Battling Biases and Barriers: Necessary Steps our Academic Institutions Must Take to Assure a Strong Science and Engineering Workforce

Battling Biases and Barriers:

Necessary Steps our Academic Institutions

Must Take to Assure a Strong Science and Engineering

Workforce

Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of

Women in Academic Science and Engineering

The National AcademiesSeptember 18, 2006

• 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

More women are earning science and engineering doctorates

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004

Year

Percent Women PhDs

Social Sciences

Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Engineering

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.

ISSUES EXAMINED

• Pipeline• Differences in biology and aptitude• Outright discrimination• Unconscious bias• Climate• Rules, policies, and structures

Women have the drive and ability to succeed in science and engineering.

Research on:• brain structure and function• hormonal modulation of performance• cognitive development• performance in math and science

no significant biological differences between men and women that would explain representation

no significant differences in performance in science and math that account for representation

representation of women has increased 30-fold in some fields in the last two decades, which shows that when opportunities in science are available women, they take them and excel

The problem is not simply the pipeline --(at least in the United States)

For more than 30 years, women have comprised • more than 30% of doctorates in social and

behavioral sciences• more than 20% in the life sciences

But, at top research institutions, women comprise• 15% of full professors in social sciences • 15% of full professors in the life sciences • <10% of full professors in other scientific fields• minority women are virtually absent from

leading science and engineering departments

Career impediments for women deprive the world of an important source of talented and accomplished scientists and engineers who could contribute to the advancement of basic knowledge and technology development.

FINDINGS


Women are very likely to face discrimination in every field of science and engineering.

•Barriers limit the appointment, retention, and advancement of women faculty

•Accumulation of disadvantage becomes acute in more senior positions

•Minority women are subject to dual discrimination and face even more barriers

•All women scientists face continued questioning by others of their abilities and commitment

FINDINGS


A substantial body of evidence establishes that most people—men and

women—hold implicit biases.

Decades of cognitive psychology research shows that

• most of us intend to be fair

• most of us carry unconscious prejudices

• These biases influence our evaluations of people and their work

Research with controlled experiments and examination of real life show that people

• are less likely to hire a woman than a man with identical qualifications

• are less likely to ascribe credit to a woman than to a man for identical accomplishments

• will far more often give the benefit of the doubt to a man than to a woman

Although most scientists and engineers believe that they are objective and intend to be fair,

research shows that they are not exempt from those tendencies.

Reactions to Evidence of Bias• Not here…..

– “It’s like that in Sweden, but not here in the U.S.”– “It’s like that at rural universities, but not urban ones.”– “It’s like that at Harvard, but not at our institution.”– “It’s like that at MIT, but not at Harvard.”– “It’s like that in the economics department, but certainly not here in

chemistry!”

• “Women and minorities are too sensitive”• “What’s the standard deviation of the data in line 4 of Table 3

of the 1988 study?”

FINDINGS


Climate• Women often have to work harder than men for the

same recognition and rewards

• Women report feeling excluded from decision-making and scientific discourse

• Women’s work is doubted simply because it was done by women

• Women are often passed over for promotions and leadership positions for which they are as qualified as the men who receive them

• The cumulative effect of “small” disadvantages women face have a major negative impact on their careers and often cause them to leave the academy

FINDINGS


Evaluation criteria contain arbitrary and subjective components that

disadvantage women

Women faculty•are paid less•are promoted more slowly•receive fewer honors•hold fewer leadership positions

These discrepancies do not appear to be based on productivity, the significance of their work, or any other measure of performance.

Measures of success underlying the current “meritocracy”

• are often applied in a biased manner

• do not necessarily relate to scientific creativity

• celebrate assertiveness and single-mindedness

• do not celebrate flexibility, diplomacy, curiosity, motivation, and dedication

RECOMMENDATIONS

Transforming institutional structures and procedures to eliminate gender bias is a major national task that will require strong leadership and continuous attention, evaluation, and accountability.

