Gender, Pay and Job Satisfaction of Faculty in Journalism

Abstract

Women faculty members receive less pay, but have same degree of job satisfaction as men. During last two decades, education researchers have increasingly focused their attention on phenomena of job satisfaction among college and university faculty as a way of assessing nature of work motivation in academia. Because primary demographic change in faculties during this period has been an increase in number of women professors, many of studies have focused specifically on influence of gender on motivation. This study further narrows focus by examining gender based differences in job satisfaction among faculty in one particular academic discipline-journalism and mass communication. Specifically, it examines whether women teachers are generally less satisfied than men teachers, whether women are paid less than men and whether pay is a strong predictor of job satisfaction. It has been argued that academic profession has a number of unique characteristics that differentiate it from other institutions. These include inherent conflict between teaching and research, dual orientation (both institutional and professional) of work place, tenure system of job security, high level of autonomy based on academic freedom, among others.1 Because of this, theory from more general studies may not be totally appropriate for analysis of faculty job satisfaction. Traditionally, job satisfaction has been viewed as a single-factor concept wherein attitudes toward work are classified as either satisfying or dissatisfying. The assumption has been that any job related item can elicit either a positive or negative response from worker, and that a source of job satisfaction can, in different situations, be a source of dissatisfaction.2 In 1943, however, Maslow outlined elements of an overall theory of job satisfaction based on a hierarchy of needs that had to be activated in order to motivate individual.3 This multi-dimensional orientation in large part displaced traditional notion, and was eventually extended by Herzberg et al. in 1959 who argued that opposite of job satisfaction was no satisfaction rather than dissatisfaction and that the opposite of job dissatisfaction is no job dissatisfaction, not satisfaction with one's job.4 Herzberg's two-factor theory held that certain job content features (motivators) such as responsibility and achievement led to job satisfaction when present, but did not produce dissatisfaction when absent. These satisfiers are now commonly referred to as intrinsic factors. Other job context features (termed hygienes) such as supervision, company policies and money were said to cause dissatisfaction when inadequate, but not to produce satisfaction, even when more than adequate. These dissatisflers are referred to as extrinsic factors.5 Research in higher education has tended to support Herzberg's two-factor theory, particularly when methodology is used. The method asks respondents to relate incidents which reflect satisfying and dissatisfying work episodes. Generally, satisfying incidents are associated with intrinsic factors while dissatisfying episodes are linked to extrinsic factors.6 Research in other work domains using other methodology has often produced results quite different from those predicted by two-factor theory, however, and critics argue that theory is contingent upon use of critical events methodology.7 Hill recently tested theory on a sample of more than 1000 full-time faculty members using a factor-analytic approach rather than critical events methodology. His findings provide support for Herzberg's two-factor theory and suggest that model can be applied to institutions of higher learning, but that considerable doubt remains concerning identification of intrinsic/extrinsic features. He suggests that, because of marked individuality of American professoriate and equally diverse fields of intellectuai endeavor, additional research using methods other than critical events technique is needed before two-factor theory can be considered applicable to academics. …