Academic Capitalism and the Faculty Salary Gap

• DOI: 10.1007/s10755-018-9445-z
• Publication Date: 2018-10-11T07:50:22Z
• Authors: Jessica A. Johnson; Barrett J. Taylor
• Keywords: 5. Gender equality; 05 social sciences; 8. Economic growth; 10. No inequality; 0503 education

In the academic capitalist knowledge regime, institutions compete for prestige and funding. Reward structures emphasize science and engineering (S&E) fields for their potential to generate money and status. Masculine norms and male majority in S&E fields may create conditions for gender differences in faculty compensation. We explored the relationship between institutional S&E emphasis and the faculty salary gap at 130 public research universities. Findings suggest that the salary gap for full professors varies over time - decreasing at institutions with the greatest S&E emphasis and increasing at institutions with lower levels of S&E emphasis. Context matters when exploring gender differences in institutional rewards.