it calls for a wholesale structural transformation in the way institutions of
learning mediate the acquisition and transmission of knowledge and skills which must be done in
manner that promote gender equality and equity. Leo-Rhynie (1999:7) asserts that,
Gender equality refers to sameness or uniformity in quantity, amount, value and
intensity of provisions made and measures implemented for women and men.
Equality can usually be legislated. Gender equity refers to doing whatever is
necessary to ensure equality of outcomes in the life experiences of women and
men. Equity is difficult to legislate: identical treatment may satisfy the equality,
but not the equity criterion.
This in turn requires paradigm shifts in institutional culture, organization and behaviour where
deliberate steps are taken, not merely to provide men and women with equal opportunities, but
to remove all forms of gender discrimination created and perpetuated by hidden and overt
patriarchal systems of thought and practice in order to guarantee corresponding and fair
outcomes for females. Leo-Rhynies (1999:9) concise definition of patriarchy is instructive: it

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation
refers to, the process whereby societal power is generally invested in men and the various
structures of society consistently assign inferior and/or secondary roles to women. Tobin
(1985:291 in Aluko, 1999:66) explains the link between patriarchy and gender inequality:
Patriarchy as a worldview assumes the alienation of women. It places the male on the
centre of reality and makes the masculine normative. In such a world order, women
cannot be anything but inferior since if the male/masculine is normative they are
different (abnormal). Where patriarchy as a worldview is in operation, symbols,
rituals and laws will perpetuate fundamental inequality.
In the context of higher learning this would imply among other things that the allocation of
resources, benefits and opportunities in terms of recruitment, appointments, promotions, training,
facilities, perquisites of office and participation/representation in decision-making bodies and
important events mirrors an unequal distribution of access and control over tangible and nontangible assets among women and men. Such gender disparities are neither reflective nor
constitutive of innate human capabilities or incompetence, as the case maybe, but rather of
underlying socio-cultural and organizational barriers and biases that facilitate or obstruct the
educational/career development of men and women respectively. It is pertinent to note, as ParaMallam (2006) argues, that patriarchy is not a simplistic categorisation of males against females,
for even females may act as pseudo-patriarchs when they adopt, adapt to and actively
perpetuate patriarchal principles and practices to obtain patronage or approval from the
prevailing system.
The primary effect of a patriarchal construct is that it renders people and organizations blind to
the gender-biases contained in routine social-political norms, regulatory frameworks and
practices; male dominance, male bias and female marginalisation or exclusion are perceived as
normal being the product of natural or divine origins. Consequently, systemic gender
discrimination6 is often obscured by the facade of gender neutrality. Hence, the ultimate aim of
gender policy in higher education is to deliberately build up a gender-sensitive institutional
culture that gives optimal opportunity for the development and utilization of the human
potentials of women and men.

5. The University of Jos Gender Policy

The Toolkit (2006:2) suggests that universities wishing to develop a gender-responsive policy
should use their own vision, mission statements and strategic plans as points of departure.
Accordingly, the preamble to the University of Jos Gender Policy (2006:1) while acknowledging
the gender insensitivity of its original philosophy, cites the need to go beyond its present gender
neutral disposition as a basic rationale for the policys existence. After briefly tracing the
history of womens participation and gender development in the University in Section 3, the
background statement to the Policy states in Section 2 that,
The philosophy of the University is to provide a comprehensive multi-disciplinary
programme for educational and human resource development, taking into consideration
the socio-cultural conditions and the unique higher education needs of the people
within its immediate catchment area.