The committee’s recommendations are large-scale and interdependent, requiring the interaction of university leaders and faculties, scientific and professional societies, funding agencies, federal agencies, and Congress.

Recommendations for Universities

Trustees, university presidents,

and provosts

Deans, department chairs, and tenured faculty

LEADERSHIP

CLIMATE

HIRING, TENURE, PROMOTION POLICIES

RECRUITING

MONITOR AND EVALUATE

Provide clear leadership in changing Provide clear leadership in changing the culture and structure of their the culture and structure of their institutions to recruit, retain, and institutions to recruit, retain, and

promote women—including promote women—including minority women—into faculty and minority women—into faculty and

leadership positions.leadership positions.


and provosts

Trustees, University Presidents, and Provosts

LEADERSHIP

University leaders should incorporate into campus strategic plans goals of counteracting bias against women in hiring, promotion, and treatment.

This includes: • Working with an inter-institution monitoring

organization to perform annual reviews of the composition of their student body and faculty ranks

• Publicizing progress toward the goals annually

• Providing a detailed annual briefing to the board of trustees.


and provosts

MONITOR AND EVALUATE

University leaders University leaders should take action should take action

immediately to remedy immediately to remedy inequities in hiring, inequities in hiring,

promotion, and promotion, and treatment. treatment.


and provosts

REMEDIES

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.


and provosts

LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS

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.


and provosts

FACULTY RECRUITMENT

University leaders should develop and University leaders should develop and implement hiring, tenure, and promotion implement hiring, tenure, and promotion policies that take into account the flexibility that policies that take into account the flexibility that faculty need across the life course, allowing faculty need across the life course, allowing integration of family, work, and community integration of family, work, and community responsibilities.responsibilities.

They should provide uniform policies and They should provide uniform policies and

central funding for faculty and staff on leave central funding for faculty and staff on leave and should visibly and vigorously support and should visibly and vigorously support campus programs that help faculty with campus programs that help faculty with children or other caregiving responsibilities to children or other caregiving responsibilities to maintain productive careers. maintain productive careers.

These programs should, at a minimum, include These programs should, at a minimum, include provisions for paid parental leave for faculty, provisions for paid parental leave for faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate staff, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students; facilities and subsidies for on-site and students; facilities and subsidies for on-site and community-based child care; dissertation community-based child care; dissertation defense and tenure clock extensions; and defense and tenure clock extensions; and family-friendly scheduling of critical meetings.family-friendly scheduling of critical meetings.


and provosts

HIRING, TENURE, HIRING, TENURE, and PROMOTIONand PROMOTION

POLICIESPOLICIES

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.

Deans, Department Chairs, and Tenured Faculty

CLIMATE


Faculties and their senates should initiate a full faculty discussion of climate issues.


CLIMATE

Develop and implement programs Develop and implement programs that educate all faculty members and that educate all faculty members and students in their departments on students in their departments on unexamined bias and effective unexamined bias and effective evaluation.evaluation.

• These programs should be integrated These programs should be integrated into departmental meetings and into departmental meetings and retreats, and professional development retreats, and professional development and teacher-training courses. and teacher-training courses.

• For example, such programs can be For example, such programs can be incorporated into research ethics and incorporated into research ethics and laboratory management courses for laboratory management courses for graduate students, postdoctoral graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and research staff; and can scholars, and research staff; and can be part of management leadership be part of management leadership workshops for faculty, deans, and workshops for faculty, deans, and department chairs.department chairs.


EVALUATION

Expand faculty recruitment efforts to ensure that they reach adequately and proactively into the existing and ever-increasing pool of women candidates.


RECRUITMENT

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, HIRING, TENURE, and PROMOTIONand PROMOTION

POLICIESPOLICIES

University leaders should work with their faculties and department chairs to examine evaluation practices to focus on the quality of contributions and their impact.


and provosts


EVALUATIONEVALUATION

Higher education organizations, scientific and professional societies, journals, and honorary societies

have a responsibility to play a leading role in promoting equal treatment of women and men and demonstrate this

commitment in their practices.

