Scratching the Glass Ceiling in Academia by Rebranding Top Positions’ Identity Discourses

Abstract

In the presentation a project of the FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Applied Psychology. The project aims to increase the proportion of women in top positions at the university by finding the obstacles that stand in the way of women attaining professor and leadership positions and rebranding these professions in a way so that they are attractive for all genders. In the presentation reasons why women are progressively lost from senior positions in academia were highlighted, the research method used to identify (gendered) identity constructs about academic top positions (discourse analysis) was described and results as well as conclusions and recommendations were presented.