Gendered horizontal stratification in public universities in Türkiye

Abstract

This study examines the reproduction of gender-based horizontal stratification in income-generating research centers of public universities in Türkiye. Drawing on structural inequality theories and the gendered organization approach, universities are conceptualized as segmented labor markets in which revenue-producing units are marked by status and economic value. Using a dataset covering 130 public universities and 2451 research centers, the analysis compares the distribution of gender across research centers and between universities founded before and after 2000. Chi-square tests show that men are concentrated in high-status, revenue-oriented units, while women are more represented in pedagogically and communication-oriented centers associated with traditionally feminized organizational functions. Findings show that gender-based horizontal stratification persisted despite the formal legal equality reforms introduced after 2000; universities established after this period exhibited even higher levels of gendered segmentation than those founded earlier. These patterns suggest that managerial positions in income-generating institutional units remain characterized by pronounced gender disparities and that formal legal equality, defined here as the removal of discriminatory provisions from law, has not on its own translated into substantive equality within institutional practice.