Female Profs Less Satisfied In Jobs Than Males: Study

Female Profs Less Satisfied In Jobs Than Males: Study

According to a new study (.pdf) done by Harvard's Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, male and female professors remain on an unlevel playing field when it comes to job satisfaction.

Looking at areas where job satisfaction had a gender gap, the social sciences come up far more than other disciplines. Of 45 categories in which at least one disciplinary area was found to have a gender gap in job satisfaction, with men feeling more satisfied, the social sciences came up in 36. Further, in 13 of the job categories, the social sciences were the only disciplinary area with such a gender gap, and in another eight, social sciences were one of two fields with gender gaps in job satisfaction. (In five other categories, there was a statistically significant gender gap in satisfaction, with women more satisfied.)

Women in these fields admit that the statistics are generally representative, albeit slightly exaggerated. Pursuit of tenure often stumps female instructors who wonder what exactly it takes. Likewise, new female professors looking for mentors struggle to find them. Furthermore, women tend to get pushed into the gender studies departments, despite their natural inclinations.

What do you think of these findings? Leave a comment with your opinion.

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