Gender Diferences of Job Satisfaction of Univerity Teachesrs

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Gender differences inthe job satisfaction of university teachers

Titus Oshagbemi

Job satisfaction is a heavily researched area of

inquiry. Locke (1976) estimated that, as of

1976, about 3,350 articles or dissertations

had been written on the topic. In 1992,

Cranny et al . suggested that more than 5,000

studies of job satisfaction have been

published. In a more recent estimate,

Oshagbemi (1996) suggested that if a count of

relevant articles and dissertations was made,

Locke's estimate, made only 20 years earlier,

would probably be doubled.

As a result of many decades of effort by

social scientists, there appears to be a high

level of agreement among them on the

meaning of the construct of job satisfaction.

Typically, job satisfaction is conceptualised as

a general attitude toward an object, the job.

For example, the definitions given by Lofquistand Dawis (1969, p. 53), Porter et al. (1975,

pp. 53-4), Locke and Henne (1986, p. 21) are

a few illustrations of several others that are

consistent with the general construct stated

above. The definitions given by these authors

are similar to the one offered by Locke (1976,

p. 1300) who defined job satisfaction as ``a

pleasurable or positive emotional state,

resulting from the appraisal of one's job

experiences''. There are, of course, a few but

largely unimportant differences to the general

construct. Wanous and Lawler (1972, pp. 95-

105) discussed these variations. In general,

therefore, job satisfaction refers to an

individual's positive emotional reactions to a

particular job. It is an affective reaction to a

job that results from the person's comparison

of actual outcomes with those that are

desired, anticipated or deserved.

The topic of job satisfaction is an important

one because of its relevance to the physical

and mental well being of employees, i.e. job

satisfaction has relevance for human health.Work is an important aspect of people's lives

and most people spend a large part of their

working lives at work. An understanding of

the factors involved in job satisfaction is

relevant to improving the well being of a

significant number of people. While the

pursuit of the improvement of satisfaction is

of humanitarian value, Smith and others

stated that ``trite as it may seem, satisfaction is

a legitimate goal in itself'' (Smith et al., 1969,

p. 3). The topic of job satisfaction is alsoimportant because of its implications for job

related behaviours such as productivity,

absenteeism or turnover. Therefore, apart

from its humanitarian utility, it appears to

The author

Titus Oshagbemi is a Lecturer at The Queen's University

of Belfast, Belfast, UK.

Keywords

Gender, United Kingdom, Job satisfaction,

Academic staff, Higher education

Abstract

In recent years there has been a substantial rise in the

number of women entering the work force. One

consequence of this trend is that it has generatedconsiderable interest in the relationship between gender

and job satisfaction. The objective of this study was to

investigate the effects of gender on the job satisfaction of

UK academics. A questionnaire including several

demographic questions such as gender, rank and age was

administered to 1,102 university teachers. A total of 554

responses was received, giving a response rate of 50.3

per cent. The results indicated that gender does not affect

the job satisfaction of university teachers directly.

However, the interaction effect of gender and rank was

statistically significant (p < 0.05). Overall, female

academics at higher ranks namely, senior lecturers,

readers and professors, were more satisfied with their

jobs than male academics of comparable ranks. The

implications of this finding and other results are explored.

Electronic access

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is

available at

http://www.emerald-library.com

331

Women in Management Review

Volume 15 . Number 7 . 2000 . pp. 331±343

# MCB University Press . ISSN 0964-9425



make economic sense to consider whether

and how job satisfaction can be improved.

Objectives of the present study

Statistics in the UK show that women have

become increasingly economically active and

this trend is projected to continue. For

example, whereas in 1971, women made up

37 per cent of the civilian labour force, this

rose to 44 per cent in 1993 and it is estimated

to reach 46 per cent in 2006 (Church, 1995,

p. 65). The increase in economic activity rates

by women is correlated with economic and

social changes such as falling birth rates. In

the universities, however, women account for

only about 22 per cent of the full timeacademic staff as of 1993 (Church, 1995,

p. 66). The percentage of women in academia

is thus only half of the percentage of women

in overall employment. One interesting

question is whether women academics are, at

least, as satisfied with their jobs when

compared with their male counterparts? This

paper attempts to answer this question and

addresses the effects of gender on the job

satisfaction of UK academics. The study also

investigates the impact of gender differences

on three aspects of the university teachers'

job, namely: satisfaction levels with pay,

promotions and physical conditions/working

facilities.

