Top university managers and affirmative action

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse if the existence of equal opportunity legislative frameworks and affirmative action programs make any difference to the way senior managers perceive the role of top university managers in influencing women's position in their institutions. A comparative study was therefore undertaken between a country with traditions in implementing AA in universities – Australia – and another which has no tradition in this domain – Portugal. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative methodology was chosen to collect and analyse data. A total of 44 interviews with male and female university senior managers – 21 in Australia and 23 in Portugal – were conducted by the principal researcher in each country. Findings – When describing the role of top managers, gender equality was not often mentioned, suggesting that it may not be a topic on the current institutional political agenda either in Australia or in Portugal. When specifically asked about gender, respondents considered that Rectors and VCs in the two countries took opposite positions with Australian VCs being more aware of their role in improving gender equality. The study therefore concluded that the existence of equal opportunities frameworks and AA policies may have an influence in increasing top managers’ awareness of their roles in improving women's representation in management teams. Research limitations/implications – The research was restricted to public universities. In Portugal the system is more diverse and comparing HE with private and polytechnic institutions could provide important insights about senior managers’ roles in relation to improving women's position in HE. More in‐depth qualitative studies are needed, to obtain top managers’ perceptions of the variables that impact on their views and attitudes to women in senior management. Practical implications – This study provides new and innovative contributions to knowledge about the perceptions of senior managers of their top managers and their roles in eliminating gender discrimination and the influence of affirmative action in HE in these perceptions. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of using affirmative action programmes by analyzing a dimension which has not been explored – its impact on senior managers’ perceptions of their role in promoting gender equality in HEIs.