Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Features

For many generations, women remained completely excluded from education at every level. Despite the progress that women have made in achieving representation in academia, there remain major gender inequities in higher levels of university administration. Today, more undergraduates, more graduate students, and more medical school graduates in Canada are female, but in the upper echelons of university representation, a major gender imbalance persists.

The History of Discrimination

For centuries academia remained, by and large, the exclusive domain of men. This exclusion of women was often tied to a legal notion that they were not persons; women could not vote, own property, or work outside the home in many parts of the world until relatively recently. Even when women received the right to vote, social constraints made it unlikely for them to exercise significant political or social influence. This widespread legal and social disenfranchisement was evident in the exclusion of women from academic pursuits, and, ironically, perpetuated by this exclusion as well.

Women have over the past several generations begun to make significant contributions to academics. In 1875, Mount Allison University in New Brunswick was the first in the British Empire to grant an undergraduate degree to a woman, Grace Annie Lockhart, and in 1884, the University of Toronto officially became coeducational. Since then, women have made a considerable impact in a reasonably short period of time.

In the 1960s and 1970s, during the height of the second-wave feminist movement, women began to make major strides in the world of higher learning, their presence changing from novelty status to the status quo. During this period, many prominent American universities admitted women for the first time. For example, in 1969 Yale College officially became coeducational, and in 1983, Columbia University followed suit.

In the past thirty to forty years, a marked trend has been noted in universities across Canada: namely, women have rapidly begun to surpass men academically, both in terms of proportional representation and achievement. In the early 1970s, almost 70% of undergraduates were male, but parity between men and women was achieved in the early 1980s. By 2006, roughly 56% of students were female. This increase in the proportion of women pursuing higher education can be credited to a constellation of social and environmental factors, including girls' academically out-pacing boys in high school. A recent paper compiled and released by economist Torben Drewes found that 46% of female high school students achieved an academic average of at least 80%, compared with just 32% of their male classmates. In addition, girls spent an average of 6.4 hours a week studying, compared to a 4.7 hour average for boys.

These trends seen in high schools have been observed not only in undergraduate programs, but at universities' graduate and professional schools as well. There are currently more women than men enrolled in masters' programs, and in each year since 2001, more women than men have graduated from Canadian medical schools. To the superficial observer, these changes have created the perception that women have achieved complete equality in academics or even that men have become a disadvantaged group. When one views the situation from an institutional and systemic perspective, however, it becomes evident that discrimination against women remains pervasive.

The Complacency of Progress

It is now the opinion of many that the feminist crusade achieved its goals. In many ways, our society is becoming increasingly post-feminist, and at times, even hostile towards feminism. It is this attitude of complacency and coalescence which prevents women from achieving full equality.

Although there are now more female students than males pursuing undergraduate degrees, a disturbing trend in inequity continues: that is, a large majority of faculty and administration is male, and on average, these men command higher salaries than women in comparable positions. Despite the great strides that women have made in the span of a few generations, the glass ceiling in academia is evidently one that has yet to be broken.

While women have proven their academic mettle and have carved out a sizable niche in the scholarly world, this success has not translated as clearly to the upper reaches of university teaching and administration. Less than 15% of Canada's 83 universities have women as presidents or rectors, and most have never had a woman hold the top position. While it is less pronounced, a similar imbalance is also evident in faculty positions, with approximately 70% of teaching posts still held by men.

It's even more discouraging that at Canadian universities, male professors on average continue to earn more and to receive more research funding than their female counterparts. This disparity demonstrates that despite concerted efforts to foster a diverse environment and practice inclusivity in hiring, women remain a disadvantaged group.

Institutional Discrimination

In the year 2000, recognizing that women were under-represented, the University of Toronto's own Women in Arts and Sciences Committee published a report detailing the experiences of male and female employees. The report touched on issues ranging from research, teaching, family and personal commitments, to general equity concerns. The results revealed that although the discrimination against women may not be blatant or condoned, it is pervasive and can often impede professional progress. The report noted that in addition to their shouldering more child care and general familial responsibilities than men, women were less likely to ask for accommodations to alleviate these stresses, and, when requesting said accommodations, were less likely than male co-workers to receive assistance. Furthermore, it was found that more women than men experienced or witnessed harassment in the workplace, sexual or otherwise. With regard to funding in meeting the demands of research, the study discovered yet another inequity: in the sciences, female professors received an average of just over $66,000 to perform research, versus $88,000 for male professors. In the social sciences, the proportion was even further skewed, with men reporting receiving an average of over $17,000, as compared with around $11,000 for female professors.

The comments made by those surveyed in this study were even more revealing than the statistics. For instance, one faculty member reported observing, "mainly casual, humourous, or unconscious forms of discrimination, especially [a] lack of effort to involve female colleagues in high-level department committees and planning." Another employee, herself an assistant science professor, stated, "I am in a male-dominated field which undervalues the research areas women are traditionally in (and I'm in one of those). Even in my sub-area, which has a large number of women, men generally have the positions of influence, women have difficulty gaining recognition for their work, etc. In addition, there are more subtle effects of the differences between men and women in their social/professional interactions that cause difficulties."

