Research Examines Gender Pay Gap for Faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Research led by Misha Becker, a professor of linguistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found a significant gender gap in faculty salaries at the university. University-wide, women faculty members on average had a annual salary of $89,943. Men on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had an average salary of $108,668. Thus, the average salary for women faculty members was only 83 percent of the average salaries of men on the faculty.

Dr. Becker found that the gender disparity in faculty pay existed in all colleges and schools throughout the university. The only exceptions were School of Nursing and the School of Journalism and Media. The largest pay gap was in the School of Medicine, where men earned 39 percent more than women.

The research also found that 20 percent of male faculty hold a distinguished title, while less than eight percent of female faculty hold such a title.

“Department chairs have to be accountable to their deans, and deans have to be accountable to the provost and to the chancellor,” Dr. Becker said. “So, there has to be sort of a way of holding people accountable who make decisions about salary and raises — really at all levels, and throughout the university.”

Dr. Becker joined the faculty at the university in 2002 as an asssistant professor of linguistics. She was promoted to associate professor in 2008 and to full professor in 2017. She is now chair of the linguistics department.

Dr. Becker is a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles.