Student Journalists Find a Huge Gender Gap in Faculty Salaries at the University of Virginia

Reporters for the student newspaper at the University of Virginia filed a Freedom of Information Act request for data on faculty and administrative salaries at the university. What they found was a huge gender gap.

In their analysis of the salary data, the student reporters at The Cavalier Daily found only two women among the 20 highest-paid employees of the university. Teresa Sullivan, president of the university, was the fifth highest-paid employee and Katherine Peck, chief operating officer of the medical school, was the 15th highest-paid individual on the university’s payroll.

The analysis also looked at the top 10 highest-paid employees at each of the university 10 schools. The undergraduate college, the Commerce School and the Engineering School had no women among the top 10 highest-paid employees. The Darden School of Business and the medical school had one woman each among the top 10 highest-paid employees. The nursing school was the only school where women made up a majority to top 10 highest-paid employees.

Kerry Abrams, a professor of law vice provost for faculty affairs the university, told the student newspaper that “0ur active recruitment efforts include efforts to recruit women at the highest levels, including administrative positions and endowed chairs. Recruiting more women to these positions would, over time, change the number of women earning the top salaries at U.Va.”

Professor Abrams joined the faculty at the university’s law school in 2005. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Stanford Law School.