New managerialism in the academy: Gender bias and precarity
Autor/in:
Steinþórsdóttir, Finnborg S.; Brorsen Smidt, Thomas; Pétursdóttir, Gyða M.; Einarsdóttir, Þorgerður; Le Feuvre, Nicky
Quelle: Gender Work Organ (Gender, Work & Organization), 26 (2019) 2, S 124–139
Inhalt: In the era of global competition, academic institutions are increasingly being managed as efficient organizations where early career academics are the most vulnerable group in the academic hierarchy. We use gender budgeting to deconstruct the financial and managerial processes and procedures in a selected academic institution in Iceland. Drawing on multiple data collection methods, we argue that new managerialism enhances the precarious position of early career academics, especially women and those in the more feminized fields. Furthermore, we show that the system's bias in favour of so‐called hard science generates gendered consequences for early career academics. We demonstrate this structural gender bias in each of the first three stages of an academic career: PhD, postdoc and other temporary positions, and assistant professorship. By highlighting the gendered consequences of new managerialism, we want to direct attention to the need to include a gender perspective in the budgeting and all the decision‐making processes in academic institutions.
‘You must aim high’ - ‘No, I never felt like a woman’: women and men making sense of non-standard trajectories into higher education
Autor/in:
González Ramos, Ana M.; Räthzel, Nora
Quelle: International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 10 (2018) 1, 17 S
Inhalt: It is no secret that the ‘glass ceiling’ preventing women advancing to leadership positions exists in academia as well. Spain is no exception. Gender relations are usually investigated independently of other power relations like class and ethnicity. In our sample (80 men and women in different academic institutions across Spain) we found that not only women but also men from working class backgrounds have difficulties making successful academic careers. Therefore, we use an intersectional approach to investigate the relationship between gender and class. Comparing two life-histories, we explore what strategies individuals employ to overcome the barriers with which they are confronted. We present the stories of a woman with a middle class but non-academic background and of a man with a working-class background. Their strategies can be understood as the result of specific individual trajectories under specific societal conditions, but they also illustrate the barriers and possibilities men and women with non-standard backgrounds encounter in academia. Analysing successful strategies as well as their limitations, we aim to provide perspectives that might contribute to changing the culture of hegemonic masculinities in academia.
CEWS Kategorie:Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Diversity, Europa und Internationales, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Geschlechterverhältnis, Wissenschaft als Beruf
Challenging Explanations for the lack of Senior Women in Science? Reflections from Successful Women Scientists at an elite British University
Autor/in:
Chapple, Alison; Ziebland, Sue
Quelle: International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 9 (2018) 3, S 298–315
Inhalt: Despite many initiatives to improve diversity, women working in science in the UK are still under-represented at senior levels. There are few studies drawing on the accounts of successful women scientists about gender discrimination and workplace stereotyping. We interviewed 39 women scientists working at an elite British university. A qualitative thematic analysis drew on three controversial ‘explanations’ for gender inequality in science, which are variously challenged by our data. The women we talked to were all ambitious and successful and (unsurprisingly, given this success) did not suggest that they have personally experienced serious discrimination in their careers. Some conceded that perhaps other women may not reach senior positions in science because of social expectations, low confidence or a lack of support. A few had experienced, or heard of, negative consequences of stereotyping, implicit bias or a ‘boys’ network’, whereby men met outside work for activities such as pub visits or football, which were the main reasons given to explain why some women do not progress to senior positions. Encouragingly some described how gender stereotypes are being resisted; these women scientists are themselves role models for junior colleagues.
Guest Editorial: Gender and Masculinities in Careers and Leadership in Higher Education
Autor/in:
Sagebiel, Felizitas; White, Kate
Quelle: International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 10 (2018) 1, 6 S
Inhalt: This Special Issue, recognising vertical gender segregation in higher education, combines papers focusing on challenges for women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines in career progression and taking on leadership roles.
