IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i11p6425-d823245.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Organizational Well-Being of Italian Doctoral Students: Is Academia Sustainable When It Comes to Gender Equality?

Author

Listed:
  • Chiara Corvino

    (Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy)

  • Amalia De Leo

    (Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy)

  • Miriam Parise

    (Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy)

  • Giulia Buscicchio

    (Department of Living Condition, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette/Belval, L-4366 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
    Department of Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette/Belval, L-4366 Luxembourg, Luxembourg)

Abstract

Despite the fact that there are several researchers reporting the risks of doctoral students in terms of mental health, there is still a lack of studies exploring their well-being at an organizational level, looking at the difference between male and female PhD students. This work aims at describing gender differences in the organizational well-being of doctoral students in an Italian context. A sample of 121 Italian PhD students filled an adaption of the ANAC questionnaire (National Authority for Anti-Corruption) for an organizational well-being assessment between June and July 2021. The results show that there are a number of well-being indicators for which female PhD students have statistically lower scores than men regarding: (1) the perception of health and safety at work; (2) career development; and (3) job autonomy. Practical suggestions to improve the academic system in terms of sustainability for preventing PhD students’ organizational malaise with a particular focus on gender equality are provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Corvino & Amalia De Leo & Miriam Parise & Giulia Buscicchio, 2022. "Organizational Well-Being of Italian Doctoral Students: Is Academia Sustainable When It Comes to Gender Equality?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:11:p:6425-:d:823245
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/11/6425/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/11/6425/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Levecque, Katia & Anseel, Frederik & De Beuckelaer, Alain & Van der Heyden, Johan & Gisle, Lydia, 2017. "Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 868-879.
    2. Cathelijn J F Waaijer & Hans Sonneveld & Simone E Buitendijk & Cornelis A van Bochove & Inge C M van der Weijden, 2016. "The Role of Gender in the Employment, Career Perception and Research Performance of Recent PhD Graduates from Dutch Universities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Julie Posselt, 2018. "Normalizing Struggle: Dimensions of Faculty Support for Doctoral Students and Implications for Persistence and Well-Being," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 89(6), pages 988-1013, November.
    4. Marcus J. Fila & Justin Purl & Seulki (Rachel) Jang, 2022. "Demands, Resources, Well-Being and Strain: Meta-Analyzing Moderator Effects of Workforce Racial Composition," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 2163-2190, August.
    5. Antonio Abatemarco & Roberto Dell'Anno, 2012. "Italian Reform of the academic recruitment system. An appraisal of ANVUR and CUN benchmarks for assessing candidates and commissioners," Rivista italiana degli economisti, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 441-480.
    6. Heather Sarsons, 2017. "Recognition for Group Work: Gender Differences in Academia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 141-145, May.
    7. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    8. Karen L. Webber & Samantha M. Rogers, 2018. "Gender Differences in Faculty Member Job Satisfaction: Equity Forestalled?," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 59(8), pages 1105-1132, December.
    9. Ethan Pew & César Zamudio & Hua (Meg) Meng, 2021. "Beyond perception: the role of gender across marketing scholars’ careers, in reply to Galak and Kahn (2021)," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 313-323, September.
    10. Chris Woolston, 2019. "PhDs: the tortuous truth," Nature, Nature, vol. 575(7782), pages 403-406, November.
    11. Nhat Tan Pham & Hung Trong Hoang & Quyen Phu Thi Phan, 2019. "Green human resource management: a comprehensive review and future research agenda," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(7), pages 845-878, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anna Muro & Iván Bonilla & Claudia Tejada-Gallardo & María Paola Jiménez-Villamizar & Ramon Cladellas & Antoni Sanz & Miquel Torregrossa, 2022. "The Third Half: A Pilot Study Using Evidence-Based Psychological Strategies to Promote Well-Being among Doctoral Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Aljoscha Dreisoerner & Anamarija Klaic & Rolf Dick & Nina M. Junker, 2023. "Self-Compassion as a Means to Improve Job-Related Well-Being in Academia," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 409-428, February.
    3. CHEN, Helen S.Y., 2020. "Designing Sustainable Humanitarian Supply Chains," OSF Preprints m82ar, Center for Open Science.
    4. Denise Ravet, 2011. "Lean production: the link between supply chain and sustainable development in an international environment," Post-Print hal-00691666, HAL.
    5. Mara Del Baldo, 2012. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in Italian SMEs: the experience of some “spirited businesses”," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(1), pages 1-36, February.
    6. Michael Howes & Liana Wortley & Ruth Potts & Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes & Silvia Serrao-Neumann & Julie Davidson & Timothy Smith & Patrick Nunn, 2017. "Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    7. Parnphumeesup, Piya & Kerr, Sandy A., 2011. "Stakeholder preferences towards the sustainable development of CDM projects: Lessons from biomass (rice husk) CDM project in Thailand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3591-3601, June.
    8. Chin-Shan Lu & Kuo-Chung Shang & Chi-Chang Lin, 2016. "Examining sustainability performance at ports: port managers’ perspectives on developing sustainable supply chains," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(8), pages 909-927, November.
    9. Kebede, Yohannes, 1993. "The Limits to Common Resource Management: The Bypassed Commons or Commons without Tragedy," MPRA Paper 662, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 May 1993.
    10. John Stanley & Janet Stanley, 2023. "Improving Appraisal Methodology for Land Use Transport Measures to Reduce Risk of Social Exclusion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, August.
    11. Nora Mzavanadze, 2009. "Building A Framework For National Sustainable Development Assessment And Application For Lithuania: Sustainability In Transition," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(01), pages 97-130.
    12. Pishchulov, Grigory & Trautrims, Alexander & Chesney, Thomas & Gold, Stefan & Schwab, Leila, 2019. "The Voting Analytic Hierarchy Process revisited: A revised method with application to sustainable supplier selection," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 166-179.
    13. Isin Ceti̇n, 2017. "Accounting Requirements And Records On Bank Subscribed Capital Compliance With European Directives," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1, pages 52-68, February.
    14. Jean-Michel Sahuta & Sandrine Boulerne & Medhi Mili & Frédéric Teulon, 2014. "What Relation Exists Between Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr) And Longevity Of Firms?," Working Papers 2014-248, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    15. Alba Rocio Gutierrez Garzon & Pete Bettinger & Jacek Siry & Bin Mei & Jesse Abrams, 2019. "The Terms Foresters and Planners in the United States Use to Infer Sustainability in Forest Management Plans: A Survey Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    16. Shehu Folaranmi Gbolahan Yusuf & Oluwabunmi Oluwaseun Popoola & Lindokhule Gwala & Thinandavha Nesengani, 2021. "Promoting University–Community Alliances in the Experiential Learning Activities of Agricultural Extension Postgraduate Students at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-18, September.
    17. Filipa Correia & Philipp Erfruth & Julie Bryhn, 2018. "The 2030 Agenda: The roadmap to GlobALLizaton," Working Papers 156, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    18. Choy Yee Keong, 2005. "Sustainable Development—An Institutional Enclave (with Special Reference to the Bakun Dam–Induced Development Strategy in Malaysia)," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 951-971, December.
    19. Anthony Bennett, 1998. "Sustainable public/private partnerships for public service delivery," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 22(3), pages 193-199, August.
    20. Smith, Joyotee & Scherr, Sara J., 2003. "Capturing the Value of Forest Carbon for Local Livelihoods," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 2143-2160, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:11:p:6425-:d:823245. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.