Pay Equity Still Lags for Women Administrators

An analysis of two decades worth of CUPA-HR data on gender and pay in higher ed administrative roles paints a troubling picture of pay equity. In 2022, women made up 51% of administrators in college and universities, but they were paid 93 cents for each dollar a man in an administrator position was paid. This represents an increase of just 3 cents from 2002, when women made 90 cents for each dollar a man was paid.

Among chief human resources officers, the pay disparity is even wider. Though three in four (76%) of CHROs are women, their pay in 2022 was only 89 cents for each dollar male CHROs were paid. Deputy CHROs who are women were paid only 83 cents, a figure that remained unchanged from 2002 through 2022.

The Higher Ed Administrators: Trends in Diversity and Pay Equity From 2002 to 2022 report also found that people of color — women especially — are increasingly represented in administrative positions. Drawing on 10 years of data, CUPA-HR found that between 2012 and 2022, the representation of people of color in higher ed administration increased by 41%. In 2012, people of color comprised 13% of administrators and in 2022, 18% of administrators. Women of color went from comprising 7% of higher ed administrators in 2012 to 10% of higher ed administrators in 2022.

Despite these gains in representation, women of most races and ethnicities are still paid less than White men in the same administrator positions.

The Report’s Major Findings Include:

• The past 20 years saw an increase of 20% of women in administration, from 43% in 2022 to 51% in 2022, but pay equity for women has not kept pace. In 2002, women in administrator positions were paid 90 cents for each dollar men in administrator positions were paid. Two decades later, women in administrator positions were paid just 93 cents for each dollar men in administrator positions are. These wage gaps are not explained by the fact that women may have greater representation in lower-paying positions.
• From 2012-2022, the representation of people of color in administrative roles increased by 41%. The biggest increases were among administrators of two or more races (290% increase) and Asian administrators (76%). Women of color have seen more than double the percentage increase in representation than men of color (54% increase for women versus 26% for men).
• But people of color are still underrepresented in administrative positions. Using the percentage of people of color with U.S. graduate degrees (31%) as a comparison, we find that only 18% of higher ed administrators were people of color in 2022.
• Women’s representation in executive roles increased, but pay inequity still exists. In 2022, women held one in three campus presidencies, an increase of 60% from 2002. In 2002, female presidents were paid 92 cents on the dollar to male presidents and saw only a 1-cent increase in the 20 years since. The worst pay equity for presidents was for Hispanic or Latina women, who were paid 82 cents per dollar paid to White men. In the same time span, the representation of women provosts increased, comprising nearly half (48%) of provosts in 2022. The gender pay gap narrowed as well: Female provosts were paid 91 cents on the dollar compared to male provosts in 2002, and in 2022, female provosts were paid 96 cents on the dollar compared to male provosts.
• CHRO gender pay equity remains low. In 2022, three in four (76%) CHROs were women, with White women representing 60%. In 2002, female CHROs were paid 86 cents for each dollar male CHROs were paid. In 2022, female CHROs were paid only 89 cents for each dollar male CHROs were paid.

Addressing the Administrative Pay Gap

Addressing pay inequity and increasing the representation of people of color among higher ed administrators requires long-term solutions like conducting pay analyses. CUPA-HR’s DataOnDemand for the Administrators in Higher Education Survey features the most comprehensive data available on higher ed administrator salaries, as well as data on pay equity and representation for women and people of color for every administrative position.

Recruiting a more diverse pool of faculty candidates and mitigating bias in faculty promotions are also important to succession planning, as one notable path to the presidency is to start off as a faculty member, ascend to dean, then to provost, and then to president.

You also might consider what talent pipeline programs exist on your campus. For inspiration, see these models of internal talent development:

• Texas Christian University’s professional internship program helps develop talent, including supervisors, by using a small-cohort model of on-campus internship placements and professional development.
• University of Tennessee’s succession planning model addresses looming retirements at the executive level, including an Executive Leadership Institute.