Schlagwörter:Führungsposition; Geschlecht; Geschlechtersegregation; Karriereentwicklung; Männlichkeit; MINT
CEWS Kategorie:Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Wissenschaft als Beruf, Naturwissenschaft und Technik, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Geschlechterverhältnis
Selecting early-career researchers : The influence of discourses of internationalisation and excellence on formal and applied selection criteria in academia
Autor/in:
Herschberg, Channah; Benschop, Yvonne; van den Brink, Marieke
Quelle: High Educ (Higher Education), 4 (2018) 2, 61 S
Inhalt: This article examines how macro-discourses of internationalisation and excellence shape formal and applied selection criteria for early-career researcher positions at the meso-organisational and micro-individual levels, demonstrating how tensions between the various levels produce inequalities in staff evaluation. In this way, this article contributes to the literature on academic staff evaluation by showing that Selection Committee members do not operate in a vacuum, and that their actions are inextricably linked to the meso- and macro-context. This study draws on qualitative multi-level data that comprise institutional-level policies, recruitment and staff protocols, job postings and individual-level interviews and focus groups with Selection Committee members. Findings show that a majority of Selection Committee members consent to university policies and macro-discourses when evaluating early-career researchers, but a smaller group questions and resists these criteria. Furthermore, the analysis revealed four inequalities that emerge in the application of criteria and reflect on disciplinary differences between the Natural and Social Sciences. The article concludes that with only a few Committee members to critically question and resist formal selection criteria, they limit the pool of acceptable candidates to those who fit the narrow definition of the internationally mobile and excellent early-career researcher, which may exclude talented scholars.
Are New Career Models for Science Research Emerging?
Autor/in:
White, Kate
Quelle: International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 10 (2018) 1, S 73–87
Inhalt: This paper explores how the traditional gendered model of science excellence impacts on the careers of women scientists. Using an Australian case study, it then examines the following aspects of science careers: what gives scientists job satisfaction; differing perceptions of how to build science careers; how networks, mobility and mentoring are fundamental to research careers; how gender is often a factor in science research careers; and huge generational change underway that is leading to new career models. The paper argues that these new models have the capacity to change the traditional gendered model of science careers.
Schlagwörter:Akademische Karriere; Arbeitszufriedenheit; career paths in science; Exzellenz; Frauen in der Wissenschaft; Gender; Geschlecht; Gleichstellung; Higher Education; Hochschule; Mentoring; Mobilität; Netzwerk; new career models; Österreich; wissenschaftliche Karriere; Wissenschaftskarriere
CEWS Kategorie:Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Wissenschaft als Beruf, Hochschulen, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, Geschlechterverhältnis
Gender differences in higher education from a life course perspective : Transitions and social inequality between enrolment and first post-doc position
Autor/in:
Lörz, Markus; Mühleck, Kai
Quelle: High Educ (Higher Education), 62 (2018) 3, 151 S
Inhalt: In the last decades, a vast number of post-industrialised economies have experienced a growing participation of women in higher education. However, men and women still differ with regard to their subsequent academic careers and labour market prospects. While several studies have disentangled the cumulative process of gender inequalities along the path to higher education, few studies cover two or more subsequent transitions in the academic career following graduation from upper-secondary education. We have investigated gender differences at five educational stages between graduation from upper-secondary education and the first post-doc position. To explain gender differences, we have integrated arguments of individual decision-making and educational, familial and work context conditions. This life course perspective leads us to propose several hypotheses on why the academic careers of men and women would differ in terms of transitions to the next education stage and graduation. We test our hypotheses using a longitudinal dataset which covers a large part of individual educational and academic careers of a cohort of students, beginning at the age of 20 years and extending up to the age of 40 years. Our results show that gender differences are more pronounced at the beginning of the academic career and tend to fade out at later stages. In particular, gender differences occur most strongly at transitions to the next educational stage rather than being caused by different graduation rates. These differences can be explained only to a very minor extent by performance. Separated analysis shows that men and women differ in their reasons to start or stop an academic career, with family circumstances in particular having different consequences.
