The status of women in Canadian universities : a comparative analysis of selected universities by sex and by rank

Bruce, Regina A. (1995) The status of women in Canadian universities : a comparative analysis of selected universities by sex and by rank. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

According to the Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program employment equity is mandatory in universities. The main purpose of the study was to examine the Employment Equity documentation and Compliance Review Reports from eight Canadian universities to determine the employment situation of women. A comparative analysis of variables by sex and by rank was carried out with specific emphasis on salary, age, occupation, years of service and education. -- From the documents reviewed, it seems evident that universities have been unable to address inequities amongst their workforce in spite of their significant commitment to the principles of employment equity. These inequities appear in salary and occupational category differences. On average, across all the universities included in this study, males are remunerated significantly higher than females. Women seem substantially excluded from academic positions, from career advancement in non-academic ranks and from most senior academic, administrative and support positions. The data indicate that men are over-represented in the higher classification ranks and women at the lower. Women are under-represented in academic departments and salary differentials have indicated the favouring of men in all academic ranks and non-academic classifications. There are obvious inequities within classification levels as well which cannot be explained by differences in age or years of service. Because the majority of universities surveyed failed to provide data on education levels it was difficult to determine the effect of educational differences. Some of the universities failed to provide any clear distinctions with regard to occupational category, salary, years of service or age for Faculty and Staff employees. -- Although it appears that discrimination, as the literature suggests, may be occurring at a variety of levels, at the hiring or promotion n stage, for instance, the documents do little to identify specific barriers to women's advancement. This is a key issue. Presumably, employment equity policies have as their goal the elimination of historical inequities, just as compliance review reports are expected to serve as a critical process in the identification of barriers and in the implementation and monitoring of action plans. Yet the documentation implies discrimination, while providing little direction for change.

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