Detecting Gender Discrimination in University Salaries: A Case Study

To assess sex discrimination in university salary allocation accurately, one must determine whether gender explains the salary difference in and of itself, or exerts its influence through other variables, such as rank and departmental affiliation, that themselves affect salary and may correlate with gender. Using members of the Faculty of Social Science (N = 133) of a large Canadian university as a case sample, we assessed gender discrimination in promotion and gender differences in departmental affiliation as related to salary before including these two variables in statistical analyses predicting salary. No evidence was found for discrimination in promotion and women were not morie under-represented in the higher-salaried departments. Several regression models recommended in the literature for assessing gender discrimination in salaries were conducted and yielded convergent findings : male and female faculty similar on salary-relevant variables were equivalently paid. While these results should be reassuring, they would not go very far toward resolving salary discrimination disputes in the university studied or in most other academic institutions. The difficulties of applying the results of statistical analyses within a politically-charged arena are discussed.Afin d'évaluer avec précision le degré de discrimination sexuelle dans l'allocation des salaires universitaires, on doit déterminer si le sexe en soi explique la différence salariale ou s'il exerce son influence par l'intermédiaire d'autres variables, telles le rang et les affiliations départementales, qui influencent elles-mêmes les salaires et qui pourraient être en corrélation avec le sexe. Prenant comme échantillon représentatif le corps professoral de la faculté des sciences sociales (TV = 133) d'une grande université canadienne, on a évalué la discrimination sexuelle dans l'avancement et les différences sexuelles dans les affiliations départementales se rapportant aux salaires avant d'inclure ces deux variables dans les analyses statistiques pouvant predire les salaires. On n'apporte aucun appui à l'existence de discrimination dans /'avancement et le nombre de femmes affiliées aux départements dont les salaires sont plus élevés n'est pas inférieur. Plusieurs modèles de régression recommandés dans la documentation concernant l'évaluation de la discrimination sexuelle ont été effectués et ont produit des résultats convergents: qu'il s'agisse d'hommes ou de femmes, les professeurs qui correspondaient de façon semblable aux variables se rapportant aux salaires étaient rémunérés de façon égale. Tandis que ces résultats devaient être rassurants, on observe qu'ils n'aideront pas beaucoup à résoudre les disputes sur la discrimination salariale dans la plupart des institutions académiques y compris la nôtre. Sont abordées les difficultés d'appliquer les résultats d'analyses statistiques dans un milieu très politisé

Perceptual contrast versus reciprocal concession as mediators of induced compliance.

This study examined two explanations for the success of a compliance strategy in which a second moderate-sized request is asked immediately after the refusal of a first large-sized request. The reciprocal concessions explanation argues that the change from the first request to the second is viewed as a concession on the part of the requestor that compels the subject to make a concession of his own, i.e., agree to the second request. The perceptual contrast explanation proposes that the first request establishes a comparison standard against which the second request appears to be less costly; without the first request, the second request might be compared with the possibility of doing nothing for the requestor. The results supported the view that the critical manipulation in eliciting compliance is the reduction of relative cost to the subject and not the personal concession shown by the requestor. In the popular comic strip Blondie, one episode has recurred many times over the years. In the scene, Blondie enters the living room wearing a new hat, new shoes, and a new dress. She cheerfully calls her husband's atten

Religious Values and Environmental Concern: Harmony and Detachment

The thought that environmental concern is rooted in religious beliefs and values has been raised by many writers. Different claims have been made about whether the nature of this relationship is positive or negative, and empirical evidence is mixed. In line with research on attitudes and values, this study examines the hypothesis that unless religious values are mentally accessible, they will not affect judgments of environmental issues. Copyright (c) 2005 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.