Gender and academic career trajectories in Spain. From gendered passion to consecration in a Sistema Endogámico?
| Date | 01 November 2006 |
| Published date | 01 November 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450610704515 |
| Pages | 588-603 |
| Author | Susana Vázquez‐Cupeiro,Mary Ann Elston |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Gender and academic career
trajectories in Spain
From gendered passion to consecration in a
Sistema Endoga
´mico?
Susana Va
´zquez-Cupeiro
National College of Political Science and Sociology, Madrid, Spain, and
Mary Ann Elston
Royal Holloway University of London, London, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to illuminate the processes that give rise to gendered
career pathways in Spanish academia, tracing how individuals might move from academic “passion”
to academic “consecration” in a setting in which both visible and veiled discrimination persist. By
examining academics’ testimony, the paper aims to explore the production and reproduction of
complex dynamics of power and gender inequalities through informal processes.
Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative study, drawing on semi-structured interviews with
33 academics (16 female and 17 male) working in academic departments of psychology (17) and
engineering (16) in three Madrid universities.
Findings – Although the percentage of professors in Spanish universities who are female is
relatively high, compared to many European countries, this quantitative feminization does not appear
to be associated with clear institutionalization of formal gender equality policies or the elimination of
tacit discriminatory practices. Despite recent measures to reform the recruitment patterns in Spanish
universities towards a more meritocratic model, the tradition of a sistema endoga
´mico (an “inbreeding”
system) persists, under which appointments are frequently made on the basis of internal
(departmental) networks. This was found to operate to the disadvantage of women in both disciplines
studied.
Originality/value – Despite the limitations inherent in a small-scale study, this paper is likely to
help not only to increase awareness of gender bias, but also to contribute to the reevaluation of the
current university culture in Spain which, through its ostensibly gender-neutral recruitment practices
rooted in internal networks, constrains women’s career opportunities.
Keywords Gender discrimination, Universities,Equal opportunities, Careers,Spain
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
This paper aims to illuminate the processes that lead to gender inequality in academic
careers in Spanish universities, drawing on a qualitative study of female and male
academics. In the research literature examining women’s under-representation in
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
This paper is based on the PhD thesis of Susana Va
´zquez, “Passion, consecration and
confessions in academia. Gendered opportunity contexts and Merita Academica in England and
Spain”, University of London, 2006, supervised by Mary Ann Elston. We wish to thank our
colleagues in the European Research Training Network “Women in European Universities”, for
encouragement and special gratitude is due to Juan Martı
´n (University Complutense of Madrid),
for his invaluable help during the interviewing process.
ER
28,6
588
Employee Relations
Vol. 28 No. 6, 2006
pp. 588-603
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450610704515
higher academic positions, there has long been debate about the relative significance of
meritocratic criteria (that is, judgements based solely on academic performance) in
shaping academic career success (Epstein, 1970; Aisenberg and Harrington, 1988;
Bagilhole and Goode, 2001; Benschop and Brouns, 2003; Krefting, 2003; Chesterman,
2004). It has been suggested that, despite the allegedly gender-neutral, merito cratic
ethos of academe, gender discrimination against women increasingly takes relatively
sophisticated, “veiled” forms, which are particularly difficult to identify and challenge
(Stanley, 1984; Walby, 1989; Caplan, 1994; Brooks, 1997; Benokraitis, 1998; Morley,
1999; Bagilhole and Goode, 2001; Husu, 2001). Particular emphasis has been placed on
the significance of informal networks and established peers acting as “gatekeepers”
(Merton, 1977) through controlling the definition of what counts as merit for career
progression, i.e. “the criteria of excellence” (Latour and Portet, 2003, p. 47), and the
means of exercising academic power. Academic “consecration” (Bourdieu, 1996),
arguably the ultimate goal of the ideal academic career pathway, comprises attaining a
top rank position (normally a full professorship), and also, in a broader sense,
becoming recognised as an authority by colleagues. Such recognition, in turn, bestows
on recipients the power of making further consecrations within particular scientific
fields (Farwell Adams, 1983). The implication of this is that judgements of “merit” are
not easily separable from the activities of informal networks and powerfu l individuals
within particular academic fields. This raises the further question of how far such
activities may, directly and/or indirectly, reduce the chances of academic women
becoming “consecrated”.
Any discussion of current patterns of gender inequality in academic careers must
recognise that, in most countries in Europe and elsewhere, the numbers and proportion
of women among academic staff overall have increased considerably over the last two
decades, as in paid employment generally (Clarke, 2001; EC, 2006). At first sight , it
might appear as if gender inequality is receding within academia. Yet, it is highly
debatable whether the increase of women academics is the result of diminished
discrimination; for example, following implementation of formal gender equality policy
measures. Rather, it has been suggested that trends to increasing casualisation of
academic labour and reductions in security of tenure and relative salary levels are
rendering the academic field decreasingly attractive to men and, by implication, more
open to women. Moreover, women may be being disproportionately crowded into the
less prestigious, less well-remunerated and less secure positions that consistitute the
growing “academic proletariat” (Aziz, 1990; Hawkins and Schultz, 1990; Halsey, 1992;
Benokraitis, 1998; AUT, 2004). In many countries, women may be more likely than men
to work as “gipsy scholars” (Lincoln and Guba, 1980), academics who either move
several times between institutions and/or work at two or more institutions at a time,
often because full-time and/or tenure-track positions are hard to secure (Hawkins and
Schultz, 1990).
In some countries, the proportion of women among the full professoriate has been
recently boosted by organisational reforms. For example, in Finland, in 1998, all
assistant professors were upgraded to full professors, which led to a immediate
increase in the already relatively high proportion of women among full professors,
from 13.7 per cent to 18.4 per cent (Husu, 2001). But, within Europe generally, the
increase in women’s representation in professorial positions has been much slower
than might be expected from the increase in women studying at postgraduate level
Gender and
academic career
trajectories
589
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