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ON CAMPUS
( Un ) equal opportunity
Research suggests careers of female academics stall with mid-level ‘ bottleneck ’.
By Fleur Sharafizad
Even at universities , the career progression of female academics may lag that of their male counterparts , with new research from Edith Cowan University revealing that male and female academics experience significantly different career paths .
A big reason behind this is the conflict between work and personal life , which slows down female academics ’ career progression .
The continued gender-segregated nature of employment worldwide has been widely acknowledged and researched . Women remain underrepresented in leadership positions and clustered in lower classifications . Our research of the Australian academic sector has found that the same underrepresentation of women in senior positions continues to exist .
The impact of societal norms , including the dominance of the male breadwinner , are as evident in universities as in other workplaces . Our research at ECU ’ s School of Business and Law has found that women remain underrepresented in leadership positions at Australian universities today , despite long-standing equal opportunity laws and demands for gender fairness .
In particular , our research found that a “ glass ceiling ” and “ bottleneck ” exist at the middle level of the academic hierarchy – that is , between Lecturer and Senior
Lecturer positions – where the decline in the relative number of female academics is greatest .
Our study used a novel adult-centred research method known as Draw , Write , Reflect to examine the identified bottleneck between Lecturer and Senior Lecturer . Respondents were asked to draw an image or write a text to show how they visualise their current position and future aspirations . The participant was then asked to reflect on the image / writing with the researcher to ensure accurate interpretation . The sample comprised male and female academics employed at all academic levels and across STEMM and non-STEMM faculties .
We found that most female academics at the Lecturer level are less likely to apply for a promotion for several reasons , including avoidance of work-life conflict and a lack of confidence in their academic work because of their competing home and career responsibilities . This lack of confidence was evident in both STEMM and non-STEMM faculties .
Work-life conflict arises because female academics find it challenging to establish a clear boundary between these two aspects of their lives . In contrast , male academics tend to partition their non-work and work lives , which allows them to take a more focused and targeted approach to their careers .
This situation was illustrated by our respondents ’ drawings . Most female academics with children included them in their images , while male academics with children were significantly less likely to do the same . The inclusion of family into their career drawings demonstrates the intricate linkage between the two facets of their lives , while male academics appear to consider their careers separate from their personal lives .
A particularly powerful image was created by a female academic who indicated that her original career aspiration was to achieve a professorship . She decided to move to part-time work when she started a family , while her husband continued working full-time . That decision clearly slowed her career down . Her experience is representative of the situation in which many women find themselves : family commitments result in reduced time available for work , thus slowing down career progression .
Our research also showed that successful senior female academics were perceived and described as “ alpha male ” and “ masculine ” by some of the junior female academics . This “ punishment ” for deterring from their female gender role may deter other women from pursuing promotion . As well , we found that the structures and processes at universities result in a “ warm career climate ” for male academics , in contrast to the “ chilly climate ” for female academics . This further extends the gap in career outcomes .
Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics ( ABS ) similarly shows that women are far more likely than men to spend time on unpaid indoor housework , cooking and the care or supervision of children . According to a recent ABS survey conducted in May 2021 , 62 per cent of women had spent five or more hours in the past week on unpaid indoor housework compared to 35 per cent of men .
Women also undertake more caring responsibilities than men . They typically spent five or more hours a week on unpaid caring or supervision of children ( 38 per cent of women compared with 28 per cent of men ), and care of adults ( 16 per cent compared with 7 per cent ), and cooking and baking ( 64 per cent compared with 37 per cent ).
In sum , it appears that laws and policies promoting gender fairness are not enough to counterbalance societal norms that find women in the kitchen and give priority to the male breadwinners ’ career . ■
Dr Fleur Sharafizad is a lecturer in Management at the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University .
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