Finding 3-13: For all disciplines the percentage of tenure-track women who received the first job offer was greater than the percentage in the interview
pool. Women received the first offer in 29 percent of the tenure-track and 31 percent of the tenured positions surveyed. Tenure-track women in all of these disciplines received a percentage of first offers that was greater than their percentage in the interview pool. For example, women were 21 percent of the interview pool for tenure-track electrical engineering positions and received 32 percent of the first offers. This finding is also true for tenured positions with the notable exception of biology, where the interview pool was 33 percent and women received 22 percent of the first offers.
Finding 3-14: In 95 percent of the tenure-track and 100 percent of the tenured positions where a man was the first choice for a position, a man was ultimately hired. In contrast, in cases where a woman was the first choice, a woman was ultimately hired in only 70 percent of the tenure-track and 77 percent of the tenured positions. When faculty were asked what factors they considered when selecting their current position, the effect of gender was statistically significant for only one factor—“family-related reasons.”
Chapter 4—Professional Activities,
Institutional Resources, Climate, and Outcomes
The survey findings with regard to climate and resources demonstrate two critical points. First, discipline matters, as indicated by the difference in the amount of grant funding held by male and female faculty in biology, but not in other disciplines. Second, institutions have been doing well in addressing most of the aspects of climate that they can control, such as start-up packages and reduced teaching loads. Where the challenge may remain is in the climate at the departmental level. Interaction and collegial engagement with one’s colleagues is an important part of scientific discovery and collaboration, and here female faculty were not as connected.