College and University Faculty

Institution Type

Although the number of female faculty members has increased over the years, there is evidence that women are more likely to be employed at less prestigious universities and are less likely to work in tenure-track positions, regardless of institution type. The majority [Page 307]of faculty positions at elite universities continue to be filled by male faculty members. In the 2001-02 academic year, male faculty members represented 60 percent of the assistant professor positions at the top research universities. Similarly, a report issued by the American Association of University Professors revealed that in the 2003-04 academic year, male faculty members at doctoral institutions outnumbered women by two to one. In comparison, full-time faculty positions at community colleges were more likely to be held by women. During the 2005-06 academic year, 26 percent of women occupied tenured positions at doctoral institutions, 35 percent were tenured at master's institutions, 36 percent were tenured at baccalaureate institutions, and 47 percent held tenure at associate institutions.

One plausible explanation for the difference in numbers of female faculty members across institution types is that disparities are the result of one's field of study-that men are more likely to earn degrees in science and engineering and top research universities are more likely to hire within those fields. However, this is not always the case, as demonstrated by recent data indicating that although 45 percent of doctoral degrees in biology were awarded to women, only 30 percent of assistant professors among the 50 top research institutions were women.

Rank

Women are more likely to hold the ranks of instructor, lecturer, and assistant professor and are less likely to move up through the ranks than male faculty members. Sixty percent of male faculty members held tenured positions in 1998 compared with 42 percent of female faculty members. The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession reveals that in 2004, 26 percent of full professors were women compared with 74 percent of male full professors. According to the 2009 Almanac of the Chronicle of Higher Education, sex comparisons for the rank of full professor remained unchanged in 2007. In comparison, women represented 40 percent of associate professors, 47 percent of assistant professors, 54 percent of instructor positions, and 53 percent of lecturer positions.

The pipeline argument, that women are in the pipeline and will eventually advance at a rate equivalent to their male counterparts, has been used to explain discrepancies and rank and tenure. Nevertheless, despite the fact that women represent half of the doctoral population, women have not been promoted up the academic ranks at the same rate as men, and attrition is higher for women at the assistant professor level. There is also evidence that in recent years, tenure has declined, particularly for women. A report by Robin Wilson in The Chronicle of Higher Education revealed that tenure offers to women at Harvard have decreased since 2001. In addition, recent studies have also revealed that it takes longer for women to reach the status of full professor, particularly at doctoral institutions.

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