Everyday sexism and racism in the ivory tower: The experiences of early career researchers on the intersection of gender and ethnicity in the academic workplace
Autor/in:
Bourabain, Dounia
Quelle: Gend Work Organ (Gender, Work and Organization), (2020)
Inhalt: The academic workplace is often described as a place of merit and equal opportunities. However, research shows a leaky pipeline where the share of women and people of color decreases in the higher echelons of academia. Explanations are often structural, referring to the access barriers women are confronted with, such as hiring and recruitment. This research investigates what goes wrong in the early phases of a female academic's career. From an intersectional perspective, I study the experiences with everyday sexism and racism of PhD and postdoctoral researchers across disciplines. After conducting 50 in‐depth interviews, four processes are discovered: smokescreen of equality, everyday cloning, patronization, and paternalism.
Gendered strategies of mobility and academic career
Autor/in:
Nikunen, Minna; Lempiäinen, Kirsti
Quelle: Gender and Education, 32 (2020) 4, S 554–571
Inhalt: In universities, being mobile and international has become ever more important for academics’ career prospects. This article explores junior and other insecurely employed researchers’ experiences of geographical mobility in relation to their personal life, career, employability and value as scholars. The aim is to discover the gendered strategies researchers use to combine mobility with intimate relations and personal life. Furthermore, what gendered ideas of mobility, employability and career success do researchers themselves construct? These aspects of mobility, particularly focused on gender, are analysed in three cases: Finland, Italy and the United Kingdom. These states are all (currently) members of the European Union and have implemented its internationalisation policies. The data consists of qualitative interviews gathered in 2009 and 2010. We suggest that the value and capital of academic labour are evaluated differently in the three different locations. Additionally, gender, age, academic age and life situation motivate different mobility strategies.
Are There Gender-based Differences in Language in Letters of Recommendation to an Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program?
Autor/in:
Kobayashi, Audrey N.; Sterling, Robert S.; Tackett, Sean A.; Chee, Brant W.; Laporte, Dawn M.; Humbyrd, Casey Jo
Quelle: Clinical orthopaedics and related research, 478 (2020) 7, S 1400–1408
Inhalt: BACKGROUND
Letters of recommendation are considered one of the most important factors for whether an applicant is selected for an interview for orthopaedic surgery residency programs. Language differences in letters describing men versus women candidates may create differential perceptions by gender. Given the gender imbalance in orthopaedic surgery, we sought to determine whether there are differences in the language of letters of recommendation by applicant gender.
QUESTIONS/PURPOSES
(1) Are there differences in word count and word categories in letters of recommendation describing women and men applicants, regardless of author gender? (2) Is author gender associated with word category differences in letters of recommendation? (3) Do authors of different academic rank use different words to describe women versus men applicants?
METHODS
Using a linguistic analysis in a retrospective study, we analyzed all letters of recommendation (2834 letters) written for all 738 applicants with completed Electronic Residency Application Service applications submitted to the Johns Hopkins Orthopaedic Surgery Residency program during the 2018 to 2019 cycle to determine differences in word category use among applicants by gender, authors by gender, and authors by academic rank. Thirty nine validated word categories from the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count dictionary along with seven additional word categories from previous publications were used in this analysis. The occurrence of words in each word category was divided by the number of words in the letter to obtain a word frequency for each letter. We calculated the mean word category frequency across all letters and analyzed means using non-parametric tests. For comparison of two groups, a p value threshold of 0.05 was used. For comparison of multiple groups, the Bonferroni correction was used to calculate an adjusted p value (p = 0.00058).
