Search results
1 – 10 of over 21000Helga Van Miegroet, Christy Glass, Ronda Roberts Callister and Kimberly Sullivan
Women remain underrepresented in academic STEM, especially at the highest ranks. While much attention has focused on early-career attrition, mid-career advancement is still…
Abstract
Purpose
Women remain underrepresented in academic STEM, especially at the highest ranks. While much attention has focused on early-career attrition, mid-career advancement is still largely understudied and undocumented. The purpose of this paper is to analyze gender differences in advancement to full professor within academic STEM at a mid-size public doctoral university in the western USA, before and after the National Science Foundation (NSF)-ADVANCE Program (2003–2008).
Design/methodology/approach
Using faculty demographics and promotion data between 2008 and 2014, combined with faculty responses to two waves of a climate survey, the magnitude and longevity of the impact of ADVANCE on mid-career faculty advancement across gender is evaluated.
Findings
This study documents increased representation of women in all ranks within the STEM colleges, including that of full professor due to ADVANCE efforts. It also demonstrates the role of greater gender awareness and formalization of procedures in reducing the variability in the time as associate professor until promotion to full professor for all faculty members, while also shrinking gender disparities in career attainment. As a result of the codification of the post-tenure review timeline toward promotion, more recently hired faculty are promoted more swiftly and consistently, irrespective of gender. Post-ADVANCE, both male and female faculty members express a greater understanding of and confidence in the promotion process and no longer see it as either a hurdle or source of gender inequality in upward career mobility.
Research limitations/implications
While data were collected at a single university, demographics and career experiences by women mirror those at other research universities. This study shows that within a given institution-specific governance structure, long-lasting effects on faculty career trajectories can be achieved, by focusing efforts on creating greater transparency in expectations and necessary steps toward promotion, by reducing barriers to information flown, by standardizing and codifying the promotion process, and by actively engaging administrators as collaborators and change agents in the transformation process.
Originality/value
This study addresses mid-career dynamics and potential mechanisms that explain gender gaps in the promotion to full professor, a largely understudied aspect of gender disparities in career attainment within STEM. It shows how institutional policy changes, intended to alleviate gender disparities, can benefit the career trajectories of all faculty members. Specifically, this study highlights the crucial role of codifying procedures and responsibilities in neutralizing subjectivity and inconsistencies in promotion outcomes due to varying departmental climates.
Details
Keywords
Maxwell Awando, Ashley Wood, Elsa Camargo and Peggy Layne
This study examines and describes the experiences and perceptions of women and men associate professors from various academic disciplines as they chart and navigate their academic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines and describes the experiences and perceptions of women and men associate professors from various academic disciplines as they chart and navigate their academic career trajectories.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a case study approach, we interviewed 11 purposively selected mid-career faculty members and five department heads.
Findings
Through the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), we identified issues of clarity, climate, self-efficacy, and gender disparity as major concerns for mid-career faculty.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to a research-intensive university in the southeastern United States. The small study population and unique context limit the generalizability of the study.
Practical implications
Findings of the study provide a lens for university and college administrators, human resources professionals, and other institutional leaders to view professional development programs for mid-career faculty members at their own institutions. The findings also suggest a need for improvements to current family-friendly policies to reduce gender bias and retain women faculty members.
Originality/value
This paper offers practical recommendations to higher education administrators and human resources professionals on how to positively cultivate a better work climate and culture for mid-career faculty members. It also offers suggestions on how to be sensitive to and improve gender equity among mid-career faculty in higher education.
Details
Keywords
Catherine White Berheide and Susan Walzer
This research explores whether gender affects faculty satisfaction with opportunity for advancement in rank at two elite liberal arts colleges in the United States.
Abstract
Purpose
This research explores whether gender affects faculty satisfaction with opportunity for advancement in rank at two elite liberal arts colleges in the United States.
Methodology
We analyze survey data from associate and full professors to identify predictors of satisfaction with advancement. Focus group and interview data supplement our interpretations of regression results.
Findings
The two colleges differ in the impact of gender, rank, perceptions of the full professor promotion process, and quality of department relationships on satisfaction with advancement. At one college, there is no gender difference, while at the other, women are less satisfied than men. The effect of gender at this college is fully mediated by department relationship quality.
