Academic women's promotions in Australian universities
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450610704461 |
| Date | 01 November 2006 |
| Published date | 01 November 2006 |
| Pages | 505-522 |
| Author | Hilary Winchester,Shard Lorenzo,Lyn Browning,Colleen Chesterman |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Academic women’s promotions in
Australian universities
Hilary Winchester, Shard Lorenzo and Lyn Browning
University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, and
Colleen Chesterman
Women’s Executive Development Program,
Australian Technology Network of Universities,
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine the hypothesis that under-representation of
women in Australian universities reflects barriers in the academic promotion process.
Design/methodology/approach – This study uses three complementary approaches. Promotion
policies and guidelines are examined using content analysis of documents from all Australian
universities. A sample of 17 universities was selected for interviews with key gatekeepers to examine
promotions practice. Data on promotions by level and gender were analysed for 16 of these universities
2000-2002.
Findings – The analysis of promotions policies and guidelines established a range of practice.
Policies supporting women’s participation and success in promotions included explicit consideration
of part-time and non-traditional careers, clear equity statements, and gender representation on
promotions committees. Interviews emphasised the importance of support for and identification of
female candidates, and the need for the establishment of institution-wide and performance targets for
senior managers. Implicitly, most interviewees accepted the premise that women experienced barriers
in the promotion process, including reticence in applying and stereotypically gendered notions of
merit. However, the analysis of promotions data showed a more encouraging picture. Application rates
and success rates for women are similar to men’s and, at professorial level, slightly higher. Nonetheless
women remain under-represented at senior levels, comprising only 16 per cent of the professoriate.
Practical implications – The study provided a report to the Australian Vice-Chancellors’
Committee (AVCC) with a number of recommendations for improving University promotions policies.
These recommendations are available on the AVCC website and have applicability beyond the
Australian university sector.
Originality/value – This study is an original study across all Australian universities which has
international applicability and policy relevance.
Keywords Australia, Universities, Promotion,Academic staff, Women, Gender discrimination
Paper type Research paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
The authors wish to acknowledge and thank the following: The Australian Vice-Chancellors
Committee (AVCC) and the Vice Chancellors who funded the project through the National
Colloquium of Senior Women Executives in Higher Education; The National Colloquium of
Senior Women Executives in Higher Education for endorsing and supporting the research; The
Australian Technology Network (ATN) Women’s Executive Development Program (ATN
WEXDEV) for generous in-kind support, in particular the work of Jane Clifford;University staff
who participated in the interviews; The University of South Australia for generous in-kind
support, in particular the contributions of Julia Hinsliff, Sarah Wendt, Madeleine Regan, Sally
James and Briony Sterk.
Academic
women’s
promotions
505
Employee Relations
Vol. 28 No. 6, 2006
pp. 505-522
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450610704461
Introduction
This investigation was sponsored by the AVCC in response to its commitment to
promote gender equity in Australian universities by developing strategies that are
based on research (AVCC, 2002). The project included a review of literature to establish
the major issues. The original research consisted of an analysis of promotions policy
and practice in Australian universities and of promotion statistics.
The promotion policies and practices of 34 of the 38 Australian universities were
reviewed against 16 criteria considered to affect the promotion applications of women.
The analysis was supplemented by interviews of key staff from 17 universities to
compare policy with implementation. The interviews also covered specific issues and
strategies that support the promotion of academic women.
Statistical data on women’s representation by academic level is available nationally
and is summarised in this paper to provide a background of women’s representation,
which declines significantly from Levels A to E (Associate Lecturer to Professor).
Promotions data by level and gender is not available nationally and had to be collected
individually from the universities interviewed. Statistics relating to the promotio n of
women in 16 of the 17 universities (one did not provide data) were collected and
analysed to evaluate progress towards gender equity and the success rates of women
applicants for promotion.
The research was based on the hypothesis that under-representation of women in
academia reflects barriers in the promotion process. These have been described in the
literature which suggests that women are less likely to apply for promotion, are more
reticent in putting themselves forward and are less successful in applying for
promotions generally than men (Carrington and Pratt, 2003). Men are considered to be
advantaged by a gendered conception of merit which values a full-time, uninterrupted
career trajectory and research success (White, 2003a). Women are more likely to
experience career interruptions for family reasons and are over-represented in teaching
positions and disciplines such as nursing and the humanities which do not attract large
research grants (Bain and Cummings, 2000). Policies that do not take career
interruption into account or which focus primarily on research as a criterion for
promotion would disadvantage women. Such policies would in effect constitute
barriers to their promotion.
In this study, the analysis of policy and of the statistics first examined the national
picture and then undertook a more detailed examination of a sample. This approach
reflected the size and scope of the project which was a broad-brush approach
supplemented by a more detailed examination of a representative sample of
universities. Universities in the interview and promotions data sample were from all
states and included both metropolitan and regional universities as well as members of
the major groups of universities. A list of the universities included in the sample is
shown in Appendix 1.
Women in Australian universities
In 2004, women comprised 39 per cent of the total number of academics in Australian
universities while they were just 16 per cent of full Professors (Level E) (see Table I).
The under-representation of women in academia, especially in senior academic
positions, is a matter of concern. Considerable research has been undertaken to explor e
ER
28,6
506
To continue reading
Request your trial