Explore the Data: The Promotion of Women and People of Color in Higher Ed Faculty

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Explore: Tenure-Track Faculty | Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

 

How to Interact with the Graphics  You can filter by racial/ethnic group using the menu in the middle of each graphic. Note that the vertical axes will shift for each racial/group in order to ensure data are displayed fully. You can also toggle between viewing all faculty or just newly-promoted faculty using the buttons at the top of each graphic.

 

Tenure-Track Faculty 

In 2020-21, racial/ethnic minorities were similarly represented among tenure-track assistant professors and professional or doctoral degree holders. However, the representation of all racial/ethnic minority groups declines at each step up in faculty rank; the largest decline in representation occurs between the assistant and associate ranks. These patterns hold for newly promoted faculty, showing that even in 2021, representation of racial/ethnic minorities fell at each subsequent rank. With few exceptions, men are better represented than women of the same race/ethnicity and rank. Only White men have better representation as they climb each faculty rank. Over time, the representation of faculty who are Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, or two or more races is greater within rank. However, the decline of racial/ethnic minority representation as rank increases remains consistent.  

 

 

Non-Tenure-Track Faculty 

In 2020-21, racial/ethnic minorities were similarly represented among non-tenure-track teaching assistant professors and professional or doctoral degree holders. The representation of faculty who are Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, or two or more races declines at each step up in faculty rank; the largest decline in representation occurs between the assistant and associate ranks. These patterns hold for newly promoted faculty: even in 2021, representation of racial/ethnic minorities fell at each subsequent rank. With few exceptions, women are better represented than men of the same race/ethnicity and rank. White, Native American or Alaska Native, and Native Hawai’ian or Pacific Islander men have better representation as rank increases.  Over time, the representation of non-tenure-track teaching faculty who are Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawai’ian or Pacific Islander or two or more races is greater within each rank. 

 

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Methodology

Data were collected in CUPA-HR’s Faculty in Higher Education Survey with an effective date of November 1 of each academic year. Analyses focus on faculty for whom data on both race/ethnicity and sex were reported. Only non-profit institutions of higher education are included in these analyses. 

Table of N’s for 2021

	TENURE-TRACK					NON-TENURE-TRACK
	Assistant Professor	Associate Professor	Professor			Assistant Professor	Associate Professor	Professor
Asian Women	2,323	2,457	1,635			851	321	211
Asian Men	3,067	3,503	4,566			828	310	210
Black Women	1,486	1,323	736			737	291	178
Black Men	1,014	1,205	1,061			400	149	138
Hispanic/Latinx Women	941	1,060	767			510	194	146
Hispanic/Latinx Men	986	1,190	1,170			387	181	142
Native American or Alaska Native Women	99	94	86			63	28	14
Native American or Alaska Native Men	81	98	113			34	14	21
Native Hawai’ian or Pacific Islander Women	32	33	23			27	15	10
Native Hawai’ian or Pacific Islander Men	50	66	66			10	10	10
Two or More Races Women	296	244	160			148	70	38
Two or More Races Men	240	242	236			116	49	27
White Women	12,046	16,311	14,527			7,754	3,565	2,575
White Men	10,692	18,918	26,715			5,281	2,860	2,636
Total	33,353	46,744	51,861			17,146	8,057	6,356
Overall	131,958					31,559