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Improving the Status of Women in the Academy.

FALL 2009 163 Women now comprise more than half of the population of undergraduate students and earn nearly half of the terminal degrees awarded in the U.S. Ideally, such numbers should bode well for women in higher education. If they are earning more of the degrees, then more of them may potentially pursue graduate degrees. And, if there are more women in graduate school, then there will be more women in the pool of potential tenure-track faculty. And, if there are more women on the tenure track, there will be more women who earn tenure. Finally, if there are more women who earn tenure, there will be a larger pool of women who can potentially earn rank of full professor. For the last two decades, colleges and universities have instituted policies aimed at recruiting and retaining female faculty. Such policies have included stopping the tenure clock for child-bearing, establishing dual-career programs for couples, conducting sensitivity training, assigning mentors, and attempting to minimize service While women have always faced gender inequities in the general workplace, the academic world has traditionally prided itself on equality and transparency. Sadly, despite substantial gains in the number of doctorates awarded to women and in their employment in academic institutions, there is still much room for improvement in the academy. The purpose of this paper is to articulate some of the challenges impeding women’s progress in higher education, and to identify some best practices for recruiting and retaining women faculty, thus helping maximize their success and career satisfaction. Improving the Status of Women in the Academy