Women Representation and Gender Equality in Different Academic Levels in Veterinary Science

Women’s participation and completion at veterinary schools has increased globally for the past few decades. However, increased female graduates have not translated into similar patterns of academic staffing. The gender distribution within each academic level at eight accredited veterinary faculties in Australia and New Zealand, 38 accredited faculties in the USA and Canada and 98 accredited faculties in Europe were analyzed. Women occupied 47.9%, 45.5% and 47.5% of the academic positions in Australia/New Zealand, the USA/Canada and Europe, respectively. Compared to their male counterparts, female academics were more likely to hold the lower ranked positions. The gender distribution is skewed toward men in the senior positions at or above associate professor level in all analyzed regions. The findings of this study confirm gender inequality in academic progression meaning there is a continued need to develop strategies to eliminate inequity in veterinary science faculties worldwide.

Progress, but at the Expense of Male Power? Institutional Resistance to Gender Equality in an Irish University

Gender equality is a whole-organization endeavor. Building on Agócs (Journal of Business Ethics, 1997, 16 (9), 917–931) concept of institutionalized resistance this article undertakes a feminist critique of policy and practice around internal promotions to the equivalent of Associate Professor level in one Irish university (called the Case Study University). This university was selected because of its low proportion of women in senior academic positions. The methodology is a single case study design, employing documentary analysis, including secondary data. Since 2013 the proportion of women at Associate Professor in the Case Study University increased significantly (bringing them close to the national average): this being associated with increased transparency, with the cascade model in the background. However, men’s “chances” have varied little over time and at 1:4 are the highest in Irish universities. This article uses Agócs (Journal of Business Ethics, 1997, 16 (9), 917–931) stages of institutional resistance to show that while some changes have been made, ongoing institutionalized resistance is reflected in its failure to accept responsibility for change as reflected in its refusal to challenge the “core mission” and restricting the focus to “fixing the women”; and its failure to implement change by focusing on “busy-ness” which does not challenge power and colluding with foot-dragging and slippage in key areas. It is suggested that such institutional resistance reflects the enactment of hidden or stealth power. The article implicitly raises questions about the intractability and the covertness of men’s power and privilege and the conditions under which women’s “chances” are allowed to improve, thus providing insights into the extent and nature of institutional resistance.

Gender equality in academic psychiatry in the UK in 2019

Aims and method To investigate whether gender balance in academic psychiatry in the UK has improved since a 2005 initiative to encourage career progression for female academics in UK universities. We surveyed the gender of academic psychiatrists across the UK and compared our findings with our previous 2003 London-wide survey and with the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ 2001 workforce census. Results The percentage of women in academic psychiatry posts in the UK more than doubled, from 20% in 2001 to 40% in 2019, with increases at senior lecturer (from 25 to 50%), reader/associate professor (from 29 to 48%) and professor level (from 11 to 21%). Outside London, men occupy 72% of all posts and 89% of professorial posts. Within London, men occupy 45% of all posts and 74% of professorial posts. Clinical implications The representation of women in academic psychiatry has improved but men continue to dominate at professorial level. Gender equality appears worse outside London. The situation is exacerbated by the diminishing availability of posts across the UK.

Gender Disparities in Academic Rank and Writing amongst Medical Faculty Members

Background: Pakistan is a proud country with its rich cultural values. A perfect woman is considered the one who is a good subordinate and most skillful in the kitchen, making round chapatis is the highlight of those skills. Although as a nation, stereotypical norms have shifted and females are encouraged to get medical education and become doctors, their academic contribution and representation in higher academic rank seems scarce. Methodology: In this study, we investigate gender differences in academic ranks and research in renowned Medical Institutions of Pakistan. Websites of three institutions were used to identify male and female faculty members, their respective publications were counted using “Pakmedinet.com” and “Scholar.google.com”. Results: A one-way ANOVA showed significant difference in the male female ratio at higher academic ranks. This ratio drastically increases at Full Professor level where males are three times more than female Professors. ANOVA results also show that publications by male faculty members is significantly higher than females. Even on the same rank, women have not published their work in the same capacity as men. Conclusion: The results are in alignment with several previous studies that indicate gender disparities between males and females especially as they climb up the academic ladder. Publications are a measure of academic productivity. This study suggests that although female representation as faculty members have increased over the years, their lack of frequent publications might be a factor that hinders women in advancing in academic ranks. Continued studies are required to explore more reasons for this gender inequality and highlight methods to address the imbalance.

A 20-years dataset of the presence of Women in Geosciences within the Italian University

<p>Here we present data of the presence of women in the Italian university system in the field of geosciences in the last two decades. The official open sources we used to depict this scenario are those provided by MIUR (Italian Ministry of School, University and Research) and Alma Laurea. In the investigated interval some positive trends have been observed as for instance the increase in the number of female full professors from 9.9% to 18.5% and in female associate professors from 23.6% to 30.8%. However, these changes are still too slow, especially for full professors. A peculiarity of the Italian system is the recent creation of a new professional figure introduced by the new Italian Law no. 240/2010 that essentially is a tenure-track associate professor position (hereafter called RTD-b). Among RTD-bs the gender imbalance is an obvious concern seen that only 26% of these positions are occupied by female researchers and even more alarming if we considered the virtual no gender gap at Ph.D. level.</p><p>Looking in detail at the different fields of the geosciences, there are more positive situations as the case of Paleontology and Paleoecology where there is no the gap and Mineralogy where the gender imbalance in associate professors is irrelevant but a gender gap is still present at full professor level. A geographical analysis of our dataset has unraveled that, unexpectedly, the universities localized in the Northern richest industrial areas of Italy show a worse gender imbalance compared to Central and South Italy, though the situation has improved in the 20 years.</p><p>This study has thus highlighted that significant and positive changes has occurred in the last 20 years, but an important effort is still needed to further improve the situation in the Italian Universities. Possible actions to promote in order to achieve these results are related to the improvement of the welfare Italian system that could better reconcile family and work, stimulating a reorganization of the work system still currently set on the male model. A final positive thought is connected to the fact that in the Italian university system, there is no pay gap between males and females, something really relevant if compared with the salary gap (between 15% and 30%) present in other richer countries.</p>

