There is no correlation between gender and pay for faculty at Grand Valley State University, according to Dr. June O'Neill, a salary consultant selected by President Arend D. Lubbers to conduct an analysis to determine the presence or absence of gender-related salary patterns at GVSU. Differences in pay, O'Neill says, correspond to differences in job-related characteristics.
Dr. O'Neill unveiled the findings of her three-month analysis at a briefing Friday for faculty and executive, administrative and professional (EAP) employees. President Lubbers will be distribute her written report to all faculty and EAP staff.
Male and female faculty salaries differ as a result of characteristics such as years of work experience, degrees held and market demand in various disciplines. Once these factors are taken into account and men and women with similar characteristics are compared, women are found to be paid as much as men, O'Neill reported.
O'Neill's conclusions with respect to faculty pay are based on a series of multiple regression analyses to determine the degree to which salary differences can be explained by non gender-biased variables. While the same approach was used to look at EAP staff, O'Neill said her findings were less conclusive and that she is uncertain about the extent to which lower pay among female EAP staff reflects inequity or rather reflects legitimate differences in experience and skills which cannot be quantified.
The difficulty of assessing EAP staff is based on the highly diverse functions performed by EAP staff and the equally diverse skills needed to perform those functions. The diversity in administrative work and the lack of good measures to distinguish productivity present a challenge to the analyst seeking to determine whether men and women are awarded fairly for their work, O'Neill said.
Dr. O'Neill also observed that from 1995 to 1999, for both faculty and EAP employees, women received larger percentage salary increases than did men.
Dr. O'Neill will be submitting a full report at a later date. In the meantime, Dr. Patricia Oldt, special assistant to the President for Campus Equity and Planning said the university is pleased to have this additional information addressing the issue of fair and equitable pay. I am delighted to be joining Grand Valley at this time and look forward to providing leadership for creating an environment that treats everyone fairly and equitable, Oldt said.
Dr. O'Neill is Wollman Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of Business and Government at Baruch College, City University of New York. She was formerly head of the Congressional Budget Office in Washington, DC; President Lubbers selected O'Neill last fall to undertake the salary study. Dr. Oldt, formerly superintendent of the Northview School District and a Dean at Grand Rapids Community College, joined GVSU on February 1.
