Gender representation in academic geography in Catalonia (Spain): Towards a masculinization of the discipline?

In the mid-1980s Spanish geography seemed to be a success story in relation to gender and geography (Garcia-Ramon et al., 1988). But in recent years this positive aspect has been less marked, at least in Catalan geography. The total percentage of women staff has remained quite steady but the male:female ratio has significantly increased among younger age groups. Gender approaches to teaching and research in geography are still available in only a minority of departments in Spain. Contrary to the growing number of women geography staff in the English-speaking world, the image of geography in Spain today is more masculine than before, probably due to the fact that geography has moved from a more traditional to a more technical focus linked to the growth of professional practice outside the university. © 2004 Taylor and Francis Ltd.