Professor studies gender inequality in academia

When it comes to faculty gender equity, academia earns a “needs improvement,” according to a new UC Irvine study. “Gender inequities and discrimination toward women in academia exist both at the individual and institutional level,” said Kristen Monroe, political science and philosophy professor and director of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality, who interviewed female faculty at UCI for the study. She found the culture devalues the authority of women in high-level positions and leaves little room for flexible work-family alternatives, and the issues are not unique to the campus. Published in the June issue of the American Political Science Association’s Perspectives of Politics, the study was funded in part by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program, which seeks to increase the representation and advancement of women in academia.