From the President
Dear Members of the Brown Community,
The task force appointed to examine the status of women faculty at Brown has issued its final report, and I am writing to share the report and its recommendations. Amid gender disparities among faculty nationwide, Brown’s Task Force on the Status of Women Faculty undertook an extensive data-driven analysis focused on representation, equity and inclusion.
The report documents many important areas in which no gender-based differences were found, and identifies other areas in which the University can improve. The areas identified for improvement are reflected in eight task force recommendations that address expanding the number of women faculty at all ranks; ensuring equity in compensation, promotion, retention and service loads; developing improved mechanisms to address bias, harassment and misconduct; providing better information and support to faculty on human-resources related issues and improving access to childcare; and enhancing training for department chairs. Plans to address the task force’s recommendations will be shared in the Fall 2023 semester.
Brown has a long history of proactively confronting and addressing difficult issues, even as they are embedded in longstanding cultural realities and reflected in trends across the nation. In September 2021, then-Provost Richard M. Locke and I charged the task force, chaired by Diane Lipscombe, professor of neuroscience and director of the Carney Institute for Brain Science, with assessing any disparities in opportunities and outcomes between women and men on the Brown faculty and making recommendations for changes that would advance the University’s mission of education and research.
This was motivated in part by annual reporting on the progress of the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, which noted evidence that at Brown, women tenure-track faculty remain a minority in several disciplines, even those in which the majority of those graduating with doctoral degrees are women. Although this is an issue seen nationwide, it was concerning given Brown’s commitment to sustaining a diverse academic community that will position the University to achieve the highest level of academic excellence.
In fulfilling its charge, the task force worked over the course of 18 months to collect, evaluate and deliberate quantitative and qualitative data related to numerous aspects of the faculty experience at Brown. This encompassed research, teaching, service, mentoring, assigned research space and campus climate. Members analyzed datasets provided by several administrative units; solicited input from Brown faculty in a variety of forms, including conversations with and anonymous feedback from current faculty members as well as former members of the faculty who have left Brown; and incorporated feedback from several University committees.
The task force provides critical insights into the challenges of cultivating a diverse and talented faculty, and its recommendations offer a roadmap for how we can create solutions. Only with this full understanding of where we are succeeding, and where we must improve, can we fully take on the work of ensuring that every Brown faculty member has access to the same resources and opportunities, regardless of sex or gender identity.
Task Force Findings
Among several findings, the task force’s extensive analysis found that, since 2012, the gender gap in time to promotion for women faculty at Brown from associate to full professor has narrowed, and there is no gender gap in salary among men and women faculty hired in the past decade. This reflects recent progress in addressing national disparities.
In addition, no gender-based differences were found in areas including faculty tenure rates; appointment of faculty to endowed chairs; faculty hiring across disciplines relative to the representation of women in candidate pools; salary for women and men lecturers; access to research resources; assignment of laboratory space; and documented service loads, among other areas.
The report also identifies multiple areas in which Brown can improve. As is the case nationally, women are underrepresented on the Brown faculty across all ranks and in all disciplines relative to the national pool of Ph.D. candidates, for example. Some faculty recounted instances of being subjected to perceived harassment on the basis of sex and/or race, disrespectful and dismissive language, and a lack of dignity and respect. While the report notes that much of the data are consistent with national indicators with respect to women in higher education, they are inconsistent with Brown’s stated values and commitment to academic excellence, which requires a diversity of perspectives and experience.
Despite the lack of gender gap among faculty hired in the last 10 years, the report found statistically significant salary differences between men and women faculty at Brown who started prior to 2012. An analysis of Fiscal Year 2021 showed that the average median salaries for women at Brown are 88% of men’s salaries. While the data for the last decade indicates significant progress, the fact that an overall pay gap remains reflects a national trend.
These differences at Brown are in part attributable to the historic legacy of the time to promotion to full professor, as women rank at the associate professor level for two years longer than men, on average. Although this gap has narrowed over the past decade, we must take steps to ensure that it does not reappear. The review of compensation data did not consider a number of other factors that could contribute to differences in compensation, such as home department, and therefore the report recommends further analysis to meet Brown’s goal to “promote and ensure equity across every dimension.” We will undertake this work in the coming year.
I encourage members of our community to read the report for a full understanding of the findings:
Next Steps
As I note in my cover letter for the report, addressing the areas for improvement outlined in the report will take time and resolve, but it’s vitally important for Brown to do so. The first step is to accept the task force recommendation to “appoint an implementation team to develop an action plan to prioritize, spearhead and track implementation of the recommended actions” in coordination with Brown’s Faculty Executive Committee.
Additional data-gathering efforts — a campus climate survey, a faculty satisfaction survey and a childcare needs assessment — will culminate this summer and fall, and will provide more critical data on Brown community members’ experiences with opportunity, support and access. Next fall, incoming Provost Frank Doyle and I will share the results of those efforts, as well as plans to address the full set of task force recommendations.
Brown is committed to ensuring that all members of our community are provided with equal opportunities and support to advance their careers and meet their full potential. As national conversations continue concerning employment disparities among men and women faculty, we felt it was important to examine the status of women faculty at Brown.
I am deeply grateful to the members of the task force for their dedicated efforts; the Office of the Provost and other offices that contributed to the data analysis; and the many current and previous faculty who shared their experiences and insights. I look forward to continued work together to fully address representation, equity and inclusion with respect to women faculty at Brown.
Sincerely,
Christina H. Paxson
President