Abstract
In the academic capitalist knowledge regime, institutions compete for prestige and funding. Reward structures emphasize science and engineering (S&E) fields for their potential to generate money and status. Masculine norms and male majority in S&E fields may create conditions for gender differences in faculty compensation. We explored the relationship between institutional S&E emphasis and the faculty salary gap at 130 public research universities. Findings suggest that the salary gap for full professors varies over time – decreasing at institutions with the greatest S&E emphasis and increasing at institutions with lower levels of S&E emphasis. Context matters when exploring gender differences in institutional rewards.