Research limitations
This cross-sectional study was conducted at only two colleges. Interpretations of the quantitative results are inductively generated and not tested in the analysis.
Practical implications
We make recommendations to improve processes and pathways for promotion that recognize the role of department climates in fostering or hindering career progression. Gender may be less salient in contexts in which associate professors have positive department relationships and in which promotion criteria value their administrative service and other institutional contributions sufficiently.
Originality
Previous research about promotion to full professor has focused on research universities while we examine the issue at liberal arts colleges, institutions that emphasize undergraduate study.
Details
Keywords
Navigating the tenure and promotion process can be a daunting task for faculty members regardless of race or gender at institutions of higher learning. The purpose of this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Navigating the tenure and promotion process can be a daunting task for faculty members regardless of race or gender at institutions of higher learning. The purpose of this paper is to reflect the experiences of a Black female as she navigates the tenure and promotion process at a predominantly White institution (PWI), most of which have an organizational culture dominated by males.
Design/methodology/approach
The author describes the process that many faculty members undertake, identifies three levels of peer involvement, and discusses some of the issues that she faced during her efforts to advance from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor to Full Professor and the lessons learnt along the way.
Findings
The goal is to illuminate: the impact of personality and communication style on career advancement for Black women in academe, the feelings of apprehension that some Black female faculty at PWIs have regarding the impact of speaking candidly about their experiences and about diversity issues impacting the work environment, and the need for peer coaching to gain tenure and promotion.
Practical implications
There are no guarantees that peer involvement will make the process less daunting or improve the chances of success for Black female faculty members at PWIs. However, this reflexive account provides insights into the process that can be useful to other Black females at PWIs, as well as, the faculty who mentor them and the administrators who seek to retain them.
Originality/value
Six tips for Black females who are going through the promotion and tenure process are set forth. Additionally, a model is proposed that describes peer involvement in faculty development.
Details
Keywords
Laura M. Crothers, Ara J. Schmitt, Tammy L. Hughes, John Lipinski, Lea A. Theodore, Kisha Radliff and Sandra Ward
The purpose of this paper is to examine the salary and promotion negotiation practices of female and male school psychology practitioners and university instructors of school…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the salary and promotion negotiation practices of female and male school psychology practitioners and university instructors of school psychology practitioners in order to determine whether salary differences exist between male and female employees in the field of school psychology, which has become a female‐dominated profession.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 191 female and 115 male faculty members and 148 female and 56 male school psychologists completed a survey regarding salary, negotiation practices, and job satisfaction.
Findings
Results suggest that females earn less than male colleagues, controlling for years of experience and degree attainment. No gender differences were found regarding faculty participants' willingness to negotiate for increased salary; however, males were more likely to negotiate for promotion. Likewise, no gender differences were evident in practitioners' salary and promotion negotiation attempts, although none were expected, given the salary schedule constraints unique to occupations in the field of education.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is limited to one profession, albeit both university faculty and school psychology practitioners, and was conducted in the USA, so the findings may have limited generalizability to other professions and/or in other countries.
Practical implications
The paper demonstrates that gender pay differences exist despite no differences in males' and females' willingness to negotiate for salary. Consequently, it is likely that pay differences between men and women are due to reasons other than individuals' education levels, years in position, and negotiation practices.
Originality/value
This is the first paper that tracks salaries and the negotiating practices of school psychologist trainers and practitioners. It also finds that male/female salary differences carry over into a female‐dominated profession.
Details
Keywords
Alissa Droog and Laura M. Bredahl
This paper aims to provide a case study of an ORCID promotion at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science, providing context for the importance of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a case study of an ORCID promotion at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science, providing context for the importance of education in ORCID outreach.
Design/methodology/approach
The three-month ORCID promotion used workshops and individual appointments to educate faculty about ORCID, identity management systems and research impact and scholarly communications.
Findings
A targeted and personal approach to ORCID promotion focused on education about why you might use this author disambiguation system resulted in 80% of the faculty within the School of Optometry and Vision Science signing up for, or using ORCID. Scaling an ORCID implementation to a larger group would likely benefit from a dedicated project group, and integration with existing institutional systems such as a requirement of an ORCID for internal grant applications.
