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Corporatisation is linked to top-down managerialism and the redefinition of academics as neoliberal subjects, shifting equality discourse toward diversity and changing attention from staff to students.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-evisceration-of-equal-employment-opportunity-in-higher-education-australian-universities-review/595395/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-evisceration-of-equal-employment-opportunity-in-higher-education-australian-universities-review/595395.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Blitz","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What central argument does the paper make about EEO in Australian universities?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"EEO was introduced under social liberalism but became a casualty of the Dawkins reforms and wider university transformation, especially as corporatisation produced top-down managerialism and neoliberal subject formation.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the paper claim identity politics of gender and race shifted or disappeared?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It argues that, in this context, identity politics moved to the periphery or disappeared unless it could demonstrate market value.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the paper explain the change from staff-focused equality to student-focused concerns?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It highlights the shift away from the staff term in EEO by discussing the use of EEO versus EO and argues that commodification induces attention from staff to students.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},595395,1792165267,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":41,"preview_page_count":4},24464137899374,"https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nThe evisceration of equal employment opportunity in higher education  \nMargaret Thornton Australian National University  \nWith particular regard to gender, this paper considers the rise and fall of EEO in Australian universities over the last 30 years. The paper argues that EEO, a product of social liberalism, had barely been introduced before it became a casualty of the Dawkins reforms and the transformation of the university. Corporatisation resulted in top-down managerialism and the production of academics as neoliberal subjects. Within this context, identity politics either moved to the periphery or disappeared altogether, so far as staff were concerned. The discourse of equality was quickly displaced by new discourses, such as that of diversity, which better suited the market metanarrative. The market has also induced a shift away from staff to students, inviting the question as to whether EEO is now passé .  \nEqual employment opportunity (EEO) in Australia, if not exactly in its death throes, is in a parlous state after a very short time. I propose to present an overview of the life of EEO in higher education, which could be a valedictory address. As a product of social liberalism, EEO has been corroded by the contemporary preoccupation with the market and profit-making. Instead of the common good, the focus is now on promotion of the self within the market.  \nLike other areas of public life, higher education is captive to the contemporary imperative to commodify and privatise. The corporatisation of universities has made them more like businesses. This has resulted in changed forms of governance, including top-down managerialism, perennial auditing and the production of higher education workers as neoliberal subjects. Within the contemporary context, the identity politics of gender and race have either moved to the periphery or disappeared altogether, unless they can be shown to have use value in the market.  \nMy title includes the phrase EEO (equal employ-  \nment opportunity) ratherthan EO (equal opportunity) . Although the terms are often used interchangeably, theomission of the word ‘employment’ signifies the notable shift that has occurred from staff to students as a result of the commodification of higher education. I would not want to suggest that concern for students is a bad thing, except that the change has been induced by economic rather than academic considerations. However, it is not just the erasure of the word‘employment’ that is of concern, for even the phrase ‘equal opportunity’ sans employment tends to be treated as passé, having been largely displaced by the softer term of diversity.  \nI consider the rise and fall of EEO in the academy over the last three decades within a dynamic socio-cultural context. In addressing the trajectory of change, I identify three phases, although I do not wish to be rigid about the lines of demarcation between them:  \n1. EEO in a chilly climate.  \n2. The Dawkins reforms.  \n3. The jettisoning of equality discourses.  \nvol. 50, no. 2, 2008 The evisceration of equal employment opportunity in higher education, Margaret Thornton 59  \nA U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \n1. EEO in a chilly climate: 1970s–1980s  \nThe Whitlam Government’s embrace of a social liberal agenda in the early 1970s created an environment in which the modernisation of the old patriarchal order was believed to be feasible. The struggle for equal opportunity in higher education emanated almost exclusively from the women’s movement, as did the struggle for the enactment of anti-discrimination and equal opportunity measures within Australia generally. While the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) was an initiative of the Whitlam Government, its companion legislation, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth)(SDA), was delayed as it was more contentious.  \nLike other public institutions, universities had long been the preserve of ‘","cbCaihahUmhBdYdo","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihahUmhBdYdo","pdf",194096,12,"English","# EEO in a chilly climate: 1970s–1980s\n## Legislative foundations\n## Patriarchal norms and academic gender composition\n## Career barriers and stereotypes\n## Activism and the sex discrimination legislation","[{\"question\":\"What central argument does the paper make about EEO in Australian universities?\",\"answer\":\"EEO was introduced under social liberalism but became a casualty of the Dawkins reforms and wider university transformation, especially as corporatisation produced top-down managerialism and neoliberal subject formation.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the paper claim identity politics of gender and race shifted or disappeared?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that, in this context, identity politics moved to the periphery or disappeared unless it could demonstrate market value.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper explain the change from staff-focused equality to student-focused concerns?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights the shift away from the staff term in EEO by discussing the use of EEO versus EO and argues that commodification induces attention from staff to students.\"}]","The evisceration of equal employment opportunity in higher education - Australian Universities’ Review | PDF",1792081062]