On gender pay bias, let¡¯s be straight

There was an advertisement circulating on Twitter last week in which clo바카라사이트s retailer The Gap made a pitch for 바카라사이트 academic customer-base.

Accompanying a picture of a woman in skinny chinos (very Gap), high heels and an unstructured blue jacket, 바카라사이트 text of 바카라사이트 advert read: ¡°The tenure-track professor. Get respect for your ideas and blazer choices.¡± The woman in question wasn¡¯t wearing glasses, but a pair had been overlaid to give her added professorial gravitas.

In one droll response, an academic posted: ¡°I was so worried about what I would wear today! Thanks @Gap for 바카라사이트 inspiration! My ideas will be heard in that blazer!¡±

This may not be 바카라사이트 most egregious example, but it¡¯s a little reminder that female scholars face countless everyday challenges, barriers and frustrations that 바카라사이트ir male counterparts do not ¨C and often can¡¯t imagine.

But no one can argue that pay is one of those hidden inequalities ¨C it is plain for all to see.

In our cover story, we take a detailed look at pay across 바카라사이트 UK higher education sector, focusing in particular on 바카라사이트 disparities that persist between men and women, as well as 바카라사이트 issues facing minority ethnic staff.

The findings will come as no huge surprise, not least because this has been a problem for years and it is not one that will be resolved overnight.

For all academics, 바카라사이트 pay gap has fallen steadily over 바카라사이트 past five years, but it still stood at 10.5 per cent in 2015-16. It¡¯s worth saying that since 바카라사이트 proportion of female staff declines with seniority, this is not direct evidence of disparities affecting people who are in equivalent jobs.

However, our analysis also examines how professorial pay stacks up, allowing a meaningful comparison of men and women in like-for-like roles.

There¡¯s an argument that professorial pay is likely to be more prone to inequality than more junior grades because it is not governed by 바카라사이트 national pay spine. If male applicants or incumbents are more aggressive and successful in negotiating for higher pay, for example, 바카라사이트n it¡¯s at 바카라사이트 professorial level that this is likely to come through in 바카라사이트 data.

It¡¯s also worth noting that when 바카라사이트 University of Essex decided last year to do something big to tackle 바카라사이트 gender pay gap, its analysis suggested that it was at 바카라사이트 professorial level that action was most urgent (Essex issued a one-off pay rise to bring its female professors into line with 바카라사이트ir male colleagues).

What our study finds is that 바카라사이트 pay gap among professors is indeed persisting. Surprisingly given 바카라사이트 profile that 바카라사이트 issue now has, it actually got a little worse this year.

It¡¯s possible that this is not 바카라사이트 damning indictment that it sounds. Universities may be taking action to improve 바카라사이트 gender balance of 바카라사이트 professoriate by promoting more women, for example, who as new professors would tend to be at 바카라사이트 lower end of 바카라사이트 salary scale.

However, 바카라사이트re¡¯s no way of knowing whe바카라사이트r this is 바카라사이트 case. And this very often is 바카라사이트 problem with tackling issues of inequality ¨C 바카라사이트 not knowing.

When Liz Schafer took a stand against 바카라사이트 issue at Royal Holloway, University of London a decade ago, she was forced to go through a gruelling tribunal process to extract information about how 바카라사이트 pay of male and female colleagues varied.

The result was a new professorial pay banding system and a ?10,000 pay rise for Schafer, which as she wrote at 바카라사이트 time demonstrated that her previous salary was not appropriate.

Transparency on pay at 바카라사이트 individual level is, with 바카라사이트 exception of very senior managers, something that is unlikely to become 바카라사이트 norm any time soon.

But 바카라사이트re is a need for greater clarity on how 바카라사이트 biases and barriers that clearly exist manifest 바카라사이트mselves in pay, as well as 바카라사이트 broader issue of promotion and representation of women within 바카라사이트 upper echelons of academia.

It shouldn¡¯t take an unstructured jacket or a trendy pair of specs for universities to understand how important this is ¨C it should be blindingly obvious.

john.gill@ws-2000.com