Impact of Gender and Rank on Job Satisfaction Among Rehabilitation Counselor Educators

The intention of this study was to examine the impact of gender and rank on job satisfaction among rehabilitation counselor educators. Women are now earning doctorates at a greater percentage than men and are the majority of faculty at community colleges and four year liberal arts colleges. However, women still lag behind men in terms of salary, tenure and promotion. Women are also more likely to leave academic appointments at a higher rate than male faculty. One of the key factors of leaving a position is job satisfaction. Research has indicated that female and male faculty both are usually satisfied with their job, but women are more dissatisfied with aspects of the job than men. This study utilized Herzberg`s two factor theory of motivation for work. Herzberg, in his study of worker motivations, determined that job satisfaction is not on a continuum but actually two distinct continuums. This study explored whether there are differences among faculty regarding job satisfaction, or intrinsic factors of the job, or job dissatisfaction, or extrinsic factors of the job. The results demonstrated those both male and female faculties were satisfied with their jobs and there was no significant difference between men and women in extrinsic and intrinsic factors of the job. However, intrinsic factors of the job were more predictive of job satisfaction than extrinsic factors.