AAUW released Tenure Denied at an Oct. 19 press briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
AAUW's Educational Foundation and Legal Advocacy Fund held a press briefing on Oct. 19 to release Tenure Denied.
Excerpts of media coverage of the report is listed below. If you know of any additional coverage, please let us know at media@aauw.org.
Tenure Denied Press Kit
Photo Gallery From Tenure Denied Press Briefing (Oct. 19, 2004)
They’re Talking on Campus
National Education Association Advocate (December 2004)
…About sex discrimination in the academy. A report from the American Association of University Women finds that although women now comprise more than half of assistant professors nationwide, only 33 percent of full professors are women.
Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia reports on 19 cases of women who took their fight for tenure to the courts, providing an inside look into the toll these battles take on women’s lives and careers.
Suing Employer Is Not for Faint of Heart
Christian Science Monitor , Boston, Mass. (Nov. 24, 2004)
When Carol Stepien, a prolific biology professor who churned out research papers and fresh scholarship, applied for tenure at Case Western University, her department's all-male faculty, while acknowledging her accomplishments, turned her down. The reason, they said, was lack of collegiality.
She appealed the decision, filed a complaint, and eventually brought a lawsuit. The nub of her case: sex discrimination.
Hers is one of 19 lawsuits discussed in a new report: "Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia." Put out last month by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), it shines a light on the rarely studied area of denied tenure applications in higher education. Yet the issues behind these sex-discrimination cases are largely the same across the employment arena. And 40 years after the Civil Rights Act was passed with its Title VII protections against discrimination, the number of cases is still rising across all industries. According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sex-based discrimination charges have gone up 12 percent in the last decade.
Workplace hostility, pregnancy discrimination, and harassment are some of the most common complaints. At the same time, sex discrimination has grown less transparent over the years and as a result sometimes harder to prove.
"The discrimination in the '80s was more overt, obvious discrimination that everyone would understand on a basic gut level," says Leslie Annexstein, director of AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund and one of the authors of the report. "The discrimination that women face today is more subtle and often harder to identify in the legal sense."
Carol Stepien's experience is a case in point. The "lack of collegiality" accusation on closer examination turned out to be more a comment on how her department operated as "an old boys' club." She was expected to play the typical female role of making the faculty feel comfortable, the report says. "When women don't make faculty feel comfortable, faculty 'register that as being difficult.' "
Ms. Annexstein adds: "Typically, once you pull apart the issue of collegiality, what it often ends up meaning for these women is that they did not conform to stereotypes."
If collegiality is a new "legally sanctioned wild card for discrimination," as the report describes it, Stepien's case is unusual in that she won. Only two cases (11 percent) reviewed in "Tenure Denied" won in court. Eight (42 percent) lost their claims; seven (37 percent) settled out of court; and two (11 percent) are still pending.
That relatively meager rate of success is reflected in national figures. Of the 24,000 or so sex-discrimination cases filed with the EEOC last year, 57 percent were dismissed as having "no reasonable cause," and a further 20 percent were closed without resolution (although EEOC determinations are not binding in court).
The findings of "Tenure Denied," while not that bleak, suggest that even though women now make up more than 50 percent of students and faculty on campus, and appear to "have arrived," as Annexstein puts it, they are still scarce at the top. "When you look at this level that really controls higher education," she says, "you don't see a lot of women in those positions."
Suing for Tenure: A Court of Last Resort for Women Faculty
Women in Higher Education (November 2004)
Lest we forget that higher education was created by and for the other gender, a new report provides shocking reminders that sex discrimination in the academy continues to destroy the careers of some of its best educators.
Published by the American Association of University Women, Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia provides details of 19 cases of women who fought back in court after being denied tenure. Their stories represent 33 tenure denial lawsuits the fund has supported since 1981.
Tenure Denied is a valuable resource – written in a compelling, clear, well-documented style – that is a must-read for any female academic who wants to be aware of the pitfalls that may exist within her world at the academy.
Campus Clips
(from the American Federation of Teachers) December 2004/January 2005
Tenure Denied
When University of Michigan political science professor Jill Crystal had her first child, she fought university policy and won the right to take a semester off with pay. But her efforts backfired later. Branded a troublemaker, she was denied tenure.
Sociology professor Rona Fields taught more for less pay than males ranked below her at Clark University and, when she rebuked the sexual advances of a senior colleague, was told, "This is no way to get tenure." Sure enough, when she applied, tenure was refused.
