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Career prospects for female university researchers have not improved

Author

Listed:
  • Rickard Danell

    (Umeå University)

  • Mikael Hjerm

    (Umeå University)

Abstract

There are fewer female than male professors in the world (21–79 distribution in the country of examination). The unequal distribution of male and female professors has usually been taken to indicate that men and women have not had equal opportunities to achieve professorship. At the same time, the increase in the proportion of female professors has been taken as evidence that academia is becoming more gender equal. It is possible that both of these assumptions are flawed, and that the gender distribution among professors is the result of demographic inertia, i.e., affected by the previous distribution of men and women within the system, and how fast the distribution has changed.This study examines whether the chances, for men and women, of becoming a full professor changes over time, and whether gender differences may possibly depend on early career events. It concludes that women are significantly less likely than men to become professors and that this situation is not improving over time. In spite of policies that have tried to increase the proportion of female professors, the chances of a woman becoming a professor do not change over time. We also show that these gender differences in promotion rate can be attributed to early career events.

Suggested Citation

  • Rickard Danell & Mikael Hjerm, 2013. "Career prospects for female university researchers have not improved," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(3), pages 999-1006, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:94:y:2013:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-012-0840-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-012-0840-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard B. Freeman & Daniel Goroff, 2009. "Science and Engineering Careers in the United States: An Analysis of Markets and Employment," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number free09-1.
    2. Donna K. Ginther & Kathy J. Hayes, 2003. "Gender Differences in Salary and Promotion for Faculty in the Humanities 1977–95," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(1).
    3. Freeman, Richard B. & Goroff, Daniel L (ed.), 2009. "Science and Engineering Careers in the United States," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226261898, October.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Nikolaos A. Kazakis, 2015. "The research activity of the current faculty of the Greek chemical engineering departments: a bibliometric study in national and international context," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 103(1), pages 229-250, April.
    2. Marco Pautasso, 2015. "The Italian University Habilitation and the Challenge of Increasing the Representation of Women in Academia," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-16, March.
    3. Giulio Marini & Viviana Meschitti, 2018. "The trench warfare of gender discrimination: evidence from academic promotions to full professor in Italy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 989-1006, May.
    4. Ghazala Kausar & Sajid Saleem & Fazli Subhan & Mazliham Mohd Suud & Mansoor Alam & M. Irfan Uddin, 2023. "Prediction of Gender-Biased Perceptions of Learners and Teachers Using Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, April.
    5. Jonas Lindahl & Cristian Colliander & Rickard Danell, 2020. "Early career performance and its correlation with gender and publication output during doctoral education," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(1), pages 309-330, January.
    6. Aleksandra Cislak & Magdalena Formanowicz & Tamar Saguy, 2018. "Bias against research on gender bias," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 189-200, April.

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