Gender gaps in the promotion of mid-career university academic staff: a meta-analytic study

Abstract In recent decades, academia has changed significantly, due to managerial practices and the emphasis on productivity and quantifiable metrics for evaluating academic work. These changes have generated increased competition, making access to funding, and ability to publish in high- impact journals, pre-requisites to promotion, especially in the mid-career stages. Hence the need to determine the impact of productivity assessment on the promotion of men and women in academia. To this end, a meta-analysis was conducted, involving a review of 15 studies, to compare the odds of promotion to full professorship between men and women, using the odds ratio. The results showed that men are 1.76 times more likely (95% C1:1.51–2.05) to be promoted. This gap persisted even when considering academic area and geographic region, and publication metrics. The study’s findings contribute to the current debate on how academic work is evaluated and the emphasis placed on quantification through the use of metrics that measure research performance, which render structural gender inequalities invisible. These conclusions indicate an urgent need to formulate and implement evidence-based policies that foster inclusive academic environments, ensuring equal opportunities and equity in academic work evaluation frameworks for the promotion process for all academic staff.