Chapter 2: Patriarchal Structures in Neoliberal University Discourse and the Consequence of Gender Segregation

The mode of production of history, including that of science, must always be examined with a view to gender relations. In this way it can be determined how the development of productive power, the division of labor, domination and ideological legitimation develops (Haug, 2005). Gender relations are always brought up and discussed as women’s issues. The grand gender relations, which include the submission of women, are known and established. The current social discourse is now self-responsibility, meaning that every person is responsible for his or her own life, successes, and failures, without external influences and social conditions being considered as possible causes. Thus, it seems that the manorial gender relations are no longer up-to-date, and women and gender are disappearing from the new way of life, that is, those with a focus on personal responsibility and performance (Haug, 2005). At first glance, this does not seem to be a problem, as the gender relationships no longer seem relevant. However, to be a winner in the new neoliberal world, women must not take responsibility for others to be able to do justice to the performance and availability demanded of them by society. So far, however, the concern for people and their reproduction is still being pushed back to women (Haug, 2005). A power imbalance between the sexes can still be seen here. To find a solution to this imbalance, everyone should feel responsible, but this responsibility is pushed away by men who make this into a women’s issue. In science and research, these topics then are categorized as women’s issues, which are only discussed on the fringes of university operations.