Originality/value
Although time consuming, this small-scale ORCID promotion with one department reveals that a departmental approach to ORCID education may lead to larger conversations about scholarly communications and a stronger relationship between faculty and the library.
Details
Keywords
Regina Collins and Nancy Steffen-Fluhr
The purpose of this paper is to describe how one group of ADVANCE Project researchers investigated faculty co-authorship networks to identify relationships between women’s…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe how one group of ADVANCE Project researchers investigated faculty co-authorship networks to identify relationships between women’s positions in these networks, their research productivity and their advancement at the university – and to make those relationships transparent.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple methods for capturing faculty network data were evaluated, including collecting self-reported data and mining bibliometric data from various web-based sources. Faculty co-authorship networks were subsequently analyzed using several methodologies including social network analysis (SNA), network visualizations and the Kaplan–Meier product limit estimator.
Findings
Results suggest that co-authorship provides an important way for faculty to signal the value of their work, meaning that co-authoring with many others may be beneficial to productivity and promotion. However, patterns of homophily indicate that male faculty tend to collaborate more with other men, reducing signaling opportunities for women. Visualizing these networks can assist faculty in finding and connecting with new collaborators and can provide administrators with unique views of the interactions within their organizations. Finally, Kaplan–Meier survival studies showed longitudinal differences in the retention and advancement of faculty based on gender.
Originality/value
Together, these findings begin to shed light on subtle differences that, over time, may account for the significant gender disparities at STEM institutions, patterns which should be investigated and addressed by administrators. Lessons learned, as well as the novel use of SNA and Kaplan–Meier in investigating gender differences in STEM faculty, provide important findings for other researchers seeking to conduct similar studies at their own institutions.
Details
Keywords
The International Association for Manage‐ment Education (AACSB) historically has been a strong supporter of the business disciplinary communities that have served to create and…
Abstract
The International Association for Manage‐ment Education (AACSB) historically has been a strong supporter of the business disciplinary communities that have served to create and protect a much narrower definition of faculty qualifications. Research has supported the notion that business schools have often selected and rewarded faculty for their academic credentials and for their ability to conduct empirical research regardless of institutional type. In recent studies following the introduction of the new AACSB stan‐dards, deans surveyed generally anticipate only modest changes in the credentials and research expectations for their faculties. This multiple case study investigated dean and management and marketing chair and faculty perceptions of the potential impact of the new AACSB faculty qualifications standards on hiring, tenure, and promotion criteria at four comprehensive universities. Generally, respondents expected little opportunity for selection, tenure or promotion of faculty with doctorates outside traditional business disciplines and no opportunity for those considered professionally qualified.
Details
Keywords
This chapter focuses on the barriers women of color (WOC) in the professoriate face in their pursuit of tenure and promotion and provides selected strategies that build bridges…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the barriers women of color (WOC) in the professoriate face in their pursuit of tenure and promotion and provides selected strategies that build bridges for their success. It draws on critical race theory (CRT) to identify structural as well as individual changes that must be made in academe. The chapter addresses selected strategies for African-American, Latina American, and Asian/Pacific American women to successfully traverse the perilous road from untenured assistant professor to tenured full professor. The Newcomer Adjustment framework of the Organizational Socialization Model (OSM; Bauer, Bodner, Erdogan, Truxillo, & Tucker, 2007) is used as a systematic approach to addressing barriers and building bridges for WOC in the professoriate. Gaps in the research are also identified.
The purpose of this paper is to determine the most fair, authentic, and reliable elements to include in a portfolio of faculty work, specifically at teaching-centered…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the most fair, authentic, and reliable elements to include in a portfolio of faculty work, specifically at teaching-centered institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines and evaluates relevant literature pertaining to faculty portfolios of work and recommends portfolio formats for teaching-centered institutions.
Findings
The author concludes that the four most essential components of a faculty member’s portfolio at a teaching-centered university are mindful student evaluations, critical peer evaluations, a sample of teaching materials, and evidence of collegial behavior.
Originality/value
This paper is valuable for administrators, deans, and department chairs who are evaluating their current rank, tenure, and promotions criteria and processes.
Details