Establishing the Foundation for Future Organizational Reform and Transformation at a Large Private University to Expand the Representation of Women Faculty (original) (raw)
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2011
The ADVANCE IT-Catalyst project, “Establishing the Foundation for Future Organizational Reform and Transformation at Rochester Institute of Technology” is a three-year study across six colleges which include computing, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines funded through the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Institutional Transformation – CATALYST (project # 0723719, http://nsfadvance.rit.edu/). The research objective is to identify barriers for current women STEM faculty in regards to rank, tenure, career advancement, leadership role progression, and resource allocation in order to establish how well the university addresses issues that have been found to be important in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty. During the study, the research team seeks to answer six primary research questions: 1) What is the distribution of STEM faculty by gender, rank, and department? 2) What are the outcomes of institutional processes of recruitment ...
To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in Science and Engineering
The National Academies Press, 2006
Although more women than men participate in higher education in the United States, the same is not true of careers in U.S. science and engineering (S&E). Women students and faculty in S&E experience higher attrition rates than men. Women students are awarded a large portion of S&E baccalaureate degrees, but at each subsequent stage the percentages drop. As a result, women faculty are scarce in S&E. As for women who do reach that level, studies have found that they are subject to gender disparities in salaries and workload (e.g., women have less time for research because more time is spent on counseling and service committees). Meanwhile, women advance more slowly through the academic hierarchy, and a higher proportion leaves academic employment. Although their numbers are increasing, women also are underrepresented at the highest tiers of administrative positions. Many women have succeeded, as demonstrated by enrollments, degrees completed, and the presence of women faculty, deans, and university presidents. But their success also reveals the challenges that women face in trying to do so. This guide is about enhancing women’s participation in academia in science and engineering. In compiling this guide the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering of the National Academies sought to move beyond yet another catalog of challenges facing the advancement of women in academic S&E to provide a document describing actions actually taken by universities to improve the situation for women. In addition, the committee sought to show that the increase in participation of women can be achieved at research universities with stellar reputations—or to quote one university president, “Diversity versus quality is a false tradeoff.” This guide, then, is a compendium of solutions that may be of use to other universities and colleges seeking to advance women in science and engineering. This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Robert Barnhill, University of Kansas; Joan Brennecke, University of Notre Dame; Susan Fiske, Princeton University; Linda Katehi, Purdue University; Maria Klawe, Princeton University; Melanie Leitner, Washington University; Laurie McNeil, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; JoAnn Silverstein, University of Colorado; Crispin Taylor, American Society of Plant Biologists; and Diane Renee Wagner, Stanford University. Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Mildred Dresselhaus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Appointed by the National Academies, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution. Lilian Wu Chair
Journal of Chemical Education, 2011
Oral interviews in focus groups and written surveys were conducted with 877 men and women, including administrators, faculty members, postdoctoral associates, and graduate students, during one-day site visits to chemistry and chemical engineering departments at 28 Ph.D.-granting institutions. This report is a preliminary review of the perceptions of the situation for female tenured and tenure-track academic chemists based on the data collected during these visits. Some interesting differences are seen in responses at departments with more female faculty members as compared with departments with fewer female faculty members. Although many women are thriving, some feel isolated and marginalized. Gender barriers to success persist on both individual and institutional levels; changing this presents a serious and continuing challenge.
Reaching Critical Mass: Women in Faculty and Administrative Roles
Forum on Public Policy a Journal of the Oxford Round Table, 2010
Faculty concerns over gender inequities surfaced in 2005-2006 at Franklin & Marshall College after new policies relating to childbirth and adoption and tenure clock stoppage were instituted two years prior. These structural changes were empowering and gave women faculty a sense that other meaningful changes were achievable, leading to renewed conversation among the faculty on the issue. This led to my appointment as Special Assistant to the President and Provost for Women and Family Issues. In this role, I spent twelve months gathering data and working with the Fair Practices Committee to assess all aspects of women (faculty and professional staff) in the institution. My research indicates that structural change, such as meaningful childbirth and adoption policies, tenure clock adjustments, and so on may be powerful recruiting and retaining tools, but accompanying attitudinal changes are necessary for their ongoing usefulness. Using focus groups and confidential surveys, I observed that individuals in focus groups expressed endmember viewpoints, which were strongly tempered by the survey data. The small groups were valuable in pointing out areas of individual concern, but the survey results indicated that misconceptions and perpetuated myths were not borne out by confidential responses. This was an effective process of reorienting faculty culture and significantly reduced faculty concerns over perceptions of gender inequity. Critical mass is not necessarily the same as gender parity (equal numbers), but it should lead to gender equity (just or fair circumstances). When the number of women in a given situation reaches what has been referred to as-critical mass‖, issues of isolation, tokenism, and paucity of role models are significantly reduced or eliminated. Having a critical mass of women in the institution ensured that the original concerns were taken seriously and were thoughtfully addressed.
Advancing women faculty through collaborative research networks
unpublished conference paper WEPAN June, 2006
The absence of women faculty in the science and technology classroom creates a negative feedback loop that resists change. Few women want to go to places where few women are. This paper describes a solution to the conundrum of small numbers. The strategy builds on Sue Rosser's observation that women researchers often respond to a chilly university climate by creating "a small, empowering environment in their own labs" (Rosser 2004). That is, they achieve in microcosm what they are not able to achieve in macrocosm: functional critical mass. Social network theory can be applied to achieve functional critical mass. Specifically, universities can generate strategic power for fundamental climate change by enabling and funding a network of interdisciplinary research collaborations among their current women faculty and a few of the women's male peers. By positioning these female-majority research communities in the interstices between disciplinary departments-the "structural holes" in the organizational map-this strategy exploits what sociologist Mark Granovetter (1973, 1983) has called "the strength of weak ties"-that is, information and control advantages of being a broker in relations between people otherwise disconnected in the social structure (Burt 1998).