An increasing number of young professors, especially women, assert that their bids at tenure have been denied by collegiality considerations, according to the New York Times. In the past, tenure candidates have typically been judged by their teaching, research, and service to their institution.
Some women are being excluded from tenured faculty positions based on perceived unpleasant personality traits. “They’re all male-dominated departments that hadn’t tenured a woman in a long time, or ever, and there’ some language about how the woman ‘just doesn’t fit in.’ What comes through is the sense that these are aggressive women who are seen as uppity,” stated Martin Snyder, director of planning and development at the American Association of University Professors. In spite of a number of discrimination lawsuits filed by women professors who have been passed over for tenure for collegiality reasons, the courts have typically refused to intervene in what they consider personnel issues, according to the New York Times.