When women's studies professor Pat Washington applied for tenure at San Diego State University, the set of standards required for tenure was so elusive that it changed three times during her application process. "I¹d meet it or exceed it, and they¹d change it again," she says. Tenure proved just as slippery, and was refused.
These are just three cases of 19 included in the American Association of University Women's new report, Tenure Denied. The publication shows that women in academia hold only 27 percent of the tenured positions at four-year institutions. At the same time, they represent half the instructors and lecturers, almost half the assistant professors, a third of the associate professors and just a fifth of full professors.
The dearth of women in the most prestigious academic positions can be attributed in part to sexual discrimination, according to the study. It manifests as tokenism, hostility, backlash, invisibility and role stereotyping. It appears when the biological clock of motherhood "collides" with the tenure clock, when women's studies is dismissed as frivolous, and when collegiality requirements are tainted by old-boy clubbiness or by perceptions of women as too quiet, or, when they are more assertive, as "uppity."
Complicating these cases is a difficult tenure process that requires confidentiality, so that rising professors cannot know why they were denied these prestigious posts; the prohibitive expense of legal action, if required; and judicial interpretations so rife with nuance that the report labels the field a "tangled web of subjective judgments." It doesn't help that, at this level, professors are not unionized, although women on union campuses do benefit from the protection of collectively bargained administrative policies, says Leslie Annexstein, director of AAUW's Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF).
AAUW is encouraging women to inform themselves and educate universities to prevent discriminating situations like those enumerated here. "Tenure Denied is not a call to lawsuits," says Michele Warholic Wetherald, president of LAF. Rather, it is a call to universities to take time off the tenure clock for childbirth and parenting; provide written tenure policies to all current and prospective faculty; require written, explicit performance evaluations; and adopt clearly antidiscriminatory policies. The report also urges female academics to protect themselves by understanding employee rights (see box).
AAUW hopes these measures will create a fairer playing field for women in academia but, says Wetherald, "as the Tenure Denied report demonstrates, equity is still an issue."
AAUW Finds Gender Gap; Women Instructors at Universities Often Miss Opportunities
The Herald-Sun , Durham, NC (Nov. 7 2004)
In the late 1980s, Ricky Hirschhorn thought she was on the right track to tenure.
She was publishing articles in well-regarded journals, her yearly reviews were above her department's average and she had secured outside funding for her research.
But when she failed tenure review in 1990, Hirschhorn's career as a biology instructor at the University of Kentucky was essentially over. In a department with only one tenured woman, Hirschhorn said she was the victim of discrimination.
"I believe that I had been held to a standard that was higher than the standard that was applied to male colleagues in my department," said Hirschhorn, now a tenured professor at Hood College in Maryland.
She filed a discrimination lawsuit against the University of Kentucky, but it failed in a jury trial. She also was denied appeal.
But a report released this week by the American Association of University Women -- an advocacy group for women in academia -- argued that gender did play a role in Hirschhorn's case, and several others involving female academics.
The AAUW report, which draws on statistics from the Department of Education and other sources, shows that women, who are increasingly receiving advanced degrees, have yet to translate those degrees into academia's top jobs.
Tenure, which involves an extensive review of an instructor's research, teaching and service, normally is seen as a critical step to a successful academic career. With it, an instructor has increased job security, which offers academic freedom to those who might disagree with popular opinion, advocates say.
But failing to secure tenure is like the kiss of death. Instructors usually leave a university within a year after failing the review, officials say, and like Hirschhorn, many are forced to restart the five- to seven-year process at another institution.
The report also shows that although women have made advances across the nation, at all levels of higher education, only 27 percent of tenured faculty at the nation's four-year colleges and universities are women.
Report: Sex Discrimination Exists When Women Denied Tenure
CivilRights.org (Oct. 26, 2004)
Female professors continue to face discrimination when they seek tenure, according to the new report "Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia."
Published by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation and the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund, "Tenure Denied" details the stories of women who took their fights for tenure to the courts. The report provides a personal look at the cost those battles have had on the women's lives and careers.
The report also brings to light the consequences that result from having tenure denied, showing that a discriminatory double standard system still exists for men and women.
"There is something wrong in academia - which is expected to set a high standard and example for other workplaces - when the example being set for our young people is one of inequality and discrimination," said Mary Ellen Smyth, president of the AAUW Educational Foundation. "And there is something dramatically wrong when female professors challenge discrimination and it results in irreparable damage to their careers."
According to the AAUW report, the costs of challenging sex discrimination - both financially and emotionally -- are enormous.
"Litigation expenses are huge in terms of both time and money, and the odds of women prevailing in court can seem insurmountable," said Michele Warholic Wetherald, president of the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund.
