ERIC Number: EJ1424759
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Jun
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1938-8926
EISSN: EISSN-1938-8934
Available Date: N/A
Invisible Labor and the Associate Professor: Identity and Workload Inequity
Hava Rachel Gordon; Kate Willink; Keeley Hunter
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, v17 n3 p285-296 2024
Many professors, especially at the associate level, say yes to service requests despite the pervasive advice to "just say no." Much of this service constitutes "invisible labor" that diverts time and energy from efforts required to advance to the full professor rank. Based on in-depth interview research with 25 tenured professors, this article outlines how different groups of faculty negotiate invisible labor, highlights institutional inequities that unevenly determine patterns of invisible labor, and connects invisible labor to broader neoliberal forces. For women faculty of color in particular, a "no" is not always respected by more powerful institutional actors, and the individualized emphasis on "just saying no" to service brings with it both individual and collective costs. This article suggests that institutional and cultural change may ameliorate the racialized and gendered inequities associated with invisible labor more effectively than the individualized advice to "just say no."
Descriptors: Faculty Workload, College Faculty, Professional Identity, Academic Rank (Professional), Time Management, Faculty Promotion, Women Faculty, Minority Groups, Organizational Change, Neoliberalism, Racial Differences, Gender Differences, Work Environment, Tenure, Teacher Attitudes, Research Universities
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A