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

To achieve this overarching aim the University identifies six objectives through which it 10
commits itself to excellence in research, teaching and community service; the training and
development of highly-skilled manpower to furnish national economic and environmental as
well as catchment area developmental needs, particularly in the humanities and sciences. The
document goes on to observe that despite the featuring of women in top-level university
positions as Professors, Faculty Deans, Deputy-Registrars, University Librarian etc., the
University maintains a gender-neutral disposition that does not provide a level playing field for
women and men.
It is partly the absence of a level playing field that necessitated the establishment of the
University of Jos Womens Association (UJWA) and the National Association of Women
Academics (NAWACS) in 1979 and 1996 respectively as well as various gender sensitization
and capacity-building initiatives under the auspices of the Jos-Carnegie Programme. For
instance, the GIT established the Female Support Initiative for the award of scholarships to
deserving students and it has organized gender training for Principal Officers7 and other key
office holders. Consequently, taking the 1999 Constitution, the NPW and the Convention on the
Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as points of departure the
University, through its Gender Policy (2006:3) commits to, take extra measures to promote
gender equity as part of its general
development programme.

Box A
Summary of UNIJOS Gender Policy
Objectives
To create a gender-friendly and environment
supportive of the identified special learning,
training and professional needs of women
and men as well as diversity and academic
freedom.
To mainstream gender perspectives into all
strategic plans, and institutionalize the
production and use of gender disaggregated
data.
To ensure gender sensitivity and nondiscrimination in University teaching,
research and administrative processes and
procedures (i.e. recruitment, admissions,
employment and service delivery).
To ensure University-wide participation of
the minority gender in all decision-making
organs and processes.

5.1.

General Objectives of
the Gender Policy

Section 4 of the Policy lists 10

objectives which may be summarized
into four as outlined in Box 2. These
objectives are consistent with the
Toolkit guidelines and those set out
as cornerstones of a gender
mainstreaming policy by Leo-Rhynie
(1999:9-10) as follows:
Obtaining a clear quantitative
picture of gender roles and
ratios in various levels and
areas of the educational system
using gender disaggregated
data;
Identifying possible factors
related to any gender gaps and
inequalities identified, and

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation
planning for the elimination of these factors;

11
Assessing the special educational needs, immediate and practical as well as long term and
strategic, of girls and boys, women and men, and planning specifically to meet these needs;
and
Ensuring that women and men share equitably in the designing, planning, decision-making,
management, administration and delivery of education, and also benefit equitably in terms
of access, participation and the allocation of resources.
Consisting with the guiding principles outlined in the Toolkit both sets of objectives prioritize the
need for gender disaggregated data, needs assessment, non-discrimination through
affirmative/positive action measures and participation in decision-making.

5.2. General Implementation Strategies

To fulfil the stated objectives the Gender Policy in Section 5 details a number of general and
specific implementation strategies that cut across 16 focal areas of coverage as highlighted in
Box B. All strategies and focal areas are to
16 FOCAL AREAS OF THE GENDER
be operatioinalised within the context of a
POLICY
Gender Management System (GMS).
Nancy Spence (1999 in Leo-Rhynie p. 5),
Director of the Gender and Youth Affairs
1. Admissions
Division
at
the
Commonwealth
2. Recruitment
Secretariat, defines the GMS as: A
3. Training and Staff Development
comprehensive network of structures,
4. Staff Welfare, Including Housing
mechanisms and processes for bringing a
Accommodation and Loans
gender perspective to bear in the
5. Student Unionism
mainstream of all government policies,
programmes and projects. It is the
6. Gender Disaggregated Data
primary modal put forward for
7. Gender Equity of Principal Officers of the
governments and institutions wishing to
University
mainstreaming gender in all sectors. The
8. Gender and HIV/AIDS
success of the GMS hinges on broad-based
9. Harassment (especially Sexual Harassment)
participation and consultation with all key
10. University Strategic Plans
stakeholders involved with the change
process.
11. Grievance Procedures

5.2.1. The University of Jos Gender

Management System
The
University
of
Jos
Gender
Management System has eight constituent
parts as displayed in Fig.2. The rest of this
sub-section underlines major factors and

12. Personnel and Appointments

13. Publications
14. Gender Sensitization
15. Honorary Degrees and Fellowships
16. Affirmative Action

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation
indicators of success for desirable policy outcomes within the context of the GMS. In addition, it
highlights important benchmarks in relation to some focal areas of the Policy as part of the 12
Administrative organs, processes and procedures.

