Breaking into the Guildmasters' Club: What We Know About Women Science and Engineering Department Chairs at AAU Universities

The Climate for Women in Academic Science: The Good, the Bad, and the Changeable

“…These recommendations for change highlight the importance of the chair or department leader in creating a positive climate for women faculty. Further, they require a chair who is open‐minded to women as science faculty, and to the possibility that women's experiences and perceptions of the department may differ from theirs (given that most science department chairs are men; Niemeier & Gonzales, 2004). Thus, it is critical that department leaders are selected in a way that ensures that women faculty have an influence on decisions.…”

“…Specific difficulties faced by female science faculty include less influence and fewer opportunities to hold leadership positions (Carr, Szalacha, Barnett, Caswell, & Inui, 2003a; Niemeier & Gonzalez, 2004; Wright et al, 2003), slower advancement and less representation at top levels (Valian, 2004), more social isolation (Wright et al, 2003; Xie & Shauman, 2003), and (according to some indicators) lower levels of productivity (Sonnert & Holton, 1996), compared to their male counterparts. Various explanations for gender differences in science have been offered apart from differences in ability; these include the pipeline theory (i.e., there are not yet enough women in the sciences for parity to have been reached; Wright et al, 2003), work–family conflict (Wright et al, 2003), and gender differences in personal qualities relevant to science, such as professional styles and goals (Sonnert & Holton, 1996).…”

Gender Inequality Across the Academic Life Course

“…Accordingly, research demonstrates that women are particularly underrepresented among the administrative ranks. Comprehensive data on the sex composition of department chairs are difficult to come by, yet an American Association of Universities report indicated that, in 2000, less than 20 percent of department chairs at a large sample of research universities were women (Niemeier and González, ). The role of the department chair is significant for at least two reasons.…”

“…First, it is a critical leadership position given that department chairs represent their faculty and departments to the institution and profession, shape departmental culture, and are effectively the day‐to‐day decision makers in matters including (but not limited to) budget and resource allocation, class and teaching schedules, tenure and promotion, and emergent and routine departmental problems (Bowman ). Second, the chair position is generally seen as the stepping stone to a career in academic administration (Niemeier and González, ). Thus, any inequality we see at this level repeats itself higher up the administrative chain.…”

“…Women occupy only about one‐third of all academic positions, are overrepresented among faculty members at community colleges and primarily undergraduate institutions (Bank ), and, when on the tenure track, achieve promotion to full professor at a slower rate than their male counterparts (Krefting ; Misra et al ). Accordingly, women are underrepresented at top ranks and in administrative positions (Niemeier and González, ). Yet women are also disproportionately overrepresented among part‐time, temporary, and non‐tenure‐track faculty, positions that are more tenuous and far less well paid (Curtis ).…”