I've come to this having been inspired by two of the main posters here on another thread. Series of rather rambling 'male lecturer' comments follow.
I have to say I find universities oppressively sexist in many ways. At one level, the student body is given freedom to act as it wishes, and in enclosed environments makes the sexism of everyday life more extreme. There is a culture of misogyny and violence (verbal and physical) which goes much deeper than I feel it did when i was an undergrad a decade ago. A large number of women seem to have internalised these messages: I deal with unexpected pregnancies which to me seem like rape (too drunk to consent) but to the women struggling seem like just part of student life; a female Entertainments officer ran a campaign promising 'Nites as big as my titz', a women's officer (ffs) turned up for Hustings on her way to a vicars and tarts party (she wasn't clerically garbed) and won on a promise of chocolate cake. There is a huge 'irony' excuse which allows men to do very much as they please, silences debate, and staff are caught in a real bind trying to police student space outside of academic contact. So we try and pick up the pieces and go on. But amongst it all are some dedicated feminists and their male allies who tear down the posters advertising using semi-naked women, fight, and allow some to experience and explore feminism and feminist ideas for the first time. It feels looking down from the ivory (well crumbling brickwork) tower that they're perpetually outnumbered, but they are there.
Academic departments vary, but the most striking aspect of it to me (in contrast to my older female colleagues) is how casual sexism has become, even as it has become less acceptable or important professionally. The (male) lecturer shagging (female) student is part of folklore and accepted in a way gay relationships or female lecturer-male student relationships are not. I've heard respected colleagues fuming at maternity cover and claiming it means women shouldn't be employed, and walked out of 'manly' chats about how it doesn't matter if fit female students are thick because you can always think of your cock in their mouth when they're speaking. But, strangely, I've seen the same colleagues demand all-women shortlists for jobs, and go to the wall for talented female students they feel are being picked on by others.
And then there's the structure of the profession. Any academic (myself included) with a working partner is going to get clobbered when they become a parent (we work so flexibly it's always going to be us looking after them if child care fails or is too expensive, and losing nine months of research to leave can cripple careers) and will need to be a parent fairly early in their career unless they have a much younger partner. And that seems to hit women hardest, even though you would hope it wouldn't. To say nothing of the fact that one female colleague has no pictures of her family on the wall for fear of looking unprofessional, while one male colleague rings up to cancel a lecture because he's covered in shit from changing a nappy (badly, one assumes, I've never managed to achieve shit coverage so extensive I needed deep cleansing). But then there are sympathetic colleagues who respond, and they're of both sexes, because we appreciate that the renewal of our fields, the things that make us work long hours for relatively low pay, can only take place if we are open to the brilliance of women such as Jazzicatz and Little Red Pumpkin.
Sorry this is turning into The History Man. Ultimately, I think universities are horribly sexist, but then so is life (and neither should be stood for). But they are also an environment where in contrast to being expected to look just slutty enough you can turn up for work (well, lectures) in PJs and Ug boots; read what you like, find a sympathetic ear which transcends generational and student-lecturer divides, and have the time to explore your politics and activism. They are a deep well of targetted anger and intellectual resource which can be drawn on to change the world in some way. And I'll be standing on the sidelines cheering yet another generation of women who discover that they are not alone in being sick and tired of being sick and tired, that there are deep intellectual, historical and moral roots for all they do and all they wish, and that they can change the world in small and huge ways.
Blimey, wish there was an RSI face. Wish it answered the question.