RESULTS
Letters of recommendation for women applicants were slightly longer compared with those for men applicants (366 ± 188 versus 339 ± 199 words; p = 0.003). When comparing word category differences by applicant gender, letters for women applicants had slightly more "achieve" words (0.036 ± 0.015 versus 0.035 ± 0.018; p < 0.0001). Letters for men had more use of their first name (0.016 ± 0.013 versus 0.014 ± 0.009; p < 0.0001), and more "young" words (0.001 ± 0.003 versus 0.000 ± 0.001; p < 0.0001) than letters for women applicants. These differences were very small as each 0.001 difference in mean word frequency was equivalent to one more additional word from the word category appearing when comparing three letters for women to three letters for men. For differences in letters by author gender, there were no word category differences between men and women authors. Finally, when looking at author academic rank, letters for men applicants written by professors had slightly more "research" terms (0.011 ± 0.010) than letters written by associate professors (0.010 ± 0.010) or faculty of other rank (0.009 ± 0.011; p < 0.0001), a finding not observed in letters written for women.
CONCLUSIONS
Although there were some minor differences favoring women, language in letters of recommendation to an academic orthopaedic surgery residency program were overall similar between men and women applicants.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Given the similarity in language between men and women applicants, increasing women applicants may be a more important factor in addressing the gender gap in orthopaedics.
Inhalt: Using the concept of stealth power and a critical realist perspective, this article identifies leadership practices that obscure the centralisation of power, drawing on data from interviews with 25 academic decision-makers in formal leadership positions in HERIs in Ireland, Italy and Turkey.
Its key contribution is the innovative operationalisation of stealth power and the inductive identification of four practices which obscure that centralised power, i.e. rhetorical collegiality, agendacontrol, in-group loyalty and (at a deeper level) the invisibility of gendered power. The purpose of the article is emancipatory: by creating an awareness of these leadership practices, it challenges their persistence.
Schlagwörter:agenda control; centralised power; Führungskultur; Higher Education Research Institutes; in-group loyalty; interviews; invisibility of gendered power; Leadership practices; Machtdynamiken; Machtgefälle; rhetorical collegiality; senior management; senior position holders; stealth power; Universität
CEWS Kategorie:Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Netzwerke und Organisationen, Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung
Gender and Race Intersectional Effects in the U.S. Engineering Workforce : Who Stays? Who Leaves?
Autor/in:
Tao, Yu; McNeely, Connie L.
Quelle: GST (International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology), 11 (2019) 1, S 181–202
Inhalt: In many countries, engineering remains a field in which women are highly underrepresented, raising questions not only of equal access, but also of underutilized and wasted potential in engineering talent. The United States is one such country, with women representing only 15% of the engineering workforce. Moreover, even if initially entering the field, women in the United States are more likely than men to leave engineering altogether. This study further analyzes this situation, recognizing that women are a demographically varied group and questioning how differences among them might be reflected in engineering participation outcomes. Emphasizing race and gender, and employing logit regression and marginal effects tests, it considers intersectional configurations to examine probabilities of staying and working in engineering occupations among recipients of engineering degrees. Different gendered patterns are revealed for working in engineering among Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans, and White Americans. Moreover, gender and race groups present varying retention rates in engineering occupations over time. Findings also confirm inter- and intra-group gender and racial/ethnic differences and disparities that would not have been revealed without attention to intersectional effects on participation in engineering fields.
Every Woman Has a Story to Tell : Experiential Reflections on Leadership in Higher Education
Autor/in:
Selzer, Robin Arnsperger; Robles, Richard
Quelle: Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, 12 (2019) 1, S 106–124
Inhalt: This study explores and shares key professional development advice related to career paths, challenges faced, and lessons learned from senior women leaders at a public, urban, research university. Interviews were conducted as part the NASPA Alice Manicur Symposium, a national student affairs leadership development program for women. Findings identified two themes at the personal and institutional levels. Sub-themes included strategies for career advancement in higher education, such as accepting opportunities, being visible, understanding the business of higher education, and obtaining a terminal degree. Aspiring women should be ready to navigate institutional challenges, often outside of their control, such as bureaucracy and politics, budgetary constraints, forces impacting student affairs, and institutional change. Participants shared perspectives on addressing institutional change including assessing needs and affect, exploring perceptions of change, gaining buy-in, and leveraging the change. Because emerging women leaders in higher education are often overwhelmed and confused in the realm of career assessment, findings from this study address the problem. The needle can move for women in higher education leadership positions if women identify themselves as aspiring leaders, create time for career assessment reflection, and take action to implement strategies for advancement endorsed by successful senior women.
