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Women & Men in the Academy: Overcoming Bias & Barriers

This report examines the underrepresentation of women in academic positions in science and engineering, provides evidence debunking common myths, and highlights the need to address biases and institutional structures hindering women's access and advancement in the field.

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Women & Men in the Academy: Overcoming Bias & Barriers

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  1. Women and Men in the Academy: Beyond Bias and Barriers: Alice M. Agogino Yale University April 12, 2007

  2. DONNA E. SHALALA [IOM] (Chair), President, University of Miami, Miami, Florida ALICE M. AGOGINO [NAE], Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California LOTTE BAILYN, Professor of Management, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts ROBERT J. BIRGENEAU [NAS], Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley, California ANA MARI CAUCE, Executive Vice Provost and Earl R. Carlson Professor of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington CATHERINE D. DEANGELIS [IOM], Editor-in-Chief, Journal of the American Medical Association, Chicago, Illinois DENICE DENTON*, Chancellor, University of California, Santa Cruz, California BARBARA GROSZ, Higgins Professor of Natural Sciences, Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Dean of Science, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts JO HANDELSMAN, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin NAN KEOHANE, President Emerita, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina SHIRLEY MALCOM [NAS], Head, Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC GERALDINE RICHMOND, Richard M. and Patricia H. Noyes Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon ALICE M. RIVLIN, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC RUTH SIMMONS President, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island ELIZABETH SPELKE [NAS], Berkman Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts JOAN STEITZ [NAS, IOM], Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut ELAINE WEYUKER [NAE], Fellow, AT&T Laboratories, Florham Park, New Jersey MARIA T. ZUBER [NAS], E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

  3. Women As a Percentage of Doctoral and Professional Degree Recipients in the US, 1966-2000 Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "IPEDS Completions Survey," taken from WebCaspar (IPEDS includes Doctorate Records File Data).

  4. More women are earning science and engineering doctorates Percent Women PhDs

  5. But women are leaving academic careers Increasing the number of women earning science and engineering doctorates will have little effect on the number of women in academic positions, unless attention is paid to recruiting women to these positions and retaining them once hired.

  6. Women as a Percent of New UCB Faculty Appointments 1984-2006 Source: Academic Personnel Records, 1984-2006.

  7. Faculty Headcount by Gender and Rank Number

  8. Women have the capability to succeed in Science & Engineering • Studies of brain structure and function, of hormonal modulation of performance, of human cognitive development, and of human evolution have not found any significant biological differences between men and women in performing science and mathematics that can account for the lower representation of women in academic faculty and scientific leadership positions in these fields.

  9. Women have the drive to succeed in Science & Engineering • The drive and motivation of women scientists and engineers is demonstrated by those who persist in academic careers despite barriers that disproportionately disadvantage them.

  10. It is not lack of talent or drive, but rather unintentional biases and outmoded institutional structures that are hindering the access and advancement of women.

  11. Evidence Refuting Commonly-Held Beliefs about Women in Science and Engineering.

  12. Belief Women are not as good in mathematics as men. Finding Female performance in high school mathematics now matches that of males.

  13. Belief It is only a matter of time until the proportion of women on faculties increases. Finding Women’s representation decreases with each step up the tenure-track and academic leadership hierarchy --even in fields that have had a large proportion of women doctorates for 30 years.

  14. University of California, Berkeley(2002) Tenured faculty Untenured faculty, Lecturers Staff Mary Ann Mason “Babies Matter”

  15. Leaks in the Academic Pipeline for Women* Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) Associate Professor (Tenured) Full Professor (Tenured) Graduate School Entry PhD Receipt Women PhDs Water Level Women PhDs Water Level Women PhDs Water Level Leak!! Leak!! Leak!! Leak!! Women, Married (21% less likely than single women to enter a tenure-track position) Women (27% less likely than men to become an Associate Professor) Women (20% less likely than men to become a Full Professor within a maximum of 16 years) Women with Babies (28% less likely than women without babies to enter a tenure-track position) • Preliminary results based on Survival Analysis of the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (a national biennial longitudinal data set funded by the National Science Foundation and others, 1979 to 1995). Percentages take into account disciplinary, age, ethnicity, PhD calendar year, time-to-PhD degree, and National Research Council academic reputation rankings of PhD program effects. For each event (PhD to TT job procurement, or Associate to Full Professor), data is limited to a maximum of 16 years. The waterline is an artistic rendering of the statistical effects of family and gender.

