Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title
Studies in Higher Education
Publisher
Routledge
First Page
1
Last Page
19
Publication Date
2-6-2023
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Abstract
Sexual misconduct remains at crisis levels on American college campuses and is vastly underreported. Most research focuses on individual level risks of assault and perpetration, yet campuses vary significantly in sexual offenses and reporting rates. The current study responds to calls to consider institutional factors that shape campus climates for sexual misconduct and reporting. We consider the role of gender in leadership, analyzing the impact of women's appointment as college president on reporting rates over time. We consider individual and organizational mechanisms that may shape the impact of women's appointment on reporting rates. Our analyses rely on data from U.S. colleges and universities between 2005-2020. We find that the appointment of women presidents is associated with a significant increase in reporting of sexual misconduct. We observe a significant increase in reporting during the first year following the appointment and a continued increase in reporting rates over time.
Recommended Citation
Alison Cook, Christy Glass & Alicia Ingersoll (2023): Institutional predictors of campus sexual misconduct reporting: the role of gender in leadership, Studies in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2023.2174096
