Academic Women Research Articles

A community-based practice for the co-development of women academic leaders

ABSTRACT Academic development usually focuses on individuals, with activities bounded by institutional strategy. There is a lack of research exploring the emergence of cross-institutional communities of practice and their ability to offer opportunities for professional collaboration, particularly for underrepresented or marginalised groups. Our study highlights how, after a formal program, individuals from different institutions facilitated deeper connections, transcending hierarchical boundaries and nurturing a sense of trust. Drawing from our experiences, we examine the emergence of a collegiate group of academic women as a community of practice. Co-development through community-based relationships enable personal and professional growth outcomes including, but not limited to, promotion and esteem recognition.

Self-Perceptions and Benefits of Psychological Resilience Among Women Academics in the Context of Working in South African Higher Education Institutions (SA-HEIs): A Mixed-Method Approach

Higher education institutions (HEIs) globally heavily depend on the resilience of academic staff members to achieve excellence in teaching and learning. The extant scholarly work on resilience seems to take the relationship between workplace environmental factors (WEFs) and the adverse experiences of resilience among women academics for granted. Using South Africa as an example, this research mainly focused on the WEFs acknowledged as the primary sources of adversity and the overall perceptions and experiences of resilience among women academics in South African HEIs. This research employed a mixed methods sequential explanatory design comprising an online quantitative survey of 135 women academics, and individual in-depth/semi-structured qualitative interviews of 27 women academics. The aim of this article was to illustrate how resilience can shape the way women academics interpret and respond to adversity. More specifically, the mixed-method findings presented in this article thought to document the perceived experiences of PR among women academics in South African Higher Education institutions (SA-HEIs), with a particular focus on the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) which is located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The findings unpack how four building blocks of psychological resilience (BBPRs)—neuroticism, mindfulness, self-efficacy, and coping—moderated the effects of WEFs-related adversities; and provide insights into the impacts of human resources management practices (HRMP) on women academics’ resilience. We conclude that a higher self-reported level of resilience is not necessarily indicative of positive experiences of WEFs amongst women academics in South African universities.

The Gender Publication Gap Revisited: Evidence from the International Political Science Review

ABSTRACTSince the 1990s, there has been consensus in the literature of a submission and publication gap that favors men. Important research in the intervening years has explored the many reasons for this output gap: imbalanced administrative workloads; bias in top journals against female-dominated subfields and methodological approaches; and lower confidence levels among women, sometimes known as the “Matthew effect.” However, in the intervening period, there has been a notable emphasis on recruiting more women into academia, and the importance of publishing for career development has intensified. Journal case studies have highlighted a growth in output by women academics but show that men are still overrepresented. Using a case study of the International Political Science Review (IPSR), we contribute to the emerging body of work that shows that the gender gap has diminished or even been eliminated. We present data on submissions and acceptances by gender, and we base our comparisons in the gender balance of the departments of submitting authors. The results are clear, for IPSR, the gender gap has closed and women now publish on a par with their men colleagues in their department.

There is No Vacation from Trauma: Black Women Academicians’ Narratives on the Need for Community During Times of Racialized Injustices

Reflecting on the collective traumas of the COVID-19 pandemic and the metaphorical racial reckoning of the summer of 2020, two Black women within the academy share their reflections through an intersectional collaborative autoethnography. One overarching theme, intersectional racialized trauma, and two subthemes, (a) feelings of helplessness due to collective trauma and (b) Black women get tired too, emerged as findings from this study. The piece closes with recommendations for Black women academicians navigating the academy.

Coming to Terms with Our Racecar Brains: Academic Mothers Experiencing Adult Diagnosis of ADHD

ABSTRACT This collaborative autoethnography explores the experiences of women academics and mothers who received late diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Due to the historical underdiagnosis of women, little research has focused on this specific demographic. We shed light on how ADHD presents in women, interweaving our stories with extant literature and emphasizing the need to understand this demographic’s experiences better. This piece discusses our process of seeking diagnosis and treatment, the communicative disenfranchisement we faced, and the stigma associated with ADHD. Our narratives highlight the generational impact of ADHD, with family members often sharing our diagnosis. Through divulging our experiences, we hope to contribute to the destigmatization of ADHD, particularly for women and academics.

