Gender and the Faculty Care Gap: 'The Obvious Go-To Person' for Canadian University Students' Personal Problems

Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. P.O. Box 34091, RPO Fort Richmond, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5T5, Canada. Tel: 204-474-6404; Fax: 204-474-7561; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/index

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College Faculty; Natural Sciences; Engineering Education; Mental Health; Teacher Student Relationship; Foreign Countries; Work Environment; Undergraduate Students; Mental Disorders; Stress Variables; Work Attitudes; Comparative Analysis; Teaching Load; Faculty Workload; Gender Differences; Women Faculty; Suicide; Caring; Institutional Characteristics; Rape

0316-1218

A mixed methods analysis of Canadian natural sciences and engineering faculty's workplace experiences revealed a gendered care gap with women reporting greater responsibility for students' personal and mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts and behaviour, and sexual assault. Statistical results demonstrated that women were approached by a significantly greater number of students to discuss serious non-academic issues and experienced more stress as a result. A comparative qualitative analysis found faculty's responses to students' problems were informed by gendered cultural care expectations that require women to be more supportive than men. However, female and male faculty's care burden may also be exacerbated by institutional factors, including senior administrative positions, undergraduate class loads, and teaching courses with mental health-related content. As such, the care gap is relevant to understanding the extent to which gender inequality is embedded within the structure of universities.

As Provided

2019

EJ1237374