Gappa and Trice, "Rethinking Faculty Work and Workplaces for Women"

Summary: This short article discusses some of the changes in the academic workforce and environment over the past seventy years or so and suggests ways for academe to respond. As is suggested in the title, the focus is on women, but many of their suggestions make sense for men as well. The authors note the increase in women in academe and their challenges, such as balancing long work weeks with home responsibilities. Some women elect to avoid the tenure track for the promise of more flexibility, but then they face barriers to advancement, professional development, shared governance, and pay. Gappa and Trice suggest that academic institutions stress employment equity (for part-time faculty, clarity in hiring and firing, better compensation, better physical facilities), flexibility (for tenure-track faculty, flexible probationary periods and schedules), and collegiality (shared governance, abilities to use all campus facilities, etc.).

Response: As I mentioned above, these are good suggestions that apply to all faculty, not only women. However, I don't want to diminish the special concerns women tend to face more than men. For example, I have two young sons and am a very engaged father; however, I didn't notice my public identity changing upon their birth in the same ways my wife's did. Nor did I feel the same pressures to decide whether to go half-time, pursue further schooling, etc. as she articulated. Things have changed quite a bit since the 1940s, but some gender concerns and differences still persist.

I know that in our own PhD program, the issue of children/motherhood and how it may impact success in the program and academe is being discussed quite a bit. It has seemed, to me, to be a difficult discussion, with different parties feeling hurt or marginalized for their choices. This is simply not something that men have to deal with.

Uses: This article, as well as the one by Gappa and Austin, are very useful to give perspective on the changing workforce and some of the challenges faced by women who choose to be academics.