Gendered perceptions of professional development in academia: evidence from a Ukrainian university

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The aim of the article is to study the impact of gender on the professional development of university teachers and their motivation for professional advancement. The article analyzes gendered perceptions of the professional development in the Ukrainian academic sector based on the survey of teachers from Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman (KNEU) (Ukraine). The respondents provided their assessment of conditions that support or destroy their academic careers. The findings showed significant divergence in gendered perceptions and attitudes toward motives, conditions and results of professional development at the university. Although all staff members were unanimously confident in their professionalism, the degree of satisfaction, perception of fairness and willingness to engage in management through initiatives was significantly lower among women. Female academics expressed a greater need for mentoring, while men showed greater interest in material incentives. Impressively, 11% of women versus 0% of men believe that their gender is an obstacle to their career. The study findings require the inclusion of gender aspects in the university’s development strategy and ensuring equal opportunities at all stages of HR management in academia.

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    • Table 1. Distribution of respondents by positions, academic degree, years of teaching practice and gender
    • Table 2. Gender dimension of management at KNEU (unit heads and deputy heads)
    • Table 3. Gender dimension of management of deans’ offices at KNEU
    • Table 4. The respondents’ answers to the question “Do you seek professional development?”
    • Table 5. Respondents’ answers to the question “Are you confident in your professionalism?”
    • Table 6. The respondents’ answers to the question “Are you satisfied with the realization of your professional potential?”
    • Table 7. Respondents’ answers to the question “Do you think your achievements are adequately recognized?”
    • Table 8. Respondents’ answers to the question “Do you have an ambition to become a manager?”
    • Table 9. Respondents’ answers to the question “Do you think your gender impedes your career development?”
    • Table 10. Respondents’ answers to the question “Do you think men should have the privilege of obtaining top positions?”
    • Conceptualization
      Svitlana Tsymbaliuk, Volodymyr Tokar
    • Formal Analysis
      Svitlana Tsymbaliuk, Oksana Vinska
    • Investigation
      Svitlana Tsymbaliuk, Lina Kurchenko, Volodymyr Tokar, Oksana Vinska
    • Methodology
      Svitlana Tsymbaliuk, Volodymyr Tokar
    • Project administration
      Svitlana Tsymbaliuk
    • Supervision
      Svitlana Tsymbaliuk
    • Data curation
      Lina Kurchenko, Volodymyr Tokar
    • Funding acquisition
      Lina Kurchenko, Volodymyr Tokar
    • Resources
      Lina Kurchenko
    • Writing – original draft
      Lina Kurchenko
    • Writing – review & editing
      Lina Kurchenko
    • Software
      Volodymyr Tokar
    • Validation
      Volodymyr Tokar, Oksana Vinska
    • Visualization
      Oksana Vinska