Gender (In)Equality: An Interdisciplinary Transformative Approach
An interdisciplinary summer school on transformative gender equality. As part of an international EU-funded research project (RE-WIRING), this course aims to address the root causes of persisting gender inequalities from various perspectives by using its unique transformative equality approach for fixing institutions, not women.
This summer school aims to equip participants with an in-depth understanding of Transformative Gender Equality using an interdisciplinary framework that identifies and challenges structural, institutional, and symbolic gendered power hierarchies. The course is organised as part of the “Realising Girls’ and Women’s Inclusion, Representation and Empowerment” (RE-WIRING) Project. The RE-WIRING approach—an intersectional and decolonial perspective—shifts the focus from “fixing women” to re-wiring institutions to foster real gender equality.
Students participating in this course will explore gender (in)equality in various domains, including education, employment, media, politics, law, and crisis contexts (e.g., climate, financial). The pedagogical approach of the summer school is built on interactive learning and learning by doing. Therefore, the summer school integrates lectures with various learning exercises such as group assignments, field trips, case studies and class discussions.
This program is suitable for students, researchers, professionals, and policymakers interested in gender studies, law, sociology, political science, psychology, economics, education, media studies, and human rights. The course is led by core members of the RE-WIRING international and interdisciplinary research team who have background in law, psychology, sociology, economics, and gender studies, see list of lecturers below.
Each day, the program will explore a specific dimension of gender inequality, such as education and employment, emphasising innovative approaches that challenge institutional structures rather than requiring women to adapt – following the discipline of the lecturer.
Lecturers
- Dr. Ajohche Awungjia (University of Western Cape, South Africa)
- Dr. Devran Gulel (University of Portsmouth, UK)
- Dr. Alexandra Lux (KU Leuven, Belgium)
- Dr Elena Ghidoni (University of Deusto, Spain)
- Anju Anna John (University of Deusto, Spain)
- Dr Ángel del Fresno-Díaz (University of Gdansk, Poland)
- Dr Caroline Perrin (University of Portsmouth, UK)
Dates: July 14-18, 2025
Location: Utrecht University Campus, Utrecht Netherlands
Organising Institution(s): Utrecht University
Course Level/Target Audience: The course is open to postgraduate students (e.g. Master, PhD, etc.) as well as young professionals from various fields interested in transformative gender-equality. We will consider applications also from final year Bachelor students that show a high interest in the course and prove a sufficient level of preparation in their motivation letter.
Assessment: Active Participation in lectures and discussions; certification, ECTS Credits (1,5 sp, kan niet erkend worden in het curriculum)
Registration deadline 31 May 2025
For more information see https://utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/law/gender-inequality-an-interdisciplinary-transformative-approach