M. G. Kivelson - University of Michigan Project Advance Nov '03 "Careers, Leadership, and Speculations on why Academia Loses Women“ "Careers, Leadership,

M. G. Kivelson - University of Michigan Project Advance Nov '03

"Careers, Leadership, and Speculations "Careers, Leadership, and Speculations on why Academia Loses Women“on why Academia Loses Women“

Margaret Galland Kivelson - UCLA

I started in academia in the 1960s, became active in issues of academic women in the early 1970s

. . .and still am. . .

so my presentation provides a long range view.

with thanks to Fran Bagenal of University of Colorado

for input


The introduction documents the opposition in the 1860s &’70s to having a state institution of higher education open its doors to

women. Experts asserted that – women were intellectually inferior and could never master academic

subjects, – they were physically too frail to withstand the rigors of university training, – educating them would make them unfit for their primary roles as wives and

mothers.

• The issues of 2003 seem much less overwhelming when viewed in the context of this historical review.

Aside: my favorite publication on the Aside: my favorite publication on the subject of women in academiasubject of women in academia

A Dangerous Experiment, 100 Years of Women at the University of Michigan

Dorothy Gies McGuigan, Center for Continuing Education of Women, U. Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1970.


But problems remain.But problems remain.I will focus on women in I will focus on women in sciencescience. .

Why?Why?

• My own background is in science.

• Some issues generic to a broad range of academic disciplines are more extreme in the science/technology area.

Start by asking “Does academia lose Start by asking “Does academia lose women in science?” and, with “yes” as women in science?” and, with “yes” as

an answer, then “when” and “why”?an answer, then “when” and “why”?


Starting with 4 million 16-year-oldsin 1977

“The Leaky Pipeline”

5 in 1000 men obtained Ph.D.s in NS&E

1 in 1000 women obtained Ph.D.s in NS&E


Women who are interested in science are a scarce Women who are interested in science are a scarce commodity, although that is changing slowlycommodity, although that is changing slowly

• Critical to changing this situation is to increase girls’ interest in science well before the beginning of High School.

• But career differences persist both before and after the Ph.D. The drop-out rate varies by field.


In most scientific fields (not Computer Science), In most scientific fields (not Computer Science), degrees are increasingly awarded to women. degrees are increasingly awarded to women.

Significant attrition between BA & PhD.Significant attrition between BA & PhD.

Determination of attrition from these data requires a definition of the reference year.

If 10 years, all fields of science: 53% 42%


But the attrition of the percent of women But the attrition of the percent of women recipients of BA or PhD degrees varies recipients of BA or PhD degrees varies

greatly with the field of study!greatly with the field of study!

Compare BA with PhD 10 years later

For Physics and Engineering the problem of small numbers of women is possibly more significant than

their differential departure from continued study.

15%13%


The small number problem is critical on The small number problem is critical on faculties, especially in faculties, especially in

Physical Sciences and Engineering.Physical Sciences and Engineering.

• We find that many physical science undergraduate students complete their majors without ever having taken a course from a female professor.

• http://www.clipartconnection.com/ gives free downloads of clipart.– Search for “Professor” – One image is returned.– Surprised?

http://www.clipartconnection.com/


Women on “regular” faculty in physical sciences/ Women on “regular” faculty in physical sciences/ engineering. . . here UCLA in 2000engineering. . . here UCLA in 2000

9.5% of faculty in the

physical sciences

6.9% of faculty in

Engineering

23.5% of the

Academic Senate faculty were

women


Most physics departments now have at least one Most physics departments now have at least one woman. woman. Progress!Progress! But often in temporary jobs. But often in temporary jobs.

Women more likely to have part time jobs.

(AIP 2002 Academic Workforce Survey)


Women are increasingly present in Women are increasingly present in (most) (most) nonacademic employment too. nonacademic employment too.

