In almost all cases, deans play a role at the time of offering a tenure-track or tenured position to an applicant.) The size of the “dean effect” must therefore be interpreted cautiously. For every 1 percent increase in the percentage of females in the interview pool, the probability that a woman would be offered the position increased by about 5 percent. Finally, the probability that a woman would be offered the position was lowest at the top 20 research-intensive institutions compared with non-top 20 research-intensive institutions surveyed. At the highest prestige institutions (top 10), the probability that a woman would get an offer approached significance (p = 0.08). No other factors were associated with the probability that a woman would get an offer.

Explaining hires made is more difficult, as the decision to hire involves the department, which makes the offer, and the applicant, who accepts. The committee’s departmental survey does not have information on characteristics of those ultimately hired, beyond their gender. However, the committee’s faculty survey did ask faculty some questions about reasons for accepting the position offered to them. Answers to these questions are explored in the next section of this chapter.

Table 3-7 presents data on the gender of the individual receiving the first offer and the gender of the faculty member ultimately hired for tenure-track positions.

In 95 percent of the cases in which a man was the first choice for a position, a man was ultimately hired in that position. Compare this to the case for women, where only 70 percent of cases in which a woman was first offered a position was a woman ultimately hired. In 30 percent of the cases in which women were offered first, a man ultimately ended up in the position.¹⁰

Table 3-8 presents data on the gender of the individual receiving the first offer and the gender of the faculty member ultimately hired for tenured positions.

In all cases in which a man was offered the position first, a man was ultimately hired. In only 77 percent of the cases in which a woman was offered the position first was a woman ultimately hired. In 23 percent of the cases in which a woman was offered the position first, a man was ultimately hired, again suggesting that if the woman who is first offered the position does not accept, there is a substantial chance the job will go to a man.