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The problem of pipeline shrinkage for women in academia is a well-known and researched phenomenon. This phenomenon refers to the fact that women enter graduate school at about the same rate as do men, but women are less likely to enter and succeed in academia at the same rate as their male counterparts, particularly in science and engineering disciplines. In fact, the National Science Foundation (2008) has reported that women comprise about 29% of science and engineer- ing faculty at 4-year colleges and universities and comprise only 18% of full professors. One contributing factor to this gender disparity may be gender differences in letters of recommendation. In particular, there is little research that addresses whether letters of recommendation for academia are written differently for men and women and whether potential differences influence selection decisions in academia. The present study addresses this issue.

The focus on letters of recommendation is justified because they are an important and commonly used selection tool that provides information on applicants’ past performance and qualifications, confirms or supplements information provided by applicants, and describes applicants’ motivation. In fact, Cascio and Aguinis (2004) stated, “the fact is, decisions are made on the basis of letters of recommendations” . In particular, they have been found to be among the most important criterion used to screen and evaluate applicants for internships, graduate programs , medical schools , military training programs, and psychology faculty positions. 

The studies presented in the current article replicate and extend past research by showing (a) that there are gender differences in letters of recommendation—women are described as more com- munal and less agentic than are men (Study 1)—and (b) that communal characteristics have a negative relationship with hiring decisions in academia (Study 2). These results can be understood within the social role theory framework (Eagly et al., 2000). The data suggest that female applicants are described in accordance with communal gender norms, which are both descriptive and prescriptive (Eagly et al., 2000; Heilman et al., 1995). In addition, the results suggest that there is a lack of fit between the attributes of communality and the work role of academia. Such findings are particularly important because letters of recommendation are im- portant and commonly used selection tools (Cascio & Aguinis, 2004; Sheehan et al., 1998).

This research not only has important implications for women in academia but also for women in management and leadership roles. A large body of research suggests that communality is not per- ceived to be congruent with leadership and managerial jobs (e.g., Eagly & Johannesen-Schmidt, 2001; Eagly & Karau, 2002; Hei- lman, 2001). In particular, Heilman’s (2001) lack of fit model, suggests that “fit-derived performance expectations, whether positive or negative, can profoundly affect evaluation processes” (p. 660). Thus, for occupations in which agency is linked to success or perceived as more important than communality, the perception of lack of fit between a female applicant and the job requirements can arise as a result of women being described as more communal and less agentic than men. It is important to take caution, however, because letters of recommendation are not heavily weighted in some organizations and occupations. 

We live and breathe organisational culture every day, but paradoxically it is hard to describe until somebody challenges or reveals it through research. With support from the Vice-Chancellor’s Diversity Fund and the University’s Equality and Diversity Unit, we – a group of researchers and practitioners under the leadership of Dean of Medicine and Head of Division, Professor Alastair Buchan and Associate Head of Division (Development, Impact and Equality) Professor Dame Kay Davies – set out to explore the culture of the Medical Sciences Division, the largest of the four divisions of the University. Our particular aim was to understand how to create a more supportive and inclusive culture for all staff in the Division, including academic, research, administrative, professional, and other support staff.

In order to capture how staff in the Medical Sciences Division experience its culture, we established a collaboration with Dr Linda Pololi, Director of the United States’ National Initiative on Gender, Culture and Leadership in Medicine (C-Change) at Brandeis University (http://cchange.brandeis.edu) and adapted their survey instrument to the UK context. The survey asked about career advancement and leadership aspirations, engagement and vitality, values and practices, ethics and morale, relationships, diversity, work-life integration, and institutional change efforts. We administered the survey in Trinity 2014, and received 2,407 responses — a 63% response rate.

In Michaelmas 2014, Dr Pololi presented the results of the survey and provided a comparison with the results previously obtained from a nationally representative sample of US medical schools to over 200 staff in three sessions held at the John Radcliffe, Old Road, and South Parks Road Campuses. The presentations generated good discussions and highlighted several key areas of achievement and concern in a comparative perspective. One of the most striking differences between Oxford and the US was in the perceptions of institutional change efforts for staff support and diversity.

Gendered experiences of disability are sparse especially in higher education. Although there is a long history of disability activism, disability studies in Southern Africa is an emerging field. There is also very little on gender and disability within Africa and the developing World. Although various articles have been published on the experiences of women with disabilities in violence research has been silent on the comparative experiences of women with disability in the larger community. Thus women with disabilities tend to internalise the limiting social stigmatising discourses. 

Gender and disability are aspects that are situated in a cultural matrix not divorced from socio-economic and historical contexts. From these contexts, people with disabilities’ capabilities are either expanded or limited as power dynamics come into play. This paper argues that while men and women experience disability, the experience of disability is heightened by gender. While it is easy for a disabled man to be tolerated and to be married the situation is different for disabled women and girls who are seen as a drain on already stretched resources. The paper notes that specific research focusing on experiences of disability in higher education is very limited. It is even worse when specific gendered analysis of disabilities is of concern. In an attempt to fit into that research gap, this paper focus on how the existing literature has treated the gender dimension of disability. The conceptual paper is guided by the capabilities theory. This theory or approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation of individual well-being and social arrangements, the design of policies and proposals about social change in society. Its argument is based on two claims: the freedom to achieve well-being is of primary moral importance; and that freedom to achieve well-being is to be understood in terms of people's real opportunities to do and be what they have reason to value. Policies must enable people to convert resources into functionings. 

In Southern Africa the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) carried out a research project on disability in 2010. This was done in partnership with Open Society Foundation Disability Rights Initiative (Kotze 2012). The research focused on a number of issues which included focus on the lives of people with Disabilities in Southern Africa, Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs) and also universities, law schools and disability rights (Kotze 2012). Observations from this study indicated real people living with disabilities are the most marginalized people in the region where life is already difficult due to severe poverty, lack of development and high unemployment. A number of challenges that PWD(s) focus in university set up were identified but generally women with disabilities were given as worse off. Their disadvantages were exacerbated by impunity associated with sexual violence of which WWD are prone to experience (Kotze, 2010). 

Canada is a major player in the world mining industry, producing more than 60 different minerals and metals. The Canadian mining industry provides
an important contribution to Canada’s economy, accounting for 4.5% of
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 23% of Canadian exports in 2011. Moving forward, however, the industry faces key challenges, such as serious labour shortages due to an aging workforce, requiring strong recruitment of new talent. According to the Canadian Mining Industry Employment and Hiring Forecasts Report (2011), the mining industry will require 45,760 new people by 2016 and 75,280 new workers by 2021.

Despite the looming labour shortage, women remain underrepresented in all of the industry’s employment opportunities, from entrance positions to leadership posts. In fact, women’s employment in the mining industry

– at around 15% for the past 14 years - is very low compared to other key economic sectors: mining (18.6%), service (71.86), public administration (47.70%), manufacturing (21.70%), energy (24.56%), finance (61.53%), tourism and transport (45.21%). Women’s employment did marginally increase from approximately 14% in 1988 to 18.6% in 2011.

In 2007, 24% of female university graduates completed engineering and technology related programs and 9% of female apprenticeship program graduates completed male-dominated skilled trade. Therefore, it is expected that we would see similar proportions of females in such positions in the mining industry. However, as of 2006, female employees represented only 5% of workers in such occupations in the industry suggesting additional barriers for female participation other than the labour shortage of women in the industry.