"We Don’t Have the Key to the Executive Washroom”: Women’s Perceptions and Experiences of Promotion in Academia

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Publication date
2010-05
Author
Guth, Jessica
Wright, Fran
Keyword
Academia; Women; Promotion; Career progression; Procedures; Criteria
Rights
© 2010 IGI Global. Reproduced with the written permission of IGI Global in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
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Abstract
This chapter reports on a pilot study looking at the progression of academic women at one UK University. The chapter focuses on the promotions process and criteria as one important issue emerging from that research. Earlier research has shown that women are less likely to break into institutional networks which allow them to access information not only on formal and objective promotion criteria but also on hidden criteria and the way the ‘academic game’ is played. One result of this is that some academic women may have an inaccurate view of promotion criteria and processes. At the university studied by the authors, the Human Resources department has sought to make the promotion process more transparent and, officially at least, it no longer depends purely upon research achievements. However, these changes will not necessarily result in easier progression for women academics. The authors’ study confirms that there is still a mismatch between what women think the criteria for promotion are, what the formal criteria are and how those criteria actually operate. Reliance on incomplete or inaccurate information about promotion criteria, coupled other factors, such as women’s reluctance to promote themselves actively and traditional barriers to promotion such as caring responsibilities, puts women at a disadvantage when they attempt to progress into more senior positions within universities. Reform of promotions procedures needs to look beyond re-writing the substantive criteria for promotion and look to improving understanding of what is involved.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10454/8408
Version
published version paper
Citation
Guth J and Wright F (2010) "We don't have the Key to the Executive Washroom": Women’s Perceptions and Experiences of Promotion in Academia. In: Cater-Steel A and Cater E (Eds) Women in Engineering, Science and Technology: Education and Career Challenges. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. ISBN 9781615206575. pp159-177.
Link to publisher’s version
http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-657-5
Type
Book chapter
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