DR. PHILIPSEN REVEALS CHALLENGES OF WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW BOOK

By Wiley Publishers and
Mike Frontiero/VCU School of Education

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Choosing between and balancing work and family, defining one’s identity and priorities, facing elder-care issues, and working in a historically male-dominated environment. These are some of the challenges faced by many female faculty members of all ages and stages in their careers.

In her new book “Challenges of the Faculty Career for Women: Success and Sacrifice,” author and Department of Foundations of Education Professor Maike I. Philipsen, Ph.D., offers recommendations for reform and advice for women coping with these issues.

“I decided to write the book because statistics indicate a persistent gap between the numbers of male and female professors in the higher ranks of colleges and universities, particularly research universities,” said Dr. Philipsen. “This gap does not appear to narrow over time, and it was my hunch that the balancing act of professional and personal lives may have something to do with that.”

The book maps three stages of female faculty members’ careers and lives in academia: the early years and the typical struggles of a young or beginning female academic; the middle years, with their specific issues and challenges; and the late-career stage involving the experiences of older women in academia.

Based on qualitative and quantitative data collected through interviews with female faculty members, it presents the stories of women whose lives do not fit any linear stage approach and instead follow non-traditional career paths, such as beginning academic careers later in life or interrupting their careers. It includes experiences of diverse groups of faculty, including single women, immigrant scholars, parents, and members of the “sandwich-generation.”

“Provided are not merely the challenges women face, but also recommendations for change and down-to-earth coping strategies that have helped the participants remain in academe and, ultimately, be successful,” said Dr. Philisen.

"The burden of the dramatic changes taking place in academic careers today is falling most heavily on the growing number of women faculty,” said R. Eugene Rice, Senior Scholar at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Dr. Philipsen's book explores –in convincing and practical ways—what this means for individual lives and our institutions. It needs to be read not only by every provost, dean, and department chair, but by everyone who cares about the future of the academic enterprise."

To order a copy of the book, click here .

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