Feeling devalued at work may be a more prominent reason women leave academic jobs than commonly cited work-life balance and caregiving pressures, according to a study published last month. Men also reported feeling undervalued, but the experience was more common among women, the researchers said.
The study analyzed responses from 6,615 current and former tenured or tenure-track faculty members at more than 390 institutions that grant Ph.D.s. Lead author Katie Spoon, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University, asked current faculty what changes would reduce stress in their positions and former faculty what would have needed to change for them to stay.
Women’s responses often focused on workplace climate and respect, said co-author Lauren Rivera, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Women described feeling devalued because of their gender, race or parental status, alongside concerns about balancing work and personal responsibilities.
The responses cited both formal and informal forms of devaluation. These included higher publication standards or lower pay compared with male colleagues, as well as exclusion from important meetings, harassment and discrimination. Women of color were especially likely to describe doing extra administrative and support work that was not formally rewarded, as well as encountering exclusion and microaggressions.
The researchers also found that the difference between men’s and women’s experiences grew with age. Men tended to feel more valued as their careers progressed, while women reported feeling less valued or saw no change. The researchers said seniority did not protect women from disrespect in the way it appeared to for men.
Spoon, Rivera and their colleagues hand-coded all the responses. Spoon said an AI-assisted analysis failed to identify some recurring themes, including respondents’ accounts of institutional betrayal after reporting colleagues’ misconduct.
Sources: Inside Higher Ed.