6533b832fe1ef96bd129af3f
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Equal access to the top? Measuring selection into finnish academia
Jouni HelinJutta ViinikainenKristian KoerselmanTimo TohmoTerhi Nokkalasubject
ta520Sociology and Political ScienceEconomicsacademic career0211 other engineering and technologies02 engineering and technologyuniversity level of educationacademiaSociology & anthropologyacademiceducational transition050602 political science & public administrationgenderta516FrauequalityHochschulbildungFinlandOccupational Research Occupational Sociologyequal opportunityeducationSozialwissenschaften SoziologiePoint (typography)05 social sciencesContrast (statistics)Wirtschaft021107 urban & regional planning0506 political sciencetasa-arvokorkeakoulutetutlcsh:Sociology (General)equality of rightshigher educationwomanddc:300ddc:301Sociology of Science Sociology of Technology Research on Science and TechnologyPsychologyBirth cohortWissenschaftssoziologie Wissenschaftsforschung Technikforschung TechniksoziologieSocial PsychologyHigher educationacademic (female)lcsh:HM401-1281academysukupuolicareerGleichberechtigungddc:330Berufsforschung BerufssoziologieSocial sciences sociology anthropologySelection (genetic algorithm)Academic careerChancengleichheitAkademikerinbusiness.industryGeschlechtAkademikerKarriereurakehitysFinnlandFrauen- und GeschlechterforschungRegister dataSoziologie AnthropologieAkademiesiirtymäaikaDemographic economicsWomen's Studies Feminist Studies Gender StudiesbusinessBildungdescription
In this article, we draw a parallel between equality of opportunity in educational transitions and equality of opportunity in academic careers. In both cases, many methodological problems can be ameliorated by the use of longitudinal rather than cross-sectional data. We illustrate this point by using Finnish full-population register data to follow the educational and academic careers of the 1964–1966 birth cohorts from birth to the present day. We show how the Finnish professoriate is highly selected both in terms of parental background and in terms of gender. Individuals of different backgrounds differ greatly in the likelihood of completing different educational and academic transitions, but much less in the age at which they make these transitions. By contrast, women’s academic careers differ from those of men both in terms of timing and in terms of rates, with women’s PhDs and full professorships seemingly delayed compared to those of men. We additionally show with the help of a 2015 cross-section of Finnish professors how such differences are easily overlooked in cross-sectional data.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-01-10 |