Reinforcing Patriarchy: Internalized Misogyny and Narcissism Among Female Faculty in Gender-Segregated Colleges

The Present study investigated the relationship between internalized misogyny and narcissistic traits among female academics in all female-only public and private sector colleges, exploring their role in perpetuating patriarchal norms within spaces ostensibly designed to empower women. Method: Data were collected from n=300 female lecturers. Internalized misogyny scale and Narcissistic traits measures were used to assess the study variables. Findings: Correlational analyses revealed that internalized misogyny was moderately associated with narcissistic traits (r = .45, p < .001), age (r = .42, p < .001), and negatively correlated with job sector (r = -.55, p < .001), indicating higher levels among older faculty and those in government institutions. A one-way ANOVA demonstrated significant age-related differences in internalized misogyny (F (3, 296) = 8.5, p < .001, η² = .08) and narcissism (F (3, 296) = 4.2, p = .006, η² = .04), with post hoc tests showing lecturers aged 55-59 scored highest. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that narcissism alone accounted for 15% of the variance in internalized misogyny (β = .38, R² = .15), while the addition of age and sector increased the explained variance to 40% (β-age = .30, β-sector = .50, R² = .40). Conclusion: These findings imply that internalized misogyny among female professors is influenced by both individual psychological adaptations and institutional circumstances that reward conformity, emphasizing the contradiction of patriarchal reinforcement in women-only academic environments. Addressing such dynamics may necessitate not only targeted faculty development centered on critical gender consciousness but also broader institutional audits and policy reforms that challenge normative hierarchies and promote structural transformation over time.