| Abstract: |
Only 19 per cent of academic staff in the Economics Department at Macquarie
University are women, a proportion that has not improved over the last decade.
We investigate the reasons for this gender imbalance, focusing particularly on
why it is that few qualified women have applied for positions. Declining
numbers of economics graduates is a national phenomenon, but data from
Macquarie show that this is a trend that particularly affects women. We found,
from our surveys of staff and students in the Department, that the relative
shortage of women is primarily related to attitudes and decisions taken either
prior to the commencement of university studies or due to external influences
such as pressure of family commitments. Interestingly, however, a higher
proportion of female than male third-year students showed an interest in
pursuing an academic career. While attitudes of staff were generally found to
be gender neutral, we found some evidence that staff members could do more to
encourage these students. |