Report 2006:2 R
Postgraduate study and research careers - the significance of gender and social origin
Do women and men have the same chances of entering doctoral programmes or pursuing post-doctoral careers? Do students from different social backgrounds who graduate from similar programmes in higher education continue to postgraduate studies to the same extent?
The careers of men and women in higher education have also been examined in a number of previous studies. One problem, however, is that they have been based on cross-sections of men and women at two different points in time. For instance, a comparison has been made of the gender ratio among those recently awarded PhDs at a specific time with the same ratio among those with post-doc research posts a number of years later. The individuals involved on these two occasions have not, therefore, been exactly identical, which reduces the reliability of the findings. In this study a longitudinal approach has been adopted instead by tracing the development of the careers of a cohort of men and woman graduates from one period to another. This is a more reliable method and provides more trustworthy answers to questions about bias in recruitment based on gender. The longitudinal approach is, of course, also more appropriate for studying social bias in recruitment to postgraduate programmes. It has been adopted in earlier studies but these are few in number and have encountered other problems. One advantage of this study is that we have been able to use the same analysis to study the significance of the social class of parents as well as their level of educational attainment. This has enabled us to see if any dimension of social background appears to be more important than the others. In addition, in examining recruitment bias on the basis of either gender or social background in the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate studies it is of the utmost importance to take into account both the vertical (length of programme) and horizontal (subject orientation) stratifications in undergraduate programmes. This has been possible in this study.
When women and men have been awarded qualifications from similar programmes, a larger proportion of the men continue to postgraduate studies. In the cohorts of PhDs we studied (1995-1997) 14.6 per cent of the men but only 11.6 per cent of the women had become doctoral students. This is the general impact of gender. But there are differences between different disciplines. The minority of women who take degrees after some form of undergraduate programme in technology have gone on to doctoral studies to more or less the same extent as the men they have studied with. In the humanities and natural sciences, on the other hand, the likelihood of men continuing to the postgraduate level is unusually large when compared to the women.
The children of parents who have been awarded licentiate degrees or PhDs often take PhDs themselves. This link is particularly evident in the humanities, technological subjects, health and medical care, as well as physics, chemistry and the earth sciences. On the other hand it is less significant if parents have completed a longer period of higher education (but not at postgraduate level). The children of parents with qualifications of this type do not go on to postgraduate study to any greater extent than other groups.
Parental class plays a great role in connection with the educational choices made by students before the question of postgraduate study arises. But analysis of whether there is any further recruitment bias in the step from a longer undergraduate programme to postgraduate studies shows, on the whole, that there are no differences between children who have grown up in different social classes. The social imbalance that can be found in postgraduate programmes has not therefore arisen in the step between undergraduate and postgraduate study but in connection with choices and performance earlier in the educational system. Our analyses reveal, however, that in the group of individuals studying to become doctors or dentists, a greater number who are the children of senior salaried officials go on to postgraduate programmes than those of working class origin. This could be felt to be a disappointing finding, given that the numbers of working class children among medical students are small - they represent less than ten per cent. It is a question for future studies to determine whether this finding is a coincidence or whether social bias in recruitment to postgraduate study will also apply to those qualifying in medicine during the 2000s.
If the whole period is taken into account, the men awarded PhDs from 1985 up until 1990 were able to acquire post-doc posts to a somewhat greater extent than women, while women were more successful than men among a few cohorts in the middle of the 1990s. The improved opportunities for women seem however to be linked to the creation of posts specifically for the under-represented gender (women in other words) during this period. Without these specific posts, it is more than likely, therefore, that men would have gone on to post-doc appointments to a greater extent than the women among those awarded PhDs in the middle of the 1990s as well.
The findings relating to postdoctoral fellowships are so striking that they are difficult to ignore. As there have been exceptional rises in the numbers of PhDs for a period of years while at the same time the number of postdoctoral fellowships has remained more or less constant, it has become much more difficult for PhD´s to obtain these positions. This development has been negative for both genders but it has been most negative for the men. The gender balance has improved as a result but even so it is difficult to regard this development as totally positive. The fact is that women awarded PhDs in the 1980s had much better chances of appointment to a postdoctoral fellowship. Neither men nor women therefore seem to have benefited from the decimation of recruitment posts in higher education.
One very clear finding is that men awarded PhDs become professors to a much greater extent than women. This applies to all the cohorts of PhD´s that we have studied. It also applies to every discipline, even though there are major differences between them.We can provide a concrete illustration of what things have looked like. Among the group of women and men awarded PhDs in 1991 eight per cent of the men, but only four per cent of the women, managed to obtain a professorship within a period of twelve years. The men have had twice as large a chance of becoming professor. However, we have not studied the more complicated issue of what this is due to. But our findings reveal nevertheless that there is every reason for researchers who focus more on explanations to continue to study the reasons for the lack of gender equality in higher education.
These are the principal questions in this report. They have been studied with the help of registration data for
- 33,674 students graduating from longer programmes in higher education between 1995-1997 and
- Almost 29,000 students who were awarded PhDs from 1980 up until 2001.
This study therefore deals with issues relating to recruitment bias on the basis of gender and social background at national level and is based on a very large population.