19801980, 1990, 20002000199319931999


Women are ill represented on Physics facultiesWomen are ill represented on Physics faculties. . Also they are concentrated in less prestigious institutions Also they are concentrated in less prestigious institutions

From Blake, From Blake, 1993-94 Academic Workforce Report1993-94 Academic Workforce Report and and Ivie and Stowe, Ivie and Stowe, 1997-1998 Academic Workforce Report1997-1998 Academic Workforce Report

% of Faculty Positions in Physics held by Women

1994 (%) 1998 (%)

Academic rank Full Professor 3 3

Associate Professor 8 10

Assistant Professor 12 17

Other ranks 8 13

Type of Department PhD-Granting 5 6

Master’s-Granting 7 9

Bachelor’s-granting 7 11

Total 6 8


CaveatCaveat

• The higher representation of women at the lower academic ranks seems encouraging. – Will not time cure our problems?

• Not as quickly as one might expect. Studies show that– Women are more likely to resign positions even when

they seem to be doing well.– Men move up faster, leaving a disproportionate

representation of women at the lower ranks.– for the Assistant Professor rank, the percentages are

skewed by the fact that women are, on average, older than men.


And salary differentials continueAnd salary differentials continue

• For UCLA Academic Senate faculty, we found an 11% salary difference across the board (not Medical School). – Drops to 9% if we correct for

age/years of experience.

• Correcting for the fact that women are concentrated in the low paid areas of academia the difference drops to 2%. NOT MUCH.

• BUT 2% over a career ADDS UP (82% over 30 years if compounded monthly.)

Female, Female, MaleMale


Why should we care about gender Why should we care about gender equity in academia? in science?equity in academia? in science?

• In a 21st Century society it is essential to have a highly educated work force. . . yet the fraction of

college students (men and women) selecting careers in the sciences is decreasing with time.


First year graduate students in Physics and Astronomy are now mostly foreign (although numbers were

affected by visa problems in 2002-2003)

Active efforts to retain women would increase the skilled workforce.


“The harsh fact is that the US need for the highest quality human capital in science, mathematics, and engineering is not being met.”

Education as a National Security Imperative

““Hart-Rudman Report” - 2001Hart-Rudman Report” - 2001

“… fund a comprehensive program to produce the needed numbers of science and engineering professionals as well as qualified teachers in science and math.”

Recommendation


Getting more women into science will Getting more women into science will go far to address workforce issues.go far to address workforce issues.

• But also the rewards of science are great.Science is fun, respected, reasonably well compensated.– For their own sake as

well as that of society, women should be encouraged to participate.

PDK poster projecthttp://www.pdksciart.com/poster14.htm


Puzzle Puzzle

• Why does it require an effort to bring more women into scientific careers?

• There is no single “right answer,” but let’s consider some pieces of the puzzle.

• Some are “generic” and expertshave written at length.


You have listened to this author earlier this semester. What she

has to say is important to hear, even if a

second time.


• The representation of women decreases at increasingly higher levels in many organizations. Valian proposes that the “accumulation of small disadvantages” accounts substantially for the attrition.

• Examples of “small” include:– not being invited to give a talk

at a conference, – not being allowed to teach the

introductory class that all new graduate students must take).

• Small disadvantages acting over long time periods produce significant disparities. Can be modeled mathematically!

• Valian proposes that “gender schema” applied by men and women alike affect our perceptions, for example, of the value of the ideas proposed by students and colleagues and our evaluation of their leadership qualities.

From From Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women

Virginia Valian Virginia Valian (Hunter College)(Hunter College)


Valian on Valian on Gender schemaGender schema

• For instance, there is a temptation to think of men as logical and women as intuitive.

– That plays a role in our decisions when hiring for a position in science.

• We (both women and men) are likely to think of men as leaders. . . Valian gives data** to support that statement.

– As a result, men are often overrated and women underrated by coworkers, students, bosses**.

– What is more, they underrate themselves (again she gives evidence**).

• The resulting advantages and disadvantages may be small and all but undetectable, but over time they lead to substantial gaps in advancement.

“Schema are hypotheses that we use to interpret social events.” p. 103

“gender schemas refer to the implicit hypotheses that almost all of us share about the nature of men and women. Gender schema are beliefs about the sexes that we hold – whether we want to or not.” p. 333


Women disproportionately leave science. Women disproportionately leave science. The reasons vary.The reasons vary.

