Institutional Gender Equity Salary Analysis and Recursive Impact of Career and Life Choices

Abstract

This study employed mixed methods, engaging both quantitative and qualitative inquiries. In terms of the quantitative inquiry, the purpose of this study was to explore and assess gender-based salary inequities at a Carnegie Classified Research High university in the Intermountain West. Qualitative inquiry was used to follow up and contextually embed the quantitative analysis by seeking to develop a deeper understanding of full-time female faculty perceptions of the recursive impact of major life and career decisions. The quantitative analysis utilized data from the institutional database including annual salary and both human capital and structural variables. Multiple regression was performed to predict the natural logarithm of salary from demographics, subdivision, administrative appointment, contract length, years at university, years in rank, highest degree, faculty rank, and graduate faculty status. Gender was interacted with other explanatory variables to test for differential impact of these variables on salary based on gender. Next, a multiple regression model was calculated using only the male faculty members. Residuals were calculated based on the male-only model, and tested to ascertain if the female residuals were statistically significantly less than 0. Finally, a mixed model analysis was used to predict the natural logarithm of salary. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was used to select the best model. All three statistical techniques found a statistically significant main effect of gender. The estimate of the effect on salary ranged from female faculty earning 2.04% to 3.4% less than their male counterparts depending on the statistical technique used to derive the estimate. The advantages and disadvantages of the three different models were discussed. The qualitative inquiry involved semi-structured interviews with 12 full-time instructional female faculty members. The analysis followed the General Inductive Approach as described by Thomas (2006). Five themes representing categories of influence or decision-making emerged from the qualitative data. These were: Geographical Choice, Family, Support Structure, Job Choices, and Time/Balance. All five themes demonstrated a recursive impact of career and life decisions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone [phone]. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]