While there are numerous publications on

job satisfaction there has been relatively little

on the job satisfaction of university teachers in

general and very little still on the job

satisfaction of UK academics in particular

(Oshagbemi, 1996; Ward and Sloane, 1998).

Furthermore, research on gender differences

of university teachers are very few indeed,despite the plethora of research on the topic

of job satisfaction.

Literature review

As a preliminary review of the literature on

job satisfaction, the researcher assessed the

database held by the Institute of Scientific

Information for relevant publications on the

topic. Invoking the Social Sciences CitationIndex on ``Job Satisfaction'' between 1981-

1999, the findings revealed that as many as

1,085 publications were recorded in the 19

years for which data were available. When the

search focused on studies of job satisfaction

where teachers were the subjects, 55

publications were recorded. The review at this

stage included all teachers ± primary and

secondary school teachers, as well as teachers

in tertiary institutions all over the world.

When job satisfaction studies relating to

university teachers were specifically sought,

the Institute of Scientific Information Social

Sciences Database revealed that there was

none between 1981 and 1999. In fact,

teachers at all levels do not appear to attract

much attention from researchers, as the

information from data reported by

Oshagbemi (1996, p. 391), suggests. In the

source referred to, less than 5 per cent of the

reported studies concern teachers. In the

same source, other justifications for studyingthe job satisfaction of university teachers, in

addition to the fact that they are an under

researched group, have been adequately

discussed (Oshagbemi, 1996, pp. 389-90).

Several researchers have examined the

relationship between job satisfaction and

gender (see, for example, Mottaz, 1986; Goh

et al., 1991; Mason, 1995). However, the

results of the many studies concerning the

relationship between job satisfaction and the

sex of the employees have been contradictory.

While some studies have found women to be

more satisfied than men (Bartol and

Wortman, 1975; Murray and Atkinson, 1981;

Sloane and Williams, 1996; Clark, 1996,

1997; Ward and Sloane, 1998), other studies

have found men to be more satisfied than

women (Hulin and Smith, 1964; Weaver,

1974; Shapiro and Stern, 1975; Forgionne

and Peeters, 1982). It is important to observe,

however, that most of the studies in this area

report no significant differences between the

sexes in relation to job satisfaction,particularly when a number of other variables

were statistically controlled (Brief et al., 1977;

Golembiewski, 1977; Weaver, 1978; Smith

and Plant, 1982; Mottaz, 1986).

One common explanation for the different

level of work satisfaction sometimes reported

for men and women is that women have

different expectations with regard to work

(Campbell et al., 1976). It was revealed that

careers were of central importance to men but

not as important to women (Kuhlen, 1963).Research has suggested that men and women

may use qualitatively different criteria in their

assessment of work. From this perspective,

job satisfaction is seen to be an emotional

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Titus Oshagbemi


Volume 15 . Number 7 . 2000 . 331±343



response resulting from the interaction of

work rewards and work values. The greater

the perceived congruence between rewards

and values, the greater the job satisfaction; the

greater the perceived discrepancy, the less the

satisfaction.

Centres and Bugental (1966) have reported

other differences. Their research suggested

that women placed more value on the social

factors of a job than did men, and that men

valued the opportunity for self-expression in

their work more than did women. Schuler

(1975) found that the females in his study

valued the opportunities to work with

pleasant employees more than males, whereas

males regarded the opportunities to influence

important decisions and direct the work of

others as more important. There is much

evidence to support the hypothesis that men

and women may differ in terms of work

related values (Keith and Glass, 1977;

McCarney et al., 1977; Jurgensen, 1978).

Job satisfaction is therefore seen by some

people to be a function of what is expected

and what is received. Thus if one expects little

and gets little, one will be satisfied. At the

same time, if one expects a lot and gets a lot,

one will also be satisfied. However, if one

expects a lot but gets little, one will bedissatisfied. The basic argument is that

although women receive less from their jobs

than men do, they have lower expectations

and hence perceive themselves as being just as

satisfied as men. A study by Murray and

Atkinson (1981) investigated this argument.

They reasoned that if the expectancy notion

was correct then women should be more

satisfied than men if job level and work

rewards are held constant. Their findings

supported this hypothesis. In this vein, in arecent study by the Association of University

Teachers (Kinman, 1998, p. 17), there were

significant gender differences recorded in

perceived job satisfaction. Male respondents,

on average, reported that they gained less

satisfaction from their jobs compared with the

females.

