Representation of Women Faculty at Public Research Universities: Do Unions Matter?

The authors investigate the impact of unionization on the representation of women faculty at public Carnegie Doctoral/Research-Extensive institutions in the United States from 1993–94 through 2004–05. Using institutional-level data from the American Association of University Professors and controlling for important characteristics that influence the gender composition of faculty, the authors find that important differences exist in the proportion of women faculty in total and by rank in unionized versus non-unionized settings. Specifically, unionized public research universities have a higher proportion of women faculty overall and at the ranks of associate and full professor than do non-unionized schools. The authors suggest that this issue is better understood using a segmented labor market approach since previous studies conducted on the subject may have obscured differences by rank. The results of this study reflect the historical priorities of the faculty union in formalizing tenure and promotion procedures, and suggest that these procedures are especially important for women faculty.