IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v10y2023i1d10.1057_s41599-023-02481-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Breaking through the glass ceiling: unveiling women’s representation by gender and race in the higher education hierarchy

Author

Listed:
  • Yunyu Xiao

    (Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian)

  • Edward Pinkney

    (The University of Hong Kong)

  • Tianzi Li

    (Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian)

  • Paul S. F. Yip

    (The University of Hong Kong
    The University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

This retrospective study examined progress towards diversity at the intersection of gender and ethnicity amongst senior higher education academics and managers in England and Wales. The study aimed to assess any evidence of competing diversity agendas and the impact of diversity initiatives on female racial minorities. This study investigates the advancement of diversity at the nexus of gender and ethnicity within senior academic and management roles in higher education across England and Wales. Using employment records of senior staff from higher education institutions were used to assess trends in race and gender, it retrospectively examines trends in employment for ethnic minority women and the effectiveness of diversity awards from 2012 to 2019. We also collected data on the receipt of Athena SWAN or Race Equality Charter awards by higher education institutions. Mixed-effects modelling was employed to analyse the correlation between institutions awarded the Athena SWAN Silver or Race Equality Charter Bronze and variances in the representation of women from racial minorities. Results indicate that the representation of ethnic minority females in senior roles showed a marked increase over the study period. However, disparities were observed, with Black females showing fewer signs of advancement. Institutions that received Athena SWAN Silver or Race Equality Charter Bronze awards demonstrated increasing gender and racial diversity, with no evidence of competing diversity effects. The study found evidence of progress in advancing gender and ethnic diversity in senior academic and leadership positions in higher education in England and Wales. Despite this, certain racial groups, such as Black females, faced greater challenges in advancement. The positive impact of diversity initiatives was observed, with no evidence of conflicting diversity agendas. Further research is recommended to investigate structural factors affecting ethnic minorities in higher education, and to assess the potential influences of external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic on the diversity agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunyu Xiao & Edward Pinkney & Tianzi Li & Paul S. F. Yip, 2023. "Breaking through the glass ceiling: unveiling women’s representation by gender and race in the higher education hierarchy," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-7, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-02481-5
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-02481-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-023-02481-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-023-02481-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charikleia Tzanakou & Ruth Pearce, 2019. "Moderate feminism within or against the neoliberal university? The example of Athena SWAN," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1191-1211, August.
    2. Simonetta Manfredi & Kate Clayton-Hathway & Emily Cousens, 2019. "Increasing Gender Diversity in Higher Education Leadership: The Role of Executive Search Firms," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-17, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thais França & Filipa Godinho & Beatriz Padilla & Mara Vicente & Lígia Amâncio & Ana Fernandes, 2023. "“Having a family is the new normal”: Parenting in neoliberal academia during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 35-51, January.
    2. Caitríona Ní Laoire & Carol Linehan & Uduak Archibong & Ilenia Picardi & Maria Udén, 2021. "Context matters: Problematizing the policy‐practice interface in the enactment of gender equality action plans in universities," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 575-593, March.
    3. Meredith Nash & Ruby Grant & Robyn Moore & Tania Winzenberg, 2021. "Male allyship in institutional STEMM gender equity initiatives," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Sara Clavero & Yvonne Galligan, 2021. "Delivering gender justice in academia through gender equality plans? Normative and practical challenges," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 1115-1132, May.
    5. Kirsten Locke & Rebecca W. B. Lund & Susan Wright, 2021. "Rethinking gender equity in the contaminated university: A methodology for listening for music in the ruins," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 1079-1097, May.
    6. Karen Cuthbert & Joseph J Hall & Sally Hines & Kim Allen & Sharon Elley, 2022. "Hearing, Policing, and Using Gender Diversity: The Role of Institutional Gatekeepers in Researching Youth and Gender," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(3), pages 763-786, September.
    7. Udeni Salmon, 2023. "“How did they protect you?” The lived experience of race and gender in the post‐colonial English university," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 510-528, March.
    8. Soline Blanchard, 2022. "Feminism through the market? A study of gender‐equality consultants in France," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 443-465, March.
    9. Micaela Stierncreutz & Janne Tienari, 2023. "Shaped by resistance: Discursive politics in gender equality work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1178-1198, July.
    10. Liudvika Leišytė & Rosemary Deem & Charikleia Tzanakou, 2021. "Inclusive Universities in a Globalized World," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 1-5.
    11. Mike Thelwall, 2020. "Female citation impact superiority 1996–2018 in six out of seven English‐speaking nations," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 71(8), pages 979-990, August.
    12. Emily Yarrow & Karen Johnston, 2023. "Athena SWAN: “Institutional peacocking” in the neoliberal university," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 757-772, May.
    13. Thereza Raquel Sales de Aguiar & Shamima Haque & Keith A. Bender, 2022. "Athena SWAN gender equality plans and the gendered impact of COVID‐19," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 591-608, March.
    14. Gregor Wolbring & Aspen Lillywhite, 2021. "Equity/Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Universities: The Case of Disabled People," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-34, May.
    15. Nicole Gross, 2023. "What ChatGPT Tells Us about Gender: A Cautionary Tale about Performativity and Gender Biases in AI," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, August.
    16. Jai Mohan Pandit & Bino Paul, 2023. "Gender Diversity, Sustainable Development Goals and Human Resource Management Practices in Higher Education," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 17(1), pages 111-130, April.
    17. Christian Möller & Saffron Passam & Sarah Riley & Martine Robson, 2024. "All inside our heads? A critical discursive review of unconscious bias training in the sciences," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 797-820, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-02481-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.