Pay Parity Still Elusive in Higher Ed

A major study of faculty compensation in U.S. colleges and universities finds gender-based pay disparities at all faculty ranks. In "Visualizing Change," released April 11, the American Association of University Professors reports that pay for full-time faculty members rose 2.6 percent this academic year, but significant gaps remain between full, associate and assistant professors — and between male and female professors. Male full professors earn $104,493 on average, compared to $98,524 for women. Male associate and assistant professors earn $80,895 and $70,446, respectively, compared to $77,751 and $67,674 for women. 

A key reason for the gender disparities? Subject matter, AAUP reports. Discipline-level salary surveys show that higher-paying disciplines, such as business management and engineering, tend to be male-dominated, whereas women are over-represented in lower-paying disciplines such as English and sociology.

A related study released the week before, Faculty Service Loads and Gender: Are Women Taking Care of the Academic Family?, found that women's "service loads" in academia are also disproportionately greater than men's. On a weekly basis, women in a national sample performed 30 more minutes per week of service than men. Service refers to activities that are "internal," performed on campus (e.g., department-level), or "external," performed off campus for professional associations and other groups or communities.

Inside Higher Ed (04/11/17)