Gendered organizations and dual-career hiring: a multi-institutional case study

Over one-third of U.S. faculty members are in a dual-career academic couple, wherein both partners are faculty members. As such, many higher institutions have put in place dual-career hiring policies as a way to recruit and retain top talent, and in particular, enhance the recruitment of diverse women in STEM faculty positions. This study examined dual-career hiring policies through the lens of gendered organizations. Using a multiple case study of 16 couples in three research universities, I explored how gendered organizational processes shape the implementation and use of dual-career hiring policies. Results showed that although dual-career hiring policies are formulated in gender neutral ways, gender was a relevant factor in divisions in who was the first and second hire and the kinds of positions offered to second hires; images related to career unevenness and the ideal academic; social interactions with between second hires and department members; and the ways in which dual-career considerations reflected and activated participant’s identities. Similar to other policies and practices intended to make faculty recruitment more inclusive, my results suggest that institutions need to consider the social structures and contexts that surround policy implementation and usage to make dual-career hiring policies more equitable and effective.