Recruiting Female Faculty Members in Science and Engineering: Preliminary Evaluation of One Intervention Model

Abstract

The repres4ntation offemale faculty members in science and engineeringjeldr lags behind that oftheir countparts in the social scienues and humanities and aho faih to keep pace with the production offemale science and engineering doctorates. Research h b shown that equity cannot be achieved by waiting for women to fill the applicantpooZ,-instead, institutions mwt intedene by changing hiring practices and retention policies. This article desm'bes and evaluates early results ofone interventidn at the University ofMichigan: the creation ofafaculty committee designed to improve the rermitment and hiring offepale faculp members through peer education. One hiring cycle ajer the committee's creation, the authors found (a) reports ofchangedpractices in some search committees and departments, (b) an increase in the number andproportion of new hit'es who were women, and (c) a substantial increase in the knowledge and motivation ofthe members ofthe remitmedt committee with respect to improving the climateforfemalefacul~y memben

Faculty peer networks: role and relevance in advancing agency and gender equity

“…There is a growing literature on the implementation and outcomes of ADVANCE IT programmes (Stewart, LaVaque-Manty, and Malley 2004;Rosser and Chameau 2006;Bilimoria, Joy, and Liang 2008) and analysis of the goals, challenges, and possibility for success among feminist scholars (Bird 2011;Morimoto and Zajicek 2012;Morimoto et al 2013). Most of this literature begins from the premise, as we do here, that higher education organisations are gendered, with organisational practices, structures, and cultures that favour men and devalue women in critical ways (Acker 1990(Acker , 2006Dean, Bracken, and Allen 2009).…”

Mais mulheres na ciência: questões de conhecimento

“…Se estamos treinando professores universitários e estudantes de pós-graduação sobre os preconceitos de gênero em culturas científicas, por meio de programas como o extremamente bem-sucedido Estratégias e Táticas Para Recrutar e Estimular a Diversidade e a Excelência (Strategies Diversity and Excellence -Stride), da Universidade de Michigan, adicionar uma dimensão de conhecimento é algo relativamente fácil. 51 Em segundo lugar, e é aí que a política entra em cena, precisamos fazer com que a Fundação Nacional de Ciência reivindique que a ciência financiada com recursos federais integre a análise de gênero no planejamento da pesquisa, quando for o caso. A NSF está ficando para trás em relação a outras agências federais e internacionais, sob esse aspecto.…”

The Changing Role of Professional Societies for Academics

“…2 Throughout all types of engineering career paths, women have a greater tendency to leave the field than do men. 6 There is no one single cause for the retention issues; some of the factors involved are work-life balance, maternal benefits, equal pay, implicit bias, and the overall work environment. 6,7 These concerns are common to both industry and academia, although they may manifest themselves differently.…”

“…6 There is no one single cause for the retention issues; some of the factors involved are work-life balance, maternal benefits, equal pay, implicit bias, and the overall work environment. 6,7 These concerns are common to both industry and academia, although they may manifest themselves differently. In academia, for example, implicit bias may affect students' evaluations of an instructor.…”

“…6 It has been found that, if someone is a minority in their field, at least one of their mentors should be a member of the same minority population. One particular work on mentoring, focused on African-American faculty members, found that mentors were able to provide resources, listen, and in particular relate to their protégés, and that this was of value in encouraging persistence.…”