II. Female Representation by Tenure Status
Fig. 2-A Full-time Faculty by Department, Rank, and Gender:
Tenured/Tenure-track vs. Non Tenure-track, Academic Year 2010-11Fig. 2-B Percentage Female by Division and Status, 2010-2011
Fig. 2-C Distribution by Gender Across Divisions, 2010-11:
Non Tenure-track / Tenure-track / Tenured ASCP / Tenured PROF
Fig. 2-D Percentage Female by Rank at BU (source: AAUP) -
1984, 2008, and 2012Fig. 2-F CLA/CAS Faculty in Astronomy, Biology, CNS, Chemistry,
Computer Science, Math, Physics: 1992-93 to 2010-11,
by Rank and Gender
Overview
Female representation among tenure-track vs. non tenure-track faculty”Non tenure-track” (NTTK) faculty encompasses various types of positions, including special appointments—some at professorial ranks and some with the rank of Instructor or something else—that are off the tenure track. Figure 2-A shows the numbers and percentages of female full-time appointments on vs. off the tenure track for 2010-11. The differences between men and women in this respect are striking in the Natural Sciences.
Gender distribution by tenure status: NTTK / TTK / tenured ASCP / tenured PROFFigures 2-B and 2-C show the distribution of males and females by status, comparing, for each division: (1) non tenure-track (NTTK); (2) tenure-track but not tenured (TTK); (3) tenured Associate Professors; and (4) tenured Full Professors. Considering CAS, ENG, and SAR, combined, more males fall in the category of Full Professor than in any other category, whereas there are more NTTK females than females in any other category, and more twice as many NTTK females as TTK (the next largest category for females). For males, the number of tenured Professors is more than twice as large as the number of tenured Associate Professors; in contrast, female Associate Professors outnumber female Professors. Looking at the distribution of females across these divisions, there is the greatest number of female Professors in CAS Social Sciences (26), followed by CAS Humanities (13), CAS Natural Sciences (9), Sargent (4), and Engineering (3).
Historical changesThere is a common belief that the lack of female representation at the higher ranks is simply due to the late arrival of women in the ranks just below. However, Figure 2-D might lead one to question this assumption. It shows, for Boston University as a whole, the percentages of females at the ranks of Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor, in 1984, 2008, and 2012, based on the numbers reported by the AAUP in its annual salary surveys. It is interesting to observe that the percentage of female Associate Professors in 1984 exceeds the percentage of female Full Professors in 2012. The same is true for the percentage of female Assistant Professors in 1984 as compared with the percentage of female Associate Professors in 2012. It is the case, nonetheless, that female representation in the sciences has been increasing in recent years. Figure 2-E shows the representation of males and females with the ranks of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor in both 1992-93 and 2010-11 in the Natural Science departments and in Engineering and Sargent. In most but not all departments, female representation in the professorial ranks has increased in that period. Figure 2-F shows the percentage female at each rank of the Natural Science faculty from all the departments that existed in both of those years, combined. The percentage of female Associate Professors in 1992-93 is much greater than the percentage of female Full Professors as of 2010-11. The percentage of female Professors has changed very little in that time. During this period, the percentage of females at the Associate Professor level has, in fact, declined. The latter fact may be explained, in part, by the perhaps surprising finding that females were less well represented among Assistant than Associate Professors in the Natural Sciences in 1992-93.
Fig. 2-A Full-time Faculty by Department, Rank, and Gender:
Tenured/Tenure-track vs. Non Tenure-track,
Academic Year 2010-11
Fig. 2-B Percentage Female by Division and Status, 2010-2011
Fig. 2-C Distribution by Gender Across Divisions, 2010-11:
Non Tenure-track / Tenure-track / Tenured ASCP / Tenured PROF
Fig. 2-D Percentage Female by Rank at BU (source: AAUP) - 1984, 2008, and 2012
Fig. 2-F CLA/CAS Faculty in Astronomy, Biology, CNS, Chemistry, Computer Science,
Math, Physics: 1992-93 to 2010-11, by Rank and Gender
Return to the main page for this Web report on the Status of Women in the Natural Sciences and Engineering at Boston University, Summer 2012 or jump to section:
<1> Female Representation among Tenured and Tenure-track Faculty: 1997 and 2007-2011
<2> Female Representation by Tenure Status
<3> Hiring Patterns
<4> Attrition
<5> Success in Tenure and Promotion
<6> Time at Rank
<7> Salaries
<8> Leadership Positions, 2010-11
<Conclusions>
