An Analysis of the Relationship between Academic Career and Sex at Hacettepe University

Abstract

The objective of this descriptive study is to examine the relationship between traditional gender roles and academic career at Hacettepe University. The research sample was composed of 283 academics employed at the Sıhhiye and Beytepe campuses, selected through a stratified sampling method. This study determined that women generally take academic leave for three or more months due to personal reasons such as pregnancy and child care, while men usually take academic leave for professional purposes. It was also found that the average number of publications for men and women are similar, even though female academics assume more responsibilities due to traditional gender roles, such as housework and child care, and they allocate less time to research in the workplace and at home. It was also found that 39.2% of women and 23.7% of men stated that they were not content with their working hours, and a majority of these women desired increased flexibility. Moreover, 54.8% of female academics who experienced intimidation and discrimination in the workplace indicated that it was due to their sex. Our findings suggest that Hacettepe University specifically, and Turkish academic institutions in general, must do more to improve working conditions in order to ensure women equal opportunities in academia, especially during promotion to the rank of associate professor, which corresponds to the timeframe of pregnancy, childbirth and child care.