Women Faculty in Community Colleges: Investigating the Mystery

The author reviews recent literature on women faculty in higher education and in two-year institutions specifically. Existing research indicates that despite their higher numbers in administrative and faculty positions at community college, women often are marginalized because they serve in lower level and untenured slots that are concentrated in a few disciplines at less pay than men in similar positions. Likewise, women hold a higher percentage of instructor and lecturer positions that are non-tenure-track than men. Based on the literature review, the author points to the need for more research on women as faculty at both two- and four-year institutions to determine common social constructs that might prevent women from climbing the ladder to high-level faculty and administrative positions. The author delineates a research strategy that includes qualitative and quantitative data collection on women as graduate students and as professionals at different career levels across disciplines at both two- and four-year institutions.