A Measure of Equity
Women’s Progress,
Power, and Priorities
Caryn McTighe Musil
The Association of American
Colleges and Universities
CCAS Conference – New Orleans
Gender Issues Breakfast
November 13, 2010
Three areas deans should
consider as priorities

Who is coming to college?

What are women students majoring in?

How are women faculty faring?
First Priority


WHO IS COMING TO COLLEGE
WHO IS MISSING?
First Priority
WHO’S COMING TO
COLLEGE, WHO IS MISSING,
AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
WHERE RACE, GENDER, AND
SOCIOECONOMICS
CONVERGE
Who is Completing High School*?
Millions
High School Completion, 2005
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
14.1
13.8
11.592
11.1954
U.S. Population
79.4%
86.5%
%
Men
H.S. Completion
Women
Ages 18-24
*H.S. Completion refers to the earning of a H.S. diploma or its equivalent
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey Report; American Council on Education, Minorities in
Higher Education 22nd Annual Status Report: 2007 Supplement
Who is Completing H.S., by Race and
Ethnicity*?
Percentage H.S. Completion by Gender and Race or
Ethnicity, 2005
Percentage
100
85.6
90.1
84.4
73.5
80
72.7
60
60
Men
40
Women
20
0
White
African American
Hispanic
*Comparable data for Asian American students not available
Source: American Council on Education, Minorities in Higher Education 22nd Annual Status Report: 2007
Supplement
Who Is Transitioning to College?
Percentage H.S. Completers Transitioning to
College, 2005
60
Percentage
50
46.1
51.2
44
38
40
40.6
34.4
Men
30
Women
20
10
0
White
African American
Hispanic
*Comparable data for Asian American students not available
Source: American Council on Education, Minorities in Higher Education 22nd Annual Status Report: 2007
Supplement
The Socioeconomic Gap




It trumps race, gender, and ethnicity
High school completion rates for students
whose family incomes were below
$38,660=68%
High school completion rates for students
whose family incomes were above
$105,800=92%
That is a 24% gap
Is There a Boys’ Crisis?
Are Women’s Gains Affecting Men’s
Enrollment?
Undergraduate Enrollment by Gender, 1970-2005
Enrolled Students
(Millions)
12
10
10
8
6
4
7.9
6.7
6.2
5
3.5
7.5
5.9
Men
Women
2
0
1970
1980
1995
2005
Year
Men’s rates of postsecondary degree attainment from associate’s degrees through doctoral
degrees are higher than they have been since the early 1970s, and men still earn the majority of
U.S. doctorates.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2006 and 2007
Which Men are Struggling?
Percentage H.S. Completers Transitioning to
College, 2005
60
Percentage
50
46.1
51.2
44
38
40
40.6
34.4
Men
30
Women
20
10
0
White
African American
Hispanic
*Comparable data for Asian American students not available
Source: American Council on Education, Minorities in Higher Education 22nd Annual Status Report: 2007
Supplement
Which Men are Completing
College?
Percentage of Population 18 and Older with
Bachelor's Degree, 2007
20
17
Percentage
15
15
12
10
10
Men
Women
5
0
African American
Hispanic
In 2007, 27 percent of white men and women ages 18 and over held at least a bachelor’s degree.
(At upper income levels, the gender gap does not exist.)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007
Are Other Notable Changes in
Enrollment Occurring?
In 2005, 4.2 million women attending college were age 25 or older, representing an increase of 18 percent in the
last ten years.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2006 and 2007
Second Priority
WHAT ARE WOMEN
MAJORING IN AND WITH
WHAT CONSEQUENCES?
Where Are Women Earning
Degrees?
62
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
60
58
45
Do
ct
or
at
e
Pr
of
es
sio
na
l
as
te
r 's
M
As
so
cia
Ba
cc
al
au
re
at
e
49
te
Percentage
Percentage of Degrees Earned by Women, 2005-06
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics Digest of Education Statistics 2007 and
NSF/NIH/USED/NEH/USDA/NASA Survey of Earned Doctorates 2006
C
ea
l th
pr
of
es
sio
ns
an
d
re
la
te
d
cl
in
ic
al
om
sc
m
ie
En
un
nc
gl
ic
es
at
is
E
d
h
io
uc
n,
la
at
ng
jo
io
Ps
ur
ua
n
na
yc
ge
l
h
Bi
/ li
is
o
te
m
ol
l
o
og
,a
ra
gy
tu
nd
ic
re
al
re
/l e
an
la
tte
d
te
rs
bi
om d p
Vi
ro
su
ed
gr
al
ic
am
al
an
So
s
sc
d
ci
p
i
e
al
er
n
ce
fo
sc
rm
s
ie
M
nc
in
at
g
es
he
a
rts
an
m
d
at
hi
ic
Ph
st
s
ys
or
an
ic
y
Ag
d
al
s
r
ta
ic
sc
ul
t
ie
i
s
tu
tic
nc
re
s
es
Bu
/n
at
an
s
ur
in
d
En
es
al
C
sc
gi
om
s
re
ie
ne
so
pu
nc
er
ur
e
te
in
ce
te
r/i
g
s
ch
nf
an
or
no
d
m
lo
en
at
gi
gi
io
es
ne
n
sc
er
i
in
e
nc
g
te
es
ch
no
lo
gi
es
H
In What Fields are Women Earning
Degrees?
Percentage of Degrees Earned by Women, by Field, 2004-05
100
90
80
70
60
Bachelor's
50
Master's
40
30
Doctoral
20
10
0
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Condition of Education 2007
What you major in affects lifetime
earnings
“After graduation, gender segregation in
college major choice is reflected in gender
segregation the workforce, with significant
economic consequences for women.”
Andresse St. Rose
OCWW issue on gender pay gap
What’s the big deal?