  16. Belief Academe is a meritocracy. Finding Scientists make biased decisions including factors such as race, sex, geographic location of a university, and age that have nothing to do with the quality of the person or work being evaluated.

  17. Belief Changing the rules means that standards of excellence will be lowered. Finding The current process does not optimally select and advance the best scientists and engineers, because of implicit bias and disproportionate weighting of qualities that are stereotypically male.

  18. Belief Women are more interested in family than in careers. Finding Many women scientists and engineers show high levels of dedication to their careers despite severe conflicts between their roles as parents and as scientists and engineers.

  19. Belief The system as currently configured has worked well in producing great science; why change it? Finding The global competitive balance has changed the current science and technology climate. Traditional methods may no longer suffice.

  20. The time to act is now. The consequences of not acting will be detrimental to the nation’s competitiveness.

  21. Phase I – The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century Phase II – Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century NAE Engineer of 2020

  22. Rising Above the Gathering Storm • Energizing and Employing America For a Brighter Economic Future • Frightening Statistics • Powerful Recommendations

  23. The Nations New Majority • Women and under-represented groups make up a 1/2 to 2/3 of the population of the United States and comprise the nation’s New Majority. • If the US is to maintain economic leadership and be able to sustain its share of high technology jobs, it must draw on all of the talents in our population . . . Innovation is the key. Shirley Jackson, President of RPI

  24. The Nations New Majority Science and Engineering Workforce U.S. Workforce

  25. 2020? Science and Engineering Workforce 2000 2020 U.S. Workforce

  26. Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Recommendations

  27. Recommendations for Universities LEADERSHIP CLIMATE Deans, department chairs, and tenured faculty Trustees, university presidents, and provosts RECRUITING HIRING, TENURE, PROMOTION POLICIES MONITOR AND EVALUATE

  28. Trustees, university presidents, and provosts Trustees, University Presidents, and Provosts Provide clear leadership in changing the culture and structure of their institutions to recruit, retain, and promote women—including minority women—into faculty and leadership positions. LEADERSHIP

  29. Trustees, university presidents, and provosts University leaders should take action immediately to remedy inequities in hiring, promotion, and treatment. REMEDIES

  30. Trustees, university presidents, and provosts Deans, department chairs, and tenured faculty University leaders should, as part of their mandatory overall management efforts, hold leadership workshops for deans, department heads, search committee chairs, and other faculty with personnel management responsibilities that include an integrated component on diversity and strategies to overcome bias and gender schemas and strategies for encouraging fair treatment of all people. It is crucial that these workshops are integrated into the fabric of the management of universities and departments. LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS

  31. Workshops for Search CommitteesUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Percentages of women and minority faculty hired increased by 19% for those who attended “fair hiring” workshops compared to a 23% decrease to those who did not.

  32. Trustees, university presidents, and provosts University leaders should require evidence of a fair, broad, and aggressive search before approving appointments and hold departments accountable for the outcomes even if it means canceling a search or withholding a faculty position. FACULTY RECRUITMENT

  33. Deans, department chairs, and tenured faculty Expand faculty recruitment efforts to ensure that they reach adequately and proactively into the existing and ever-increasing pool of women candidates. RECRUITMENT

  34. The Pool Problem at UC Berkeley: Ladder Rank Faculty *Data prepared by Angelica Stacy, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Equity, UCB. Potential UCB Applicant Pool is derived from NCES data on PhD degrees granted in 2000, cut to a selected group of top-ranked graduate institutions and cut to relevant disciplinary fields for UCB.

