Training and Mentoring of Chemists: A Study of Gender Disparity

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare women's and men's retrospective perceptions of the mentoring they received during their training and career development in chemistry. Participants were 455 graduates (135 women) who received doctoral degrees from 11 top US chemistry programs over a 5-year period (1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992). In 2003, graduates completed surveys of undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, and initial employment experiences. In line with Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent et al., Journal of Vocational Behavior 45: 1994), which posits that perceptions of barriers can affect career decisions, results suggest that women perceived that they received less mentoring than men at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral levels of training, likely related to gender differences in eventual career success. Possible interventions at the individual and institutional levels are discussed.

AdvanceRIT Connect Grants: Driving Momentum for Disruptive Change for Women STEM Faculty

“…Personal challenges include work/life balance [6][7][8] and childbearing and child rearing decisions. Workplace issues include lack of mentoring [9][10][11], feelings of marginalization or isolation [16,[20][21][22], and the lack of sponsorship by senior colleagues [12,13]. While the findings of the self-study are in line with other findings regarding women faculty in STEM, the current AdvanceRIT project seeks to disrupt the existing sluggish processes and practices on campus to accelerate and increase the attainment of project goals.…”

Institutional Transformation Guided by a Multi-frame Organizational Analysis Approach

“…Issues related to career navigation may be attributed to women's weaker self-agency and negotiation skills, coupled with a lack of "sponsorship" from more seasoned faculty and/or administrators; 11,12 either could seriously hinder the success of female faculty in obtaining advantageous start-up packages, assignments, compensation, and promotions. 13 Climate issues are often exacerbated by women's view of the workplace in personal terms, as opposed to a more male process-oriented view, meaning that issues of connectedness, support, and interpersonal relations are important to their success.…”

“…Workplace issues can include feelings of isolation or marginalization, 14,[18][19][20] lack of mentoring 14,[18][19][20][21][22] and sponsorship by senior colleagues. 11,12 The outlined issues can lead to an accumulated disadvantage over the course of a career, 13 a need to gain credibility or respect, 14,23,24 unclear expectations for tenure and promotion, 3,20 and biases ranging from subtle to open. 10,20,[25][26][27] They can provide personal challenges in childbearing and child-rearing decisions; 17,[28][29][30][31] work/family balance; 19,27,31,32 and in controlling the overflow of work life into home life.…”

Connectivity at RIT - Developing & Delivering an Effective Professional Development Workshop Series for Women Faculty in STEM

“…This, coupled with a lack of "sponsorship" from more seasoned faculty and/or administrators 10,11 . combines to hinder the success of women faculty in obtaining advantageous start-up packages, compensation, assignments, and promotions 12 .…”

“…Workplace issues include biases ranging from subtle to open 2,4,17 ; feelings of isolation or marginalization 4,13,18 ; unclear expectations for tenure and promotion 4 ; a need to gain credibility or respect 13,19 ; and lack of mentoring and/or sponsorship by a senior colleague. 11,13,18,20 These findings from the faculty climate survey, objective data review, and benchmarking laid the ground work for the successful submission and subsequent funding of the National Science Foundation Institutional Transformation (IT) grant. The AdvanceRIT (NSF Award #1209115 project was implemented in 2012.…”