Result from a study by Weaver (1977) also

supports the hypothesis that gender and job

satisfaction is unrelated when the effects of

other variables are controlled. Findings froma report by Forgionne and Peeters (1982)

similarly suggest that other factors may be

involved in the relationship between gender

and job satisfaction, such as the number of

dependants in a family and the level of

management position held in the workplace.

Witt and Nye (1992) evaluated potential

gender differences among 12,979 personnel

in 30 different organisational systems in:. correlations between fairness and job

satisfaction scores; and. standardised group differences in the

perceived amounts of pay and promotion

fairness and expressed levels of facet and

global job satisfaction.

The fairness-satisfaction relationship was not

higher for men, and there were no practical

differences in fairness perceptions and job

satisfaction between men and women.

However, Mwamwenda (1997) shows that in

a stratified random sample in South Africa,

while both male and female teachers

expressed a considerable degree of job

satisfaction, the general trend was that there

were more male teachers expressing job

satisfaction than was generally the case with

female teachers. This finding lends support to

studies carried out in Japan and Germany in

which it was shown that more men than

women enjoyed teaching as a profession

(Lissmann and Gigerich, 1990; Ninomiya

and Okato, 1990).

Inconsistencies in findings concerning the

relationship between gender and job

satisfaction may, therefore, be due to a variety

of factors. Not only might males and females

in the same organisations differ in job level,

promotion prospects, pay and so on, they may

differ in the extent to which the same job

satisfies their needs. A job high on social

satisfaction but low on skill utilisation and

career prospects may result in higher job

satisfaction for females than for males,

whereas in occupations allowing little scopefor social relationships, the differences in

satisfaction might be in the opposite

direction. Given the overall results from these

studies, it is apparent that when other

variables are taken into account, there is very

little evidence to suggest that gender directly

influences job satisfaction. There is no

compelling reason to believe that given equal

education, employment and advancement

opportunities, and an equal chance to apply

their skills to appropriate challenges, womenshould be any less satisfied than men with

their jobs.

From the 1950s to date, therefore, the

findings regarding gender differences in job

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satisfaction have been inconsistent (DeSantis

and Durst, 1996; Hickson and Oshagbemi,

1999). The current investigation examines

the effects of gender on the job satisfaction of

university teachers, an occupational group yet

to be extensively researched although a

substantial proportion, if not the bulk, of

research activities is undertaken by them

(Oshagbemi, 1995).

Methodology

To investigate the effects of gender on the job

satisfaction of university teachers, the

following research methodology was

employed in the study.

Sample

A questionnaire survey was conducted in

1994. The population for this study

comprised university teachers in the UK. A

total of 1,102 questionnaires was

administered to potential respondents chosen

from 23 universities. The universities were

selected to include sample institutions from

all the regions of the country. A total of 554

usable questionnaires was returned giving a

response rate of 50.3 percent. The names of

the potential respondents were obtained from

the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook

(1993). Of the 554 usable responses, 306

(55.2 per cent) were from lecturers, 175 (31.6

per cent) were from senior lecturers, 25 (4.5

per cent) were from readers, and 48 (8.7 per

cent) were from professors. Similarly, 217

(39.2 per cent) responses were from females

while 337 (60.8 per cent) responses were

from males. Table I shows a breakdown of

respondents by, gender, rank and age.

Questionnaire

To measure job satisfaction, a questionnaire

comprising a slightly modified form of the Job

Descriptive Index (Smith et al ., 1969, 1985)

and some demographic questions was

constructed. The job elements in the study

are consistent with findings on the

measurement of job satisfaction (Wanous and

Lawler, 1972; Giles and Field, 1978;

Schneider and Dachler, 1978; Kulik et al.,

1980; Scarpello and Campbell, 1983; Loheret al., 1985; Clark et al., 1996; Oshagbemi,

1997a, b, c; 1998, 1999a, b; 2000a, b). The

Job Descriptive Index is one of the most

popular measures of job satisfaction and has

been found to produce highly reliable results

(Imparato, 1972). The questionnaire used in

this study employed eight scales designed to

measure satisfaction with respect to different

components of university teachers' overall job

satisfaction, namely:

(1) teaching;

(2) research;

(3) administrative and managerial duties;

(4) present pay;

(5) opportunities for promotion;

(6) supervision/supervisor behaviour;

(7) co-workers' behaviour;

(8) physical conditions/working facilities.

