Studies on gender inequality in academic careers attribute female disadvantages to workplace discrimination and/or social demands imposed upon women. However, few studies take into account the impact of the specific traits of Brazilian public universities in this situation. This article analyzes, from the perspective of gender, the chances of accessing the highest posts in the public academic career based upon a study focused on the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). The results show that (i) the odds of ascending to the highest levels of the career vary according to the college and/or institute; (ii) the pace of ascension to the highest posts is faster for female faculty; (iii) management posts are relatively more open to female faculty; (iv) greater or lesser female presence in colleges and/or institute does not seem to significantly affect these results.583 749789