  35. UCB Faculty STEM* by Rank, Gender, and Ethnicity, 2005-06 N= 18 220 136 41 68 5367 13792 *STEM=Division of Physical Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Chemistry, and School of Info. Manag. Syst. (SIMS). **URM=African Amer., Hispanic Amer., and Native Amer. ***Chair/Dean (2006-07) figures are broken down only by gender because of low counts. ****Source: UCB Faculty Applicant Pool Database, 2001-2006. Not all departments have responded. *****Based on PhDs granted to U.S. Residents, 1997-2001, at the 35 Institutions producing the most PhDs at Top Quartile Rated doctoral programs (National Research Council Reputation Ratings), Survey of Earned Doctorates. Faculty Headcount Source: UCB Faculty Pers. Rec. 2006.

  36. Trustees, university presidents, and provosts University leaders should develop and implement hiring, tenure, and promotion policies that take into account the flexibility that faculty need across the life course, allowing integration of family, work, and community responsibilities. They should provide uniform policies and central funding for faculty and staff on leave and should visibly and vigorously support campus programs that help faculty with children or other caregiving responsibilities to maintain productive careers. These programs should, at a minimum, include provisions for paid parental leave for faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students; facilities and subsidies for on-site and community-based child care; dissertation defense and tenure clock extensions; and family-friendly scheduling of critical meetings. HIRING, TENURE, and PROMOTION POLICIES

  37. Existing Family Friendly Policies for Ladder-Rank Faculty* • Active Service-Modified Duties (ASMD) — Ladder-rank faculty who have substantial responsibility for the care of a newborn or a newly placed child under age five (placed for adoption or foster care) may upon request be granted a temporary relief from duties (normally partial or full relief from teaching for one semester or quarter). • Tenure-Clock Stoppage — Tenure-track faculty who have substantial responsibility for the care of a newborn or a newly placed child under age five may request a year stoppage of the tenure clock (capped at a total of 2 years). • Paid Leave — Childbearing leave is granted on request to an academic appointee, before, during, and after she gives birth to a child. Academic Senate members on childbearing leave may receive base pay for up to six weeks. Those who need additional leave for medical circumstances may request it. • Unpaid Leave — The Chancellor may also grant academic appointees up to one year of unpaid parental leave to care for their own child, their spouse’s child, or the child of their domestic partner. If this unpaid leave is combined with childbearing leave, family and medical leave or a period of Active Service-Modified Duties, the total period may not normally exceed one year for each birth or adoption. *All of these policies were first instituted by UC Office of the President in July,1988, with subsequent modifications.

  38. New or Proposed Elements of a Family Friendly Package for UC Ladder-Rank Faculty • A flexible part-time option for ladder-rank faculty with substantial familial care giving responsibilities. • A guarantee to make high quality child care and infant care slots available to ladder-rank faculty, particularly new hires. • An institutional commitment to assist new faculty with spousal/partner employment and other familial-related relocation or location issues. • Reentry postdoctoral fellowships to encourage parents who have taken time off to return to the academy. • Discounting of familial-related resume gaps in the hiring of faculty. • An establishment of school-break childcare and summer camps. • Emergency back-up child care programs. • Marketing of the Family Friendly Package as a major recruitment tool. • Building the necessary institutional mechanisms to assure success of new and existing policies (e.g. “School for Chairs,” “Family Friendly Brochures,” “New Faculty Orientation,” “Work and Family Web Sites”, etc.) • Result—University of California will enjoy a competitive advantage in hiring and retaining the best and brightest faculty in the country, particularly women faculty.

  39. Deans, department chairs, and tenured faculty Faculties and their senates should immediately review their tenure processes and timelines to ensure that hiring, tenure, and promotion policies take into account the flexibility that faculty need across the life course and do not sacrifice quality in the process of meeting rigid timelines. HIRING, TENURE, and PROMOTION POLICIES

  40. Deans, department chairs, and tenured faculty Deans, Department Chairs, and Tenured Faculty Should take responsibility for creating a productive environment and immediately implement programs and strategies shown to be successful in minimizing the effect of biases in recruiting, hiring, promotion, and tenure. CLIMATE

  41. Methods Used to Encourage Women Applicants Note: Yellow shading denotes p<.05 significant difference based on chi-square. Note: Light Green shading denotes p<.10 significant difference based on chi-square.

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