Each item in the scale was measured from a

range of (1) representing extremely

dissatisfied to (7) representing extremely

satisfied. Thus (4) represented indifference,i.e. neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

Conceptually the indifference zone, 4,

represents zero satisfaction. Thus 5, 6, 7

recordings represent positive satisfaction, the

higher the number, the greater the satisfaction

level. Similarly, 1, 2, 3 recordings represent

negative satisfaction, the lower the number,

the greater the level of dissatisfaction. The

total of the eight scales gives a summary

measure of overall job satisfaction. The

demographic questions included gender and

satisfaction with aspects of job. Questions on

age and rank were asked, to see whether the

relationship between gender and job

satisfaction is moderated by age or rank. The

Table I Breakdown of respondents by gender, rank and age

Frequency (%)

Overall job

satisfaction

score

Gender

Male 337 60.8 4.206Female 217 39.2 4.220

Rank

Lecturer 306 55.2 4.118

Senior lecturer 175 31.6 4.283

Reader 25 4.5 4.327

Professor 48 8.7 4.484

Age

Less than 35 79 14.3 4.173

35 to 44 194 35.0 4.196

45 to 54 204 36.8 4.208

At least 55 77 13.9 4.290

Notes: Overall job satisfaction score for all respondents: 4.212; standarddeviation: 0.798

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present study discusses academics' overall job

satisfaction and their satisfaction with their

pay, promotions, and physical conditions/

working facilities.

Statistical methods

To study the effect of gender on the job

satisfaction of university teachers, as well as

the effects of age and rank, a three-way

analysis of variance, i.e. three-way ANOVA,

was performed (Edwards, 1979; Bray and

Maxwell, 1985; Iversen and Norpoth, 1987).

This analysis was used as the job satisfaction

scales do not wildly violate the assumptions of

Gaussian distribution and homogeneity of

variance between cells. The direct effects of

gender, age and rank, and all the interactive

effects among gender, age and rank were

investigated. Not only overall job satisfaction

in relation to gender was investigated, but also

satisfaction with present pay, promotions, and

physical conditions/working facilities in

relation to gender. Descriptive statistics were

also computed to examine the overall job

satisfaction levels across the different

classifications of university teachers. In

addition, histograms showing the nature of

relationships between gender and overall

satisfaction and between gender andsatisfaction with present pay, promotions, and

the physical conditions/working facilities,

were presented to depict the nature of these

relationships graphically.

Results and discussion

As can be seen from Table I, female university

teachers are marginally more satisfied with

their jobs when compared with their malecounterparts. The overall job satisfaction

score was 4.220 for females versus 4.206 for

males. It can also be observed from the table

that overall job satisfaction score increases

with rank and with age. Thus, lecturers are

least satisfied with their jobs, with overall job

satisfaction score of 4.118, followed by senior

lecturers (4.283), and readers (4.327), with

professors being the most satisfied with

overall job satisfaction score of 4.484.

Similarly, the overall job satisfaction score of academics who were less than 35 years of age

was 4.173 and the score rises progressively to

4.290 for academics who were at least 55

years of age (refer to Table I for the details).

These findings are interesting because they

suggest that women in academia are

marginally more satisfied with their jobs vis-aÁ -

vis their male counterparts and that job

satisfaction in the academic community

increases with rank and with age. However,

these tentative findings remain to be

confirmed by more rigorous analyses designed

to test whether the reported differences

between the sexes, ranks and ages are

statistically significant.

A further breakdown of the overall job

satisfaction scores of the different ranks of

university teachers by gender and age group is

provided in Table II. Although it is difficult to

extract findings from the three-way cross

tabulation, it is clear that there was no male or

female university teacher, who was less than35 years of age, and who was a reader or a

professor. It is interesting to note that there

was no female academic in the sample who

was a reader and the three female professors

record overall job satisfaction scores much

higher than the average, not only for their

male counterparts, but also for the overall

sample. Could this observation suggest that

female professors are more satisfied with their

jobs compared with their male counterparts?

Table III shows ANOVA results for overall

job satisfaction and satisfaction with pay,


facilities, which exist in UK universities. For

direct effects on overall job satisfaction, age

and gender are not statistically significant but

rank is ( p < 0.021). Hence, there is evidence

to show that job satisfaction of university

teachers is dependent on rank after allowing

for age and gender. For interactive effects,

only the interaction of gender and rank is

statistically significant ( p < 0.012). That is,

although gender by itself is not significantlyrelated to job satisfaction, it is significant

when compared together with the rank of

university teachers. The ANOVA results of

the interactive effects of gender and rank are

presented graphically in Figure 1. Please note

that only the results for the variables gender

and interactions with age and/or rank are

discussed, as these are the focus of this paper.

