RANK ADVANCEMENT IN ACADEMIC CAREERS - SEX-DIFFERENCES AND THE EFFECTS OF PRODUCTIVITY

Advancement in rank is critically important to the career of an academic scientist, and the highly visible nature of the event makes it ideal for studying stratification in science. Concern with universalistic factors in promotion has prompted debates over two issues. First, why do female scientists advance more slowly than male scientists, and why do so few reach the rank of full professor? Second, is promotion driven by the sheer volume of published work as opposed to its quality? Event history analyses clearly indicate that quantity of publications is far more important than various measures of quality of publications in predicting rank advancement; and women are less likely to be promoted than men. About one-half of this sex difference is attributable to differences in levels of variables affecting promotion. Remaining differences are a result of differences in expected timing of promotion to associate professor and to the negative effects of department prestige on promotion to full professor for women.