Shared wisdom: a collaborative autoethnography on mentorship and women supporting women in academia

ABSTRACT In this collaborative autoethnography, three female professors sought to reflect on personal discoveries from their recent research examining the benefits of women supporting women in academia. The findings of their study indicated that women who are mentored and supported by other women in academia feel empowered to continue with this work despite the challenges they encounter. As educators, reflective thinking and writing are common practices we use to examine and enhance our teaching. Through this autoethnographic exploration, we self-reflected on the topic of this research and explored how we, as women in academia, benefit by being supported by other women and how we could take what we learned to support and mentor other women we encounter in this field.

Writing differently: Finding beauty in the broken

AbstractThis article presents our “multi‐vocal memory work” of collaborative researching and writing experiences as women academics in UK Business Schools. Set against the backdrop of the broken neoliberal academy, we use Daoism as an analytical lens to identify two emergent themes: 1) emotional contradictions and 2) institutional and social structures: micro‐creative and collective change. Examining ourselves and the academy as broken, we learn to find beauty in the flaws as they signify healing. Thus, sharing our emotions and vulnerability through collective research and writing enables us to “put ourselves back together.” Methodologically, we draw on memory work to explore different ways of researching and writing. We argue that there is emergent hope in identifying and raising the profile of growing spaces within the academy for alternative forms of writing.

Unmothering the Conversation on Gender in Academia

The number of academic women working in universities has increased significantly in Chile. This article analyzes discourses on gender in the Chilean higher education system coming from academics working as scholars in the educational field in private and public universities in three different regions of the country. Based on a large qualitative study on research policies, we revisited data from 43 semistructured interviews with feminist poststructural discourse analysis (FPDA) to reflect the ways gender policies on research are being designed, justified, and resisted within academic spaces. The results show that the promotion of gender policies has been reduced to an idea of women as a homogeneous category, leaving aside a complex comprehension of politics of care and gender, without incorporating intersectionality in the discussion. This has an impact on the resistance to the advancement of gender policies in research and the perpetuation of sexism within academic spaces.

In Their Own Voices: A Critical Narrative Review of Black Women Faculty Members’ First-Person Accounts of Racial Trauma Across Higher Education

Phenomenon : Black women often face more challenges in academic medicine than others and are leaving the profession due to unsupportive work environments, systematic neglect, and experiences of invisibility. Research offers insight into Black women faculty experiences, but studies have largely been conducted on their experiences rather than written by them. We analyzed first-person narratives exploring Black women faculty members’ experiences with racial trauma across the academy considering the intersectionality of racism and sexism to lay the foundation for understanding Black women physicians’ faculty experiences in similar spaces. Approach : We gathered first-person narratives of Black women faculty members in the U.S. from ERIC, Web of Science, and Ovid Medline. We used a variety of terms to draw out potential experiences with trauma (e.g., microaggressions, stigma, prejudice). Articles were screened by two researchers, with a third resolving conflicts. Drawing on constructs from Black feminist theory, two researchers extracted from each article authors’ claims about: (a) their institutions, (b) their experiences in those spaces, and (c) suggestions for change. We then analyzed these data through the lens of racial trauma while also noting the effects of gendered racism. Findings : We identified four key themes from the 46 first-person accounts of racial trauma of Black faculty members in higher education: pressures arising from being “the only” or “one of few”; elimination of value through the “cloak of invisibility” and “unconscious assumptions”; the psychological burden of “walking a tightrope”; and communal responsibility, asking “if not us, then who?” Insights : Black women’s narratives are necessary to unearth their specific truths as individuals who experience intersectional oppression because of their marginalized racial and gender identities. This may also assist with better understanding opportunities to dismantle the oppressive structures and practices hindering more diverse, equitable, and inclusive institutional environments where their representation, voice, and experience gives space for them to thrive and not simply survive within the academy, including and not limited to medicine.

