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ERIC Number: EJ1045677
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1556-763X
EISSN: N/A
Gender Differences in Promotion Experiences at Two Elite Private Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States
Berheide, Catherine White; Christenson, Lisa; Linden, Rena; Bray, Una
Forum on Public Policy Online, v2013 n1 2013
In colleges and universities throughout the United States, women are underrepresented at the rank of full professor. This national pattern holds true at two highly selective small private liberal arts colleges in the Northeast, one formerly a men's college and the other formerly a women's college. Analysis of personnel data at the former women's college revealed that female full professors in the natural and social sciences, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) spent an average of a year longer as an associate professor than their male peers before their promotion. These women were also more likely than were men to have served as department chair or program director while an associate professor. This service delayed their promotion by an average of 2.5 years. In response to a survey of 143 associate and full professors at these two liberal arts colleges, the majority indicated that they were not getting feedback on their progress toward promotion to full professor and that their senior colleagues were not providing help. Analysis of variance showed that gender was associated with faculty perceptions of the promotion process at the former women's college but not the former men's college. Focus groups of STEM women at these two institutions revealed that this lack of feedback and lack of mentoring decreased the likelihood that they would apply for promotion to full professor. Analysis of salaries revealed a gender gap in wages at the former women's college that was greatest for full professors. If colleges and universities develop personnel procedures for providing feedback to associate professors about their progress toward meeting the standards for promotion to full professor, women would be more likely to be promoted in a timely manner.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 0820080; 0820032