Wolf-Wendel Dives into Research on Women’s Roles in Academia

Lisa Wolf-Wendel, the Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies at the University of Kansas School of Education and Human Sciences, assessed both the progress of women in the professional academy and the state of literature on gender differences in higher education during her talk on March 27, 2023.

Using the meme "gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss" as a starting point, Wolf-Wendel discussed the problematic constructs that women in professional careers encounter. She encouraged a careful consideration of how women could introduce new methods and change the systems, “As we think about women in higher education, … we have to think about whether we are just new bodies at the table or are we changing the structures that exist.”

According to Wolf-Wendel, the status of women in higher education careers can be summed up as “the higher, the fewer.” While research shows that women have made progress toward parity with their male counterparts, the momentum is uneven. The more selective and research-oriented the institution, the fewer advancement opportunities and rewards that women encounter.

Sharing new findings, Wolf-Wendel described the marked differences in satisfaction levels among academic department chairs. Along with her research collaborators, she used a sample of 1700 chairs in recent COACHE data and found twelve statistically significant discriminants between male- and female-identifying participants.

Wolf-Wendel outlined several common themes, metaphors, and focuses of gender-themed research. She challenged researchers to take more nuanced and intentional approaches to their studies and advised them to focus on complexity and avoid generalizations across diverse groups.

Wolf-Wendel noted the importance of exploring the causes and implications of the numerical data. The “girlboss” trend showed the real limits on the ability to bring about change using the same tools and structures. Progress is more than adding numbers.

"A lot of the scholarship focuses on … the 'girlbosses' themselves and less on the structures, the policies, and the practices of the institutions and/or of society that are creating the situation that we have," said Wolf-Wendel. She continued, "The focus should be on changing the norms and policies, not the people."

Dr. Amy Stich welcomed and introduced the speaker. The session was presented as part of the Institute for Women's Studies' Women's History Month programming and part of the McBee Institute's Educational Policy Seminar series.