Gender Inequality Across the Academic Life Course

Abstract Recent decades have witnessed increasing scholarly and public attention to the status of women in academia. Although women are now the majority of degree recipients and their share of initial academic appointments approximates their representation among degree recipients, substantial gender inequality persists. In this article, we review existing research on this topic, focusing on how gender inequality manifests and unfolds throughout the academic career life course, from graduate school experiences, through initial academic appointments, into the associate professor years, and, finally, to women's experiences as full professors and administrators. Throughout, we emphasize how institutionalized policies and subtle biases, rather than overt discrimination, perpetuate gender inequality. We conclude with suggested areas for future research.