• From the web page of Anne Preston, Haverford College – http://www.haverford.edu/econ/faculty/preston_research.html

Leaving Science: An Analysis of Occupational Exit of Men and Women from Science and Engineering

• She used both a written survey and interviews to track careers of alumni of a public university founded in the 1960s. Her focus was on men and women trained in or working in the sciences during the period from the mid-1960's to the mid 1990's.

• Her conclusion:“In a field where occupational exit is already disproportionately high, women are twice as likely to leave scientific employment as men.”


Why do they leave?Why do they leave?

• Preston found– “With a couple of exceptions, female stayers did not convey the

excitement and passion for science that was evident in comments of a relatively large subset of the males.”

• She explains this finding in part by showing that personal issues, for example childcare and other family responsibilities, preoccupy women more consistently than men.– no great surprise there.

• Others note that women experience less social pressure than do men if they just decide to “stop out” either temporarily or permanently. – Many are tempted to do so when they have young children. – The job market is ill-structured to reabsorb those who have been

on the fringes for more than a year or so.


Examples of family considerationsExamples of family considerations

• “Every married women with a Ph.D. in [Preston’s] interview sample narrowed the geographical scope of her job search to accommodate her husband.

• “The results are consistent and strong; time spent with children has a negative effect on one’s career and this effect can be observed through lower salary and salary growth.” – These results hold for men as well as women.

• “. . .conflicts between family and work are found to be on average more common for women than for men.”– Aside: family responsibilities involves not only children

and elderly or sick family members but also household chores.


Special feature of scientific fields is the Special feature of scientific fields is the rapid rate of change of knowledge rapid rate of change of knowledge

• “One of the defining characteristics of science and the fields it encompasses is the high speed at which knowledge is growing and changing.”– “the rate at which literature within physics is decaying and

making way for new findings [is] 6 times the rate at which literature is decaying in English.”

– “. . .a proxy for the rate of growth in knowledge. . . is related to the age of citations in the leading journals in different scientific fields. Age of citations is negatively related to growth of knowledge. Specifically, a field with newer citations (i.e. lower age) in any given year is a field in which knowledge is changing more rapidly, as new research is building on more recent research.”


The rapid evolution of scientific knowledge is The rapid evolution of scientific knowledge is particularly challenging for women.particularly challenging for women.

It makes it hard to interrupt and then resume a career, or even to keep up in the face of external demands.

• “Science is a continually evolving field of study, and often individuals working in science need to work on updating their skills outside of the work day. Married women with children are immediately at a disadvantage if they are taking on more of the family responsibilities than their male counterparts.”


Mentoring is more critical for women Mentoring is more critical for women than for menthan for men

• Preston attributes this to the isolation of women in predominantly male environments.

• “For those men and women who never develop a mentoring relationship, the probability of career continuation and success is much lower for women in science than for men in science.”


The two career family problem. The two career family problem. Of greater concern for women than menOf greater concern for women than men

• Women scientists are highly likely to be married to other scientists, creating inflexible situations.


Conditions may allow women Conditions may allow women to “make it”to “make it”

• Studies show that for women, success is highly correlated with a “perfect trajectory”, absent significant roadblocks relating to health, major illness or death in family, or making a move for 2 career family.

PDK poster projecthttp://www.pdksciart.com/poster14.htm


Specifics. . . start with UCLASpecifics. . . start with UCLA

• Prior to mid ’90s - “Institutional FTE” enabled appointments of some senior women/minorities thereby establishing a leadership nucleus that could make a start on changing the climate.

• Some attention to getting women and minorities onto short lists for faculty appointments.

• Maternity leave policies established and partly implemented.

• Much talk and little action on child care.• Establishment of Ombudsman office and clearly stated

sexual harassment policies helped students and faculty.