The narratives of Chinese women academics: exploring gendered career trajectories for those who are not leaders

ABSTRACT Despite women academics reaching higher positions, in institutional hierarchies they still face multiple tensions that hinder reaching leadership positions. 1 This study explores the perception of leadership among Chinese women academics who currently do not hold academic leadership positions. A feminist critical discourse analysis of 14 Chinese women academics’ narratives, using Butlerian theory, indicates that institutional discourses have been shaped predominantly by men’s norms and preferences, creating challenges for women assuming leadership responsibilities. The findings show that women and men academics appear to have different career trajectories, with men taking on more administrative roles and advancing further in their academic careers. For many women, leadership conflicts with family obligations, as families often take priority, consistent with gender norms. This study also reveals how social and institutional regulatory power, such as gender norms and institutional discourses, constitutes and shapes a gendered structure of academic leadership positions in Chinese universities.

The experience of women researchers during the Covid-19 pandemic: a scoping review

Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic globally disrupted lives and contributed to the exacerbation of pre-existing inequalities. Women in research were also affected. The prominent role that women played in professional and personal care duties had a detrimental effect on their research outputs, potentially hindering their career progression. Moreover, the challenges faced by women academics during the pandemic, including job loss, increased mental health issues, and the intersection of gender with other socio-demographic traits exacerbated existing gender disparities within academia. By systematically scoping the qualitative literature on the experiences of women researchers during the pandemic, this study sought to explore how women experienced and reacted to the challenges generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative meta synthesis of the included studies revealed three themes: gendered professional expectations, colliding identities and coping strategies. These themes show how gendered roles such as teaching and professional care work, associated with the hierarchical and gendered division of tasks both at home and in the workplace, made women feel unsupported and alienated as relevant agents in the academic context. The study reveals the importance of pastoral care, teaching and service work as the essential backbone of the academic infrastructure, especially in times of crises. It also exposes how productivity-focused researcher assessment criteria, rewarding mainly individual results and unrewarding of care and service work, can be viewed as perpetuating structural inequalities based on gender, parenting situations, contractual situations and background. In conclusion, this study exposes the need to proactively address the gendered practices and implicit biases which reproduce inequalities within academia and highlights how paying attention to the experiences and needs of women researchers is essential for improving the resilience and crises preparedness of academic the system.

Gender qualities, creativity and performance in geosciences in a sustainable university system for global capacity building

Contributions of women to global politics, policy making, education and community development in the contemporary world despite their active familial roles and declining economy has led to sustainable global development. Their prominence has not been felt in geosciences to harness endowed earth’s treasures. Women academic geoscientists play vital roles investing into the future of countries for improved human lives. This study focuses on imbalanced gender structure of staff and students of Earth Sciences in a university system with intention to promoting gender inclusiveness in geosciences. The study employs sex-based counts of students (males and females) and women academics in Earth Sciences to investigate the reason(s) for low proportion of women in academic career in Nigerian university system. Data acquired from 2018 - 2023 academic sessions, revealed that < 13% female students defended their final year projects in a male dominated academic staff department that has one female in the staff gender composition. Thus, emphasis on employment of more female lecturers in geosciences in university system’s policy and other establishments would add value to their roles in global capacity building. This would advertently boost female students’ enrollment because of gender inclusiveness and performance of female folks at all levels of their academic pursuit. It guarantees quality in moulding and training students, enhances gender equity in the system by motivating them to take up academic careers, and as role models to emulate. This promotes women diversification in Earth Sciences, thus motivating and boosting their informed participation, creativity and improved solutions to their environment.

The helpers, the doers, and the ones left behind: Reflections on the gendered dimension of academic citizenship in Dutch academia

Gender disparities in academia are pervasive. From the well-known ‘leaky pipeline’ phenomenon, which demonstrated the progressive decrease of women academics from occupying senior scientific positions, to the gender pay gap, women in academia do not enjoy a level playing field. Across the world, women have a harder time climbing the academic ladder, due, in part, to policies that discriminate towards people with caring responsibilities (most of whom, albeit not all, are women), general gender-based biases, or a substantial gender pay gap. An additional yet important aspect of the evident gender disparities in academia can be attributed to the engagement of what is commonly known as citizenship behaviours, such as taking part in academic committees or mentoring colleagues. Studies have shown that women engage in such activities at a higher rate than their male counterparts, leaving less time for research and, ergo, widening the academic gender gap in the long term. Based on findings from a study conducted at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, this essay aims to highlight the gender disparities in academic citizenship behaviours and suggests that more attention should be paid to the distribution of service work at the department, faculty, and university levels, with a specific focus on gender equity. The overall aim here is to provide a reflection on how structural and cultural discrimination in the internal society of universities can affect why, how, and to what extent academics engage with citizenship behaviours, and propose an approach to study the gendered dimension of academic service work.

