Last week I attended a retreat for women in higher
education. The retreat was in Vail, Colorado – not a bad start for two days of
activities and lectures on women and leadership in higher education. On the
morning of our second day I had the privilege of sitting with one of the guest
speakers. She was bright, inquisitive and humble. We enjoyed an easy
conversation over coffee and yogurt. When she got up to speak her easy presence
remained but she spoke with the passion of someone who had committed her life to
advancing women in higher education. Donna Shavlik challenged those of us in
the room to recognize how far we had come and how much work was yet to be done.
Dr. Shavlik served as the Director for the Office of Women in Higher Education at the American Council on Education (ACE) for 15 years –
her tenure with the office was 24 years. While ACE has had a hand in advancing
women in higher education, from 9.5% of college presidents in 1986 to 23% today,
we are still a long way from realizing the dream of many who began this work
nearly three decades ago. In her speech she made a point to mention Dr. Ruth Simmons, as a woman whose leadership in higher education was paving the way for
others still to come.
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| Dr. Ruth Simmons |
These two events prompted to me to stop and consider just
how far we had come in advancing women in leadership roles within higher
education. While much work has been done to advance women in higher education
there is still a lot of work to be done. The attached chart from, Women in Higher Education, provides a look at the salary discrepancies still very much a
part of the academy from the 2010 – 2011 academic year. For women in student
affairs the salary discrepancy ranges from $1,700.00 to $10,000.00 between men
and women working in similar positions. We also find that while women are enrolling in college at
higher rates than men (57.4% of college going student in 2007) and earning
bachelors degrees at higher rates than men (57.4% in 2007) they are not finding
their ways into faculty and leadership roles at the same rates as their male
counterparts. Data from 2003, while admittedly dated, provide a starting place
for this conversation – women comprised 38.1% of full time faculty positions,
27% of deans’ positions and 15% of provost level positions.
The raw data is only a starting place for further dialogue
about women in higher education. Some have suggested that the small number of
women we see working in the top levels of our institutions might be because
women are making choices to balance work with family and home decisions. Others
have suggested more blatant gender discrimination. Yet conversations about what
men and women contribute to work in higher education based on their gender
identity go largely un-discussed.
I feel a great sense of privilege to have worked with and for
a number of remarkable women and men, who took seriously their work of role
modeling, mentoring, leading from within and opening doors of opportunity for
others. Knowing how much has been done to allow me the opportunity, as a woman,
to work full time in a fulfilling career, be a mother and earn an advanced
education keeps me motivated to continue the work in gender equity.
Thanks for your post, Libby. It sounds as though you had a really fantastic retreat! I have thought a lot about this issue for some time. Let us also consider the bigger issue here... outside of our own field the numbers are even worse. CNN Money reports that in 2011 there are only 12 Fortune 500 companies with a female CEO. Twelve... out of the country's top 500 highest gross revenue generating companies--and this is down from last year's count of 15. That's less than 3% (!!!).Yet, even though higher education seems "better" than other industries in this area, we are still so far off base. I also find myself having higher expectations for higher education than I do for Fortune 500 companies. It seems to me that in our field the inequity has the potential to be particularly damaging. After all, we are in the 'business' of educating our future leaders across all industries, including our own. Likewise, you mention role modeling and mentoring. As our students observe inequities on our campuses, they are subtly learning to accept gender inequity. While this is obviously an incredibly complex issue, I appreciate you raising the topic on the blogs. It seems to be that gender inequity is no loner consider a “current issue” in many of my circles, unfortunately because we have needed to make “room” for emerging trends and/or other even more pronounced instances of inequity. Certainly many of the issues re. gender inequity relate to other forms of discrimination. Let’s keep the gender discussion on the radar as innovate approaches to combating discrimination and inequity emerge in other areas.