From the histogram (Figure 1), it can be

seen that both male and female lecturers are

about equally satisfied, while femaleacademics experienced higher satisfaction

levels than their male counterparts for the

ranks of senior lecturer, reader and professor.

In essence, the findings show that female

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academics of senior lecturer rank and above

are more satisfied than their male

counterparts of comparable ranks. In the

professorial rank, the differences between the

job satisfaction of males and females are

considerable (overall mean job satisfaction

score of 5.000 versus 3.946). One reason

suggested for this result is the relatively few

numbers of female workers in top academic

ranks. Thus, the few female readers and

professors may see themselves as

exceptionally gifted and hardworking in their

disciplines, that feeling explaining their

greater job satisfaction. However, the number

of female professors in this survey requires

caution in making categorical statements that

they are more satisfied with their job vis-aÁ -vis

their male counterparts.

Table III also shows ANOVA results for

satisfaction with present pay, promotions and

physical conditions/working facilities, which

exist in universities. It is interesting to note

that on pay satisfaction, gender, the

Table II Overall job satisfaction score, by categories

Age Lecturers Senior lecturers Readers Professors All types

Female academics

Less than 35 4.188 4.188 ± ± 4.193

5 to 44 4.253 4.212 ± 5.750a 4.275

45 to 54 3.781 4.425 ± 5.125a

4.129At least 55 4.016 4.422 ± 5.125a 4.272

All age groups 4.091 4.338 ± 5.333 4.220

Male academics

Less than 35 4.169 4.031 ± ± 4.155

35 to 44 4.108 4.168 3.938 4.458 4.138

45 to 54 4.215 4.228 4.250 4.357 4.249

At least 55 3.941 4.429 4.563 4.513 4.285

All age groups 4.133 4.245 4.213 4.416 4.206

Note: aOnly one valid case; ± No responses in this category

Table III ANOVA results: overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with present pay, promotions, and physical conditions/working

facilities

Aspect of job

Overall job Present pay Promotions

Physical conditions/

working facilities

Source: df F value Pr > F F value Pr > F F value Pr > F F value Pr > F

Age 4 0.228 0.923 1.095 0.358 0.437 0.782 1.577 0.179

Gender 1 0.037 0.848 7.634 0.006*** 0.091 0.763 4.634 0.032**

Rank 4 2.925 0.021 6.378 0.000 23.699 0.000 2.198 0.068

Gender6age 6 0.453 0.843 2.927 0.008*** 0.868 0.518 1.443 0.196

Gender6rank 6 2.976 0.012** 3.938 0.001*** 12.697 0.000*** 2.077 0.054*

Age6

rank 7 0.791 0.595 2.920 0.005 6.622 0.000 1.570 0.142Gender6rank6age 7 0.575 0.776 1.668 0.115 1.442 0.187 1.935 0.063*

Notes: *p < 0.10; **p < 0.05; ***p < 0.01; Please note that only significant effects involving gender are indicated as such; overall job satisfaction was defined as the mean of the summation of the individual job satisfaction measures, i.e. satisfaction levels in(teaching + research + administration and management + present pay + promotions + head of unit's supervision +co-workers' behaviour + physical conditions/ working facilities)/8

Figure 1 Histogram of ANOVA results: gender x rank

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interactive effect of gender and age, and the

interactive effect of gender and rank are all

statistically significant ( p < 0.01). It shows

that the pay satisfaction of university teachers

is greatly influenced by gender and the

interactions of gender with age or rank.

Figure 2 confirms that female satisfaction

with pay is higher than that of the males (pay

satisfaction score of 3.289 for males versus a

figure of 3.599 for females). It is interesting to

observe that the women are more satisfied

with their pay compared with the men

although their salaries may not be higher. If

so, their satisfaction may be explained by their

role in the family, especially if they are not the

sole or the primary income earners.

Additionally, for female professors, there is

the positive psychological dimension to theformal and informal, monetary and non-

monetary opportunities which higher rank

bestows on incumbents, who, in this case,

are few.

