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Women’s Uneven Progress in Academia

Problems and Solutions

  • Chapter
Equal Rites, Unequal Outcomes

Part of the book series: Innovations in Science Education and Technology ((ISET,volume 15))

Abstract

In order to better understand the present situation of women at research universities and to develop more effective strategies for increasing their representation as well as improving their status, it is useful to very briefly examine the history of women in academia. Recently more women than men have been earning B.A. and M.A. degrees, and they have also been earning a rapidly growing proportion of professional and Ph.D. degrees. Their representation among faculties at institutions of higher learning has also been increasing for several decades, and this is true at research institutions as well, although their numbers there have been growing less rapidly (see Table 1). Further, while the gender earnings gap in academia persists, it appears to have been declining. At the same time, however, favorable trends do not always continue.

I would like to thank Jane W. Loeb and Robert Toutkoushain for their very useful comments and suggestions on an earlier draft, as well as friends and colleagues who provided information about other universities.

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Authors
  1. Marianne A. Ferber
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Committee for the Equality of Women at Harvard, USA

    Lilli S. Hornig

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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Ferber, M.A. (2003). Women’s Uneven Progress in Academia. In: Hornig, L.S. (eds) Equal Rites, Unequal Outcomes. Innovations in Science Education and Technology, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0007-9_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0007-9_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-47351-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0007-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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