5.2.1.1. The Gender Senate Standing Committee: The University of Jos GMS was
initially to revolve around a Gender and Diversity Committee charged with
overseeing spearheading and monitoring the implementation of all policy objectives
and strategies. Its functions include identifying the sources of and promoting equal
opportunities in the University, monitoring gender discriminatory practices and
processing complaints of such, organizing an annual gender and diversity week,
stimulating womens interest in direct participation in decision-making, and ensuring
University-wide compliance with the Policy. In reality, as a result of the ongoing JosCarnegie Programme the GIT remains the key driver of gender issues in the
University. Nevertheless, the original idea of the Policy drafters was to have a gender
focal point at the highest level of decision-making. Consequently, the proposed GDC
is now replaced with a Gender Senate Standing Committee which reports to the
Senate/Council through the Vice-Chancellor.
The ADEA Toolkit puts forward a number of suggestions on increasing female
participation in decision-making the primary gateway to promoting gender-balanced
organizational culture and practices. The GSSC needs to liaise with the Gender
Studies Institute (see below) to build a critical mass of female and male gendersensitive personnel to place in strategic positions in policy-setting and decisionmaking. Qualitative research methods (interviews and focus groups) could be
deployed to determine the psychological, socio-cultural and organizational barriers to
women participating in university governance.

5.2.1.2. The Gender Studies Institute: The GSI is the main organ for creating a genderfriendly learning, research and teaching environment including promoting gender as a
cross-cultural theme and developing academic programmes in gender, capacity
building in gender sensitization and mainstreaming, coordinating advocacy efforts
within the University and serving as a resource centre for government and nongovernment sectors. However, as shown in Fig. 2, there is also a Gender Advocacy,
which may cause overlap and duplication of functions.
Three critical intervention areas worth mentioning from both the UDEA Toolkit and
the EDF Gender Mainstreaming Manual (2006) in relation to learning, training and
research cover gender sensitization, gender analysis and curriculum development or
review. Gender training workshops/seminars/programmes must be tailored towards
getting participants to dig deep within their psyches to explore, interrogate, challenge
and change socially learned gender-biased attitudes and beliefs in public and private
spheres. Capacity building in gender mainstreaming must go beyond conceptual
issues to the transmission of professional skills gender-friendly research methodology
and methods, in gender analysis and gender-responsive budgeting (This will be
discussed in more detail in Section 4 below. See Appendix A for an overview of

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation
gender-budgeting tools proposed by Diane Elson and outlined in Budlinder and
13
Sharp, 1998).
Finally, concerted efforts should be made to identify remove male-bias inherent in
learning styles and all University curricula. Central to this is the insistence on the use
of gender-inclusive language for example labour power is preferable to the
manpower used in the Gender Policy (Section 2c.)

5.2.1.3. Student Union Government: The University is to ensure compliance by the SUG
with all Gender Policy guidelines particularly with respect to the participation and
representation of females in decision-making. The Policy requires that at least 30% of
all executive and legislative positions in the SUG, it committees and all other student
groups are occupied by women.
The 30% quota applies to the Universitys overall affirmative action policy and is
consistent with CEDAW and NPW specifications but falls short of the 35% required
in the National Gender Policy. The lapse provides adequate grounds for policy
review.
5.2.1.4.

University Committees: All ad-hoc and standing committees are to exhibit gender
equity in membership and structure. This means they are to uphold the principle of
equal opportunity in recruitment, admissions, representation and voice. It includes
search committees. Of particular importance are the three committees set up to
oversee gender issues namely: Sexual Harassment Committee, Gender Advocacy
Committee and Gender and Diversity Grievance Committees which are supposed to
be established in all University Faculties, Institutes and Centres consisting of
members from each department not below the rank of Senior Lecturer. They are to
handle all grievance matters relating to gender discrimination except sexual matters
which are referred to the Sexual Harassment Committee for onward referral to the
GSSC.
Once conspicuous omission with respect to sexual harassment and other grievance
procedures outlined in the Policy, is the exclusion of any discussion on gender-based
violence as highlighted under the Toolkit guidelines (no. 8). This is particularly
significant given the prevalence of violence against women and girls, which is also
and internationally acknowledged phenomenon. This led the United Nations
Committee on the Status of Women to devote its 2007 session to the elimination of
violence against women and girls. Since the Gender Policy objectives seek to
establish a safe, gender-friendly environment the silence on gender-based violence
needs to be broken.