With satisfactions derived from promotions,

the interactive effect of gender and rank is

statistically significant ( p < 0.01). This means

that while gender alone does not explain job

satisfaction with respect to promotions

(promotion satisfaction score of 3.363 for

males versus 3.364 for females, as shown inFigure 2), gender and rank together reveal

some significant results on this aspect of their

job (see Figure 1). In particular, women at

higher ranks are very satisfied with

promotions in their establishments. Again,

this could be as a result of the fact that there

are only a few of them at top positions

compared with the men. It should also be

noted, however, that pay and promotions are

related in the sense that promotions (higher

rank) mean higher pay, other things being

equal.

Satisfaction derived from physical

conditions/working facilities is statistically

significant with respect to gender, the

interactive effect of gender and rank, and the

combined interactive effect of gender, rank

and age (refer to Table III). The findings are

hardly surprising as some women tend to be

more concerned than the men with the quality

of their physical work environment and the

adequacy of their working facilities. Thus they

tend to be less satisfied compared with themen on this consideration, as depicted in

Figure 2. Here, the overall job satisfaction

score of women on physical conditions/

working facilities is 4.097. This compares

with a similar figure of 4.411 for men. On this

consideration, while the men tend to be

relatively nonchalant, women tend to pay

attention to the adequacy of the working

facilities and an attractive work environment.

This explains the observed significant

differences in the satisfaction levels of the

sexes. Please note that the impact of gender

on the other five aspects of the university

teachers' job are not considered in this article,

to avoid making the discussions unduly long.

Figure 2 depicts graphically the nature of

relationships between gender and overall

satisfaction and between gender and

satisfaction with present pay, promotions, and

physical conditions/working facilities, which

exist in UK universities. From the figure,

female academics are only marginally more

satisfied with their overall jobs whencompared with their male counterparts, while

the two sexes are about equally dissatisfied

with their promotions. Hence there were no

significant differences between the sexes on

these two considerations (refer to Table III).

On their pay, however, the female academics

are more satisfied than the males, while the

females are less satisfied with physical

conditions/working facilities which exist in

their organisations when compared with the

male academics.The findings on satisfaction with pay and

physical conditions/working facilities are

presented in the ANOVA results in Table III.

Here, gender difference is statistically

Figure 2 Histogram showing the nature of relationships between gender

and overall satisfaction and between gender and satisfaction with present

pay, promotions and physical conditions/working facilities which exist in

UK universities

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significant on pay ( p < 0.01). From Figure 2,

we know that the female satisfaction with pay

is higher than that of the males. From Figure

2 also, we know that it is the female

academics who are less satisfied with the

physical conditions/working environments

when compared with their male counterparts

and that the differences in job satisfaction

levels between the two sexes are statistically

significant. The tables and figures are

therefore complementary in explaining not

only the overall job satisfaction score of the

teachers, but also their satisfaction with

individual aspects of their jobs, namely, pay,


facilities.

Summary, conclusions and implications

This study examined gender differences in the

job satisfaction of UK university teachers and

found from the frequency distribution that

female and male academics were more or less

equally satisfied with their jobs. The

differences between the overall job

satisfaction scores of males versus females are

not significant when a three-way ANOVA was

employed in the analysis. The multivariate

statistical analysis showed that, on the effects

of gender on job satisfaction, gender by itself

does not affect job satisfaction, consistent

with the findings of, for example, Gaertner

and Ruhe (1983), Senatra (1988) and Larkin

(1990). However, within certain ranks,

gender does affect the job satisfaction of

university teachers. In particular, within the

ranks of senior lecturer, reader and professor,

female academics were more satisfied with

their jobs when compared with males of

comparable ranks.That female academics at higher ranks find

themselves more satisfied than their male

colleagues of comparable ranks may be due,

in part, to the relatively low numbers of

female academics at higher ranks within UK

universities. It was observed in the

introduction of this article that overall, female

academics are only about 22 per cent of the

full time academic staff as of 1993 (Church,

1995, p. 66). In addition, it was reported

recently that just 7 per cent of professors inthe UK are women (Times Higher Education

Supplement , 1998). This compares with 18 per

cent in the USA and 14 per cent in Australia.

Indeed only 3 per cent of UK science

professors are female, according to the

source cited.

In conclusion, it should be stated that our

results show the associative relationship

between gender (as well as rank and age) and

job satisfaction but they do not suggest

cause-effect relationship. This limitation

suggests some possible directions for future

research. It is interesting to investigate how

and why gender, among other factors, affectcs

job satisfaction. It will be useful if gender and

other effects can be quantified, as this will

enhance the current literature on job

satisfaction. It is hoped that this study can

contribute towards the literature on job

satisfaction of university teachers. There

appear to be no direct effects of gender on

such satisfaction. Whatever effects there are,they are a factor of the university teacher's

rank. Perhaps since the data collected were on

the basis of a 1994 sample, it is useful to state

that a follow-up study may now reveal some

changes in higher education statistics and

therefore possible changes in the job

satisfaction of the workers.

