Chilly Environments, Stratification, and Productivity Differences

Abstract

Productivity differences between sociology PhD's were examined controlling for both human capital and life style differences. Productivity was defined in two ways. First, we looked at differences in article productivity to date. Next, differences in the average productivity of faculty (defined as total articles to date divided by years of experience) were explored. We aimed to capture how working in a chilly environment shapes productivity differences among faculty-especially between faculty working in ranked and unranked PhD programs. Faculty who worked in a ranked PhD department were significantly more productive than others. However, women in these departments were much more likely than men to report being in a chilly environment. Among faculty working in unranked PhD programs in sociology, two variables were critical in understanding productivity differences (age the PhD was awarded and chilly work environment). Faculty who felt welcomed in their department published more than others all else equal. Being in a chilly environment appears detrimental to establishing a publishing career for these faculty.We restricted our definition of productivity to number of articles published. We asked respondents about the number of books published and ran separate regressions with book productivity as the dependent variable. These results mirror those for article production. Given our sample size, and the fact that our numbers for book production were small, we focus, as others have, on article productivity. Clearly, this is a crude measure of productivity. We do not distinguish differences in whether or not articles are single or coauthored or quality of the journal where the article appears.

Write More Articles, Get More Grants: The Impact of Department Climate on Faculty Research Productivity

“…These measures also include negative perspectives of climate, such as feeling excluded or devalued in the department; experiencing demeaning or aggressive behaviors from others; experiencing discrimination; and perceiving the environment as hostile, competitive, or unwelcoming. 16,19,20,22,[27][28][29][30][31] The questions for this study were originally derived from interviews with 26 female faculty and a review of research on academic department climate. 32 Except for one item, all were measured on a 4-point Likert scale (Agree strongly, Agree somewhat, Disagree somewhat, and Disagree strongly).…”

“…Previous studies have also been limited by selfreport of productivity. 1,[18][19][20][21][22] In addition, different aspects of department climate could contribute differently to productivity for men and women faculty, and these elements may change at different stages of faculty careers. [23][24][25] We conducted a longitudinal study of department climate and used publication and grant databases to obtain objective measures of academic productivity to ascertain whether faculty who report a more positive department climate write more articles and get more grants.…”

Underrepresentation of Women in the Academic Profession: A Comparative Analysis of the North American Region

“…In this context, male privilege fosters a chilly climate unaccommodating to women. These practices are embedded in academic culture (Bosetti, Kawalilak, & Patterson, 2008;García-Guevara, 2004;Hartley & Dobele, 2009;Marschke et al, 2007;Monk-Turner & Fogerty, 2010;Schoening, 2009;Toutkoushian, Bellas, & Moore, 2007;Wolfinger et al, 2008;Xu, 2008). Academic women also continue to occupy lower ranks and hold fewer upper-level administrative positions than their male counterparts, although change has occurred slowly in this regard (Bain & Cummings, 2000;García-Guevara, 2004;Marschke et al, 2007).…”

Editors’ Note

“…In this context, male privilege fosters a chilly climate unaccommodating to women. These practices are embedded in academic culture (Bosetti, Kawalilak, & Patterson, 2008;García-Guevara, 2004;Hartley & Dobele, 2009;Marschke et al, 2007;Monk-Turner & Fogerty, 2010;Schoening, 2009;Toutkoushian, Bellas, & Moore, 2007;Wolfinger et al, 2008;Xu, 2008). Academic women also continue to occupy lower ranks and hold fewer upper-level administrative positions than their male counterparts, although change has occurred slowly in this regard (Bain & Cummings, 2000;García-Guevara, 2004;Marschke et al, 2007).…”