Women’s networking in Spanish academia: a ‘catch-all’ strategy or strategic sisterhood?

Abstract

The relevance of networking in academia and the gendered dynamics involved are well established in the literature. The persis- tence of the old-boy network pushes academic women to rationa- lize whether or not to ‘play the game’ and under what terms. Inspired by Feminist Institutionalism, this article explores the sche- mas of interpretation which academic women rely on to find mean- ing and to guide day-to-day relational dynamics. Drawing on 40 in- depth interviews with women from different age-groups and dis- ciplines, three distinct approaches to networking are revealed in Spanish academia: rejection, collaboration and strategic sisterhood. Rejection refers to the detachment from all network dynamics, collaboration to the ‘catch-all’ (though not exclusively) cross- gender network connections, and strategic sisterhood to an in- built women-only support system. The inbreeding university logic, crucial to understanding Spanish idiosyncrasies, emerges as a transversal dimension to further our understanding of how the institutional context influences women ́s strategic choices. The operationalization of academic merits and perceptions about the old-boys dynamics and female solidarity mark different ways of experiencing networking, while gender inequalities (partly) unify women’s discourses. Controversies are raised about collaborative strategies, and particularly women-only networks, in helping women evolve as agents of change in academia.