Equity in doctoral education: policy or action?

This chapter presents four distinctive perspectives to scrutinise the realisation (or lack thereof) of equity in doctoral education. At a personal level, the reflections presented here explore individual experiences of (in)equity, emphasising how personal biases and subjective experience influence one’s engagement with equity issues. At the institutional level, the chapter investigates how organisational structures and policies either facilitate or hinder equity. The authors also seek to examine the role of political leverage in shaping equity agendas, scrutinising how political dynamics and power structures affect the prioritisation and implementation of equity in doctoral education. While acknowledging instances of excellent equitable practices across many higher education institutions, the purpose of this chapter is to spotlight areas where these practices are absent but have potential for implementation.