The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on institutional change processes and the collective capabilities of higher education and research institutions

Fernanda Campanini Vilhena; María López Belloso; Lut Mergaert

doi:10.5565/rev/papers.3166

El impacto de la pandemia de COVID-19 en los procesos de cambio institucional y las capacidades colectivas de las instituciones de educación superior e investigación

Autores/as

Fernanda Campanini Vilhena Universidad de Deusto https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0906-0598
María López Belloso University of Deusto https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4857-2967
Lut Mergaert Yellow Window https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4692-1097

PDF (EN)

Resumen

La pandemia de COVID-19 y las políticas públicas adoptadas para hacer frente a la crisis subsiguiente tuvieron un impacto significativo en las instituciones de enseñanza superior (ES) y de investigación, lo que captó la atención de numerosos estudiosos. Sin embargo, la mayoría de estos análisis, especialmente los que adoptan una perspectiva de género, se han centrado en el impacto sobre las mujeres como individuos (capacidades individuales) y han prestado poca atención al impacto sobre las instituciones y los procesos de cambio estructural (capacidades colectivas). El enfoque de las capacidades (CA) es útil para analizar las desigualdades de género en la ES y también para examinar el impacto de la crisis en determinados grupos y situaciones. Partiendo de la adaptación de este enfoque de Robeyns (2003) y de Baser y Morgan (2008) para subrayar la importancia de las capacidades colectivas para los individuos, las instituciones y la sociedad en general, este artículo examina el impacto institucional de la pandemia basándose en la experiencia de seis instituciones implementadoras de los planes de igualdad de género (GEP) en el proyecto GEARING-Roles. Para ello, combinamos la investigación de fuentes secundarias con el análisis cualitativo de entrevistas en profundidad realizadas a representantes de estas entidades y observaciones de reuniones del proyecto llevadas a cabo entre abril de 2020 y junio de 2022. Nuestros hallazgos indican un impacto considerable en las capacidades colectivas de los agentes de cambio de las instituciones participantes, que derivan principalmente de la falta de compromiso institucional con la agenda de igualdad de género, las restricciones de movilidad y las limitadas relaciones sociales. No obstante, también emergen algunos elementos positivos, como la excepcional capacidad de los equipos para adaptarse a circunstancias adversas.

Palabras clave

igualdad de género, cambio estructural, universidades, Unión Europea, pandemia

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Biografía del autor/a

Fernanda Campanini Vilhena, Universidad de Deusto

PhD candidate at the University of Deusto (Spain) and member of the coordination team of the H2020 GEARING-Roles project. She holds a Master in Human Rights and Democratisation from the Global Campus of Human Rights (Europe). Her main research interests are gender equality policies, institutional change and gender-based violence.

María López Belloso, University of Deusto

María López (PhD) is a lecturer and researcher at the Social and Human Sciences Faculty at the University of Deusto, qualified as a Private University Professor and Associate Professor by Unibasq and with a six-year research period. She holds a degree in Law from the University of Deusto, MA in Humanitarian Action (NOHA) and a PhD in Human Rights. Her research is especially focused on the interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to human rights violations and gender equality. She has participated in several international research projects such as H2020 Gearing Roles, RESISTIRE or Socio Bee.

Lut Mergaert, Yellow Window

Research Director at Yellow Window (Belgium), holds a PhD in Management Sciences from Radboud University Nijmegen. Gender mainstreaming in research, the implementation of gender equality policies and institutional change are her main research interests. As gender expert she has published widely and has been involved in many Horizon 2020 projects.