ReplyDeleteI too appreciate your post Libby. I come from a family populated with strong African-American women who constantly remind me of the struggle and how far ALL women have come. Being in the counseling field, I've capitalized on opprtunities to learn from dynamic women who come from various backgrounds. On the other hand, due to the lopsided ratio of men to women in the field of counseling, it is easy for me to forget that gender inequity still exists. I must admit that, at times, I forget these inequalities still exist for women because my focus is on (as Braelin describes) other more pronounced instances of inequalities.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of gender inequity has been a topic of discussion in several graduate level courses I've enrolled in. Often times I'm reluctant to share my opinions regarding this issue as I have been informed that "It's not the responsibilty of a man to find a solution to a problem that men created."
Regardless of my personal experiences, your post serves as a reminder that the struggle is not over, especially in higher ed. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on how we can raise awareness of the many gender related issues that continue to infect our communities.
Libby, the conference that you attended sounds fascinating. I was recently searching around the ACE (American Council on Education) website and came across the tab for the Office of Women in Higher Education (OWHE) http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=OWHE. I also saw the announcement for the upcoming National Conference in Washington, DC from December 7th through the 9th. As I read about the conference and the OWHE, it appears that the organization is truly trying to work towards the advancement of women in executive positions within Higher Education. The conference stated that it was an opportunity for women leaders to become acquainted with both men and women in major leadership roles. This was identified as a National Conference. The agenda included such items as career mapping, mock interviews, contract negotiations, media relations training and resume review sessions. All of these areas are of great importance and support to women looking for advancement.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if this National Conference is similar to the one you attended but, it was encouraging to see that such an organization exists and conferences that seem to have clear agendas and defined purposes are available.
The one detail that caught my eye when reading about the organization was that it was established in 1973. Although the organization seems to be a valuable asset to women wanting to advance their career, it seems like 1973 was a little late in the game. However, it does seem unfortunate that with the establishment of such offices over 30 years ago that women aren't further a long in the game. Does the creation of such organizations have an impact on the obvious inequalities that exist on our campuses? And what other means could be utilized to combat such discrimination and salary discrepancies? These seem to be ongoing discussions but luckily, women are fortunate to attend such conferences like the one you attended.
In reading this dialogue, I am struck by several things. The first thought I had was in regard to working women who also balance family responsibilities. Perhaps because this is so familiar to me, being a working Mom. I have also focused a lot of my research in this area and admittedly, get a little fired up! While we are looking at gender equality in relation to the pay scale, I think it is also important to pay attention to equality among and within as far as advancement of careers. Wit is significant to pay attention to who the women are in these higher end administrative roles. Regardless of the pay (which no one can argue is not equitable), I find it unfortunate that the women advancing in these positions are often not married (or openly partnered) and rarely are they parents. The review of literature in this area will show several reasons why women with children are unable to advance as quickly as men or as women without children. Obviously, among them is that balancing work and home life is like having two full-time jobs and it is very difficult to find the time to put in the extensive effort that some do put in, in order to advance. Case in point, at my own institution, three very prominent positions have all been filled with strong women. Very exciting to imagine the possibilities due to this change. However, I would like to point out that none of the three women are parents. I cannot comment on their relationship status.
ReplyDeleteAaron, I am saddened that as a male you have often been put in a position of feeling like you could not contribute to the discussion of women’s equality, simply because you are a man. It seems to me that if we, as a society are going to improve and do better by our daughters, sisters, mothers, and other women, than it should be a conversation topic that all can contribute to, and a problem where all voices should be heard.
Libby, it sounds like this is a wonderful conference and something I would be interested in attending in the future!
ReplyDeleteAaron- let me echo others, comments and support to you. I believe we all advance when we understand each others struggle. By having this knowledge you have the ability to support women and teach others who might not get it in the way you do. I, as a working mom, student, etc. need more people like you out there sharing and supporting women's advancement and equity.
What do we as women, and as an entire student affairs community, do to support the advancement of women? Interestingly enough, all of the members of the president's cabinet at Metro State are women except for the president himself. Sounds like UNC and Metro are the minority in this process though.
