Page 15 - Through the gate of the neoliberal academy • Herschberg
P. 15

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 13
 As a result of the inequalities mentioned, “white men from middle and upper class backgrounds” (still) dominate academic positions and institutions (Özbilgin, 2009, p.
114).
Two processes that play a role in the production and perpetuation of
inequalities are recruitment and selection, as they form the access to or entrance into academic positions. Currently, we know little about the processes and criteria that affect the recruitment and selection of early-career researchers in the competitive academic labour market, as most studies on academic recruitment and selection concern higher positions in the academic hierarchy (Nielsen, 2016; Van den Brink, 2010; Van den Brink & Benschop, 2012a). I argue that it is important to extent our knowledge on academic recruitment and selection to early-career researchers because hiring decisions at the early stages of the academic career determine who are included or excluded from academic careers and thus who will be the future researchers that shape the direction of research and represent their discipline. In my dissertation, I look at multiple inequalities that can play a role in this inclusion or exclusion. I want to answer the following main research question:
How are inequalities (re)produced in the recruitment and selection of early-career researchers?
This doctoral dissertation aims to achieve a better understanding on how inequalities come to the fore in the recruitment and selection of early-career researchers and in particular how gatekeepers construct inequalities in the recruitment process, in the formulation and application of selection criteria and in collective decision-making processes.
In the remaining part of this chapter, I will briefly introduce the central concepts of my dissertation. I start with the concept of inequalities and the concept of gender, followed by recruitment and selection practices. Next, I will give an overview of the research questions that are addressed in this dissertation.
1.1. Central concepts
Inequalities
Studies on inequalities in work organisations have shown how inequalities are produced and perpetuated (e.g., Acker, 2006; Clauset, Arbesman, & Larremore, 2015; Van den Brink & Benschop, 2014; Vinkenburg, van Engen, Coffeng, & Dikkers, 2012;
1























































































   13   14   15   16   17