Joan Eveline teaches sociology of work, gender and industrial relations in the UWA Business School, University of Western Australia. Her research on women's investments in change agency, on gendered organizations, and on citizenship at work has examined primary, secondary and service industries, including mining, call centres, policing and higher education. Her recently published book is: Ivory Basement Leadership: Power and Invisibility in the Changing University (Perth: UWA Press, 2004).

Abstract

Research on the corporatization of universities has paid almost exclusive attention to academic and managerial staff in the "ivory tower." In contrast, this paper looks at the "ivory basement" of the university, in which general staff and lower-level academics, most of whom are women, are clustered. Drawing on focus groups and interviews, the study examines the nature of the hierarchical division between "basement" and "tower," the gendering of university rewards and spaces it fosters, and the imbalances it perpetuates, showing a marked gap between the expertise involved and the rewards it carries.