Abstract
The career development of men and women who took up lectureships in Australian universities within four disciplinary groupings (behavioural sciences, education, humanities, social sciences) in 1962–64 or in 1975–76 was studied. Attrition and mobility rates were similar for the two sexes. However, proportionately more men than women gained early promotion. For the 1962-64 cohort, 68 per cent of men but only 30 per cent of women were senior lecturers within seven years of initial appointment. For the 1975–76 cohort, the comparable values were 48 per cent and 30 per cent. Multivariate analysis showed that the likelihood of promotion varied with sex even when allowance was made for research output and for level and place of qualification. However, even though sex differences in career development exist, it is difficult to identify the specific processes through which women have been disadvantaged.