The balance between status quo and change when minorities try to access top ranks: a tale about women achieving professorship

Purpose This paper aims to study vertical gender segregation, which persists even in the fields where women are represented at junior levels. Academia is an example. Individual performance and lack of a critical mass do not fully explain the problem. Thus, this paper adopted an intergroup perspective (i.e. social identity and competition theories) to study how a majority (i.e. men) can influence the advancement of a minority (i.e. women). Design/methodology/approach The paper investigated promotions from associate to full professor in Italy. The original data set included all promotions from 2013 to 2016. To study intergroup dynamics, individual-level variables were analysed together with structural factors, such as gender representation and availability of resources. Findings The effect of gender representation was significant in that promotions were more likely when full professor ranks within academic institutions were men-dominated and associate professor ranks were women-dominated. Concurrently, the analysis of individual-level variables supported the existence of discrimination against women. The paper argues that the majority grants more promotions under the pressure of change; however, this does not contrast with discrimination at the individual level. Research limitations/implications The paper focused only on one country. However, the framework can be applied in other contexts and used to study segregation based on factors other than gender. Originality/value This study explored gender segregation from a new perspective, highlighting the importance of the interplay between individual and structural factors. This interplay might be one of the causes of the slow progress of gender equality.