One year after entering the workforce,
women make 80% of what their male peers
earn. The figure drops to 69% after ten
years.
Dey and Hill, 2007

A female college graduate will lose 1.2
million dollars over the course of her working
life as a result of the gender wage gap. The
figure jumps to 2 million for professional
school graduates.
But Women Have Made Progress in the
STEM fields…Right?
Percent Female, Bachelor's Degrees,
by Year and STEM Field
100
Agricultural Sciences
Biological Sciences
Computer Sciences
Percent
80
Earth, Atmospheric,
and Oceanic Sciences
Mathematics and
Statistics
Physical Sciences
60
40
20
0
96 997 998 000 001 002 003 004 005
9
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
Year
Psychology
Social Sciences
Source: National Science Foundation, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.
2006.
Engineering
Third Priority
WHAT ARE THE FRONT
BURNER ISSUES FOR
WOMEN FACULTY?
My Top Choices

Advancement to tenure and promotion within
ranks

Salary equity with their comparable male
colleagues

Institutional support to off-set the current
impossible task of balancing work and family
obligations
Women Faculty

Who are the women?

Where are they located?

How are women faring?
Race and Ethnicity of Women Faculty
Breakdown of Race/Ethnicity of Women Faculty
17.4%
White Women
Women of color
78.1%
Source: Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Digest of Education Statistics: 2006
FACULTY: Tenured Women Faculty by
Institution Type
Percentage of Tenured Faculty by Institution Type
Percentage
50
47
37
40
35
26
30
Percentage of Tenured
Faculty by Institution Type
Doctoral
institutions
Master’s
institutions
Baccalaureate
institutions
Associate
institutions
20
Women constituted less than a third (31%) of all tenured
positions in 2005-2006
Source: AAUP. 2007. “Faculty Gender Equity Indicators”
AAUP Gender Equity Indicators

Employment status (full time vs. part time)

Tenure track options

Academic rank

Salary
Source: AAUP. 2007. “Faculty Gender Equity Indicators”
Full-time Faculty in Degree-Granting
Institutions
Full-Time Faculty in Degree-Granting Institutions
400000
350000
300000
250000
200000
Associate
42404
53661
Assistant
86182
73507
Lecturer
46481
12976
52074
14239
Men
Women
84783
150000
100000
50000
0
Professor
126788
Instructor
Source: Source: National Center for Education Statistics
Digest of Education Statistics: 2006
Employment Status

Women account for 39% of full-time faculty

The proportion of full-time faculty appointments are
declining

The proportion of part-time, contingent appointments
is increasing
–
Women account for a disproportionate number of these
appointments
Source: AAUP. 2007. “Faculty Gender Equity Indicators”
Average Salary for Women vs. Men

The average salary for women faculty was
81% of the amount earned by men

This comparison has remained steady since
the 1970’s
Source: AAUP. 2007. “Faculty Gender Equity Indicators”
The Effect of Babies
What is the Relationship Between
Family Life and Academic Career?
Family Status 12 Years After the Doctorate
90
80
85
74
70
63
Percentage
60
55
50
Children
Married
40
30
20
10
0
Men
Women
Sources: Mary Ann Mason and Marc Goulden. 2004. Do babies matter? (Part II): Closing the baby gap.
Family and Marital Status of
Women CEOs
Family and Marital Status
100
80
Percentage
91
89
63
68
60
Women
Men
40
14
20
4
10
3
0
Married
Children
Divorced
Never married
Source: American Council on Education. “The American College President”
FAMILY PROFILE OF COLLEGE
PRESIDENTS
–
Among presidents: 68% of women CEOs have
children vs. 91% of men
–
That is a 23% differential.
What obstructs the advancement
of women faculty?

When women marry

When women have babies

When women come up for promotion
Source: Mary Ann Mason and Mark Goulden, “Do Babies Matter? The
Effect of Family Formation on the Lifelong Careers of Academic Men
and Women. Academe 88(6):21-27
So What Can You and Your
Institution Do About Any of This?

Turn to the person beside you and name
your single most effective strategy now in
place to address any one of these three
priorities about students, choice of majors, or
advancing women faculty.

Then name one intervention you think your
institutions should invest in—with your help
as a key leader.
Jane Addams
"The good we secure for ourselves is
precarious and uncertain until it is secured
for all of us and incorporated into our
common life."