Beyond the comments regarding cases of generalized discrimination, there were also numerous concerns regarding specific issues such as child care and familial obligations. One faculty member noted that, "it seems that a tiny minority of female professors have children, at least in my department. Nobody is particularly at fault, but there is definitely a problem." Another employee made the troubling observation that "the pretenure years coincide with the childbearing years and/or the years when many people's children are not yet in school. Why must the years that matter most to one's professional success be the years that are most demanding in terms of parental responsibilities?"

Indeed, results revealed that about 50% of female professors postponed having children in order to receive tenure, whereas less than 20% of male coworkers made similar arrangements. Women also reported more difficulty in receiving childcare accommodations, with only 39% having their requests met. Male professors, in contrast, were less hesitant to request assistance, and 67% were accommodated. The employees' experiences with child care are very likely reflective of a general attitude that when women devote time to their families, they are neglecting work, but when men make similar sacrifices, they are seen as demonstrating strength of character.

While discrimination is no longer institutionally or governmentally facilitated, and the University of Toronto, like many, has committed to more inclusive hiring practices, there remains a more subtle, unspoken culture of discrimination, arguably more difficult to eradicate because it hides in plain sight. Evidently, there are institutional barriers in place which prevent women from realizing the same degree of success as their male coworkers.

The scarcity of women in positions of higher authority at the university level mirrors a phenomenon prevalent in the corporate world. For example, among the Fortune 500 companies, only fifteen - a mere three percent - are led by women. Clearly, this discriminatory occurrence is not limited to the world of academia. A "pyramid" structure of employment, whereby the majority of lower-level positions are held by women and the majority of higher ranking posts are held by men, prevails in many disciplines.

Cracks in the Ceiling?

Despite the grim statistics, it can be said that women are making progress, however slow. In 2003, McGill University appointed its first female principal, Heather Munroe-Blum. It remains the largest Canadian university to do so.

The University of Toronto is to be commended on having established a Status of Women Office in 1984, and it is undeniable that it has been instrumental in effecting necessary change. This office organizes worthwhile workshops and seminars concerning issues such as violence against women, women's personal safety on campus, and the challenges that young women face in the search for equality. To ensure the success of women in all realms of university life, however, it is imperative that transparency be achieved in reporting, both qualitatively and quantitatively, on their current status.

While the last study published by the Women in Arts and Science Committee in the year 2000 was illuminating, the fact remains that almost a decade has passed since these figures were current. A follow-up survey, entitled "Speaking Up", commissioned by the University itself, was conducted in 2006, and while it was broad-reaching, it lacked the specificity of the prior study. Regardless, results revealed similar inadequacies in equality, noting generally that women were less likely than men to have a favourable report of their workplace. While this survey is notable in that it demonstrates a renewed desire to address equity concerns, a comprehensive follow-up, broadening the scope and increasing the detail of the prior studies, would be ideal. Such a report would ensure that awareness remains acute, and complacency is not allowed to prevail. Figures regarding salaries, hiring practices, and the climate in which men and women work should be collected and published on a regular, consistent, and transparent basis. In this way, progress can be tracked effectively and information can be made readily available. Commitment to accountability in reporting these facts will tangibly show that the university is willing to pledge more than just lip service to the pursuit of equity.

A university should act as a comprehensive and inclusive leader in policy, research, technology, innovation, and critical and cultural theory. Commanding such authority and wielding such power in a society requires the institution to reflect the community it influences. It is necessary for diverse and at times divergent viewpoints to give weight to the work of an international institution like the University of Toronto.

In the words of one Arts and Sciences Faculty member pertaining to the first study, "I am a white male, so I have not directly experienced discrimination. However, a lack of female and non-white colleagues skews research. It is here that my work suffers from lack of richer input." The desire for equality and diversity at universities is not just a politically correct reflex; it is a way to ensure that research is high-quality, relevant, and well-informed.

Statistics

In 1875, Mount Allison University in New Brunswick was the first in the British Empire to grant an undergraduate degree to a woman, Grace Annie Lockhart, and in 1884, the University of Toronto officially became co-educational.

In the early 1970s, almost 70% of undergraduates were male, but parity between men and women was achieved in the early 1980s. By the year 2006, roughly 56% of students were female

Less than 15% of Canada's 83 universities have women as presidents or rectors, and most have never had a woman hold the top position.

While it is less pronounced, a similar imbalance is also evident in faculty positions, with approximately 70% of teaching posts still held by men.

A report published in year 2000 by U of T's Women in Arts and Sciences Committee revealed that female professors received an average of just over $66,000 to perform research, versus $88,000 for male professors. In the social sciences, the proportion was even further skewed, with men reporting receiving an average of over $17,000, as compared with around $11,000 for female professors.
Results revealed that about 50% of female professors postponed having children in order to receive tenure, whereas less than 20% of male coworkers made similar arrangements.

Women also reported more difficulty in receiving childcare accommodations, with only 39% having their requests met. Male professors, in contrast, were less hesitant to request assistance, and 67% were accommodated.

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