Statistical data from 1998, 1999, and 2001 give a quantitative picture of the status of women at CU-Boulder and set the stage for a discussion of the recommendations in the past SOWRs.

We are grateful for the assistance of Lou McClelland of Planning, Budget, and Analysis for providing CCW with the data included in this report.

Data from 1998 and 1999 was extracted from the old human resources system; 2001 data came from the PeopleSoft system. Data from 2000 was unavailable because of the transition between the two systems. In addition, this transition made identifying historical trends problematic because of different recording methods in the two systems. Specifically, there seem to be anomalies in the counting of “tenured” and “tenure-track” faculty, as well as in the “instructor” and “other instructor” categories. Although we can learn quite a bit from the data about the distribution of staff in different job categories in 2001, historical data about that distribution is currently unavailable.

Three sets of data are particularly illustrative of the status of women on campus: the percentage of women faculty over time, the overall representation of women employees over time, and the 2001 distribution of women across broad job categories.

The percentage of women faculty over time

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Although the campus is nearing parity in the ranks of junior faculty (41% overall in 2001), there has been a slight decrease since 1997 in the percentage of assistant professors who are women. This data also indicates that as rank increases, the percentage of women in those ranks significantly decreases. There are approximately 25 percent fewer women in the associate professor rank than in the assistant professor rank. More alarming is the relative paucity of women in the full professor rank, approximately 50% of the number of women associate professors.

To better understand the implications of the tenure process for the racial and gender make-up of the faculty ranks, future SOWRs should request and analyze tenure, promotion, and exit interview data for faculty members by gender and race.

The overall representation of women employees over time

These data indicate that there has been no significant increase or decrease in the percentage of women employees (faculty and staff) overall or within general categories. However, there continues to be an inverse relationship between the percentage of women and the relative “prestige” (pay and power) of the general job categories. Women are overrepresented in the classified staff system (on average lower prestige, pay, and power), near parity in the professional exempt ranks, and underrepresented in the officer category (on average higher prestige, pay, and power).

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Distribution of women across broad job categories in 2001

The campus hierarchy is evident in these data as well: women are overrepresented in the lowest paying job categories (secretarial/clerical), and underrepresented in the highest (officers).

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