Page 172 - Through the gate of the neoliberal academy • Herschberg
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170 CHAPTER 6
Committee compositions and deliberations
Committee compositions
In this dissertation I show that the power position of committee members can play an important role in selection decisions and in the practicing of gender. Therefore, the committee composition is crucial. For example, seniority or status can influence who is given voice and whose opinion is being heard and followed. Having a more junior position or an external position (e.g., coming from another department or institution) can affect the amount of counter power someone can or wants to exert. Before the start of the hiring process, hiring committees could discuss a ‘code of conduct’ that they should abide by, which could include ensuring a fair share in the deliberations for all committee members, irrespective of seniority, internal/external position, and other factors.
I also show that the presence of women committee members is not always self-evident. Sometimes they are involved (too) late in the hiring process, their sex is made salient, or they are invited as a gender advocate who is made responsible for the hiring of women candidates. I argue that all committee members should bear the responsibility for hiring candidates from underrepresented groups, such as women. This would take away the burden of women committee members. Also, when numbers of women researchers increase (particularly in disciplines where they are very much underrepresented), the salience of women and their sex might reduce.
Committee deliberations
Regarding committee deliberations, I provide two recommendations resulting from my findings. The first relates to time. I observed that many hiring committees have little time to spend on the recruitment and selection process. Being part of a committee is academic service work that has to be done next to academic core tasks such as teaching and research. The lack of time and work pressure academics experience for their core tasks often leads to hasty appointment decisions. Yet, my dissertation shows the necessity of making sufficient time for hiring procedures as it could reduce the reliance on (homogeneous) networks and increase the recruitment of candidates that might not belong to the ‘usual suspects’. It could also increase opportunities for reflection on the functioning of the committee and the recognition of practicing of gender in committee deliberations.
The second recommendation regarding committee deliberations pertains to the assumptions committee members voice when making selection decisions. I analysed that assumptions about candidates play a substantial role in committee



























































































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