 In This Issue AAUW Resources | AAUW Educational Foundation Releases Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia By Tess Craft AAUW's primary mission is to promote equity for women and girls, particularly with regard to education. The organization once again supported its mission with the release of the AAUW Educational Foundation and AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund report Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia, which addresses inequitable treatment of women faculty members in higher education. The report charts 19 landmark sex discrimination cases supported by the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund during the last 20 years and "gives a human voice to the concept of sex discrimination in academia." The research seeks to illuminate the very real costs to faculty, students, and institutions when discriminatory practices remain unchecked. Tenure Denied outlines disturbing statistics and trends that women throughout academia face. Although women are receiving post-secondary and post-baccalaureate degrees in record numbers, they still generally occupy the lower-level positions in academia, only accounting for one-fifth of full tenured professorships in the United States, although securing more than one-third of all faculty positions. Women are also, on the whole, paid less and offered fewer chances for advancement to full tenured positions than male faculty members are. Female faculty members also frequently face penalties for taking maternity leave, often losing seniority if the leave is not scheduled during non-teaching time periods, such as a sabbatical research leave or summer term. Additionally, the benchmarks by which women's academic work is evaluated, both in volume of publication and quality of work, are often unclear and rely on subjective interpretation by a tenure committee, which may not - willfully or otherwise - comply with anti-discrimination laws. Even at institutions that have clear merit-based standards, these standards are often applied in ways that are a disadvantage to female professors. Such policies weaken the work attachment of female academics to their chosen field, often prompting them to seek other means of support or other areas of employment. But what does this all mean for those outside of the professorate? If academic institutions do not hire and promote female professors in a gender-blind fashion, based on uniform standards of merit, they do a great disservice to their students. Academe cannot seek to exclude the voices of 52 percent of the world's population by minimizing the opportunities for advancement available to female academics. Women’s voices in the classroom help to balance the traditionally male worldview of higher education and lend support to the attempts of female students to seek post-secondary education for themselves. Unfortunately, the costs to those who speak out against discriminatory practices are high - financially, personally, and professionally. Many women prefer to suffer in silence, rather than take on such a traditionally lauded and powerful institution as a major university. The AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund has been a vital source of support and resources to women who do choose to speak out, offering its help in more than 60 cases in the last 20 years, expending more than $1 million in case support. In its conclusion, the report offers suggestions to female academics, institutions of higher learning, and other individuals seeking a career in professional academia. Colleges and universities are encouraged to include clearly drafted guidelines for obtaining tenure, which specifically address issues such as maternity and family leave. Institutions are also urged to promote internal policies that monitor and limit the power that senior faculty members have over junior members, particularly in how these relationships determine the success of women's bids for tenured jobs. Guidelines for female academics include suggestions on what to do before accepting a job offer, after taking a position, and if a lawsuit becomes necessary, particularly emphasizing the importance of full and thorough documentation of any perceived discrimination. When consulted about the contents of the report, a professor emeritus at a major public university in the Midwest, who spoke on condition of anonymity, related that her own experience in obtaining tenure was a difficult one at best. "I had more experience than many of the men in my department but was paid the least of all faculty members, despite a clear record of superior peer-reviewed publication and the creation of a comprehensive internship program, the first of its kind at the university, in my curriculum vitae. As a result, I encourage all young women who seek a career in academe to go in with open eyes and a full understanding of the risks. Know your rights and don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself." Find out more about Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia and sex discrimination on campus.
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