Examining Workplace Ostracism Experiences in Academia: Understanding How Differences in the Faculty Ranks Influence Inclusive Climates on Campus

Abstract

Research on the retention of women in academia has focused on challenges, including a “chilly climate,” devaluation, and incivility. The unique consequences of workplace ostracism – being ignored and excluded by others in an organizational setting – require focus on this experience as another interpersonal challenge for women in academia. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in the faculty experiences and outcomes of workplace ostracism, and to determine if these experiences are affected significantly by the gender composition of an employee’s specific department. Participants were recruited at two time points to complete campus climate surveys that were distributed to faculty at a large, public, research university. We examined the number of reported ostracism experiences (Study 1) and perceived information sharing (Study 2) among male and female university faculty. The findings indicated that female faculty members perceived more workplace ostracism than male faculty members. Analyses of department gender ratios suggested that the proportion of women in the department did not reduce the amount of workplace ostracism experienced by women. No gender differences were found in perceived information sharing. However, we found that Faculty of Color, both men and women, reported more frequent information exclusion than White faculty. These results have important implications for theoretical and practical understandings of workplace demography and suggest that it is necessary to look at subtle, ambiguous forms of discrimination in order to increase retention of faculty from underrepresented groups in academia.

Gender Differences in Research Productivity among Academic Psychiatrists in Canada

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Despite increasing female enrolment in medical school over the past 30 years, there has not been a proportional increase in the number of women in senior academic ranks. 7,[9][10][11] This is not only an issue related to equity or fairness. Increased female representation in senior academic ranks may increase an institution's overall productivity as demonstrated by studies examining the benefits of gender diversity in the workplace.…”

Survey of Australian STEMM Early Career Researchers: job insecurity and questionable research practices are major structural concerns

“…Figure 1a shows that 51.0% of respondents indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their workplace culture, while a concerning 31.9% were somewhat or very dissatisfied with their workplace culture. Previous studies have identified diversity and inclusion as factors that have impact on senior academics’ dissatisfaction 15 , including the career progression for female academics 16–18 . However, in our survey of Australian ECRs, most identified as satisfied, or at least unconcerned, regarding discrimination with respect to age, gender, ethnic background or sexual orientation.…”

Phenomenology of Retaliating to Workplace Ostracism in Academia

“…Population. In recent times, the HEIs have been recognized with 'chilly' and exclusionary climates (Bilal et al, 2019;Fatima et al, 2017;Zimmerman et al, 2016). Therefore, the current study emphasizes the higher education institutions operating in Pakistan and teachers are the unit of analysis to get responses about the outcomes of workplace ostracism.…”

“…The outcomes and responses of workplace ostracism vary across different contexts and situations (Williams, 2009) and qualitative exploration is much needed methodological approach for its in-depth inquiry (Waldeck, 2017). Yet the extant research studies are mostly quantitative (Fatima et al, 2017;Jahanzeb & Fatima, 2018;Zimmerman et al, 2016) that only offer limited insight into its consequences. Mao et al (2018) put forth the argument that behavioral outcomes of workplace ostracism are paradoxical and have mixed findings.…”

“…In an organizational context, it refers to the degree of perceived exclusion and disregard (Ferris, Brown, Berry, & Lian, 2008). Zimmerman, Carter-Sowell, and Xu (2016) found that academic settings are increasingly characterized by 'chilly climate' and their interdependent work settings require further scrutiny of sector-specific impacts and outcomes of workplace ostracism. Similarly, Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in Pakistan also have a predominance of workplace ostracism (Fatima, Ilyas, Rehman, & Imran, 2017;.…”