"Sex discrimination is not the thing of the past. It appears to be more difficult and more costly than before," said Smyth. "The aim of this report is not to endure the problem of sex discrimination but to illustrate how costly it is. We need to place faith to educate young people. But gender biases have aggravated any attempts to this playing field."
Wetherald said the report could act as a catalyst for change.
Despite Gains in Academia, Fewer Women Than Men Receive Tenure
Feminist Daily Newswire (Oct. 22, 2004)
Earlier this week, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) released a report stating that women hold lower-ranking positions in academia, earn lower salaries, and are less likely to be granted tenure. The report, titled "Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia," describes specific cases women professors have taken to the courts after facing discrimination in obtaining tenure. According to AAUW, women represent more than one-half of college and university instructors and lecturers across the country and nearly one-half of all assistant professors. In spite of this, only one-third of associate professors and only 27 percent of tenured professors are women. This problem of discrimination is exacerbated by unclear standards and biased decision-making in the tenure process, according to AAUW. AAUW's report includes strategies for female professors as well as institutions of higher education to combat this sex-based employment discrimination, which is prohibited by both Title IX and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Bad Grade
The Legal Times (Oct. 25, 2004)
America's colleges and universities still discriminate against women when making tenure decisions – at least that's the conclusion of a report from the D.C.-based American Association of University Women Legal Advocacy Fund. According to the report, though women represent more than half of the lower-level, nontenured lecturers and instructors at colleges and universities, they still face difficulties climbing the academic ladder: Just one in three associate professors and one in five "full" professors are women. AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund Director Leslie Annexstein says women in male-dominated fields like chemistry, physics, and engineering have traditionally met with the most resistance. But law faculties have more work to do as well, she says. A report last year from the Association of American Law Schools found that while two in three untenured law lecturers are women, just one in four "full" professors and one in seven deans are.
Nationally, Women Struggle For Tenure: Echoing Complaints From Yale's Female Faculty, Report Suggests That Women Professors Often Hit Glass Ceiling
The Yale Daily News , Yale University (Oct. 25, 2004)
Mirroring trends at Yale, the percentage of female professors reaching the top echelons of higher education has remained low despite a marked increase in the number of women in academia over the last two decades, according to a national report released last week.
The American Association of University Women report, titled "Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia," detailed 19 lawsuits filed by female professors claiming they were denied tenure unfairly.
AAUW spokesperson Jean-Marie Navetta said the report aimed to highlight gender-related problems with the tenure process. Women, she said, are often held to a higher standard than men, and the fields of interest to women, such as Women's Studies, are frequently considered less valuable than other fields.
"Yale has made excellent progress over the last five years in increasing the number of women in the faculty," Graduate School Dean Jon Butler said. "We would like to make even more progress and we work very hard to do so."
AAUW spokesperson Jean-Marie Navetta said the report aimed to highlight gender-related problems with the tenure process. Women, she said, are often held to a higher standard than men, and the fields of interest to women, such as Women's Studies, are frequently considered less valuable than other fields.
The study recommends ways to prevent tenure disputes from reaching the courts, which include designing university policies that comply with anti-discrimination laws and requiring annual written evaluations with explicit performance measures to address the candidate's progress in research, service and teaching. The Legal Advocacy Fund, which monetarily supported the cases cited in the report, was created by the AAUW in 1981 to help promote gender equity for women who were battling tenure decisions in court, Navetta said.
Sex discrimination cases are often difficult to win because of the complicated nature of the tenure process and their lack of transparency, Navetta said. Of the 19 AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund-supported cases described in the report, eight plaintiffs lost, seven settled, two won, and two cases are ongoing.
"We're not disputing that tenure cases are extremely complicated," she said. "We're not encouraging lawsuits. There are a number of other things women can do before going to court."
Ricky Hirschhorn, a biology professor cited by the report who was denied tenure by the University of Kentucky in 1990, said the university's lengthy appeals process focused on procedural errors, and was therefore ill-equipped to address discrimination concerns. After her appeal was denied in 1991, Hirshhorn sued the university for "disparate treatment" -- differential treatment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Although Hirschhorn ultimately lost her case, she said women should continue to challenge tenure decisions to promote understanding of sexual discrimination.
"In order to battle gender discrimination, you have to aggressively challenge by litigating," Hirschhorn said.
Navetta said she hopes universities take the report into account when reviewing tenure candidates.
UB Professor's Lawsuit Highlighted in Report
Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY (Oct. 24, 2004)
A lawsuit filed by a former University at Buffalo education professor is highlighted in a national report on sex-discrimination cases released this week by an advocacy group.