Still a glass ceiling? : Tracing the limits to women’s representation in elected office
Autor/in:
Kroeber, Corinna; Marent, Vanessa; Fortin-Rittberger, Jessica; Eder, Christina
Quelle: Comp Eur Polit (Comparative European Politics), 8 (2018) 4, 437 S
Inhalt: Is gender equal representation in parliaments right around the corner? A large bulk of empirical and theoretical studies would lead us to expect growing numbers of female office-holders in legislative assemblies (see e.g. Matland 1993; Salmond 2006; Hughes and Paxton 2008; Davidson-Schmich 2007; Caul Kittilson 2006). These researchers argue that societal modernization tendencies continue to transform people’s and parties’ attitudes towards women’s political activity. In addition, women’s representation should unfold as a self-reinforcing process, because female legislators encourage and empower more women to come forward as candidates for legislative office. Consistent with these arguments, the world average of women in parliaments is increasing continuously (Inter-Parliamentary Union 2018). However, as Figure 1 clarifies, the steady growth of the world average proportion of female office-holders hides considerable variation: Countries like Australia, Germany, Croatia, Latvia, Mauritius, or Panama experienced decreases at some point during the last decade. Our recent publication at Comparative European Politics enhances our understanding as to how women’s representation develops over time by looking at the subnational level of government. ...
Schlagwörter:Frauen in Führungspositionen; Glass ceiling; Politikerinnen
CEWS Kategorie:Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Geschlechterverhältnis
The Triple Whammy: Gendered Careers of Geographically Marginalised Academic STEM Women
Autor/in:
Herman, Clem; Hilliam, Rachel
Quelle: International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 10 (2018) 1, 19 S
Inhalt: In this paper we explore how gender, non-standard job roles as well as location create a triple whammy affecting the visibility and therefore the career paths of women STEM academics. Drawing on data from interviews and surveys at a distributed university with locations across the UK, we examine the experiences of a group of ‘Regional Academics’ who are located at a distance from the main university campus, either in regional centres or as homeworkers, and show how gender intersects with distance and status to exacerbate inequalities. In their narrative accounts, they describe themselves as the ‘glue that hold the bits of the university together’, mediating between part-time tutors, students and other academics and researchers. We explore how career progression has been limited for these liminal academics, but how small steps to increase visibility and provide recognition for achievement can result in strategies that overcome these inherent obstacles.
Inhalt: Aus den großen Geschichtserzählungen sind Frauen häufig ausgeschlossen. Sofern sie doch eine Rolle spielen, dann oft als Ausnahmefall. Ihre Leistungen bleiben vielfach im Verborgenen oder werden marginalisiert.
Um das Leben von Frauen als Subjekte ihrer Lebensgeschichte und speziell das von eigensinnigen Frauen „im Schatten“ prominenter männlicher Partner sichtbar zu machen, fand in der Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung in Berlin eine interdisziplinäre Tagung statt, deren Vorträge hier dokumentiert und um weitere Beiträge ergänzt wurden. Die Geschichten ranken sich um Frauen des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, die sich an der Seite eines bekannten Forschers oder Künstlers eigenständig wissenschaftlich oder künstlerisch engagierten bzw. das Wirken von Männern durch Tatkraft ermöglicht und bereichert haben. Die Beiträge dokumentieren Variationen der eigensinnigen Interpretation historisch vorherrschender Geschlechtermodelle. Sie zeigen Frauen, die sich gegen gesellschaftliche Rollenzuschreibung zu behaupten suchten und selbstbestimmt eigene Bildungsprozesse beförderten.
Schlagwörter:Emanzipation; Frauen in der Wissenschaft; Geschlechterverhältnis
CEWS Kategorie:Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Geschlechterverhältnis