“Fixing” the Gender Divides in ICT Programs Within Universities

Although information and communication technology (ICT) is a fast-growing sector, transforms societies radically, offers many job and career growth opportunities, and is higher paid, women are highly underrepresented in ICT-related programs. This study asks the following research questions: What is the rate of women's participation in different kinds of university IT programs? How can we approach the women participation in IT programs at the university level? The chapter presents two cases, namely, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica and Aalborg University, Denmark. Although both countries occupy privileged positions in the Global Gender Gap Index, they also face challenges. Based on a thorough analysis of national and detailed IT program data from the cases, the chapter concludes that, to overcome the gender divide, radical and complex “fixing” of the organizations and IT programs is needed. The data support a mainstreaming strategy to ground the IT programs in a humanistic orientation and to promote diversity among staff, especially at the full professor level.

Policy should change to improve invited speaker diversity and reflect trainee diversity

The biomedical sciences have a problem retaining white women and underrepresented minorities in academia. Despite increases in the representation of these groups in faculty candidate pools, they are still underrepresented at the faculty level, particularly at the Full Professor level. The lack of diverse individuals at the Full Professor level contributes to the attrition of women and under-represented minorities, as it confirms unconscious biases. The presence of unconscious biases contribute to feelings of not belonging by trainees and are amplified by visual representation of who is presented as the “top scientist in their field”. Top scientists are not only defined by the attainment of Full Professorships, but also through invited seminar series. Invitations for faculty to present their research at other university departments is highly valued offer that provides an opportunity for collaborations and networking. However, if invited speakers do not represent the demographics of current trainees, these visual representations of successful scientists may contribute to decreased attitudes of self-identification as a scientist, ultimately resulting in trainees leaving the field or the academy. In this study, we compare invited-speaker demographics to the current trainee demographics in one microbiology and immunology department and find that trainees are not proportionally represented by speakers invited to the department. Our investigation prompted changes in policy for how invited speakers are selected in the future to invite a more diverse group of scientists. To facilitate this process, we developed a set of tips and a web-based resource that allows scientists, committees, and moderators to identify members of under-served groups. These resources can be easily adapted by other fields or sub-fields to promote inclusion and diversity at seminar series’, conferences, and colloquia.

Implementation of a university faculty mentorship program

Objective: To implement a University Faculty mentorship program in the Division of Emergency Medicine. Methods: A program based on a unique Schulich faculty mentorship policy was implemented with the help of a Provider Value Officer. The process involved creating a training program which defined the roles of the mentors and mentees and established the principles of an effective mentor-mentee relationship. Faculty received training on how to participate effectively in a Schulich faculty mentorship committee. Each committee consisted of a mentee, and two mentors at the associate professor level (one internal and one external) . Thirteen distinct external divisions were represented. They were instructed to meet twice per year, as arranged by the mentee. The mentee created mentor minutes using a template, and then submitted the minutes to the members of the mentorship committee and the Chair/Chief of Emergency medicine. The Chair/Chief used the minutes during the annual Continuing Professional Development meeting.Results: In less than a year, the division has successfully transformed its mentorship program. Using the above-mentioned process, 31 of 34 (91%) eligible assistant professors have functioning mentorship committees. Collaboration and participation between the different faculties has increased. Follow-up meetings with the Chair/Chief and the Provider Value Officer revealed the theme that, universally, participants have perceived Schulich Faculty Mentorship committees as beneficial and are happy with the "fit" of their mentorship committees. Conclusion: Through careful planning and training, a successful Faculty Mentorship program can be initiated in an academic division in less than a year with the help of a local champion given protected time.

Equal Opportunities in Academic Careers? How Mid-Career Scientists at ETH Zurich Evaluate the Impact of Their Gender and Age

Gender equality is essential to social justice and sustainable development in the higher education sector. An important aspect thereof is to promote equal opportunities for academic careers. This study investigates the current situation and possibilities for improvement in this regard from the perspectives of mid-career scientists in a sustainability-oriented university department. A survey of scientists from the postdoctoral to adjunct professor level (N = 82) in the Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS) of ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) was thus conducted to investigate judgements, experiences, and ideas for improvement concerning equal career opportunities. About 90% of the respondents perceived no disadvantages based on gender, ethnicity, race, or faith. However, about 30% felt disadvantaged due to their age. Comments revealed not a single case in which latter disadvantages were based on prejudice. Instead, ETH-wide or national age and time-based restrictions for certain positions caused the inequality perceptions. Furthermore, comments indicated that these restrictions can disadvantage scientists taking care of children. Some participants suggested a revision or removal of corresponding rules. Further suggestions included an improved availability of childcare places. ETH Zurich recently undertook great efforts to provide excellent and affordable childcare services, increasing the number of available places by about 30% in the year following this survey.

Why recognising and rewarding excellent teaching in universities matters for students

There is greater focus on the quality of higher education teaching and how we reward and recognize excellent teaching. There are questions from governments about the quality of teaching and a desire to identify excellence. In Australia and beyond, higher education institutions have been working towards clarifying their criteria and expectations of what constitutes excellent teaching. They are reviewing their policies and practices to enable their excellent teachers to access development and support so they might be rewarded through promotion. An inceasing number of universities and higher education institutions are now promoting their excellent teachers through to professor level. This is important not just for the academics and teachers themselves, but for the quality of education that students receive.