Resistances to gender mainstreaming in higher education: insights from Schools of Education

This article examines the manifestations of resistance to the inclusion of gender perspectives in teaching within Catalonia’s Schools of Education. Drawing on feminist institutionalism, the study conceptualizes resistance as a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing individual-institutional and active-passive dimensions. Based on 24 semi-structured interviews with faculty members across five Schools, the research explores resistances and the underlying factors that enable them. Findings reveal that most resistances take the form of passive, subtle behaviours, shaped by factors such as institutional inertia, academic freedom, and the marginalization of gender perspectives within education disciplines. Despite the inclusion of gender equality in official policy agendas, the lack of enforcement mechanisms often relegates these mandates to symbolic gestures, limiting transformative change. Furthermore, active resistances, including denial, trivialization, and ridicule, emerge when institutional cultures or practices are directly challenged. The study demonstrates how resistances reflect deeper power struggles and offers insights for studying policy enactment in universities.