Gender Equity and Higher Education Reform in Austria

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the Austrian universities have slowly but steadily become ‘feminized’.¹ During the 1970s, Austrian universities saw an immense expansion in terms of both facilities and personnel. Greater options for participation increased the plurality of scientific approaches and modernization of the research landscape, and democratization of participation for assistants and students moved to the centre of higher education policy In this context, although providing more access for women was not an explicit political goal of reform, Austria has successfully increased women’s participation numerically across social backgrounds, and the widening participation of women in the tertiary sector has led to a substantial increase of female participation at the universities as well. For example, the rate of women increased among the first-year students from 30% in the academic year 1970/1971 to 53% in the academic year 2002/2003.