‘A Fair Chance for Education: Problematising Access and Mapping Gendered Pathways to Higher Education in India Conference’ was jointly organised by the University of Warwick and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai, and was funded by the Fair Chance Foundation (FCF). The conference took place via Microsoft Teams on Thursday 15th July, 2021 and Friday 16th July, 2021 (see full conference scheduleLink opens in a new window).

The 2021 FCF Conference ReportLink opens in a new window

The conference included a presentation on the FCF Project:

- Watch presentation recordingLink opens in a new window

Background:

‘A Fair Chance for Education: Gendered Pathways to Educational Success in Haryana’ is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research project led by the University of Warwick School of Law and Department of Education Studies. It is a five-year research project that seeks to examine the gendered factors that shape educational choices for young people in Haryana, India. The project investigates gendered social relations and gender differences in choices, obstacles and opportunities for young people as they progress through the education system to higher education, and we are also developing a programme of outreach activities that can bring about positive social change.

Through this conference, the project aimed to share its findings as well as engage with an academic analysis of conceptualisation of access, gender, intersectional inequalities, unequal choices in higher education (HE) in India. We aimed to bring together practitioners, academics and researchers from across India and internationally to discuss the various facets of HE in India, with a focus on gender, access and choice in HE, HE policy and methodologies to research access to HE. We aimed to add to and encourage robust knowledge production and sharing in the Indian HE research space.

Themes of the conference:

• Problematising Access, choice, affirmative action, widening participation and outreach activities within HE
• Gender, social class, Dalit communities, religious minorities and access to HE
• Families and communities and educational pathways to HE
• Policy on Higher education and gender
• Methodologies for researching gender and HE

Organising committee:

• Anjali Thomas, University of Warwick; Julie Mansuy, University of Warwick; Ann Stewart, University of Warwick; Emily Henderson, University of Warwick; Nikita Samanta, University of Warwick; Nandini Manjrekar, TISS Mumbai

Plenary Panel: