Women in the academic profession and the glass ceiling. A comparative perspective in North America (Mexico, the United States and Canada)

Abstract

This work compares the low representation of women among full-time academic staff in Mexico, the United States and Canada, and highlights the importance of defining policies that address this problem. It is based on the international survey The Changing Academic Profession (CAP), applied during 2007-08. The application of the questionnaire was based on a random sample of higher education institutions and academics. The sample was composed of the following full-time academics 1,775 for Mexico, 991 for the United States and 152 for Canada. Women who are trying to join or remain in the academic career face barriers that are related to sociocultural and structural aspects and that at a given moment make up a glass ceiling. It could be said that the academics that finally remain in the academy are not only survivors of the educational system, but also are characterized as a demographic-academic group in a different way.