The merits of this study
The careers of men and women in higher education have also been examined in a number of previous studies. One problem, however, is that they have been based on cross-sections of men and women at two different points in time. For instance, a comparison has been made of the gender ratio among those recently awarded PhDs at a specific time with the same ratio among those with post-doc research posts a number of years later. The individuals involved on these two occasions have not, therefore, been exactly identical, which reduces the reliability of the findings. In this study a longitudinal approach has been adopted instead by tracing the development of the careers of a cohort of men and woman graduates from one period to another. This is a more reliable method and provides more trustworthy answers to questions about bias in recruitment based on gender. The longitudinal approach is, of course, also more appropriate for studying social bias in recruitment to postgraduate programmes. It has been adopted in earlier studies but these are few in number and have encountered other problems. One advantage of this study is that we have been able to use the same analysis to study the significance of the social class of parents as well as their level of educational attainment. This has enabled us to see if any dimension of social background appears to be more important than the others. In addition, in examining recruitment bias on the basis of either gender or social background in the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate studies it is of the utmost importance to take into account both the vertical (length of programme) and horizontal (subject orientation) stratifications in undergraduate programmes. This has been possible in this study.
Main findings
Men begin postgraduate programmes to a greater extent than women - but in technology things are equal
When women and men have been awarded qualifications from similar programmes, a larger proportion of the men continue to postgraduate studies. In the cohorts of PhDs we studied (1995-1997) 14.6 per cent of the men but only 11.6 per cent of the women had become doctoral students. This is the general impact of gender. But there are differences between different disciplines. The minority of women who take degrees after some form of undergraduate programme in technology have gone on to doctoral studies to more or less the same extent as the men they have studied with. In the humanities and natural sciences, on the other hand, the likelihood of men continuing to the postgraduate level is unusually large when compared to the women.
Parents with postgraduate qualifications have children who take PhDs
The children of parents who have been awarded licentiate degrees or PhDs often take PhDs themselves. This link is particularly evident in the humanities, technological subjects, health and medical care, as well as physics, chemistry and the earth sciences. On the other hand it is less significant if parents have completed a longer period of higher education (but not at postgraduate level). The children of parents with qualifications of this type do not go on to postgraduate study to any greater extent than other groups.
Working-class children may also become PhDs, but not if they study medicine
Parental class plays a great role in connection with the educational choices made by students before the question of postgraduate study arises. But analysis of whether there is any further recruitment bias in the step from a longer undergraduate programme to postgraduate studies shows, on the whole, that there are no differences between children who have grown up in different social classes. The social imbalance that can be found in postgraduate programmes has not therefore arisen in the step between undergraduate and postgraduate study but in connection with choices and performance earlier in the educational system. Our analyses reveal, however, that in the group of individuals studying to become doctors or dentists, a greater number who are the children of senior salaried officials go on to postgraduate programmes than those of working class origin. This could be felt to be a disappointing finding, given that the numbers of working class children among medical students are small - they represent less than ten per cent. It is a question for future studies to determine whether this finding is a coincidence or whether social bias in recruitment to postgraduate study will also apply to those qualifying in medicine during the 2000s.
The 1990s - a temporary boost of gender equality for post-doctoral research posts?
If the whole period is taken into account, the men awarded PhDs from 1985 up until 1990 were able to acquire post-doc posts to a somewhat greater extent than women, while women were more successful than men among a few cohorts in the middle of the 1990s. The improved opportunities for women seem however to be linked to the creation of posts specifically for the under-represented gender (women in other words) during this period. Without these specific posts, it is more than likely, therefore, that men would have gone on to post-doc appointments to a greater extent than the women among those awarded PhDs in the middle of the 1990s as well.
Postdoctoral fellowships - utopia for both women and men
The findings relating to postdoctoral fellowships are so striking that they are difficult to ignore. As there have been exceptional rises in the numbers of PhDs for a period of years while at the same time the number of postdoctoral fellowships has remained more or less constant, it has become much more difficult for PhD´s to obtain these positions. This development has been negative for both genders but it has been most negative for the men. The gender balance has improved as a result but even so it is difficult to regard this development as totally positive. The fact is that women awarded PhDs in the 1980s had much better chances of appointment to a postdoctoral fellowship. Neither men nor women therefore seem to have benefited from the decimation of recruitment posts in higher education.
Difficult for women to become professors
One very clear finding is that men awarded PhDs become professors to a much greater extent than women. This applies to all the cohorts of PhD´s that we have studied. It also applies to every discipline, even though there are major differences between them.We can provide a concrete illustration of what things have looked like. Among the group of women and men awarded PhDs in 1991 eight per cent of the men, but only four per cent of the women, managed to obtain a professorship within a period of twelve years. The men have had twice as large a chance of becoming professor. However, we have not studied the more complicated issue of what this is due to. But our findings reveal nevertheless that there is every reason for researchers who focus more on explanations to continue to study the reasons for the lack of gender equality in higher education.
Print
Swedish National Agency for Higher Education Visting address: Luntmakargatan 13 Box 7851, 103 99 Stockholm
Phone: 08-563 085 00 Fax: 08-563 085 50 Email: hsv@hsv.se
Phone: 08-563 085 00 Fax: 08-563 085 50 Email: hsv@hsv.se