The case brought by Lynn Ilon is one of 19 featured in a report, "Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia," published by the American Association of University Women.
Ilon claims in her suit that UB rejected her tenure application because she accused a colleague of sexually harassing his students, an argument denied by UB. She filed the suit in State Supreme Court in November 2000 after leaving the school.
"There is something dramatically wrong when female professors challenge discrimination and it results in irreparable damage to their careers," Mary Ellen Smyth, president of the association's Educational Foundation, said in a statement referring to the 19 cases.
The association's Legal Advocacy Fund has contributed $7,500 to support Ilon's suit, according to the association Web site. The suit is nearing the end of the discovery, or fact-finding, phase.
Study Shows Women Seeking Tenure Face Discrimination
The Daily Texan, University of Texas – Austin (Oct. 22, 2004)
A report profiling female defendants in tenure discrimination lawsuits released this week from the American Association of University Women stated women continue to face discrimination when seeking tenure. The AAUW is an organization that provides support and money to women involved in discrimination lawsuits. Research for the report spans two decades and 60 court cases.
"There's a problem in the pipeline," said AAUW spokeswoman Jean-Marie Navetta. "Women are there, graduating with doctorates and moving on to advanced careers, but they're not being promoted because of discrimination."
Women Still Lagging on Tenure Across U.S.
The Capital Times, Madison, Wis. (Oct. 21, 2004)
According to a report released by the American Association of University Women on Tuesday, nationwide, women hold about 27 percent of tenured professorships in higher education institutions. And while the organization said discrimination was not the only cause of the gender gap, spokeswomen from the group say it is a factor.
"Sexual discrimination is not a thing of the past," said Elena Silva, director of research for the AAUW Education Foundation. "It's very real and it seems to be more difficult and costly than before to combat."
In Wisconsin, women faculty members hold about 22 percent of tenured professor positions at public schools with doctoral programs, according to the National Education Association. That's 5 percent below the national average. The University of Wisconsin-Madison falls in line with state statistics, with women holding 381 tenured full and associate professorships, while men hold 1,722 of the jobs.
It is not that women are opting out of education. In Wisconsin, women hold 84 percent of instructor jobs, positions that pay less and don't promise the security of tenure. On average, a woman lecturer makes about $51,000 a year, while a male full professor makes more than $96,000 a year.
UW administrators have been trying to address the problem. In 1998, the university system created the Initiative on the Status of Women Report to evaluate conditions for female students and faculty. In 2000, the UW System created a position to oversee recommendations developed by the 1998 report.
Tenure Harder for Females, Report Says
The Daily Californian, University of California – Berkeley (Oct. 19, 2004)
When Margaretta Lovell was denied tenure in 1987 after pushing for better treatment of female graduate students and faculty, she became embroiled in a legal struggle for her tenure, according to a report released today.
Seventeen years later, she is now a tenured UC Berkeley art history professor and her story is one of 19 alleged sex-discrimination cases across the nation’s universities described in the report by the American Association of University Women.
The report, meant to raise awareness of sex discrimination in the tenure process, reveals that 27 percent of tenured positions are offered to women in four-year universities.
Tenure guarantees lifetime employment and is a critical step in building a good reputation in a faculty member’s discipline as well as a solid career path, said Leslie Annexstein, director of the association’s Legal Advocacy Fund, who worked on several of the cases highlighted in the report.
According to the report, women earn less compensation and are less likely to earn senior faculty positions compared to their male counterparts.
Annextein said the burden lies on the university to monitor these policies in good faith.
“Universities have to be vigilant in their approach to this issue,” Annexstein said. “A policy is only as good as its implementers.”
Women Who Cite Sex Bias in Tenure Lawsuits Face High Costs and Long Odds, Report Says
The Chronicle of Higher Education (Oct. 19, 2004)
A report on female professors who have sued their universities for sex discrimination in tenure decisions says the experience can be costly, traumatic, and often futile.
The 105-page report, "Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia," categorizes the legal claims and the strategies that lawyers used in the 19 cases. The report also provides a personal look at the toll the cases took on women's lives and careers. It says that the "burden of proof for plaintiffs is onerous" and that "in most cases that reach trial, universities win."
"What we are really hoping is that this will bring some of the human voices behind these discrimination cases to light," said Leslie Annexstein, director of the Legal Advocacy Fund. "There is a belief out there in society that we've resolved the problems of sex discrimination in higher ed. But this is an issue at the faculty level that is still extremely troubling."
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