Career progression decisions: a life history study of female academics in a Russell Group University



Costello, Carol
(2020) Career progression decisions: a life history study of female academics in a Russell Group University. Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

Despite the UK’s equality legislation meaning that women are entitled to the same chance as men to apply for top jobs, recent data shows that in academia, women do not apply or progress to the top of their career path in the same numbers as men. This qualitative study, based in the University of Liverpool, looked at the data from life history interviews with 19 women working in two subject area groupings – Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) and Allied Health/non-clinical Medical Education (AHME). To try and understand the gap in career progression, Bourdieu’s theory of practice and its concepts of capital, field, habitus and symbolic violence were used in the analysis to gain an understanding of the cultural norms and conventions of the social spaces the women inhabited, the effect these had on their disposition and outlook, the resources they possessed and were able to develop and use for the benefit of their careers and to examine experiences of inequality. In the early years, the women’s family lives shaped their characters, academic potential, educational achievement and choice and expectations of work. Women encouraged to study STEMM subjects at University built valuable academic capital and the mastery of their subject led them to view a research career as an obvious step. The women who went into allied health profession training were mainly influenced by their backgrounds to seek economic capital by way of a professional job and did well in the NHS. Finding they had a love of teaching, they mainly came into academia, not by choice, but as a consequence of government changes in allied health training. Once in their academic jobs, the women working in AHME subjects lacked fit with the main field and habitus of a research institution and possessed the 'wrong' capital, affecting their promotion opportunities. Both sets of women were hindered by the gendered expectations visible in the University; taking up more of the teaching, student support and administrative work but more so those in AHME because of the structure of the University. Despite this many of the women were helped in their careers by their self-assured characters and persistent nature. Positive experiences of support and mentoring led to increased social capital and enabled the women to deal with the experiences of patriarchy and sexism they faced. The value of this research lies in adding to the Bourdieusian body of knowledge on women’s experiences in academia and in stimulating University leaders to think about what else they need to take into account in approaching the professoriate gender imbalance. Key Words: Life history, female academic careers, patriarchy, Bourdieu, capital, habitus, field.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Education)
Divisions: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 03 Mar 2020 11:44
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 00:08
DOI: 10.17638/03071364
Supervisors:
  • Watts, Michael
  • Qualter, Anne
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3071364