By Eya Benhassine, Université de Montréal
In recent decades, Canadian universities have made definite progress ensuring gender equality in access to faculty positions. But despite this, persistent inequalities remain, and they are much more entrenched than one might think.
Over the past decade, guided by a federal commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), Canadian universities have given priority to discussions and measures aimed at diversifying their faculty. Universities have established equity and diversity offices to ensure that their recruitment and retention policies reflect principles of equity.
As a doctoral candidate at the University of Montréal, I specialize in the study of gender inequality in academia. My research focuses on gender inequalities in the career course of university professors in Canada, particularly where they affect access, treatment and promotion.
This article builds on my work by examining how the equity policies implemented by Canadian universities have truly reduced these structural inequalities.
DEI in Canadian universities
Universities began to structure their DEI initiatives in the 2000s. For example, the University of Toronto created its Office of Equity and Diversity, which is responsible for developing and implementing policies that promote inclusion. Gradually, it also adopted the practice of publishing annual reports on diversity and equity.
DEI initiatives at universities intensified in the 2010s with a particular focus on integrating DEI into research. Today, Canadian universities are actively engaged in DEI initiatives, which include adhering to the federal government’s dimensions charter and committing to eliminating barriers to inclusion.
Universities regularly publish diversity data and implement specific programs to recruit and retain faculty from underrepresented groups.
Following these initiatives, what has really changed?
Progress and obstacles
Higher education in general, and universities in particular, have long been dominated by men. In Canada, the proportion of women among faculty members has increased in recent decades, rising from 13.7 per cent in 1975 to more than 43 per cent in 2023.
Significant progress has been made in access to senior management positions, such as dean and vice-dean, where women’s representation increased from 0.05 per cent in 1975 to 40.46 per cent in 2023.
While significant progress has been made in gender equality over the past 50 years with respect to access to professorial positions, women’s representation as professors remains uneven across different types of academic institutions. There are more women in undergraduate-focused institutions than in research-intensive universities.
While gender parity has been achieved in the humanities and social sciences, female professors remain a minority among university professors of all ranks in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, where they have only 21 per cent representation.
Women are particularly under-represented in architecture, engineering and related technologies, where they account for 18 per cent of all faculty members. Furthermore, the proportion of women among tenured STEM professors does not exceed 16 per cent.
Persistent inequalities in treatment
Although the proportion of women professors in Canada has increased significantly over the past five decades, there are still gaps in pay, treatment and promotion.
These inequalities are even more striking among female professors who belong to racialized groups. For example, according to Statistics Canada (2021), the proportion of researchers who self-identify as Indigenous is no more than 1.4 per cent. Yet Indigenous women account for approximately 2.5 per cent of the population.
Here are the main inequalities identified by the research:
- The teaching load is generally higher for female professors.
- Female professors are more likely to be asked to sit on committees.
- It is more difficult for women to obtain certain types of funding. This finding is confirmed by a Statistics Canada survey that showed male professors were more likely to receive funding (44 per cent) than female professors were (40 per cent).
- Women are more frequently excluded from international networks than their male counterparts.
Why so many inequalities?
These inequalities can be explained by organizational cultures that contribute to producing cumulative advantages or disadvantages depending on gender.
This concept refers to the idea that the gradual accumulation of advantages for men and disadvantages for women tends to widen the gap between them. Like other contemporary organizations, universities are structured in a way that reproduces gender inequalities.
This effect of reproduction shows in several mechanisms, including a gendered division of academic labour. For example, Sandra Acker, a professor at the University of Toronto, analyzed the distribution of tasks according to gender. Her work showed that women are more often given responsibility for organizational and community service activities, while men are more likely to hold positions related to decision-making, problem-solving and strategic planning.
According to several feminist researchers, including Acker and Carmen Armenti of Portland State University, academic institutions reinforce this gendered division of labour by considering organizational tasks and community services as responsibilities that are “natural” for women.
‘Winner takes all’ logic
However, since universities generally place more prestige on research than on teaching and service, the tasks assigned to women are often perceived as less valuable and less visible. So the time spent on these activities can limit research productivity. That becomes a significant disadvantage in a system where scientific performance determines access to funding and career advancement.
In this regard, several Canadian researchers point out that the Canadian research system is structured according to a “winner takes all” logic, which tends to concentrate resources in the hands of a few already privileged researchers. This logic is well summarized by a professor interviewed as part of my doctoral project:
“It’s a vicious circle: the more recognized you are, the more advantages you have, the more time you can free up to do research … but if you don’t have that time to begin with, you’re stuck. A standard professor has to teach four courses and do their research. But the further they progress, the more accommodations they receive: one class is taken away, then a second, so they can focus on research. But for a woman who doesn’t have the time to seek out these opportunities, that doesn’t happen. She’s stuck with an excessive workload.”
The need for EDI policies
While there are some voices calling for restrictions or even the abolishment of DEI policies on the grounds of neutrality or merit, the data presented in this article remind us that academic meritocracy continues to be affected by invisible but powerful gender biases.
Promoting a fair academic environment is not a matter of preferential treatment, but of a rigorous approach to correcting the structural biases that still hinder the full recognition of women’s contributions to science and higher education.
Universities must actively defend their commitments to inclusion, at the risk of losing their role as drivers of social change.
Eya Benhassine, Candidate au doctorat en sciences de l’éducation, Université de Montréal
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
