Knowing or philosophizing? An epistemic injustice perspective on gender inequalities in academia

The underrepresentation of women professors signals the persistence of dynamics that inhibit women’s full participation in science. Using the lens of epistemic injustice, we highlight how gendered experiences of inequality are ‘unspeakable’. We focus on two women senior researchers from a medical science department at a Danish university whose interviews reveal how epistemic gaps manifest, showing how the women are unable or unwilling to express their experiences of gender inequality as unfairness and injustice. These gaps are shaped by contextual dynamics, including the postfeminist gender regime, the ideal researcher norm, the positivist research paradigm, and the meritocratic myth. We further mobilize ‘testimonial smothering’ to discuss how epistemic oppression may lead the women to self-silence, thereby reinforcing the status quo. The study highlights the need for adequate vocabulary that facilitates critical discussions about gender inequality which, in turn, may challenge the institutional and epistemic contexts that hamper these conversations.