Recruitment Strategies for Gender Equity: Lessons from Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 ADVANCE Institutions

Abstract

is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Arkansas. Her scholarship has been devoted to the intersectional nature of social inequalities, discourse, and social change. She has been involved in interdisciplinary research projects examining successful strategies to institutionalize programs and policies aimed at the advancement of historically underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines. Her current publications focus on institutional transfomation, women in STEM disciplines, and the integration of an intersectional perspective in social science analyses.

Dismantling the ‘Master’s House’: Feminist Reflections on Institutional Transformation

“…Although the ADVANCE program continues to generate enthusiasm, issues and concerns have also emerged. From our analysis of published ADVANCE literature, review of publicly available grant proposals, examination of ADVANCE initiatives (Hunt et al, 2012; Morimoto et al, 2010; Zajicek et al, 2010, 2011), and our personal observations and conversations with social science faculty from other institutions, three concerns are primary. First, some very popular initiatives may help individual women, but at the same time inadvertently reinforce a gendered organizational logic in which the unencumbered white male scholar (Acker, 1990, 2006) epitomizes the ideal of a dedicated and productive scientist (see, for example, Bilimoria et al, 2008; Frehill, 2006; Frehill et al, 2007; Nielsen et al, 2005; Plummer, 2006; Rosser and Chameau, 2006).…”