Gender and the legal academy

Abstract This Foreword examines what we describe as a “gender gap” in the legal academy. The gap can be seen most clearly in the significantly lower proportion of tenured women faculty members than of men faculty members in most parts of the world, but it is evident in many other aspects too, including the fact that women in academia are often clustered in a “pink ghetto” with lower pay, status, and job security. We begin by outlining the nature of the academic gender gap and some of the obstacles to its removal or reduction, before considering the reasons this gap should be a matter for concern. Two kinds of reasons for such concern are offered: consequences-based and justice-based. The Foreword concludes by suggesting a number of ways in which the gender gap might be addressed, arguing for attention to be paid to the risk of pursuing apparent solutions which may have the effect of entrenching or exacerbating aspects of the problem. Ultimately, we argue that what is needed is not just a larger proportion of women in law schools, but a more just and feminist legal academy along multiple intersecting dimensions.

Recent Trends in “Manels” and Gender Representation Among Panelists at North American Annual Radiation Oncology Meetings

PurposeAchieving gender equity in radiation oncology is an important goal as a smaller proportion of women enter radiation oncology residency compared to those graduating medical school. As invited speaking opportunities at academic medical conferences are vital for promotion/tenure, we investigated the prevalence of all-men panels (“manels”) at ASTRO and CARO Annual Meetings. Methods and MaterialsUsing ASTRO and CARO online meeting programs, 2018-2021 faculty information was obtained, including gender, panel role (chair vs. non-chair), type of session, and topic. Primary outcomes included percentage of manels and proportion of women panelists over time. Representation of women among chairs was also evaluated. ResultsOver the 4-year study period across both conferences, there were a total of 765 panel sessions with 2,973 faculty members, of which 1,287 (43.3%) were women. Of these, 127/765 (16.6%) were manels. ASTRO meetings had 169/2742 (42.6%) women faculty members and 107/680 (15.7%) manels, while CARO meetings had 118/231 (51.1%) female faculty and 20/85 manels (23.5%). From 2018 to 2021, the proportion of manels decreased, at ASTRO and CARO from 25.6% to 8.2% (p<0.001) and from 29.6% to 15.0% (p=0.130), respectively. The role of chair was majority male in every year from 2018 to 2021 at ASTRO (58.6% overall), but more balanced at CARO (48.0% overall). Among session types, the highest proportion of manels was observed for scientific sessions (19.1%, p=0.011) at ASTRO and leadership sessions (29.4%, p=0.533) at CARO. The lowest proportion of women panelists were on genitourinary cancer topics at ASTRO (31.9%, p=0.018) and physics topics at CARO (40.4%, p=0.085). ConclusionDuring the study period, the proportion of women panelists increased with a corresponding decrease in manels. ASTRO and CARO should strive for further involvement of women and the elimination of manels whenever possible.

Strategies to promote dignified and feminist academia: some collaborative reflections from Chile

During the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars around the world warned about increasing gender inequalities within academia. In this context, we created Red Feminista de las Ciencias Sociales to support initiatives among women researchers in Chile. Our objective is to appeal for gender equality in academia and to promote structural changes that guarantee dignified feminist academia in the social sciences. This article draws on various self-training and discussion activities developed by the Red Feminista between mid-2021 and mid-2022 to discuss the role of women in academia, with implications for other marginalised groups in Chile and possibly other countries where inequality in academia is also a reality. Based on our discussions, we propose strategies to promote a decentralised, decolonised and feminist social science academia that guarantees gender equality as a fundamental human right and as a crosscutting axis in producing knowledge and access to it. We organise these strategies into four pillars: 1) equity and justice in the production of knowledge, 2) dignified work conditions in the production of knowledge, 3) a work environment free from harassment and 4) the democratisation of access to knowledge. Whilst these aspects have been studied in other countries, this article addresses the specific context of Chile. We argue that it is possible to reflect on feminisms (in plural) within academia and propose practical strategies for establishing new dynamics through collaborative work.

