Previous research has examined the phenomenon of women "opting out" of the corporate environment. Much of this research has examined both "pull" factors--those of home and family life, and "push" factors--those within the organization which create a competitive environment where women feel they cannot achieve the same measure of success as their male counterparts. Similar forces, which create push in the corporate environment, are also present in academia preventing female academicians from achieving an equal presence in the higher levels of academia as their male counterparts. While the makeup of postsecondary education among students has reached a more balanced ratio in bachelors, masters and doctorial degrees, the gender make up of tenured professors and administrators in the academy still lags behind. The existence of this phenomenon presents similar loses and opportunity costs for universities as experienced by industrial organizations. This leads to the following questions; 1) How wide is the faculty and leadership gender gap in academia, 2) How have these gaps manifested in academia, and 3) What are the direct or indirect costs associated with this employment gap? The answer to these questions may lead to extensive additional research opportunities to discover strategies and guidance in the resolving these problems. (Contains 43 footnotes and 2 figures.)