ABSTRACT
Affirmative action policies are under attack and while criticism of these policies is not new, the nature of the debate has shifted from implementation to termination. This chapter is concerned with the extent to which affirmative action has benefited women in the academy in the past three decades. It begins with a brief discussion of feminist policy analysis and its application to affirmative action. The chapter discusses the response of American universities to affirmative action, and focuses on the role and effectiveness of campus commissions on the status of women as one strategy for improving women’s position in higher education. It provides some observations about the implications for women in the academy of efforts to dismantle affirmative action programs. The institutional culture of most universities and colleges is not compatible with the needs and concerns of women in academia. Universities supporting commissions varied in size, prestige, mission and geographic location.
