The association between advanced degrees in higher education and the career paths of the male and female graduates from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1980-1993

This study was designed to analyze the differences between the male and female advanced degree graduates of the Higher Education program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1980-1993. The main focus of the study was to compare the demographic features and the career paths of the graduates.A two-part questionnaire was sent out to all of the 1980-1993 graduates. Part I of the questionnaire had both open- and closed-ended questions which sought information pertaining to the graduates' personal characteristics, career paths, perceptions of the relevance of their degree to their career, and their perceptions of the role that their gender has played in their careers. Part II of the questionnaire asked the graduates to list the professional positions they have held in their careers. Respondents had the option of sending in a resume or vita in lieu of filling out Part II. Of the 90 graduates surveyed, 41 returned usable surveys for a response rate of 51%.Results of the study revealed that: (a) more male respondents (93%) than female respondents (78%) were employed by institutions of higher education; (b) more male respondents (73%) than female respondents (38%) self-identified themselves as higher education administrators; (c) more female respondents (52%) than the male respondents (13%) had no children in 1994; and (d) 76% of the female respondents earned less than $50,000 while the majority of the men (67\%) earned over \$50,000. Although none of the male respondents felt that their gender had negatively affected their careers, 38% of the female respondents felt that their gender had negatively affected their careers.The study found that more male respondents are in leadership positions, the male respondents are more likely to have children, and the female respondents are more likely to feel that their gender has negatively affected their degree of success in their careers. Universities need to investigate how to make the workplace more accommodating for women so that these institutions can take full advantage of the talents and abilities of both their male and female employees.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio