Document Type
Report
Publication Date
5-5-2025
Abstract
This research investigates how women, transgender, and gender nonconforming professional faculty perceive their value in the university relative to their male counterparts. Shifting demographic trends and competition for tuition-paying undergraduates has forced institutions of higher learning, especially regional private universities, to restructure faculty appointments, increasing the proportion of faculty hired into contingent roles. These roles are disproportionately occupied by women and gender nonconforming individuals (as a group). To address the question of whether value is understood differently based upon gender, we draw upon a mixed-methods approach, administering a campus-wide survey to professional faculty and conducting interviews and focus groups to explore how gender identity intersects with professional status and perceived value. Our findings reveal persistent hierarchies in recognition, advancement, and institutional support, with gendered patterns of invisibility and undervaluation disproportionately affecting non-male identifying professional faculty. While departmental relationships often provide localized affirmation, institutional structures frequently reinforce the feeling of disposability and marginalization. This research demonstrates the need for structural change to recognize and equitably support all faculty, especially those in contingent roles who remain essential to the university’s teaching mission.
eCommons Citation
Payton, Autumn Lockwood; Weaver, Susan; Heller, Laura; Bowman, Samantha; Gillotti, Maria; and Koertje, John, "Karats and Styx: Perceptions of Value Amongst NTT Faculty and the Creation of Status Divisions through Contingent Appointments" (2025). Reports from the Gender Equity Research Fellowship. 10.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/wgs_equity/10
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