The Representation and Pay of Women and Minorities in Higher Education Administration: Institutions That Are Getting It Right

Abstract

When we think of diversity and equity in higher education, we may think first of students. However, diversity in faculty and staff is also important. Administrators, in particular, engage in many functions that represent an institution to the world outside of higher education and are high-profile examples of how diversity is valued on their campus. Although there were a few successes highlighted, gains in representation and pay for both women and minorities are barely perceptible; overall, higher ed institutions are not performing as well as one might expect. This led the author to wonder which institutions are doing well in their diversity and equity efforts. To answer this, the author compared higher ed institutions’ performance over 16 years in terms of representation and pay equity for women and minority administrators. The research identified 11 institutions that have had consistent success. It also looked more broadly at the kinds of institutions that have been more successful than their peers in four areas of diversity/equity.