Investigating the Glass Ceiling in Italian Academia. Women’s Strategies and Barriers to Career Advancement
The underrepresentation of women in academia at the top levels, the so-called “glass ceiling phenomenon”, is still an issue also in Italian universities. Women, in fact, remain significantly underrepresented especially in full professorships and leadership positions, with only slightly changes over...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Bologna
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Sociologica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sociologica.unibo.it/article/view/17592 |
| _version_ | 1797392796217245696 |
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| author | Maddalena Cannito Manuela Naldini Arianna Santero |
| author_facet | Maddalena Cannito Manuela Naldini Arianna Santero |
| author_sort | Maddalena Cannito |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The underrepresentation of women in academia at the top levels, the so-called “glass ceiling phenomenon”, is still an issue also in Italian universities. Women, in fact, remain significantly underrepresented especially in full professorships and leadership positions, with only slightly changes over the years. Using 46 semi-structured interviews with 31 female associate professors and 15 female members of the departmental governance working in 4 Italian universities, the article explores this phenomenon looking at two aspects. On one side, it explores the barriers to access to full professorships and managerial positions in Italian academy, in particular the motherhood penalty, the gendered allocations of activities and the gendered construction of leadership. On the other, the essay looks at the individual strategies implemented by women to overcome or to cope with them. The analysis shows the interdependence between structural and cultural barriers and the alleged individual self-selective strategies of women. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:52:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5181ac44ac714e7d95d2299c4621328e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1971-8853 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:52:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Bologna |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sociologica |
| spelling | doaj.art-5181ac44ac714e7d95d2299c4621328e2023-12-13T09:44:28ZengUniversity of BolognaSociologica1971-88532023-12-011729311410.6092/issn.1971-8853/1759215951Investigating the Glass Ceiling in Italian Academia. Women’s Strategies and Barriers to Career AdvancementMaddalena Cannito0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9979-8080Manuela Naldini1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3433-7598Arianna Santero2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0165-2567Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore in PisaDepartment of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of TurinDepartment of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of TurinThe underrepresentation of women in academia at the top levels, the so-called “glass ceiling phenomenon”, is still an issue also in Italian universities. Women, in fact, remain significantly underrepresented especially in full professorships and leadership positions, with only slightly changes over the years. Using 46 semi-structured interviews with 31 female associate professors and 15 female members of the departmental governance working in 4 Italian universities, the article explores this phenomenon looking at two aspects. On one side, it explores the barriers to access to full professorships and managerial positions in Italian academy, in particular the motherhood penalty, the gendered allocations of activities and the gendered construction of leadership. On the other, the essay looks at the individual strategies implemented by women to overcome or to cope with them. The analysis shows the interdependence between structural and cultural barriers and the alleged individual self-selective strategies of women.https://sociologica.unibo.it/article/view/17592glass ceilingcareer advancementleadership positionsitalian academiaacademic work |
| spellingShingle | Maddalena Cannito Manuela Naldini Arianna Santero Investigating the Glass Ceiling in Italian Academia. Women’s Strategies and Barriers to Career Advancement Sociologica glass ceiling career advancement leadership positions italian academia academic work |
| title | Investigating the Glass Ceiling in Italian Academia. Women’s Strategies and Barriers to Career Advancement |
| title_full | Investigating the Glass Ceiling in Italian Academia. Women’s Strategies and Barriers to Career Advancement |
| title_fullStr | Investigating the Glass Ceiling in Italian Academia. Women’s Strategies and Barriers to Career Advancement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating the Glass Ceiling in Italian Academia. Women’s Strategies and Barriers to Career Advancement |
| title_short | Investigating the Glass Ceiling in Italian Academia. Women’s Strategies and Barriers to Career Advancement |
| title_sort | investigating the glass ceiling in italian academia women s strategies and barriers to career advancement |
| topic | glass ceiling career advancement leadership positions italian academia academic work |
| url | https://sociologica.unibo.it/article/view/17592 |
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