Women and academic workloads: career slow lane or Cul-de-Sac?

Barrett, LC; Barrett, PS

Abstract

Career progression for women academics to higher levels is not in proportion
to their representation within the profession. This paper looks at theories about this and
relates them to current practices within universities for allocating work. The management
of workloads can disadvantage women through a number of interactive factors. Interruptions
in continuity of employment and fractional contracts can work to exclude or hinder
research activity, an area pivotal for higher progression. The issue that many models for
allocating work exclude research from their calculations exacerbates this. Additionally this
feeds off expectations that research work is conducted after hours at home, a feature that
women may find more difficult. Lastly a lack of transparency can allow areas of, often
unwitting, discrimination to go undetected through the skewed allocation of types of work
not strongly associated with promotion. The paper suggests a series of measures that might
improve this situation.

Citation

Barrett, L., & Barrett, P. (2011). Women and academic workloads: career slow lane or Cul-de-Sac?. Higher Education, 61(2), 141-155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9329-3

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Feb 2, 2012
• Journal: Higher Education
• Print ISSN: 0018-1560
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 61
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 141-155
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9329-3
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9329-3