The Tenure Track Model : Its Acceptance and Perceived Gendered Character
(2023) In Trends in Higher Education 2(1). p.62-76- Abstract
This article is concerned with the tenure track (TT) model, which has become increasingly used to extend the period of early career academics’ probation from one to five years across the EU. This article focuses on the TT in Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the oldest and most prestigious university in Ireland, one where gender equality has been embedded more consistently and where the pace of change has been faster than in other Irish universities. Drawing on interviews with thirteen men and women in three faculties, all but one of whom had successfully achieved tenure, this article explores their acceptance of the TT model and the perceived relevance of gender. Men were more likely to accept the model and less likely to see it as... (More)
This article is concerned with the tenure track (TT) model, which has become increasingly used to extend the period of early career academics’ probation from one to five years across the EU. This article focuses on the TT in Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the oldest and most prestigious university in Ireland, one where gender equality has been embedded more consistently and where the pace of change has been faster than in other Irish universities. Drawing on interviews with thirteen men and women in three faculties, all but one of whom had successfully achieved tenure, this article explores their acceptance of the TT model and the perceived relevance of gender. Men were more likely to accept the model and less likely to see it as gendered. Even those women who identified a lack of clarity around maternity leave and/or gender differences in negotiating ‘fixed’ starting salaries did not identify a systemic gender issue but blamed themselves. Women who were ‘outsiders’ to TCD and in the arts, humanities and social science faculty were most likely to be critical of the model. The findings suggest the importance of a cautionary appraisal of TT, even in institutions that have actively sought to enhance gender equality.
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- author
- O’Connor, Pat and Drew, Eileen LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-01-19
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- case study, discipline, early career academics, gender, Ireland, managerialism, maternity leave, qualitative, starting salaries, tenure track
- in
- Trends in Higher Education
- volume
- 2
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 15 pages
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105010258405
- ISSN
- 2813-4346
- DOI
- 10.3390/higheredu2010005
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
- id
- 74bc4f5f-a44c-4201-8d5d-1e4b1a9b4dc1
- date added to LUP
- 2026-02-03 16:25:33
- date last changed
- 2026-02-05 09:18:36
@article{74bc4f5f-a44c-4201-8d5d-1e4b1a9b4dc1,
abstract = {{<p>This article is concerned with the tenure track (TT) model, which has become increasingly used to extend the period of early career academics’ probation from one to five years across the EU. This article focuses on the TT in Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the oldest and most prestigious university in Ireland, one where gender equality has been embedded more consistently and where the pace of change has been faster than in other Irish universities. Drawing on interviews with thirteen men and women in three faculties, all but one of whom had successfully achieved tenure, this article explores their acceptance of the TT model and the perceived relevance of gender. Men were more likely to accept the model and less likely to see it as gendered. Even those women who identified a lack of clarity around maternity leave and/or gender differences in negotiating ‘fixed’ starting salaries did not identify a systemic gender issue but blamed themselves. Women who were ‘outsiders’ to TCD and in the arts, humanities and social science faculty were most likely to be critical of the model. The findings suggest the importance of a cautionary appraisal of TT, even in institutions that have actively sought to enhance gender equality.</p>}},
author = {{O’Connor, Pat and Drew, Eileen}},
issn = {{2813-4346}},
keywords = {{case study; discipline; early career academics; gender; Ireland; managerialism; maternity leave; qualitative; starting salaries; tenure track}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{62--76}},
publisher = {{MDPI AG}},
series = {{Trends in Higher Education}},
title = {{The Tenure Track Model : Its Acceptance and Perceived Gendered Character}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/higheredu2010005}},
doi = {{10.3390/higheredu2010005}},
volume = {{2}},
year = {{2023}},
}