Professor Janet Jones, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Design, Creative and Digital Industries, and Dr Sal Jarvis, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education and Provost, have written articles for the Times Higher Education (THE) Campus on women in academia and the challenges they face.
In her article, Professor Jones discusses the current gender pay gap in the higher education sector, questioning why this is and what can be done to close the gap.
She highlights that the Fawcett Society reported in 2022 that the average gender pay gap in the UK was 11.3 %, with Advance HE revealing that in 2021 the average gender pay gap in the Higher Education sector was higher than that at 14.8%. Along with this she reveals that while women make up 54% of the higher education workforce, only 28% of academic leaders are women.
She wrote: “My current institution, the University of Westminster, bucks this trend with a 7.2 per cent mean pay differential, which is encouraging. But why are we so careless as a sector? Can we not double down on gender equality to ensure female leaders aren’t ignored and under-promoted? We must all do better to narrow the gap.”
She explores the reasons for these disparities, explaining that reports have revealed that people who present themselves as powerful, dominant and assertive are often more successful in running companies – attributes that can be associated with men. She compares this to women’s tendency to act more modestly and share credit where possible.
Dr Sal Jarvis follows the theme of women in higher education and discusses how to clear the path for the next generation of women in academia and what she wants her legacy to be.
She explores how social structures built over generations have shaped expectations people have on how people should behave, with women throughout history often choosing marriage over a career, as other options remained scarce due to societal pressures to conform to the norm.
With a lack of women having the option to choose a career, she explains that this has led to a small proportion of women taking on leadership roles in universities, with reports revealing that “as of February 2023, women held the position of vice-chancellor or the equivalent at 48 of the top 200 universities [in the world].”
With their position of power, she highlights that universities can drive change and can be an impactful tool of bridging these gaps and encouraging women to take on these roles through programmes for staff and influencing students.
Looking at the legacy she would like to leave she added: “The legacy I would like to leave is a culture that embeds gender equality in our teaching, research and knowledge exchange and in which assumptions and structures – and therefore choices – are regularly and honestly examined.”
Professor Jones’ and Dr Jarvis’ work with THE contributed towards the Gender Equality (5) and Reduced Inequalities (10) development goals of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were adopted by the University of Westminster to help make the University a more sustainable, responsible and inclusive place to live, work and study.
Read Janet Jones’ and Sal Jarvis’ articles on the Times Higher Education website.
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