Retention of Women Faculty

University of Missouri An NSF and MU Program

Retention of Women FacultyStrategies and Tactics for Retention to Improve Diversity and Excellence (STRIDE)

Meera Chandrasekhar, Committee Chair, Department of PhysicsMIZZOU ADVANCE, University of Missouri, Columbia

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 0618977. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.


MIZZOU ADVANCE Programs

• STRIDE

• Mentoring Program

• Interactive Theatre

• Research


STRIDE Members

Meera Chandrasekhar, Physics, Committee ChairJackie Litt, Women’s and Gender Studies, Project PI

• Lex Akers, College of Engineering• Nancy Flournoy, Statistics• John Gahl, Chemical Engineering• Noah Manring, Electrical and

Computer Engineering • Kathy Newton, Biological Sciences• Silvia Jurisson, Chemistry• Marc Linit, College of Agriculture,

Food and Natural Resources• Bruce McClure, Biochemistry• Jerry Taylor, Animal Science• Former Members:

– Karen Cone, Biological Sciences– Michael Devaney, Electrical and Computer

Engineering

Jackie Litt, Kathy Newton, Noah Manring and John Gahl not in picture

STRIDE is a committee of 10 senior MU professors, working within the NSF-funded Mizzou ADVANCE Program


STRIDE Goals

• Raise awareness about changing MU culture to promote advancement of STEM faculty… without regard to gender

• STRIDE will:– Educate faculty, administrators, and promotion and

tenure (P&T) committees about unconscious bias and other practices that impede women's advancement

– Identify specific departmental- and college-level policies and practices that may affect the advancement of women and other underrepresented groups

– Identify best practices and policies that can lead toward sustainability of successful interventions


STRIDE accomplishments 2007- present

• Members have educated themselves on issues related to women in the academy

• The committee has developed three presentations:– Retention, promotion and success of tenured and

senior faculty: barriers and recommendations – Recruitment of new female faculty: ideas that will help

search committees and departments– Examination of departmental policies on promotion

and tenure that will maximize probability of faculty success

STRIDE is based on the U of Michigan model


Presentation Attendees

• Department Chairs of 17 STEM departments in the colleges of Arts & Science, Engineering and Agriculture & Natural Resources

• Deans, Associate Deans, Division Directors• Promotion and tenure committees of three

colleges and campus


Source: National Science Foundation, 2003

Asst. Assoc. Full0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

35 2916

65 7284

Percent male/female science faculty in the US as function of rank

MaleFemale

Faculty Rank


Lack of Women Faculty means...

• Fewer points of view• Less diverse approaches to science and

engineering• Fewer women role models for all

students• Under-utilization of a national resource


Barriers and Impacts

• Climate - Institutional and departmental• Professional assessment and rewards• Work-family balance• Absence of women has multiple impacts on:

– Climate and isolation– Ability to provide mentoring that is supportive of diversity– Role of unconscious gender perceptions in faculty

assessment and reward structures– Service demands imposed on women faculty– Creation of family-friendly institutional cultures in

departments/colleges


Climate

• A favorable climate contributes to faculty success– Strong mentors and

collaborators– Clarity of promotion

process and expectations

– Supportive and transparent chair

• An unfavorable climate differentially affects minority groups, such as women – Faculty isolation, lack of

critical mass– Opaque procedures

and policies– Non-supportive chair– Skewed evaluation


Gender Schemas• Gender schemas often contribute to skewed

evaluations• Schemas are expectations or stereotypes that

define “average” members of a group– Guide perceptions and behaviors– Influence group members’ judgments about

themselves and others


Schemas are...• Widely culturally shared

– Both men and women have same schemas about gender

– People often unaware of schemas

Fiske (2002) Current Directions in Psychological Science. 11:123-128

• Applied more under circumstances of:Ambiguity or lack of information …stress from competing tasks …time pressure …lack of critical mass

• Four examples from the literature: − Blind auditions− Evaluation of resumes− Evaluation of postdoctoral fellowship applications− Letters of recommendation


SarahBrian

Blind AuditionsWhen musicians auditioned behind a screen … … the proportion of females hired for orchestral jobs increased significantly.

Evaluation of CVsWhen evaluating identical application packages …… male and female university psychology professors preferred 2:1 to hire “Brian” over “Sarah.”

Gender Schemas Affect Evaluation


Fellowships at the Swedish Medical Research Council : women had to be 2.5 times more productive to receive the same reviewer rating as the average male applicant.

Letters of recommendation for successful faculty candidates in a medical school differed in ways that reflected gender schemas……Letters for women were shorter, had more references to personal life and more irrelevancies, faint praise, and hedges

..Letters for men were longer, had more references to CV, publications, patients and colleagues


Unintended Impact of Schemas

• Systematically skew evaluations for members of both groups

• Accumulation of very small differences in treatment lead to major consequences in salary, promotion, and prestige

Cole & Singer. 1991. In Zuckerman, Cole, and Bruer, eds., The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.


What’s the Solution?

• Improve evaluation processes

• Encourage and reward excellence

• Improve climate


Improve Evaluation Processes

Be aware of gender bias and its effects on evaluation and workload assignment

Ensure equitable distribution of teaching, service and advising responsibilities

Develop and implement specific criteria for tenure and promotion

Make sure all policies and processes are transparent

Include flexible family-friendly optionsProvide annual feedback on progress


Encourage and Reward Excellence

• Provide opportunities for women faculty to excel as scientists and leaders– Encourage research or development leaves– Offer opportunities for leadership training– Nominate women for leadership positions– Encourage effort,

reward achievement


Improve Climate

Promote scientific and social interactionInclude women in academic life

and decision-makingPromote peer mentoring

◦ Ensure that every faculty member has a mentor

◦ Build “virtual” critical mass through cross-departmental mentoring

Institute policies that provide employment for dual-career couples


Conclusions

It is important for women and other responsible stakeholders to be educated about the literature on gender issues.

When women’s issues are addressed, institutional climate is improved, and women and men gain.

Changes are not the responsibility of just the women, or even their immediate superiors, but of all senior members in the institution.

mizzouadvance.missouri.edu

Retention of Women Faculty

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