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Women at the top: Female full professors in higher education in Israel

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Abstract

The perceptions and attitudes of women who have reached the top of the academic hierarchy (female full professors) are examined in reference to the effects of gender on their scientific work and career. The analyses refer to a number of issues such as encapsulation and isolation, opportunities and achievement. In general, female full professors do not feel that they have been discriminated against in the course of their careers. They are nevertheless aware of the different career patterns of the sexes in academia, with women having to work harder and longer than men to establish their suitability and competence as academic scientists. They do not however attribute these differences to sex-based stereotypes and discrimination, but rather to objective conditions and women's own decisions.

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This study was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation received through the Israel Foundations Trustees.

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Toren, N. Women at the top: Female full professors in higher education in Israel. High Educ 17, 525–544 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00130544

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