Academic career intention beyond the PhD: Can the theory of planned behavior explain gender differences?

Abstract

Are women less interested in becoming professors than men? We applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the intention to pursue an academic career. Postdocs who recently finished their PhD at a German university participated in an online survey (N=380, mean age: 33; 45% women). Women reported lower academic career intentions (d=0.40); TPB variables (attitude, subjective norm, self-efficacy) explained 87% of this gender difference. At an 8 month follow-up, we found no gender difference in the intention to continue in an academic career among the postdocs who were still working in academia (n=129). Addressing TPB constructs early in women's academic careers could encourage them to remain in academia and strive for a professorship.