On the evolution of the glass ceiling in Italian academia: the case of economics
Publication type
journal article
Publication date
2019
Author(s)
Corsi, Marcella
D’Ippoliti, Carlo
Zacchia, Giulia
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Language
English
View point(s)
Institutional
Grants & Awards
Discipline(s)
Geographical area
Abstract
Following an international trend, Italy has reformed its university system, especially concerning methods and tools for research evaluation, which are increasingly focused on a number of bibliometric indexes. To study the effects of these changes, we analyze the changing profiles of economists who have won competitions for full professorship in the last few decades in the country. We concentrate on individual characteristics and on scientific production. We show that the identification of a univocal and standardized concept of “research quality” within the new research assessments has progressively imposed a strategy of “homologation,” especially for women. We find that women economists are at a higher risk of discrimination than their male colleagues and thus they are more likely to conform their research activities to the standardized profile imposed by the gender-blind application of simplistic bibliometric methods.
Journal
Science in Context
ISSN
1474-0664
Volume
32
Issue
4
Pagination
411-430