Women, Academia, and Tenure

As a woman who is about to leave my career as a college professor, here's my thoughts on the state of women, tenure, and academia.

Is academia a good place for women?

If I bluntly said "no," that would be way too simplistic. Many women thrive in academic careers, and after all, the new president of Harvard University is a woman. But as a woman who's about to happily leave a career a a college professor, let me put in my two cents about the state of women, tenure, and academia.

If you're interested in this issue, you should read Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia, a 2004 report by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The report argues that despite the fact that women are graduating from both undergraduate and doctoral programs in record numbers, the upper echelons of academia are very much a boys' club. Only one-fifth of full professors are women, while the majority of poorly paid lecturers are women. According to the report, "The burgeoning pipeline of women professors with doctorates has yet to translate into full gender equity among tenured faculty."

Why is this?

Much of this has to do with women's decisions to have children. In most career paths, the decision to have children results in a downwardly mobile career path for a disproportionate number of women, while the opposite is true for men who have children. Pregnant women frequently face discrimination, and studies show that pregnant women's competency is questioned by both men and women.

The busiest and most stressful time in an academic's life usually is their stint as an assistant professor. In most cases, this takes place when a professor is in their late twenties and thirties. And guess when most people start and raise a family?

You would think that academia would be a progressive place where academics would be bending over backwards to make things easier for those juggling a family and a career. After all, many academics are self-proclaimed liberals who vociferously speak out against sexism, racism, homophobia, and other kinds of discrimination. And many academic workplaces do help parents quite a bit. But many do not. Colorado State University, where I teach, does not offer maternity leave. None. Zilch. I was able to secure a part-time maternity leave, but only because my department was willing to do so.

Perhaps more than anything else, women struggle with the culture of academia. As academic jobs have become more competitive, these jobs have drastically ratcheted up expectations of assistant professors. Publishing and service expectations are exponentially higher than they were in the days when almost all professors were men. Getting published in academic journals has become extremely competitive. It's pretty much impossible to get tenure without putting in long, long hours. Professors who are not willing or able to make this overwhelming commitment are frowned upon and do not get tenure.

Academia is no longer just a job. It's a lifestyle choice. And it's not necessarily one that's conductive to other goals, such as having a family.

In addition, the old boys' network in academia never went away. It's run by some of the same men who profess to be the most progressive of thinkers. The research interests of these men often are highly theoretical, while many women are turned off by abstract theory and are drawn to (1) applied research that has a direct impact on the real world and (2) <gasp!> teaching.

The system is broken, badly. Our children continue to be educated by male professors, and the world of academic knowledge continues to be dominated by male thought.

I'd love to hear what you have to say! Please join the discussion, and join me as I continue to blog my last semester as a professor.