Gender equity in professional and general staff in Australian universities: the contemporary picture

Most research on employment conditions of university staff has focused on academic staff and excluded all other staff who now constitute the majority of employees in Australian universities. This article presents a snapshot of these professional staff using data from a 2011 national study of 19 univ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Labour & industry (Brisbane, Qld.) Qld.), 2013-09, Vol.23 (3), p.215-230
Main Authors: Strachan, Glenda, Bailey, Janis, Wallace, Michelle, Troup, Carolyn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
career progression
Careers
Decision making
Educational Attainment
Employment
Females
gender
Gender equity
Gender pay gap
gender segregation
Hierarchy
Human capital
Maternity & paternity leaves
professional staff
Sex
Social capital
Universities
University administration
Women
Workers
Workforce
Working conditions
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Summary:Most research on employment conditions of university staff has focused on academic staff and excluded all other staff who now constitute the majority of employees in Australian universities. This article presents a snapshot of these professional staff using data from a 2011 national study of 19 universities, the Work and Careers in Australia University (WCAU) survey. Analysis of responses from 10,924 general/professional university workers was undertaken and comparisons made where possible with a similar 1996 survey conducted by Probert. The article addresses the ongoing issue of women's progress up organisational hierarchies and presents an analysis of some of the mechanisms by which gender amongst university professional staff is produced and hindered. Specifically, it addresses questions of educational level, current position in the organisation, appointments, promotion and reclassification of positions, that is advancement through the hierarchy. The article concludes that despite equal educational attainments, women remain less likely than men to reach senior positions.
ISSN:1030-1763
2325-5676
DOI:10.1080/10301763.2013.839086