Tenured Faculty at Colleges and Universities in the United States: A De Facto Private Membership Club

There has been a gradual increase at U.S. universities and colleges in the appointment of women to full time faculty positions with women currently comprising approximately 40% of full time faculty. When status, job security, and institutional affiliation are taken into account, the percentage drops significantly: Women occupy only 24% of tenured positions at doctoral-granting institutions, the institutions that employ 47% of full time faculty nationwide, and a mere 19% of tenured full professor positions at these institutions. Although the reasons for this underrepresentation are numerous and complex, several reasons dominate the issues of continuing gender disparity: (1) The historical and legal culture of the university as an educational institution and as a workplace was akin to a private membership club for men complete with rituals and exclusionary practices; (2) The historical and legal culture of employment generally in the U.S., as reflected in the employment at will doctrine, is that of private club, with anti-discrimination laws and tenure operating as exceptions to this strong presumption; and (3) The application of gender discrimination laws in the university setting are too deferential and are at odds with common cultural assumptions about discrimination. (Contains 108 footnotes.)