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation
Fig. 2

The University of Jos Gender Management System

14

The Governing
Council
The ViceChancellor

Registry & MIS

Department

The Gender
Studies Institute

Gender
Senate
Standing
Committee

University
Committees
Sexual Harassment Com.
Gender & Diversity
Grievance Committees
Gender Advocacy Com.
All Committees

Administrative
Organs &
Procedures

Training & Development

Welfare, housing etc.
Recruitment/admissions
Health Services

Student Union
Government
(SUG)

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

5.2.1.5. The Registry and Main Information Systems (MIS) Department: These are 15
the two organs charged with generating and disseminating gender disaggregated data
on the gender composition of all faculties, departments and committees, identifying
gender gaps and maintaining a gender disaggregated database.
The Toolkit emphasizes the need for gender disaggregated data to be allencompassing. It must go beyond issues of gender composition to cover tangible and
non-tangible resource allocation to men and women to ensure not just equality of
opportunity but also equality of outcomes i.e. equity. For instance, womens work in
the unpaid care economy where they care for the family, the sick and elderly often
takes a heavy toll on their ability to take advantage of opportunities in public spaces.
There is a need to deploy both qualitative as well as quantitative methods to reflect
the gender disparities and underlying issues that create and perpetuate them. Such
data will provide vital information on the nature and amount of intervention strategies
required for gender balance.
5.2.1.6.

The Vice-Chancellor and the Governing Council: The GSSC reports to the
Senate and the Council through the Vice-Chancellor. It is important that Principal
Officers of the University, the Senate and the Council are gender-balanced in
composition. This is yet to be a reality in the University; remarkably despite the
existence of a Gender Policy that states a commitment to gender equity among
Principal Officers in Section 7.8, none of them is female.
As noted above a critical mass of gender-sensitized persons is required at the highest
decision-making levels if change in the gender archaeology of institutions is to take
place (Goetz, 1997). This is not about sprinkling a few token women in high
positions, but a general culture of building the capacity of both women and men to
imbibe and practice the principle of gender equality and equity for sustainable
change.

5.2.1.7.

Administrative Organs & Procedures: The Gender Policy impinges on all

administrative processes, particularly those dealing with recruitment, appointments,
training and staff development, welfare, housing and accommodation and health
service delivery. The intention is to ensure that gender perspectives are mainstreamed
into critical focal areas such as:

Strategic Planning
Grievance Procedures
Publications
Gender Sensitization and Sensitivity
Affirmative Action
HIV/AIDS and gender-specific health services
Support services for womens reproductive roles (e.g. maternity leave).

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

6. Critical Premises for Policy Review

The University of Jos Gender Policy is a laudable step in the direction of social change for
gender equality and equity. If implemented according to the spirit of its designers, and along the
Toolkit policy and system guidelines it would go a long way in impacting on the culture and
development of the catchment area and the society at large. Nevertheless, there are some
fundamental premises for Policy review to increase its efficacy. For instance, areas of repetition
and overlap exist in the Policy such as in the duplication of organs and responsibilities which
need to be specified more clearly to ensure a coordinated approach to gender mainstreaming
efforts. For instance, the roles of the Registry and the MIS in gender disaggregated data
generation, storage and retrieval are not clearly delineated.
The Policy should be reviewed in line with the provisions of the 2006 National Gender Policy,
most notably its specification of 35% affirmative action. Lovenduski (2001:744) contends that a
critical mass of 15% - 40% can turn a skewed minority into a tilted minority that is able to form
alliances and act as a coherent force to affect the dominant culture of their institution and in a
position to perform critical acts [] necessary to the feminisation of political institutions.
This is the essence of affirmative action policy.
The UNIJOS Gender Policy does not address the use of gender-inclusive language as an agent
for effectuating social change. Both the ADEA Toolkit and the Gender Mainstreaming Manual
in Education and Employment of the European Training Foundation underscore the critical role
of gender-inclusive language as a tool for promoting gender equality. Sadar (2008:8) asserts that,
Behaviour acquired in society is the classic definition of culture and language is the cultural
tool par excellence. Consequently, he alludes to a quantitative relationship between language
and change implying that language not only causes action but also constitutes action. The way
we use language is an action in itself. Equally significant, the Policy does not demonstrate
concern over the role of poverty in creating and/or perpetuating gender disparities and bias.
Consequently, it does not specify gender-specific pro-poor programmes to alleviate student
poverty, particularly of females who are more vulnerable to sexual coercion and intimidation.
Finally, to demonstrate its firm commitment to a safe and supportive environment the Policy
must be reviewed to include provision for disciplinary and enforcement measures that depict
zero tolerance for all manifestations of physical and non-physical gender-based violence. This
includes providing a safe haven for females experience violence beyond the confines of the
University environment.

