Glass Ceilings and Ivory Towers

Studies the gender gap within Canadian universities to support theories with hard data. Even as Canadian universities suggest their gender issues have largely been resolved, many women in academia tell a different story. Systemic discrimination, the underrepresentation of women in more senior and lucrative roles, and the belief that gender-related concerns will simply self-correct with greater representation add up to a serious gender problem.

Although widely acknowledged, reliable data demonstrating these problems is elusive. Glass Ceilings and Ivory Towers fills this research gap with a cross-disciplinary, data-driven investigation of gender inequality in Canadian universities. Research presented in this book reveals, for example, that women are more likely to hold sessional teaching positions and to face difficulties obtaining funding. They are also poorly represented at the upper echelons of the professoriate and must contend with a gender pay gap that widens as they move up the ranks.

Contributors consider the daily grind of academic life; social, structural, and systemic challenges; and the gendered dynamics of university leadership, all to lay the groundwork for practical and meaningful institutional change.