Unclogging the pipeline: advancement to full professor in academic STEM

• Date: 11 March 2019
• Pages: 246-264
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0180
• Published date: 11 March 2019
• Author: Helga Van Miegroet,Christy Glass,Ronda Roberts Callister,Kimberly Sullivan
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity, equality, inclusion

Unclogging the pipeline:

advancement to full professor in

academic STEM

Helga Van Miegroet

Department of Wildland Resources,

S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources,

Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA

Christy Glass

Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology,

College of Humanities and Social Sciences,

Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA

Ronda Roberts Callister

Department of Management, Jon M. Huntsman School of Business,

Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA, and

Kimberly Sullivan

Department of Biology, College of Science, Utah State University,

Logan, Utah, USA

Abstract

Purpose –Women remain underrepresented in academic STEM, especially at the highest ranks. While much

attention has focused on early-career attrition, mid-career advancement is still largely understudied and

undocumented. The purpose of this paper is to analyze gender differences in advancement to full professor

within academic STEM at a mid-size public doctoral university in the western USA, before and after the

National Science Foundation (NSF)-ADVANCE Program (2003–2008).

Design/methodology/approach –Using faculty demographics and promotion data between 2008 and

2014, combined with faculty responses to two waves of a climate survey, the magnitude and longevity of the

impact of ADVANCE on mid-career faculty advancement across gender is evaluated.

Findings –This study documents i ncreased representa tion of women in all ranks within the STEM

colleges, including that of full professor due to ADVANCE efforts. It alsodemonstrates the role of greater

gender awareness and f ormalization of proce dures in reducing the va riability in the time as a ssociate

professor until promotion to full professor for all faculty members, while also shrinking gender disparities

in career attainment. As a re sult of the codification of the p ost-tenure review timeline toward promotion,

more recently hired facul ty are promoted more swif tly and consistently, irre spective of gender.

Post-ADVANCE, both male and fe male faculty members expre ss a greater understanding of an d

confidence in the promotion process and no longer see it as either a hurdle or source of gender inequalityi n

upward career mobilit y.

Research limitations/implications –While data were collecte da t a single university, demogra phics and

career experiences by wo men mirror those at other research universities . This study shows that within a

given institution-s pecific governance stru cture, long-lastin g effects on faculty caree r trajectories can be

achieved, by focusing efforts on creating greater transparency in expectations and necessary steps

toward promotion, by re ducing barriers to infor mation flown, by standa rdizing and codifying the

promotion process, and by actively engaging administrators as collaborators and change agents in

the transformation p rocess.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 38 No. 2, 2019

pp. 246-264

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0180

Received 12 September 2017

Revised 15 February 2018

25 July 2018

Accepted 10 August 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

The initial data collection was funded through the NSF-ADVANCE program (NSF No. SBE-0244922).

Funding for the 2016 faculty survey was provided by the USU Center for Women and Gender, the

College of Science and the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology at Utah State

University. The authors give many thanks to Paul Jacobs and Ace Beorchia for their assistance with

the administration and analysis of the survey.

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EDI

38,2

Originality/value –This study addresses mid-career dynamics and potential mechanisms that explain

gender gaps in the promotion to full professor, a largely understudied aspect of gender disparities in career

attainment within STEM. It shows how institutional policy changes, intended to alleviate gender disparities,

can benefit the career trajectories of all faculty members. Specifically, this study highlights the crucial role of

codifying procedures and responsibilities in neutralizing subjectivity and inconsistencies in promotion

outcomes due to varying departmental climates.

Keywords Academia, Policy, Promotion, STEM, Glass ceilings, Gender inequality

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Women have been entering academic STEM disciplines in increasing numbers since the

1980s (Burelli, 2008), yet they remain underrepresented at the senior ranks (Long and Fox,

1995; Valian, 1999; Mason et al., 2013). The National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE

program was initiated in 2001 with the specific goal of developing strategies to increase the

representation and advancement of women in science and engineering disciplines at

institutions of higher education (IHE) in the USA. This paper analyzes gender differences in

the rate of advancement to full professor within academic STEM at a mid-size public

doctoral university in the western USA, before and after participation in the

NSF-ADVANCE Program (2003–2008). Using quantitative personnel data augmented

with findings from two waves of a faculty climate survey, we investigate the magnitude and

longevity of the impact of ADVANCE on mid-career faculty advancement across gender.

The pattern of declining representation of women up the academic STEM ladder is

frequently compared to a “leaky pipeline”(Goulden et al., 2011). Some scholars attribute this

progressive filtering of women scientists out of academic STEM solely to supply side

factors, such as early self-selection into/out of science, individual career choices away from

academia, lack of motivation or lower success by women (Ceci and Williams, 2011; Ceci et al.,

2014). An alternative metaphor, that of the “clogged pipeline,”might be more apt in

describing the slower upward mobility of mid-career women. Due to structural barriers or

institutional practices that create chilly working conditions or put women at an evaluative

disadvantage, women’s advancement into these higher ranks is slowed or stalled, causing

some to leave academia before reaching the full professor rank (Cech and Blair-Loy, 2010;

Goulden et al., 2011). If significant gender gaps in mid-career advancement indeed exist, they

are particularly puzzling since women scientists possess the human capital to be hired

(Glass and Minnotte, 2010; Williams and Ceci, 2015) and have successfully navigated the

tenure process –the first critical gatekeeping event where significant faculty attrition takes

place (Ceci et al., 2014).

Creating a balanced gender representation at all levels in STEM is important as it

contributes to the diversity of thinking and innovation in the sciences (Rosser, 2004).

Women’s advancement also maintains our scientific competitiveness worldwide by

providing role models that entice young talent, especially underrepresented groups, to

become part of the domestic, highly trained, scientific labor force (Rosser, 2004; Goulden

et al., 2011). Within academia, career support for women faculty at all ranks also serves as

an important mechanism for achieving gender equity in leadership and administrative

positions as administrators are drawn from among tenure-track faculty ranks. This in turn

engenders diversity in thinking and management style, instrumental in the recruitment and

retention of a diverse faculty corps.

With a few exceptions (e.g. Sabatier et al., 2006; van den Brink and Benschop, 2011;

Britton, 2017), the majority of studies on gender gaps in career attainment within academic

STEM have focused on early career, particularly personal challenges and institutional

barriers to women faculty’s success in attaining tenure (e.g. Goulden et al., 2011). There has

been much less focus on mid-career dynamics and potential gender gaps in the promotion to

full professor, especially for the USA (Britton, 2010, 2017). The objective of this paper is to

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Unclogging

the pipeline