Together, higher education organizations should consider forming an inter-institution monitoring organization.

• This body could act as an intermediary between academic institutions and federal agencies in recommending norms and measures, in collecting data, and in cross-institution tracking of compliance and accountability. •As an initial step, the American Council on Education should convene national higher education organizations to consider the creation of a monitoring body.

Higher education organizations

EVALUATE EVALUATE and MONITORand MONITOR

Ensure that their practices—including rules and regulations—support the full participation of women and do not reinforce a culture that fundamentally discriminates against women.

Funders

Foundations and federal funding agencies

PROGRAMS PROGRAMS and POLICIESand POLICIES

Even without additional resources, federal agencies should move immediately to enforce the federal anti-discrimination laws at universities and other higher education institutions through regular compliance reviews and prompt and thorough investigation of discrimination complaints.

Federal agencies

MONITORMONITOR

Federal Enforcement Agencies

Federal enforcement agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, and individual federal granting agencies’ Offices of Civil Rights should encourage and provide technical assistance on how to achieve equity in university programs and employment, by

• Providing technical assistance to educational institutions to help them to comply with the anti-discrimination laws

• Creating a clearinghouse for dissemination of strategies that have been proven effective

• Providing awards and recognition for model university programs

Federal agencies

MONITORMONITOR

Call to Action

Faculty, university leaders, professional and scientific societies, federal agencies and the federal government must unite to ensure that all our nation’s people are welcomed and encouraged to excel in science and engineering in our research universities. Our nation’s future depends on it.

For more information on the study, see http://www7.nationalacademies.org/womeninacademe/

COACh An organization working to increase the numbers and success of women scientists.

Website: http://coach.uoregon.eduSponsors: NSF, NIH, DOE Membership open to both men and women.

COACh

• The low number of women chemistry faculty, particularly in research universities.

• The documented discrepancy in the advancement of women scientists in academia relative to their male peers.

• The concern that the glass ceiling in chemistry is actually a robust robust polycarbonatepolycarbonate..

Motivation for its Formation

Developing programs that can be broadly used in

higher education to enable scientists to achieve their

academic career goals.

COACh

COACh Goals

Enhancing women’s leadership skills.

Expanding connections.

Improving institutional climate.

Leveling the playing field.

COACh

COACh Programs

COAChCOACh is guided by an Advisory BoardCurrent COACh Advisory Board Members

Geraldine Richmond, U of OregonKristin Bowman-James, U of KansasCynthia Burrows, U of UtahJanis Hicks, NSF LiasonSally Chapman, Barnard CollegeMarye Anne Fox, UC SanDiegoCynthia Friend, Harvard UniversityCornelia Gillyard, Spelman College Sandra Greer, U of MarylandHilary Godwin, Northwestern Univ

Esin Gulari, Wayne State UJani Ingram, Northern Arizona ULeslie Jimenez, Rutgers UniversitySaundra McGuire, Louisiana State Margaret Merritt, Wellesley College Kathlyn Parker, SUNY, Stony BrookJeanne Pemberton, U of ArizonaAngelica Stacy, UC BerkeleyMary Wirth, U of Arizona

Funded by NSF, NIH and DOE-BES

COACh Programs

1. Leadership Workshops for Women

Faculty Postdocs Graduate students

3. Leadership Forums (men and women)• Institutions• Departments• Research Institutes and Centers

2. Leadership Workshops for Minority Women

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Over 350 female chemistry and chemical engineering faculty have attended COACh workshops at ACS & AIChE meetings since 2001!

Full Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant ProfessorPostdoctoral Associates

COACh WorkshopsImpact

.