Schlagwörter:Change Management; Frauen in der Wissenschaft; Frauen in Führungspositionen; higher education; Karrierebarriere; Management; Organisationskultur; structural barriers
CEWS Kategorie:Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Wissenschaft als Beruf
Karrierehindernis Geschlecht? : Zum Verbleib von Frauen in der Hochschulmedizin
Autor/in:
Hendrix, Ulla; Mauer, Heike; Niegel, Jennifer
Quelle: GENDER (GENDER – Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft), 11 (2019) 1-2019, S 47–62
Inhalt: Dieser Beitrag untersucht, warum Frauen nur selten Professorinnen in der Hochschulmedizin werden, obwohl Medizinstudentinnen mittlerweile deutlich in der Mehrheit sind. Anhand einer Online-Befragung von Assistenzärzt_innen sowie von Interviews mit Akteur_innen in Schlüsselpositionen der Universitätskliniken und medizinischen Fakultäten in NRW werden zwei zentrale Erklärungsansätze aus dem Feld herausgearbeitet: die Annahme, dass die mangelnde Vereinbarkeit von Hochschulmedizin und Familie für den geringen Frauenanteil auf den Professuren verantwortlich ist (1), sowie die Vermutung, dass Frauen wissenschaftliche Karriereambitionen durch falsche Strategien nicht realisieren können (2). Beide Erklärungsansätze operieren jedoch mit essentialistischen Geschlechterbildern, die für die Aufrechterhaltung ungleicher Geschlechterverhältnisse in der Hochschulmedizin zentral sind.
Grant Allocation Disparities from a Gender Perspective : Literature Review - Synthesis Report GRANteD Project D.1.1.
Autor/in:
Crus Castro, Laura; Sanz-Menéndez, Luis
Quelle: CSIC Institute of Public Goods and Policies; Madrid, 2019.
Inhalt: The purpose of this review is to provide the GRANteD project with robust analytical approaches and methodological insights that take into account the state of the art, but it also acknowledges and aims to overcome the main shortcomings and point out the gaps of the existing literature; it is also our contention that knowledge could be used to improve and refine, and also to strengthen, gender equality policies and the management of diversity in teams and research institutions. The substantive focus of the literature review refers to the central event of the “allocation of grants by means of peer review evaluation, observed as a process and an outcome”. We also consider “the impact of grants in career advancement in the context of hiring and promotion decisions”. However we can learn significantly from other areas in which gender research have made significant contributions, like occupation segregation, discrimination, stereotypes, etc.
Inhalt: This book explores the career paths of Australian women who have succeeded in achieving professorships and beyond, where for the most part, such positions are predominately occupied by males. It also explores the gendered culture that exists across faculties and universities as reported by participants in a survey questionnaire of 525 new professors (female and male), and nearly 30 interviews of women in Australian higher education, either in small focus groups or individually. Futher, it identifies catalysts for and inhibitors of success for women and looks in depth at “the boys’ club” and how it impacts women’s progression. The book also highlights how critical life decisions - doctoral study, work and family - shape the careers of academic women. It identifies five distinct career profiles for women academics and the pressure points and effective support for each profile. Thus, this book can assist women academics who are making life decisions and those supporting their career progression. It also provides insights into why affirmative action initiatives to improve the proportion of women in the professoriate have had minimal impact despite considerable investment over the past 30 years
Schlagwörter:affirmative action; Australia; Fördermaßnahme; Frauen in der Wissenschaft; gläserne Decke; glass ceiling; Professorin; Vereinbarkeit Familie-Beruf; women academics
CEWS Kategorie:Berufsbiographie und Karriere, Europa und Internationales, Wissenschaft als Beruf
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.