Current faculty - Date of Hire by Gender

HIREDATE

1998

1995

1992

1989

1986

1983

1980

1977

1974

1971

1968

1965

1962

1957

Co

un

t60

50

40

30

20

10

0

GENDER

0

1

A study of UCLA Academic Senate Faculty shows effects of changing laws: Hire dates of those active in 2000

Men

Women

1996: Proposition 209

1972: Title IX and CACSW

Peaks in the ’60s and ’90s had very different ratios of women/men

Positive and negative trends.The effects of the broader political climate should not be overlooked.


Change is not unidirectional.Change is not unidirectional.

• Post 1997 following the passage of an anti-affirmative action initiative in California (proposition 209), UCLA’s attention to diversity in faculty hiring, in my view the most critical component of change, evaporated far beyond what can be understood from limitations of the laws.


Confirming my rough Confirming my rough extrapolation, in 2001-2002 extrapolation, in 2001-2002 the ratio of women to men the ratio of women to men among new hires dropped among new hires dropped even lower to 20%.even lower to 20%.

Five year averages

w’mn28%

w’mn25%

w’mn30%

’86-’90-

men

72%

’91-’95

men

70%

’96-’00

men

75%

Pattern of hiring is of Pattern of hiring is of concern.concern.The trend over the years The trend over the years from 1957 on shows an from 1957 on shows an initial increase in the initial increase in the proportion of women proportion of women among new hires, but among new hires, but peaks in ’84-’94 with a peaks in ’84-’94 with a downward plunge at the downward plunge at the end of the millennium!end of the millennium!


Hiring is only the first stepHiring is only the first step

• Numbers do not tell the whole story. The present-day experiences of women academics are vastly different from those of most men. – Women feel more dissatisfaction with their work

environments, are less likely to feel they fit in, and experience poorer communication with their leadership, all of which leads to frustration and feelings of inadequacy.


Some efforts to recruit/retain women in Some efforts to recruit/retain women in PS&E are effectivePS&E are effective

• Denise Denton at University of Washington, School of Engineering has succeeded in hiring a record number of outstanding women faculty at a time when few women are joining engineering faculties.

• The WISE Program (Women in Science and Engineering led by earth scientist Jean Morrison and chemist Hanna Reisler) at USC is reporting similar success in engineering and physical sciences.


Some elements in common in these Some elements in common in these successful programssuccessful programs

• Focus on hiring and retention of outstanding women in PS&E

• Cooperation and support from high level administrators.


Denice Denton, Dean of EngineeringDenice Denton, Dean of EngineeringU. WashingtonU. Washington

. . . introduced a search and evaluation paradigm that led to successful recruitment of women and minorities. Steps include: – aggressive recruitment, – educating search committees in how to make a positive

impression on a candidate (and how to avoid illegal, offensive questions),

– spousal hiring programs, and attention from the top (www.washington.edu/admin/eoo/forms/ftk_01.html)

• Dramatic outcome : UW hired 7 women and 2 minority engineers in five years compared to the few or none hired by competitive schools. Several won Career Investigator awards.


At USC with strong leadership from At USC with strong leadership from Hanna Reisler they are finding:Hanna Reisler they are finding:

• Both recruitment and retention need attention.• Mentoring works but they do it differently.

– All the women faculty meet for lunch once a month. – Isolation of women science faculty is reduced– Women turn to familiar faces when they have

problems, and some big problems have been solved.

• A footnote: their program is supported by a $20 million endowment from an alumna who wanted to make a difference to women in science. The program supports both students and faculty.


So what have we learned?So what have we learned?

• Many women succeed and contribute as effective professionals in scientific and other areas of knowledge, but obstacles exist. They may be hard to eliminate but they can be minimized.

• A society that puts generous resources into educating women should make a major effort to benefit from the investment, a thought that has been largely ignored.

• Institutions can contribute to retaining women by becoming more family friendly. This would help men as well as women.

• It is essential to remind colleagues and administrators that diversity issues require continual attention, at least until we have a gender/minority distribution that approaches that of the society at large.


The most important lesson:The most important lesson:

It takes effort even just to keep from losing ground!

Documents

M. G. Kivelson - University of Michigan Project Advance Nov '03 "Careers, Leadership, and Speculations on why Academia Loses Women“ "Careers, Leadership,