Over 1000 additional women scientists

in • Physics• Mathematics• Biochemistry• Geology• Computer science• Biology

have attended these COACh developed workshops at professional meetings or home institutions.

Over 300 chemistry graduate students have attended COACh workshops at home institutions and regional meetings.

COACh Workshops

Taking the Impact Home

Our research shows that > 90%have mentored other women in negotiation skills learned in the COACH workshops.*

*From surveys conducted 2 years after the workshops.

NR4%

No 13%

YES83%

Did the skills learned lessen stress?

Assessing the Impact: 2-3 years later

A career in academia?

Why Bother?

Why NOT?

COACh

COACh

Website: http://coach.uoregon.edu


Extremely 34%

Somewhat23%

Quite41%

Not4%

How important to hear others discuss their challenges?

For more information, and to join COACh http://coach.uoregon.edu

COACh

Working to level the playing field for women scientists in academia.

www.coach.uoregon.edu

• Successful negotiation techniques and strategies

• Case studies

• Group problem solving

• Using the “Power of Partnerships”

COACh Workshops

Facilitators•Barbara Butterfield, Chief Human Resource Officer for Academic and Staff Human Resources and Affirmative Action, University of Michigan

•Jane Tucker, Senior Manager, Sap - Administration Systems Management Group, Duke University

Coaching Strong Women in the Art of Strategic Persuasion (Part A)

• Strategic rather than reactive behavior

• Effective speaking voices and self presentation

• Stress reduction and confidence building

• Leadership and team development skills

COACh Workshops

Facilitators•Lee Warren, Associate Director, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University

•Nancy Houfek, Head of Voice and Speech, Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University

Coaching Strong Women in the Art of Strategic Persuasion (Part B)

The Chemistry of Leadership: A Women's Leadership Development Program• Concepts of leadership (including self evaluation).

• Explore what is known the role of gender in leadership situations.

• Reflect on own leadership challenges.

• Identify/develop areas for skill enhancement.

COACh Workshops

Facilitator

Sandra L. Shullman, Executive Development Group - Columbus, OH

A. Training in professional negotiation skills including

B. Panel discussion with COACh senior women faculty

COACh Workshops

• identifying negotiables.

• role playing negotiation situations.

• building confidence and networks.

Professional Skills for Postdocs and Graduate Students Considering Academic Careers


0

10

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30

40

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Often Some Not

Other faculty

AcademicLeadership

Students

Used negotiation skills learned at the workshop to positively influence

Pe

rce

nt

46%

59%

61%

65%

74%

76%

74%

76%Preparation for negotiation

Identifying & meeting mutualinterests

Providing options for solution

Clarification of purpose

Avoidance of personalizing

Using alies

Research Support Data

Understanding others position


Skills used most:

Academic Leadership Forums:

• Institutions• Departments• Research Institutes and Centers

New COACh Activities

For men and women!

Sponsored by the host institution.

COACh

Academic Leadership ForumsSchedule: Consists of 4 modules covering:

• Leadership dynamics; faculty meetings, anatomy of power, reaching consensus and negotiation.

• Faculty recruitment, evaluation and retention.

• Rewards, risks and current challenges of academic leadership.

• Academic planning, budgeting, policy and stewardship.

• Working as a team to reach consensus

Case studies, theatre and lively debate are central to the design.

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COACh Workshop Participants (240!)

Full Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant ProfessorPostdoctoral Associates

COACh Workshops

Impact Beyond Chemistry

Over 600 additional women scientists in

have attended these COACh developed workshops at professional meetings or home institutions.

• Physics• Mathematics• Chemistry & Biochemistry• Geology• Computer science• Biology

1. Leadership Workshops for Women• Leadership skills training• Forum for mentoring and

networking• Research on climate and

impact

COACh Programs

….and teaching women how to play hard ball!

Documents

Battling Biases and Barriers: Necessary Steps our Academic Institutions Must Take to Assure a Strong Science and Engineering Workforce