Athena survey of science engineering and Technology (ASSET)

Connolly, Sara (2016). Athena survey of science engineering and Technology (ASSET). [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-852285

Data description (abstract)

The surveys contain quantitative data on position, seniority, subject area, contract type, salary, career history and some demographics (age, gender, family status). In addition there were a range of open-ended questions relating to experiences of employment, expectations for careers and views on what leads to success. A significant part of the project was to undertake a coding exercise of all of the open-ended questions in the survey.

There are two SPSS data files – 4,282 in Higher Education and 2,444 in Research Institutes – covering 70/75 questions in HE and RI respectively from the survey. There are a further 300 variables, mostly indicator variables, which were derived in the quantitative and qualitative analysis.
This project investigates the career patterns of research scientists in the UK using data collected by the Athena Survey of Science Engineering and Technology. It aims to identify the factors associated with a successful career, and to examine why the experiences of men and women in the profession differ so significantly. Specifically, women take home only 80% of the earnings of their male counterparts and, though they account for a third of the country’s research scientists, compose only 2% of the highest grades. It compares the experience of researchers employed by three different types of organisation, universities, research institutes and industry, and will assess the impact of each on career opportunity, progression and pay.
The analysis of the factors determining pay and promotion will control for age, seniority, subject area and employer. It will utilise the descriptions that people give of their usual tasks and responsibilities, details of involvement in research projects, editing journals as indicators of productivity and prestige. This regression analysis will be supplemented by a qualitative analysis of what scientists report about their employment conditions and work environment, and how this has affected their career.
We find evidence that female scientists in the UK face glass ceilings both in terms of pay and promotion. Not only do women earn less because they are less likely to be promoted, they are also likely to earn less when they are employed within the same grades. Interestingly, the point at which women hit the glass ceiling depends upon institutions. In Universities the glass ceiling is thickest at the point of promotion from senior lecturer to professor, a typical glass ceiling, whereas in Research Institutes women seem to face disadvantage in obtaining promotion from scientist (post-doc) to senior scientist, perhaps better described as a sticky floor. In both cases, these are the most demanding promotions but ceteris paribus they are significantly more demanding for women.

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