The helpers, the doers, and the ones left behind: Reflections on the gendered dimension of academic citizenship in Dutch academia

Abstract

Gender disparities in academia are pervasive. From the well-known ‘leaky pipeline’ phenomenon, which demonstrated the progressive decrease of women academics from occupying senior scientific positions, to the gender pay gap, women in academia do not enjoy a level playing field. Across the world, women have a harder time climbing the academic ladder, due, in part, to policies that discriminate towards people with caring responsibilities (most of whom, albeit not all, are women), general gender-based biases, or a substantial gender pay gap. An additional yet important aspect of the evident gender disparities in academia can be attributed to the engagement of what is commonly known as citizenship behaviours, such as taking part in academic committees or mentoring colleagues. Studies have shown that women engage in such activities at a higher rate than their male counterparts, leaving less time for research and, ergo, widening the academic gender gap in the long term. Based on findings from a study conducted at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, this essay aims to highlight the gender disparities in academic citizenship behaviours and suggests that more attention should be paid to the distribution of service work at the department, faculty, and university levels, with a specific focus on gender equity. The overall aim here is to provide a reflection on how structural and cultural discrimination in the internal society of universities can affect why, how, and to what extent academics engage with citizenship behaviours, and propose an approach to study the gendered dimension of academic service work.