Female Professors Face Inequity
Senior Women Faculty Can Influence and Improve University Climate
Jul 23, 2008
Women in modern universities know that female professors face inequity despite an emphasis on diversity and retention of women faculty. Women recount meetings in which colleagues say “...it must be that time of the month”, and others comment, “Well, we’re glad to have you, but please tell me you’re not going to do something stupid like getting married and having kids”.
Sadly, these are not isolated cases. University climates foster a leaky academic pipeline for women which is even leakier for underrepresented minority females. Numerous studies have addressed this problem, especially in the sciences, and although the findings remain disheartening in many respects, things are starting to look up as more women rise to positions of university leadership.
Discrimination Can be Deliberate or Unintended
Women leave the academy at nearly every stage of their careers, but they remain underrepresented on the faculty even in areas in which they earn a largest number of doctoral degrees. For instance, only 15.4 percent of full professors in the social and behavioral sciences and 14.8 percent in the life sciences are women, according to Inside Higher Ed. Although choices professors make about balancing academic and family do impact a professor’s decision to leave the university, other factors contribute to low retention of female professors in the senior academic ranks.
According to the September 19, 2006 article, "The Real Barriers for Women in Science" by Doug Lederman, females are “very likely” to face discrimination, either deliberately or inadvertently, in all fields of science and engineering, and minority women fare even worse. Inequity for women in science departments may be produced by a combination of bias for hiring men over women with identical accomplishments and assessment criteria that disadvantage women. For instance, “characteristics [thought]... to relate to scientific creativity, assertiveness and single-mindedness, tend to be given greater weight in hiring and promotion than traits such as flexibility, diplomacy and curiosity, and are also “stereotyped as socially unacceptable traits for women.”
This is not encouraging news. It’s especially troubling to think that some personality traits that are valued in males are still looked down upon in women. This speaks to gender differences in how men and women are socialized to communicate [Women Don't Ask, Babcock and Leschever, Princeton University Press, 2006].
Although things are starting to change, it is still the case in universities that assertive men are often viewed as “strong and clear-minded” and assertive women are labeled as “aggressive, and pushy”. It only takes a one such label for serious damage to be done to one’s ability to get a fair shake in the political world of the university.
Building a Climate of Real Gender Equity in Academia
The good news is that things are looking brighter; there are more women in positions of administration who are improving university climate for women, and senior faculty can actively support younger women experiencing “learned helplessness".
Learned helplessness occurs when individuals learn that no matter what they do, their performance does not translate into the desired outcome. Eventually, the individual becomes helpless and stops attempting to achieve the goal. This becomes so engrained that when contingencies change such that new efforts would make a difference, the individual will not try again for fear of failing. Most academics have experienced this phenomenon to some degree.
With the help of those who have weathered the storm, overcoming learned helplessness may become a little easier so strong women and men can be recognized for their clarity of thought, commitment to academics, and their ability to contribute great things to the changing modern university.
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