A phenomenological approach to female experiences in academic postgraduate settings in northern Brazil: Gender asymmetries and disparities

Abstract

In Brazil, despite the growing female participation in higher education, gender disparities remain a barrier to scientific advancement, with women facing many challenges in their scientific careers. This study examines the challenges female postgraduate students face in higher education, including obstacles and support systems, beyond traditional subject-object perspectives. To understand the meanings of the participants' experiences, the participants' dialogues were analyzed using Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology. They were selected using the linear Snowball Sampling Method. Lack of institutional support, inflexibility of the programs, mental and physical exhaustion, difficulties in balancing motherhood and academic duties, homophobia, excessive emphasis on productivity, and the pandemic context were the main challenges raised by participants. Psychological support, peers' bonding, and faith and spirituality were some of the avenues for care available in this setting. The university's psychological service was cited as a resource for students' mental health. Institutional support for health promotion was cited as both important and necessary, as well as an ethical-political training ground that may help to reduce existing inequities, particularly given the intersections of gender, race, and parenting, because the academic environment continues to be permeated by practices that severely contribute to the perpetuation of male chauvinism, homophobia, and a variety of other forms of gender violence.