Gender, Age and Specialization: Factors in Academic Careers of Political Scientists in Germany 1953 - 2003

ABSTRACT

Using academic careers, this paper will contribute to the empirical sociology of professions. Until recently, academic careers in Germany were highly regulated, following a predefined pattern of three steps. Contrasting with these regulations, there are numerous informal hypotheses and beliefs in the academic community about factors for success. This paper analyzes their actual impact. We find both a substantial variation and a substantial role for chance. Variation in the duration of a step is highest in the habilitation step. While there is much unexplained variation in how the Ph.D. step is executed, the two steps following are more influenced by few factors. In particular, the length of the final step – the waiting period for a professorship – is beyond the control of the individual and highly determined by the cyclical supply of vacant professorships with a fitting profile. While we cannot comment on the decision of women to leave academia, an effect of gender occurs only in the first of the three steps of a typical career, presumably due to the decision to have a child.