7. Conclusion: Beyond Rhetoric to Bridging Resistance

The essential task of implementing a gender policy is not merely to persuade people, groups or
corporate bodies about the need for change. It is not always possible to persuade all those with
deeply entrenched interests to change their views about gender roles and relationships. But
gender equality/equity protagonists can strategise to transform the operational context such that
opponents come to see it in their own interest to change position. To do this equal opportunity

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ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation
employers, and indeed equitable outcome employers, must deploy and allocate resources
17
responsively to match rhetoric with action.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN AFRICA (2006)
A Toolkit for Mainstreaming Gender in Higher Education in Africa prepared by the
Working Group on Higher Education. African Association of Universities: Accra, Ghana.
BUDLENDER, Debbie and SHARP, Rhonda with ALLEN, Kerri (1998). How to do a gendersensitive budget analysis: Contemporary research and practice. Commonwealth
Secretariat: UK.
COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT (1999). Gender-Disaggregated Beneficiary Assessment
of Public Service Delivery and Budget Priorities. UK.
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WOMEN AFFAIRS (2006) The National Gender Policy.
EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION (2006) Gender Mainstreaming in Education and
Employment. European Communications Unit: Italy.
GOETZ, Anne-Marie (ed. 1997).
Getting Institutions Right for Women in Development. Zed
Books: London and New York.
LOVENDUSKI, Joni (2001). Women and Politics: Minority Representation or Critical Mass
in Parliamentary Affairs. Pp. 743-758. No. 54.
LEO-RHYNIE, Elsa (1999) Gender Mainstreaming in Education. A Reference Manual for
Government and Other Stakeholder. The Commonwealth Secretariat: UK.
PARA-MALLAM, O. J (2007) Nigerian Women Speak. A Gender Analysis of Government
Policy on Women. Verlag Dr. Mller: Germany, 2007.
SARDAR, Ziauddin (2008) The Language of Equality. A Discussion Paper. Equality and Human
Rights Commission: Manchester, UK.
THE UNIVERSITY OF JOS Gender Policy.

ParaMallam,O.J/ImplementingGenderinHigherEducation

End notes
1

The Toolkit was prepared by the Working Group on Higher Education of the Association for the Development of
Education in Africa and published by the Association of African Universities
2
The JCPC consists of a cross-section of senior members of staff of the University of Jos
3
The Senate is the highest policy making body of the University responsible for deciding on general policy
directives and academic programmes and issues. The Governing Council is the highest decision-making authority in
that it is responsible for ratifying the decisions made by the Senate.
4
It was funded by the Work Program Budget of the WGHE and a Ford Foundation grant to the AAU.
5
Other countries selected include Nigeria (UI), Uganda (Makere University), Tanzania (University of Dar es
Salaam), Zimbabwe (NUST) and Ghana (Ho Polytechnic).
6
Article 1 of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) defines
discrimination against women as, any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the
effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their
marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.
7
The Vice-Chancellor, Administrative and Academic Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Librarian, Bursar and Registrar.

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