Shifting Patterns in Academia One Woman at a Time

• In Event: Interactive Roundtable Discussion Session

Short Description

During this interactive roundtable, two female scholars will present research on gender differences in academia and review the fundamental issues that create inequalities in a promotion. Our discussion will focus on: where we are, where we can go, and how we engender it. The research intent is to add to the field of discussion by reviewing current literature as well as attaining new practices to address the unconscious bias and systemic inequality in higher education.

Detailed Abstract

Problem, Need, & Significance
Historically women have been marginalized within the US workforce. Academia is one field in which this unconscious bias continues to influence the advancement of women in higher education. According the to American Council on Education (2017), in 2016, 30% of US college presidents were female. While this number has increased six percent since 2012, women continue to remain underrepresented in leadership positions in higher education and their pathways to those positions are significantly different (Hunnum et.al. 2015; Perry, J., & Gundersen, D., 2011; Stripling, J., 2012). Historically, women have been advanced at a slower rate than their male counterparts. As recognized by the inaugural Asilomar Declaration (2013), there is a call for a paradigm shift in leadership in the US workforce. The shift requires that inclusive hiring and advancement practices center on the the recognition of an individual and the qualifications and “fit” rather than the gender. National data from 2015 indicated that there were 612,329 faculty in the ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor. Of these faculty, 55% were male and 45% were female; however 36% more men held professor positions and 14% more females held instructor positions (National Center of Education Statistics, 2016). Unconscious bias and systematic inequity have been identified as primary barriers to the advancement of women in academia (Bingham, T., & Nix, S. J., 2010; Haveman, H., & Beresford, L., 2012; Winslow, S., 2010).

Framework
As the demographics in higher education shift, women continue to be disadvantaged in acedemia. Research has shown that there are policies and barriers to tenure and promotion that are laden with unconscious bias toward women. There is a significant body of research (Hunnum et.al. 2015; Perry, J., & Gundersen, D., 2011; Stripling, J., 2012) that supports the notion that women are often viewed as caretakers and followers as opposed to visionaries and leaders. As a result, women are often carrying the lionshare of the tasks and details related to shared governance and committees and often this work is not recognized in the tenure and promotion process.

Questions & Content
The session will address the past and present unconscious bias and gender inequality in higher education. It will consider current research that aims to build and strengthen women in leadership as well as advancement in higher education. Further, it will test best practices in transforming the tenure and promotion processes in academia.

Design
During the interactive roundtable participants will learn about the historically institutional and structural oppression regarding gender power differentials in academia. The discussants will review the fundamental issues that create inequalities and imbalances in tenure and promotion. The presentation will involve developmental research driven by audience participation. Our discussion will focus on: where we are, where we can go, and how we engender it? The research intent is to add to the field of discussion by reviewing current literature as well as attaining new practices and data from a well informed audience to address the unconscious bias and systematic inequality in higher education. Together, participants will share and examine best practices in implementing institutional change through research and experience and explore how these practices can be translated into transformational change through gender equity in academia.

Results, Findings, & Outcomes
The overarching goal of the session is to increase the number of women in leadership in academia. The goal is not only to diversify those in leadership, but also transform the processes by which women advance in higher education. As we continue this work we envision the number of women in advanced professorship and administration positions to increase, but this cannot happen without addressing pre-existing biases and institutional change. As a result of the discussion we are hopeful that processes and systems will change so that we redirect our recruitment, advancement, and retention strategies to foster the advancement of women in higher education.

Conclusions and Implications
The presentation contributes to a growing number of conversations in higher education regarding gender equity and equality. As a result of the discussion, participants will be able to discuss and form a network of support to begin challenging the inequitable systems of promotion and tenure practices that prohibit the advancement of women in academia at the same rate as their male counterparts. Recommendations for further research include analyzing the rate of promotion and tenure, including entrance levels, across the ranks and positions across institutions of higher education in the United States and abroad. This data could be used to examine the practices and barriers that have contributed to the underrepresentation of women in higher ranks and leadership in academia. Additionally, networks of professionals can lead in the creation of an equitable standardization of promotion criteria that is based on qualifications and “fit” rather than gender. This work is critical in addressing the inequities of the past and creating a pathway for future women who choose to pursue careers in higher education.

Presenters

• Tawnya Leigh Lubbes, Eastern Oregon University

• Shari Carpenter, Eastern Oregon University

• Carlos Peregrina, Eastern Oregon University