Market share and recent hiring trends in anthropology faculty positions

Abstract

Between 1985 and 2014, the number of US doctoral graduates in Anthropology increased from about 350 to 530 graduates per year. This rise in doctorates entering the work force along with an overall decrease in the numbers of tenure-track academic positions has resulted in highly competitive academic job market. We estimate that approximately79% of US anthropology doctorates do not obtain tenure-track positions at BA/BS, MA/MS, and PhD institutions in the US. Here, we examine where US anthropology faculty obtained their degrees and where they ultimately end up teaching as tenure-track faculty. Using data derived from the 2014–2015 AnthroGuide and anthropology departmental web pages, we identify and rank PhD programs in terms of numbers of graduates who have obtained tenure-track academic jobs; examine long-term and ongoing trends in the programs producing doctorates for the discipline as a whole, as well as for the subfields of archaeology, bioanthropology, and sociocultural anthropology; and discuss gender inequity in academic anthropology within the US.

Divergent Paths to Career Fulfillment in Applied Anthropology

“…Of these, 37 percent were non-tenure track openings for adjuncts, instructors, and lecturers; 26 percent were tenure-track professorial (the majority in departments of sociology), 22 percent for post-doctoral fellowships, clinical faculty, and a librarian; and 15 percent were for senior-level administrators (AcademicKeys 2019). Although the sample is small, these ratios for tenure-track versus nontenure track positions conform to figures cited in the Speakman et al (2018) study. This data resoundingly demonstrates the gulf between the jobs anthropologists train for and the jobs they attain.…”

“…This ratio of 47 percent to 53 percent is more encouraging than that found in the 2009 survey, but it still demonstrates that the majority of people who identify as anthropologists and archaeologists work outside of educational institutions, a reality that should cause us to question the long-held implicit assumption that most graduates will search for tenure-track positions. Presently, almost 80 percent of those receiving doctorates in anthropology do not get tenure track positions in departments of anthropology (Speakman et al 2018). Moreover, those who do get tenure track positions almost exclusively graduated from a subset of universities such as Harvard and the University of Chicago (Kawa et al 2018).…”

How the entire scientific community can confront gender bias in the workplace

“…Across disciplines, women become primary investigators at a 10-20% lower rate than men 21,22 . Even in disciplines like anthropology, in which male and female faculty are hired at rates proportional to the gendered PhD graduation rates, women are significantly more likely to become faculty in non-PhD granting institutions whereas men are more likely to become faculty at PhD granting institutions 23 . Once hired, male PhDs report an average of nearly US$600,000 more start-up funds than do female PhDs (US$936,000 versus US$348,000) 24 .…”

Who Dominates the Discourses of the Past? Gender, Occupational Affiliation, and Multivocality in North American Archaeology Publishing

“…Current national trends indicate that across all disciplines, women account for only 37.6% of all tenured faculty, while the percentage of non-tenure-track women faculty increased from 43.7% to 52.5% from 1993 to 2013 (Finkelstein et al 2016:Table 2). Speakman and others (2018) demonstrate that men continue to be hired for tenure-track jobs in anthropology at disproportionately higher rates than women and that over the last three decades, there has a been a strong hiring bias toward men in archaeology. The greatest gender segregation is found in programs of prestige, which frequently lead to higher-paying, top-tier positions (Weeden et al 2017:142, 145).…”