The Glass Ceiling Is Made of Concrete: The Barriers to Promotion and Tenure of Women in American Academia.

Abstract

The focus of this research is to survey the literature in American higher education on the tenure and promotion of women and to suggest future problems that women may encounter as the American population grays. Anecdotally, women are not tenured and promoted in the same percentages of men in similar fields. In the social and natural sciences, women face greater obstacles than in some other fields. In the Humanities, recent research suggests that while women can become tenured they are less likely to be promoted to full professor than their male colleagues are. Are the differences due to lack of qualifications, financial constraints of the departments/universities, or, of greater concern, long held cultural biases of academia? No one yet has sufficient answers to these questions. As the average age of American college professors is 59 years old and their gender male, it is important to note that a significant portion of this population should be retiring by the time they are 70. A gap between the numbers of professors who have ―ownership‖ in their institution and those who remain disenfranchised may emerge. The time is right to make those changes in academia that will ensure that capable professional women are tenured and promoted in fair numbers to fill any gaps that result from the retirements.

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