Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Gender Pay Gap Shrinking for Some Female University Presidents

  • 06/17/19

CATONSVILLE, MD – While serious economic and societal issues continue to swirl around the gender pay gap, new research published in the INFORMS journal Organization Science shows one area where this inequality is starting to disappear—higher education. Researchers have found that the gender pay gap disappears at more prestigious universities.

The research, conducted by Dane Blevins of the University of Central Florida, Steve Sauerwald of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jenny Hoobler of the University of Pretoria, and Chris Robertson of Northeastern University is based on 17 years of data from more than 1,100 university presidents working for more than 700 universities in the U.S. The status of universities in the study is determined by data collected from U.S News & World Report's Best College Rankings.

While the study reveals that in higher education there is typically a 9 percent compensation difference between male and female presidents, with women receiving less pay than men on average, at higher status universities, female presidents are receiving similar levels of total compensation as male presidents—and some are even earning more than male presidents at prestigious universities.

"Our research finds accounting for where the glass ceiling is broken is an important consideration in understanding the gender pay gap," says Blevins, an associate professor in the Department of Management at the University of Central Florida. "Higher status universities are often viewed as guideposts and their standard of compensation among female presidents may encourage other universities, businesses and organizations of all types, to follow suit and further reduce, if not close, the gender pay gap in the United States."

About INFORMS and Organization Science
INFORMS is the leading international association for operations research and analytics professionals. Organization Science, one of 16 journals published by INFORMS, is a leading academic journal that covers groundbreaking research about organizations, including their processes, structures, technologies, identities, capabilities, forms, and performance. More information is available at www.informs.org.

Featured

  • UT System Approves First Funds for New Campus

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently approved funds to build the first facility of a new campus in far west Fort Worth, Texas, according to university news. UTA West will serve as a branch of the University of Texas at Arlington and is scheduled to open in fall 2028.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • University of Illinois Moves Forward with College Sports’ Largest Digital Scoreboard

    The University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., recently announced a series of upgrades to Gies Memorial Stadium that will include the largest scoreboard in college sports, according to a news release.

  • Zurn Elkay Releases 2025 Sustainability Report

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently announced the release of its annual sustainability report, according to a news release. The 2025 report discusses the organization’s efforts to maintain good environmental stewardship and the solutions provided in helping customers meet sustainability goals.