IN MINORITY:  THE STATUS OF WOMEN AT ACADIA UNIVERSITY 2008-09

 

by Zelda Abramson and Phyllis Rippeyoung

 

The AUFA Women’s Committee presents this summary of the status of women faculty at Acadia University for the years 2007-2008.  Access to this information is supplied to AUFA’s membership by Human Resources in compliance with Article 28.10. As shown in Table 1, in October 2008 women constituted 38.2% of all full-time faculty at Acadia University.  The overall percentage would be lower had we have included part-time faculty.

 

 

 

 

 

 Table 1    Faculty by rank and sex, October 2008 (%)


 

 

 

Sex  ________________

 

Rank

Male

Female

Total

Professor

83.9

16.1

100.0

Associate Professor

68.2

31.8

100.0

Assistant Professor

60.3

39.7

100.0

Instructor

54.5

45.5

100.0

Lecturer

36.0

64.0

100.0

Librarian

25.0

75.0

100.0

Total

64.1

35.9

100.0

 

 

Looking at change over time, Table 2 maps the overall percentages and percent change at each rank by gender between 2005 and 2008[1]. There are some notable differences. Although there has been an overall 9% increase in women faculty since 2005, there were proportionately fewer women (3%) in 2008 than in 2007. Although this may not seem like a large amount, it is indeed worrisome as the ratio gap between men and women faculty had been narrowing but was far from equitable.

 

There are proportionately fewer women full Professors in 2008 than in 2005 (14%) and there is a greater proportion of women faculty at the Assistant level (19%).  However, there has also been an 18% increase in women faculty in CLT positions which may indicate that women’s increases at the Assistant rank are disproportionately in Acadia’s contingent work force.

 

 

Table 2            Percent female faculty within rank and percent change between 2005 and 2008

 

Position

Oct. 2005

Oct. 2006

Oct. 2008

% 2005-08 change

Full Professor

18.8

18.8

16.1

-0.14

Associate

32.3

28.8

31.8

-0.02

Assistant

32.2

34.9

38.2

0.19

Instructor

57.1

50.0

45.0

-0.10

Lecturer

57.6

71.9

64.0

0.11

Librarian

88.0

90.0

75.0

-0.15

CLT

50.0

55.6

58.8

0.18

Tenured faculty

n/a

24.4

27.5

 0.13Ô

TOTAL female faculty

32.9

37.1

35.9

     3.9  (-.03Ô)

ÔChange from Oct 2006  to Oct 2008

 

Is there a gender wage gap at Acadia?

 

Table 3 presents four regression models that examine gender wage gaps for all full-time faculty and librarians. Model 1 presents the raw gap of all full-time faculty and librarians showing that men earned $9744.60 more than women. Model 2 controls for year of hire and the gap is reduced to $7554.97. In Model 3, rank is added to the equation and the wage gap is substantially reduced to $487.75, which is equivalent to just under one quarter of a grid step. Given the high percentage CLT positions held by women and the average lower pay of CLTs, when controlling for CLT status in Model 4, we see the gap is further reduced to $214.00.

 

Wage gap differences between men and women by faculty (not including librarians) are examined in Table 4. As shown in Model 1, men earn $594.46 more than women in the Faculty of Arts and $1335.91 more in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences (FPAS).  In Professional Studies, however, men earn $832.85 less than women. In Model 2, we control for CLTs and find that in the Faculty of Arts the gender wage gap is reduced to $121.74; however, it is substantially increased in FPAS to $2032.89 and in Professional Studies the trend is reversed to men earning $222.45 more than women.

 

The increased gap in FPAS and Professional Studies, when controlling for CLTs is due to the fact that female CLTs in those faculties earn more than male CLTs.  Women earn, on average, $806.92 more than men as CLTs in Professional Studies.  The difference in FPAS is not reported because only one woman is a CLT in that faculty (Table 5).  In Arts, there is a much larger gender wage gap among CLTs in that men CLTs earn $6950.57 more than female CLTs (on average).   CLTs comprise just under one-fifth of all faculty and 58% of them are female. CLTS, unlike tenure-track candidates, typically are unable to negotiate their starting salary. However, should CLT faculty be successful in securing a tenure-track position, there has been resistance from the Administration to renegotiate their grid steps. Thus, CLTs may be at a long-term salary disadvantage and women, particularly in Arts, may be vulnerable to lower salaries.

