Gender inequality/inequity in the academy has been evidenced globally as women outnumber men seeking degrees in institutions of higher education, but remain concentrated in the lower faculty ranks and absent from administrative positions, particularly in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines The chapters in this volume document the gender inequality in higher education in the United States as well as in Australia, Austria, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden. They explore the reasons for it and test or suggest remedies. Several are based on projects funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), which seeks to address the issue as it is evidenced in STEM disciplines through ADVANCE, a program developed to increase the participation and advancement of women in these disciplines. The authors consider women's situation in the context of a variety of types of educational settings including community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, and research-intensive universities.

This volume discusses why faculty and administrators of academe should care about implementing family-friendly policies and practices, as well as how they can advocate for policy changes. In section one, the book's focus is on empirical studies that demonstrate the need for innovative programs and policies for faculty at colleges and universities. These pieces explore issues such as the value of work/life programs for employee retention, the need for a variety of family support policies including elder care, and the influence of workplace culture on the use of existing policies. Section two includes case studies of the process of formulating family-friendly policies and their adoption at a variety of universities. The subjects of these chapters include use of the Family and Medical Leave Act, the enactment of a parental leave policy, the development of a unique "life cycle professorship program," and strategies used to implement new policies. The case study chapters provide descriptions of the identification of faculty and staff needs and the process of policy development as well as advice to faculty and administrators who seek to develop similar policies at their institutions.