Female doctoral candidates’ academic career intentions – A matter of supervision?

Women are underrepresented in higher-ranked positions at German universities. The intention to pursue an academic career can be fundamentally influenced during the doctoral studies, particularly by doctoral supervision. These relationships were analysed by means of a survey of doctoral candidates at Bielefeld University (n=172). The case study revealed that doctoral candidates’ academic career intentions did not significantly differ by gender. Based on doctoral candidates’ answers to eleven questions, three types of supervision were identified by means of latent class analysis. Nearly twice the percentage of female doctoral candidates were poorly supervised compared to male doctoral candidates. Overall, very-well-supervised doctoral candidates reported academic career intentions more frequently. These findings suggest that doctoral supervision can be a critical starting point for achieving a balanced sex ratio in higher-ranked positions in acadamia.