Barriers to Tenure for Women and Minorities

Despite general agreement that women and ethnic and racial minorities have qualitatively different experiences in the academy than their white male colleagues, the literature reveals a dichotomy of focus: on the structure (i.e., on the academy and what the academy must do to retain women and minorities) or on the individual (i.e., on women and minorities and what they must do to survive). This study identifies organizational, professional, and personal barriers to tenure and retention and analyzes whether the barriers are experienced differently according to sex and majority/minority status.