Libby - good to hear you enjoyed the conference! I wanted to raise a question, because I - like Aaron - have always felt there was very little room for me to contribute to the discourse for one reason or another and, the least of which (admittedly) is not the simple fact that I do not posess mastery over the literature (something I am working on little by little).
ReplyDeleteI can certainly understand pay disparity as this is something very prevalent in the business discourse on HRM and I think that we are certainly seeing a continued (if perhaps not immediate) improvement in American Industry (at least) on that count (these things do take time). It's an issue that continues to be central to Human Resource Management Practices. I don't know anyone who would disagree with the sentiment "equal pay for equal work."
But you mentioned in your reflection:
"While ACE has had a hand in advancing women in higher education, from 9.5% of college presidents in 1986 to 23% today, we are still a long way from realizing the dream of many who began this work nearly three decades ago"
My question is, "What is the end goal?" At what point will we be able to say, "We(as a society) have finally done it." 33%? - an even 50/50 split? More than? What's the end-game? Is there one?
Thanks for your reflections - I'm going to have to start taking in some conferences myself - when I can find the time... Cheers!
I realize this post was a few weeks ago, Libby, but I just got a chance to read through it. Thanks for posting on this subject!
ReplyDeleteI sometimes struggle with the concept that I could possibly be oppressed because of my gender. I feel so very privileged in my life given how much has been accomplished in equal rights before my time. I appreciate the reminder that we (per gender) are indeed not “equal” by societal standards when push comes to shove. At times, I feel that since I am a middle class, Caucasian, heterosexual person, my equality as a female should be something I shouldn’t “complain” about. My “Psychology of Women” professor would blast me so badly for saying that, but it is true…and how unfortunate is that for me to say? I appreciate you sharing your experiences meeting successful and active professional women in higher education. This inspires me to further my exploration of feminist thought and to possibly seek out strong female leaders at our own institution. Last year, I volunteered to be a small group facilitator for the “Power of Word” series on campus. The workshop unpacked the multiple ways our society demeans and hyper-sexualizes women through media and language. The most drastic take-home message from that event was how we don’t leave it to men to discriminate against us, we do a lot of it on our own!
It would be very interesting to look at a longitudinal study that tracks professionals of equal credentials but differing gender as they leave college and throughout their careers. What kind of/how many interviews are each receiving? How many job offers? How soon into employment is each finding tenure or promotions? One problem with looking at past research on salaries is because we aren’t comparing where each has started initially. Are starting salaries highly distinct as well? If so, this is an opportune time to show a direct discriminative correlation before 20+ of various professional experience confounds the variables of interest.
Kylie Rogalla
I think back to my masters-level student experience at Sonoma State University (a state teacher's college in California), and how it was a female professor of mine who accepted an open invitation to chair my committee. A professor who was resistant to my qualitative research interests in light of her heavily quantitative-orientation, and yet who generously supported my professional needs nevertheless. And who probably took on more personal research projects than any other faculty member in the Psychology department. And, interestingly, who was/is childless.
ReplyDeleteI also am struck by something I noticed in the assigned class reading by Finkelstein ("Understanding the American Academic Profession"). After reading pages and pages detailing what amounts to a societal devaluation of the profession of the college faculty member, I noticed on page 15, table 13.5 that-among both fulltime and temporary college faculty members whose principle activity is teaching-females made themselves available for "informal" contact with students (which I take to mainly consist of counseling/advising) more often in every instance than males. Among temporary faculty, this difference was particularly striking. Why is this so? Are male teachers somehow less approachable then female teachers outside of the classroom? Do they as a whole tend to make themselves less available than females? I frankly am at a loss for an explanation. And then, I think of my masters committee chair (Dr. Elisa Velasquez-Andrade) who took time out to support my career even though she was busier in a professional sense than most of her colleagues. Are female teachers naturally more nuturing and giving of themselves in the arena of higher education? Such a sweeping generalization to be sure with multitudes of male exceptions giving the lie to this possible rule, but I wonder sometimes....