Increasingly older and still predominantly male professors, especially for tenured positions: such is the portrait of teaching staff in Canadian universities.
Over the past 50 years, the median age of full-time faculty at Canadian universities has increased by 13 years, from 38 in 1971-72 to 51 in 2021-22, Statistics Canada says in an analysis on the issue. unveiled on Monday.
In 2021-2022, one teacher in 10 is 65 or older, compared to one in 100 50 years ago.
“This reflects, in part, the aging of the generation of baby boomers throughout their college careers,” it read.
In 2021-22, very few faculty members (0.4%) were under the age of 30, compared to 13.8% in 1971-1972.
During the same period, the representation of women in academia has more than tripled, but parity is still far from being achieved in the most coveted positions.
At university, you usually start at the rank of assistant professor. Then, one becomes an associate professor and finally, a full professor (the highest position and therefore the best paid).
It is among full professorships that women are still the most underrepresented. Only 3 full professors out of 10 (31.4%) are women.
Including all professors and not just tenured ones, in 1971-1972, women accounted for only one out of 10 university teachers (12.7%). Today, it is 4 out of 10 women (42.1%).
As male professors retire, “the proportion of women may increase further, as they are more strongly represented among younger cohorts of university teachers,” writes Statistics Canada.