Gender tipping: The effects of a changing student gender composition on new faculty salaries

Abstract

This research questions two fundamental assumptions of established educational policies designed to promote gender equity. First, that the external labor market is the principal predictor of disciplinary salaries when all other factors are controlled, and second, that integration of women into these marketable disciplines will result in pay equity. This study describes the national trends in female participation and gender redistribution in academic disciplines, evaluates student gender composition as a proxy for "feminization" of academic fields, and examines the value of comparable worth and labor market variables in tandem to predict faculty salary increases by discipline. Correlation, chi-square and logit analyses were performed to determine the direction of gender redistribution among disciplines over time, and to address the relationship between the level of disciplinary gender composition change and the level of disciplinary salary change. The annual percentage change (logged) in full-time assistant professor salary by discipline and institution was regressed on the proportion of female students within disciplines, the distribution of male students among disciplines, NRC rank, and prior year salary (logged). Gender redistribution among disciplines is not arbitrary and changes in gender composition can predict the level of disciplinary salary increases. The full regression model was significant. The variables for female participation tended to have a significant negative influence, while the variables for male participation tended to have a significant positive influence on changes in faculty salary.