Programmatic Efforts at the National Institutes of Health to Promote and Support the Careers of Women in Biomedical Science

Abstract

R4. Professional societies and higher education organizations (including universities, scientific and professional societies, honorary societies, and journals) are responsible for promoting equal treatment of women. Columbia UniversityHarvard Medical School Northwestern University University of New Mexico R5. To ensure the full participation of women, federal funding agencies and foundations should provide opportunities to reduce gender bias through workshops, collecting demographics, family-friendly policies, establishing funding mechanisms, funding research on reducing gender bias.

Perceptions and experiences of a gender gap at a Canadian research institute and potential strategies to mitigate this gap: a sequential mixed-methods study

“…The gender gap in academics is long-standing, and it is highly unlikely that the tincture of time will resolve it, given that women have outnumbered men at student and junior faculty levels for more than 25 years, 1 and research shows that there are no significant differences in baseline career aspirations between women and men. 20 The pathway to a research career is also affected by socialization and stereotypes that define roles and expectations before university. 1,21 Although gender stereotypes begin early in life, academic success is achievable when opportunities are available.…”

Advancement of Women in the Biomedical Workforce: Insights for Success

“…We briefly reviewed efforts by the NIH to support women in the biomedical workforce; additional information about these efforts is discussed in the article by Plank-Bazinet et al 3 in this issue. We also highlighted common themes that recur throughout the collection including compensation, research funding levels, work-life integration, and mentorship.…”

“…The Working Group is co-chaired by NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and NIH Associate Director for Research on Women’s Health and Office of Research on Women’s Health Director Dr. Janine Austin Clayton. Members of the Working Group include Institute and Center directors, and other leaders from the NIH Intramural and Extramural Research Programs 3 .…”

“…At the end of the workshop, the grantees decided to continue collaborating amongst themselves and formed the grassroots Research Partnership on Women in Biomedical Careers. This partnership has been highly successful, and the investigators involved have published numerous studies and given many presentations on women in the biomedical workforce 3 . Most germane, the Research Partnership developed a collection of articles in this issue of Academic Medicine to publish their research results alongside each other and to amplify the impact of their scholarly work through collective publication of their findings.…”

Perspectives from a Pathologist: My Journey on the Path to Women's Health Research, Sex and Gender Policy, and Practice Implications

“…A recent report from the ORWH indicates that through 2014, ORWH has funded 77 BIRCWH programs at 39 different institutions and a total of 580 BIRCWH scholars, the majority of whom have been women. Reported analyses of BIRCWH scholars provide evidence that this program has had a positive influence on career success when evaluated in terms of applying for or success in obtaining an NIH grant and remaining in academic research or teaching positions (56).…”