Perceptions


The Diversity Council’s 1999 campus climate survey reveals that many women and even more men do not perceive gender discrimination to be a problem at Stetson. Many of those who think it takes longer for women to prove themselves do not necessarily think that this is the result of "discrimination." The climate survey reveals some significant differences between female and male respondents. For instance, female faculty (47%) are much more likely than male faculty (11.4%) to agree or strongly agree with the statement "Compared to other faculty, it takes longer for female faculty to prove themselves." Yet fewer women (37.7%) and more men (15.8%) agree or strongly agree with the statement "Discrimination is a problem on campus for female faculty." (Table 7)

A similar outcome appears in the responses of female and male staff to comparably worded statements. 42.8% of female staff agree or strongly agree with the idea that "It takes longer for females to prove themselves", while only 11.9% of the male staff agree or strongly. Again, fewer women (31.9%) and more men (13.6%) agree or strongly agree with the statement "Discrimination is a problem on campus for female employees." (Table 8)

The responses of female students follow the pattern described above: a greater number (25.3%) agree or strongly agree with the statement "It takes longer for female students to prove themselves" than with the statements "Discrimination is a problem on campus for female students" (14.2%) or "Discrimination is a problem on campus for female faculty/staff (9.7%). 20% of male students agree with the statement "It takes longer for female students to prove themselves"; 2.9% agree that "Discrimination is a problem on campus for female students." Male students are twice as likely to agree that "Discrimination is a problem on campus for male faculty or staff" (22.9%) than with the statement "Discrimination is a problem on campus for female faculty or staff" (11.5%) (Table 9).

The climate study also reveals some interesting differences among members of same-gender groups. For example, female students (9.7%) are much less likely to agree, strongly or somewhat, is the statement "Discrimination is a problem on campus for female faculty or employees" than female faculty (37.7%) or staff (31.9%); female faculty (15.1%) are less likely to have witnessed a student being put down intellectually based on gender than are female staff (27.8%) or female students (21.1%) (Table 10).

Male students (40% and 31.4%, respectively) are much more likely than any other group to have witnessed a student being put down intellectually based on gender or to have witnessed discriminatory jokes, cartoons, or graffiti based on gender. They are more likely than male faculty or staff to agree that it takes women longer to prove themselves, and least likely to agree that discrimination is a problem on campus for women faculty, staff, or students. (Table 11).

The survey suggests that many women and men on campus do not perceive that women are disadvantaged in professional or academic contexts. It appears that many members of the Stetson community either do not share the contemporary understanding of gender discrimination as it has been developed by researchers and scholars or that they do not perceive that gender discrimination is a problem on campus.

A recent survey of women presidents, vice-presidents, and deans forms an interesting point of comparison with the Stetson survey. This study suggests that highly successful women in academia are more likely than any group of faculty, staff, or students at Stetson to believe that discrimination remains a problem for women. The majority of respondents indicated that the most important issues that women in higher education still face are various forms of systematic bias against women (64%) and the difficulty of balancing career and family responsibilities (45%). Only 3.5% felt that the most significant challenges women face as women in academia have been resolved (Table 12).

The Stetson Climate Study suggests that--at least in some ways--men and women experience their work lives very differently. In addition to the information reported above, women faculty (48.9% ) are much more likely than male faculty (25.9%) to feel that subtle discrimination (prejudice, racism, sexism) has been a source of stress (either extensive or somewhat). Men and women faculty also perceive the administration’s commitment to increasing the representation of women in the faculty and administration differently. Faculty were asked to indicate how important they believe this priority is, and the results suggest that female faculty perceive it to be a higher priority than male faculty do:
 

Female Male
Highest Priority 18.8% 7.5%
High Priority 41.7% 23.9%
Medium Priority 25% 44.8%
Low Priority 14.6% 23.9%

Faculty were also asked whether most Stetson faculty are sensitive to the issues of members of underrepresented groups. 50.9% of women and 53.6% of men agree, strongly or somewhat, that most faculty are sensitive. 27.4% of women and 18.8% of men disagree, strongly or somewhat: between a quarter and a third of women faculty do not feel that their colleagues are sensitive to these issues.

The majority of faculty, both male and female, report being satisfied with their personal safety on campus (89.8% and 86.3%, respectively), but a higher percentage of women (11.8%) than men (1.4%) is not satisfied.

Women faculty are less likely to be satisfied with the DeLand community. Over twice the percentage of women (23%) than men (10.1%) disagree, somewhat or strongly, with the statement "I am satisfied with the local/DeLand community." Male faculty are less likely (66.6%) than female faculty (74.5%) to agree (strongly or somewhat) that they feel they are a part of the Stetson community.

Female and male faculty generally respond similarly to questions about their professional accomplishments and satisfaction with work. Both women (88.2%) and men (86.8%) are pleased with their teaching accomplishments within the past few years; both are somewhat less pleased with their scholarly accomplishments (70.6% women; 66.1% men). 54.9% of women and 63.2% of men feel that Stetson has provided the support they need to succeed. 45.1% of women and 47.8% of men feel that the demands of university service have interfered with their performance as teachers and/or researchers. Overall, 72.5% of women faculty and 75.4% of men report being satisfied with their positions at Stetson.

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