A fairly comprehensive picture of the

university's job satisfaction given in this

article reveals that although gender is not by

itself related to overall job satisfaction of university teachers, gender is directly related

to their pay satisfaction and to the satisfaction

of their physical conditions/working facilities.

The general implications of the findings on

job satisfaction in higher education are well

documented (Oshagbemi, 1996). Such

implications reflect on the nature of higher

education in the UK, the changing work

practices or conditions of work for academics,

the growth of contract teaching and research

staff, the abolition of the binary divide,

expansion of student numbers, university

funding crisis and introduction of systems to

monitor performance. While both male and

female workers experience changing working

conditions, female academics of senior

lecturer rank and above appear to be more

satisfied overall in coping with the conditions

of work.

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``Gender differences in the jobsatisfaction of university teachers''

The following abstracts from the wider

literature have been selected for their

special relevance to the preceding article.

The abstracts extend the themes and

discussions of the main article and act as

a guide to further reading.

Each abstract is awarded 0-3 stars for

each of four features:

(1) Depth of research

(2) Value in practice(3) Originality of thinking

(4) Readability for non-specialists.

The full text of any article may be

ordered from the Anbar Library.

Contact Debbie Brannan, Anbar

Library, 60/62 Toller Lane, Bradford,

UK BD8 9BY. Telephone: (44) 1274

785227; Fax: (44) 1274 785204;

E-mail: [email protected]

quoting the reference number shown at

the end of the abstract.

``Gender'' or ``job'' differences? Workingconditions among men and women inwhite-collar occupations

Emslie, C., Hunt, K. and Macintyre, S. in

Work Employment & Society (UK),

Dec 1999, Vol. 13 No. 4, p. 711 (19 pages)

Surveys white-collar workers in a UK bank

and a university to find out if there are any

differences in the way that male and female

employees, working in similar occupations,

perceive their working conditions, and to

understand if gender or the occupational

position affects this. Asks about the physical

environment; how stimulating and varied the

employees found their jobs; and the levels of

stress and tiredness felt. Analyses the results

and finds that the men scored significantly

higher than the women on lack of 'job

stimulation' whereas significantly morewomen reported poor working conditions.

Considers the reasons for these results and

concludes that the characteristics of the job,

rather than external factors such as family

roles, were the main influence on how both

men and women judged their jobs ±

occupational position being the most

important factor.

Survey/Theoretical with application in

practice

Research implications: ***

Practice implications: ** Originality: **

Readability: ** Total number: *********

Reference: 29AE975

Cost: £18 (plus VAT)

The effect of age on the satisfaction ofacademics with teaching and research

Hickson, C. and Oshagbemi, T. inInternational Journal of Social

Economics (UK), 1999, Vol. 26 No. 4,

p. 537 (8 pages)

Studies the relationship between age and job

satisfaction in academics using regression

analysis to test data on UK university

teachers. Looks in particular at the effects of

academic experience, university tenure, rank

and gender. Discovers that in teaching job

satisfaction decreases with age, teaching staff

reaching a constant low in later years, while

for research staff age affects job satisfaction

positively but at a decreasing rate, the over-

45s achieving the maximum job satisfaction.

Also notes that job satisfaction in both

teaching and research increases with rank and

that women are generally more satisfied

than men.

Wholly theoretical

Research implications: **

Practice implications: ** Originality: ***

Readability: ** Total number: *********

Reference: 28AF150Cost: £24 (plus VAT)

Sex differences in satisfaction with payand co-workers: faculty and staff at apublic institution of higher education

Tang, T.L.-P. and Talpade, M. in Public

Personnel Management (USA), Autumn

1999, Vol. 28 No. 3, p. 345 (5 pages)

Briefly reviews previous research that has

found differences between men and women in

the factors that contribute to their feelings of

job satisfaction. Summarizes research with

Abstracts from the

wider literature

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232 faculty and staff members of a US public

university (response rate 47 per cent), which

measured job satisfaction in five categories ±

work, pay, promotion, supervision and co-

workers ± and which looked at how the male

and female respondents rated these

categories. Finds that the male respondentshad higher satisfaction with pay, while the

female respondents had higher satisfaction

with co-workers. Considers the implications

of this for managing employees' job

satisfaction.

