Succeeding by Specializing? Explaining Gendered Academic Career Trajectories Running head: EXPLAINING GENDERED ACADEMIC CAREER TRAJECTORIES

In this paper we take a longitudinal perspective to analyze gender differences in academic career attainment. We improve upon prior research both theoretically and methodologically. Theoretically, we introduce and conceptualize the influence of a heretofore-neglected factor in career attainment: the extent of research specialization. We conceive of the extent of research specialization as a form of professional capital that improves productivity and visibility, especially for men. Methodologically, we introduce a measure of research specialization and examine how men’s and women’s productivity and visibility unfold over time rather than examining discrete periods of scholars’ careers. We find that specializing is most beneficial with regard to productivity – that is, it helps scholars publish more. Specialization’s effects on visibility are less general: surprisingly, only women’s visibility seems to benefit from specialization. We discuss these findings, their implications, and suggest avenues for future research on this important and newly recognized form of capital. * We gratefully acknowledge research funding from the American Sociological Association’s Funds for the Advancement of the Disicpline (FAD) grant. Address all communication to Erin Leahey, Department of Sociology, University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210027, Tucson, AZ 857210027 ([email protected]). The second and third authors are listed in alphabetical order to denote equal contribution.