Sex and race differences in faculty tenure and promotion

Data from the 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty are used to explore sources of the lower representation of women and minorities among tenured than tenure track faculty and among full professors than lower ranking faculty. A 2-step approach is used. First, differences in the probability of being tenured rather than on a tenure track are explored. Then, differences in the probability of holding the rank of full professor among faculty who are tenured are examined. Logistic regression analyses are used to isolate the effects of sex and race on the dependent variables after controlling for human capital, productivity, and structural characteristics. For both tenure and promotion to full professor, separate analyses are conducted for women and men in order to explore sex differences in the tenure and promotion processes. All analyses are conducted separately for full-time faculty working at public 2-year institutions and full-time faculty working at 4-year institutions.