Theoretical with application in practice

Research implications: **


Readability: ** Total number: ********

Reference: 28BB297


Occupational stress, burnout and jobstatus in female academics

Doyle, C. and Hind, P. in Gender, Work

and Organization (UK), Apr 1998, Vol. 5

No. 2, p. 67 (16 pages)

Analyses whether there is any difference in

male and female academics' experience of

work-related stress and burnout. Focuses on

women academics working in psychology

department within UK higher education and

asks if women academics view the nature of

their work differently from male colleagues; if

there is any evidence of a ``glass ceiling''; if

there are gender differences in the reported

levels of job stress and burnout; if there are

any gender differences in the sources of stress;

and considers what the main indicators of stress and burnout are for both male and

female academics. Uses the Maslach Burnout

Inventory and the Faculty Stress Index to

analyse this and finds that there are few

differences in the way that the men and

women academics view their work but that,

while women academic experience more

pressure in their jobs, they experience lower

levels of burnout. Also concludes that there is

a glass ceiling for women working in higher

education departments, but that suggests that

this may not be due to career breaks but dueto the better access that male academics have

to the informal network structures. Considers

the reasons for these findings and their

implications.

Theoretical with application in practice/

Survey

Research implications: ***

Practice implications: ** Originality: *


Reference: 27AK453


Men's and women's definitions of ``good jobs'': similarities and differences byage and across time

Tolbert, P.S. and Moen, P. in Work &

Occupations (USA), May 98, Vol. 25 No. 2,

p. 168 (27 pages)

Looks at whether men and women prefer

certain jobs in the light of theories that

suggest that women's disadvantages in the

labour market, in terms of wages and status,

are a matter of choice rather than

discrimination. Points out that previous

studies on this subject have failed to consider

the impact of age and time on job preferences,

and argues that it is logical that people's

attitudes may vary at different time in their

careers and at different periods in time. Uses

data from the US General Social Survey to

explore the job characteristics that married

men and women, working full-time, value

most. Finds only partial support for the

hypothesis that men are more likely to value

high income, job security and promotion

opportunities whereas women are more likely

to value meaningful job content and short

hours ± only three of these job attributes were

significant ± meaningful work being ranked

first by women, promotion opportunities and

job security being ranked first by men. There

was no statistical difference in attitudes to

high income or shorter hours. Also finds that

age changes the attitudes of respondents, but

the passing of time does not ± the differences

in young men's and women's attitudes

tending to widen rather than narrow in recent

times. Points out the gender differences found

do not prove the human capital theories that

women trade off income from shorter or more

flexible hours, arguing that the relationship

between job preferences and job choice is

more complex than this.

Theoretical with application in practice/

Survey

Research implications:***

Practice implications: ** Originality: *


Reference: 27AR070


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Flight paths and revolving doors: a casestudy of gender desegregation inpharmacy

Tanner, J., Cockerill, R., Barnsley, J. and

Williams, A.P. in Work Employment &

Society (UK), Jun 1999, Vol. 13 No. 2,p. 275 (19 pages)

Explores what happens when large numbers

of women enter occupations which have

traditionally been seen as the domain of men,

looking at how male and female incumbents

experience this transformation; if it means the

end of gender inequality; or if it masks the

emergence of new forms of inequality.

Focuses on pharmacy in Canada, pointing

out this is one of the first well trained, highly

prestigious occupations to have made a rapidtransformation from majority male to a

majority female occupation. Reports the

results of a survey of pharmacists working in

Ontario, Canada, which looked at the

occupational profile of the pharmacists

(setting of the pharmacy practice, position in

the pharmacy, and, if a community pharmacy,

whether it was a chain, franchise or freehold

pharmacy); their incomes; gender

composition of the pharmacy; and their job

satisfaction. Also asked them to give their

views on the future of the professions,

whether it was declining in status and if theywould recommend it as a career. Finds that

the male and female pharmacists remained

horizontally and vertically segregated. Also

finds that the women pharmacists were

happier with their careers than the men.

However, points out that the male

pharmacists were not wanting to leave the

career, suggesting that, while pharmacy may

not be an integrating career, it is not

resegregating into a women's career.

Survey/Theoretical with application inpractice

Research implications:***


Readability: *** Total number: **********

Reference: 28AR920


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Gender Diferences of Job Satisfaction of Univerity Teachesrs

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