izzuanroslan/Shutterstock
As colleges and universities strive to build campus cultures of inclusion, evaluating representation and equity at the top is a critical step.
“Higher ed administrators are key in shaping their institution’s priorities and culture, and thus have immense impact both on those who work for colleges and universities and the students whom these institutions serve,” says a recent report from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).
The report, “Higher Ed Administrators: Trends in Diversity and Pay Equity from 2002 to 2022,” examines the representation and pay equity of people of color and women serving as administrators in higher ed over the last two decades.
The findings in this report are consistent with many others we have heard, including ACE’s 2023 edition of The American College President: Disparities still exist for women and people of color.
Though strides were made in representation for women, with about half (51%) of administrators being women in 2022, little progress has been made in their pay equity. According to the report, “administrators who were women were paid only $0.93 per $1.00 paid to administrators who were men, representing a meager $0.03 increase in pay ratio from 2002.”
Women presidents (regardless of race) continue to earn less ($0.95 or less) per $1.00 paid to white male presidents. For all other administrators, “except for Asian women and women of two or more races, females of each race/ethnicity are paid less than White male administrators in the same positions.”
Pay inequity was particularly high for women in chief human resources officer positions.
Interestingly, representation of women of color increased at a greater rate over the last decade (54% increase) than it did for men of color (26% increase).
Overall, the representation of people of color in administration increased by 41%. Yet, Asian and Hispanic or Latina/o administrators are still underrepresented compared to U.S. graduate degree holders, with Asian representation being the most problematic. Although, the representation of Black administrators is proportionate to Black U.S. graduate degree holders.
For institutions committed to pay equity and building workforces that better mirror their student bodies, CUPA-HR is recommending:
- Conducting a pay equity analysis of administrators, including peer institution compensation data, and acting on the results.
- Boosting efforts to recruit a more diverse workforce of administrators.
- Devising or strengthening strategies for building a diverse pipeline of talent.
For more information and recommendations on how to increase representation and pay equity, see the full report from CUPA-HR.
