Beyond Traditional Scientific Training: The Importance of Community and Empowerment for Women in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Abstract

While the biological sciences have achieved gender parity in the undergraduate and graduate career stages, this is not the case at the faculty level. The WEBS (Women Evolving the Biological Sciences) symposia go beyond traditional scientific training and professional development to address factors critical to women's persistence in faculty careers: community and empowerment. Through a series of panel discussions, personal reflections and skills workshops, WEBS creates a community-based professional development experience and a space for participants to grapple with central issues affecting their scientific careers. Longitudinal qualitative survey data suggest that WEBS bolsters the participants' confidence and empowerment, in addition to providing concrete skills for addressing a range of issues necessary to navigating scientific careers, leading to increased career satisfaction and career self-efficacy (i.e., the belief in one's capacity to pursue their chosen career). These results highlight the importance and need for programs and opportunities for women in STEM that go beyond training in scientific skills and traditional professional development to include those that create a sense of community and empowerment.

Leadership and diversity in the New Zealand Ecological Society

“…In academia, work culture, mentoring and leadership are important for the advancement and retention of a diverse membership base (Blau et al 2010;Horner-Devine et al 2016). Xu (2008) suggests that higher turnover rates for women globally are mainly due to dissatisfaction with departmental culture, lack of advancement opportunities, flawed faculty leadership and inadequate research support.…”

Expanding the landscape of opportunity: Professional societies support early-career researchers through community programming and peer coaching.

“…The inaugural WFAB symposium took place in the spring of 2019. Adapted from previous work in other STEM areas, WFAB began with a multiday, in-person, interactive symposium for 30 early-career participants (i.e., postdoctoral scholars and pretenure faculty members), during which participants engaged in community building and skill development through an immersive, interactive workshop experience (Carrigan et al, 2018; Horner-Devine et al, n.d., 2016, 2018; Margherio et al, 2016; Yen et al, 2017). During the symposium, participants were introduced to a peer coaching circle model called POP Circles (Daniell, 2006; Horner-Devine et al, n.d., 2017, 2018).…”

The BRAINS Program: Transforming Career Development to Advance Diversity and Equity in Neuroscience

“…First, professional development cultivated in a community context helps develop levels of trust that allow individuals to seek feedback about their new skills and increase their engagement with resources and relationships developed during a professional development program (Horner-Devine et al, 2016;Nishi et al, 2016). For BRAINS, community is developed in several ways.…”