SHIFTING GENDER BOUNDARIES - WOMENS INROADS INTO ACADEMIC SOCIOLOGY

Using a queuing framework, the authors investigate explanations for wo men's inroads into academic sociology since 1970. Women's entry has oc curred most dramatically among sociology doctorates, with women now re presenting about half of all those awarded PhDs. Access to faculty pos itions has been more modest: Approximately one in four faculty members are currently women. From a systematic review of research on women's achievements in sociology, publications produced by sociology's profes sional association, and other statistical sources, the authors focus o n three major explanations for women's increased access to academic so ciology. First, men eschewed graduate training in sociology as researc h and development funding dropped. real earnings declined, and the aca demic labor market contracted. Second, in the 1970s academic employers increasingly turned to women, in part because of the salience of anti -discrimination legislation and also because women sociologists genera ted pressure for change. Third, women themselves increasingly chose gr aduate training in sociology because sociology's subject matter lent i tself to the inclusion of issues central to their lives. Although the numbers studying for advanced degrees in sociology (and the number of sociology PhDs) are once again increasing, it is too early to tell whe ther women will make further inroads, or whether the, ir numbers will remain stable or decline.