ERIC Number: EJ1285606
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1927-6044
EISSN: N/A
Gender Inequality, Stress Exposure, and Well-Being among Academic Faculty
Elliott, Marta; Blithe, Sarah J.
International Journal of Higher Education, v10 n2 p240-252 2021
Gender inequalities in salary, rank and access to leadership positions characterize institutions of higher education and disadvantage women faculty. Differential exposure to noxious working conditions and restricted access to social resources may underlie these inequalities by detracting from women faculty's well-being, thereby perpetuating the status quo. This study applies stress process theory to analyze this inequitable state of affairs, treating gender as a social status in higher education that predicts differential exposure to stressors and access to resources. Stressors and resources, in turn, predict faculty well-being. Stressors include micro-aggressions and work-life conflict, and resources include collegiality with peers and support from administrators. Survey data were collected from academic faculty at a mid-sized Western university in the U.S. Results indicate that women faculty experience micro-aggressions and work-life conflict more often than men, and report less supportive relationships with their deans. Moreover, microaggressions and work-life conflict are positively associated with psychological distress and job dissatisfaction, while dean support has the opposite associations. Open-ended responses supplement the quantitative findings with vivid examples of how these phenomena play out in individual faculty members' lives. Implications for how institutions of higher education might introduce change to address these findings are discussed.
Descriptors: Gender Bias, Equal Opportunities (Jobs), Teacher Salaries, College Faculty, Women Faculty, Women Administrators, Work Environment, Well Being, Social Influences, Stress Variables, Family Work Relationship, Predictor Variables, Collegiality, Peer Relationship, Teacher Administrator Relationship, Gender Differences, Psychological Patterns, Job Satisfaction, Deans
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A