Gender Inequality in the Academia: Precipitate of Antimonies in the Igbo Language and Culture (Published)
In the recent past, language studies stress language and gender issues in relation to sexism – a dynamic field in Sociolinguistics. Sexism as discrimination and prejudice based on sex as a natural phenomenon is a man-made huddle created by men to exhibit power. Even when the language of a speech community is not fully sexist like Igbo language, sexism is stressed in such an environment out of a decision based on status quo bias. Thus, the decision-making model of Baron (2008) on maintaining status quo bias is found a useful anchor for this study. This paper reports a survey on sexism as a phenomenon not fully ingrained in Igbo language, yet, highly exhibited in the culture. To this end, a descriptive survey was employed on the administration of selected universities in five South-eastern Nigeria states. An in-depth interview was administered soliciting views on this practice of inequality in the academia as a model and center for equality. The findings reveal that females are less involved in the higher levels of the university administration as a result of status-quo bias. A significant use of this study is that it lays bare the unnecessary bias against women, and proves that language is not necessarily the cause of sexism, but men. By suggestion it encourages women not to be tendentious against themselves
Keywords: Gender, Igbo Language, Inequality, academia, status quo bias