Influences on Women Counseling Psychology Associate Professors’ Decisions Regarding Pursuit of Full Professorship

Abstract

Twelve women tenured as associate professors in American Psychological Association-accredited counseling psychology doctoral programs were interviewed regarding their pursuit of promotion to full professor. Interview data were analyzed using a modified version of consensual qualitative research. Most participants indicated a strong desire to be promoted and stated that they would not change their minds about achieving this goal. Participants reported that their universities' guidelines for promotion emphasized a strong publication record and evidence of a national reputation, but participants often described these criteria as vague. Pursuit of full professorship was encouraged by having a current mentor, receiving supportive feedback about applying for promotion, and publishing noteworthy research. Pursuit of full professorship was discouraged by negative prior promotion experiences, feelings that colleagues did not value the participant's research, and conflicts between career and family obligations. Results are discussed within the context of Super's theory of career development and social cognitive career theory.

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“…In fact, having a role model who had attained full professorship was found to encourage other women to pursue full professorship [Pruitt et al, 2010]. Overall, supportive feedback from department heads, deans, and colleagues encourages women to pursue and advance their career.…”

“…During the 2010 session even the panelists admitted that they frequently felt like imposters! A quote in Pruitt, Johnson, Catlin, and Knox [2010] summarizes this feeling nicely:…”

“…This behaviour is often at the expense of relationships with other colleagues and to the detriment of younger female faculty who would benefit from mentorship from a more senior female colleague. In fact, mentorship has been shown to be critical to the success of academic women in general [Harris and Leberman, 2012;Pruitt et al, 2010]. Women who have mentors are more likely to negotiate, apply for promotion, and go up for full professorship [Babcock and Laschever, 2007;Pruitt et al, 2010].…”

“…In fact, mentorship has been shown to be critical to the success of academic women in general [Harris and Leberman, 2012;Pruitt et al, 2010]. Women who have mentors are more likely to negotiate, apply for promotion, and go up for full professorship [Babcock and Laschever, 2007;Pruitt et al, 2010]. The more role models women have, the more empowered they feel, as they can see and hear examples of how others have balanced work and home.…”

“…Better yet, become a decision maker. As the literature suggests, women need to obtain positions of power and influence in order to serve as role models to others, sending the message that women can hold positions of power and help form policy [Pruitt et al, 2010]. Active participation in one's institutions provides opportunities to address the issues that tend to affect women more, such as family/work life balance.…”