Gender and Geographical Distribution of Editorial Board Members of Three Leading Suicide Journals.

Background: Despite the recent progress of women in academia, there is an underrepresentation of female editors in academic journals. Additionally, although suicide affects more low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) than high-income countries, little is known about the geographical distribution of editors in suicidology journals. Aims: We aimed to determine the gender and geographical distribution of the editorial board members (EBMs) of leading suicide journals. Method: Data were collected between November 27 and 29, 2022. We purposively selected suicidology journals, searched the journal websites, and extracted data on the gender and affiliated country of the EBM to identify the continent and income category of the country. Results: The proportion of female EBMs was 32.37% with better representation in senior positions. Only six positions (3.47%) were occupied by four individuals affiliated with LMIC backgrounds. The highest number of EBMs was located in North America (58.38%) while one member was from Africa. Limitations: Only three purposively selected journals were scrutinized. Conclusion: This study reveals that approximately one third of the editorial positions were occupied by women and less than 4% of editors were from LMICs, where suicide represents a significant burden.

Constructing a women-friendly academic ecology: understanding the push and pull forces on Pakistani women academics’ research productivity

ABSTRACT While it is often acknowledged that women academics encounter challenges in research, motivation, and collaboration compared to their male counterparts, this narrative perpetuates the widening scholarly publication disparity, especially in patriarchal societies and academia. However, recent research focusing solely on women has identified key factors influencing their research output. This study contributes to the literature by applying Bronfenbrenner's ecological system theory to explore the experiences of 10 Pakistani women academics across various academic ranks, institution types (Women vs. coeducational), and family structures. The findings underscore the critical role of familial, collegial, and institutional support in shaping women academics’ research productivity. Recognizing and addressing these factors can facilitate the creation of supportive environments conducive to enhancing the research skills, engagement, and performance of women academics, thereby promoting sustainable university development.

Advancing women to leadership in academia: does personal branding matter?

PurposePersonal branding is a strategic tool of marketing and communication to define success in organisations. While it constitutes a conscious attempt to commodify self and audit self, it must be intentionally managed to obtain its optimum results. This study aims to illustrate how personal branding may also pose unintentional and unconscious strategic tool for women academics in academia to help them get wider visibility and increase their chances of getting into leadership positions.Design/methodology/approachWe employed a case study approach and convenience sampling to select our unit of analysis. Three universities in both public and private universities in the eastern regions of Indonesia were purposefully selected, and interviews were held with 30 female leaders occupying and occupied middle and lower leadership hierarchies.FindingsOur research shows that, despite their unintentional, unplanned and poorly designed personal branding, women have been able to advance to their current leadership positions by building their own rooms for practising their own preferred leadership values to get them visible and heard. This way is performed through a gendered networking, previous leadership experience and bureaucratic requirements. The consequence of such a practice may limit the range of visibility to getting noticed as worthy individuals for senior leadership roles. This might be one reason why women are scarcely found in senior leadership positions.Originality/valueWe propose that natural strategies of constructing, narrating and marketing or communicating personal branding in academia through authentic actions can also be helpful for the success of women to get to leadership roles in a smaller and ambient environment.

“We Have to Be Everything at a Time America Tells Us that We are Nothing”: enacting justice as praxis as women of color in education

Our stories matter. Stories teach, heal, and affirm our presence, struggles, and perseverance. While the academy socializes scholars to privilege individual advancement, Women of Color consistently testify to the power of collective spaces as spaces of resistance, strength, and critical consciousness. As Asian/Asian American and Black women in academia, we present our stories using a methodological approach we call, “Third World Feminist Collaborative Autoethnography.” Epistemologically, third-world feminism honors the feminist transnational identities that situate us within a global majority. Methodologically, collaborative autoethnography focuses on our joint-individual and interactional critical reflexivity as we grapple with our role, expectations, and commitments toward justice as a praxis. Through narrative and poetic reflections, we analyze relationships between public justice work and private support. while simultaneously discussing our (un)learning processes across four themes: (1) navigating academic labor expectations in dehumanizing circumstances, (2) cultivating community, (3) storying temporality, and (4) signifying spatiality.