 

 

Table 3            Regression analysis of wages on sex, year of hire and rank Article 28.10 2008 (full sample)

 

 

 

Model 1

Model 2

Model 3

Model 4

Men (wages in dollars)

9744.60

7554.97

487.75

225.09

 

(2640.10)

(1960.17)

(1354.97)

(1345.23)

 

 

 

 

 

Year of Hire

 

0.00

0.00

0.00

 

 

(0.00)

(0.00)

(0.00)

Rank1

 

 

 

 

Assistant

 

 

-22066.40

-21113.10

 

 

 

(2209.50)

(2206.50)

 

 

 

 

 

Associate

 

 

-14518.10

-14576.40

 

 

 

(1965.19)

(1940.98)

 

 

 

 

 

Instructor

 

 

-39588.40

-38467.10

 

 

 

(2657.20)

(2691.62)

 

 

 

 

 

Lecturer

 

 

-40480.10

-34684.00

 

 

 

(2738.25)

(3383.99)

Librarian

 

 

-29816.10

(3843.54)

-29988.40 (3796.175)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLTs

 

 

 

-7079.60

 

 

 

 

(2505.62)

 

 

 

 

 

Constant

   78311.92

692012.69

424969.90

424491.70

 

(2106.69)

(43254.59)

(35125.88)

(34716.57)

R2

.053

    .483

.784

.790

N

245

245

245

245

1 Contrast category is Full Professor

Note: Because these are population data, statistical significance is not relevant

 

 

 

Table 4            Regression analysis of wages on sex, year of hire and rank split by faculty

 

 

 

Model 1

 

Model 2

 

Arts

Professional Studies

FPAS

 

Arts

Professional Studies

FPAS

 

B

B

B

 

 

 

 

Men (wages in dollars)

594.46

-832.85

  1335.91

 

121.74

-222.45

2032.89

 

(1837.40)

(2947.18)

(2395.25)

 

(1760.12)

(3188.61)

(2208.85)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year hire

0.00

0.00

0.00

 

0.00

0.00

0.00

 

(0.00)

(0.00)

(0.00)

 

(0.00)

(0.00)

(0.00)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rank1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assistant

-23012.70

-22832.27

-22016.32

 

-22081.35

22541.13

-20740.49

 

(3505.46)

(4427.29)

(3690.92)

 

(3358.94)

 (4611.98)

(3407.99)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Associate 

-16111.17

-12845.25

-13323.15

 

-16242.66

12704.41

-13933.98

 

(2949.57)

(4274.64)

(3183.42)

 

(2814.27)

-(4338.99)

(2930.59)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructor

    -45370.8

-38237.60

-36419.92

 

-45539.86

32330.98

-33453.60

 

(4312.57)

(8053.81)

(3622.66)

 

(4114.63)

(11475.60)

(3411.02)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lecturer

-50150.54

-35950.01

-43898.28

 

-40967.25

-35935.10

-34310.04

 

(3868.76)

(5199.15)

(6507.51)

 

(4817.15)

(6766.72)

(6439.41)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLTs

 

 

 

 

-11809.08

604.650

-15693.82

 

 

 

 

 

(3980.72)

(4951.71)

(3898.86)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Constant)

469726.40

234866.25

444108.16

 

470467.96

81122.47

416127.36

 

(49904.42)

(79100.82)

(64739.46)

 

(47609.91)

(416127.36)

(59922.35)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R2

.897   

.675

.775

 

.907

.668

.813

N

86

60

90

 

86

59

90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Contrast category is Professor                                        

 

 

Table 5            Wage gap differences between men and women by faculty

 

 

Faculty

 

Arts

Professional Studies

FPAS

 

Men (3)

Women (7)

Men (4)

Women (12)

Men (7)

Women (1)

Mean

57036.00

50085.43

71000.75

71807.67

52169.50

54930.00

Difference

6950.57

-806.92

-2760.5

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 



[1] Due to the strike, we did not receive Article 28.10 data in 2007.