We have
“a system that claims to reward based on merit but instead rewards traits such as assertiveness that are socially less acceptable for women.” (
BEYOND BIAS AND BARRIERS
Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy National Academies of Sciences. 2006.)
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Criteria for success
Number of collaborations
Number of grad students and postdocs
Number of invited talks
Amount of funding
Numbers of grants
Numbers of publications (most important)
Tools that can help us
Self Analysis
Networking
Mentoring
Coaching
Self analysis
Networking
Mentoring
Coaching
Of pipelines and glass ceilings
Critical elements
Pipeline
Mentoring is NOT cloning!
Glass ceilings and sticky floors
Climate
The general workplace
The scientific workplace
Administration
Scientists
Scientist-Administrators
Unconscious bias
“We have an evolutionary predisposition to dwell on differences.”
Subtle gender bias and social expectations
“Different from”, not “better than”
“Move up, reach down”
(
Source: Elizabeth Spielke, Harvard )
“Unconscious discrimination arises due to deep seated habits that will be very hard to change - our selection procedures tend to select not only for talents that are directly relevant to success in science but also for assertiveness and single mindedness . . . . qualities that are at best very indirectly related to being a good scientist and that clash with cultural pressures.”
(
Source: Howard Georgi, Harvard )
Balancing personal life and work
Seriously reconsider assumptions about what successful individuals’ careers are supposed to look like
Women follow less direct paths/different sequences of positions in a different spirit
Some evidence that productivity occurs later in women’s careers than male counterparts
Community and culture
“Culture eats strategy for lunch”
(
Source: Mark Bard, management guru )
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” (Thomas Jefferson)
Encourage women to become connected to a large community that encourages, sustains and supports them in their careers. Work with students to foster a more supportive and favorable climate for all.
Every person’s bill of rights
The right to be treated with respect.
The right to have and express our own feelings.
The right to be listened to and taken seriously.
The right to set our priorities.
The right to say “no” without feeling guilty.
It isn't just science!
Of the 2000 plays performed in 2001-2002 season, only 17% were by women writers.
Fewer than 1% of orchestral performances in 2002-2003 represented works by women.
What is the Fund for Women Artists working to do?
Transform social stereotypes in the arts
Empower female artists
Increase opportunities
Concepts
Acquiring the requisite credentials
Recognizing opportunities
Learning from mistakes and missteps
Dealing with own biases and misconceptions
Developing a sense of one’s career directions and timing
Selecting appropriate role models
Meshing one’s values with the workplace
Balancing the pieces of one’s life
Creating opportunities for others
Knowing when to move on
Calculated risk-taking
I look back upon my youth and realize how so many people gave me help, understanding, courage. . . very important things to me and they never knew it. They entered into my life and became powers within me.All of us live spiritually by what others have given us, often unwittingly, in the significant hours of our life. At the time these significant hours may not even be perceived. We may not recognize them until years later when we look back, as one remembers some long-ago music or a boyhood landscape.” (Albert Schweitzer)
Life balance and career in context
Condescending chivalry
Supportive discouragement
Friendly harassment
Radiant devaluation
Benevolent exploitation
Considerate domination
Collegial exclusion
(
Source: Gender, Work, and Medicine, NEJM 331:60 7/7/1994 )
So, what's a woman to do?
'survival kit' for life
to help you separate fact from untruths
to remind you to be flexible
so you don’t let your feelings get hurt
to jot down why you have chosen your career
so you learn that mistakes are okay
to help you screen out background and distractions
because you have to stick with it
to remind you of your self worth, you are worth a mint to your organization
because you have to like yourself first – and because it’s chocolate!
Life is too short not to do what you love. Be open to the possibilities that will come your way unexpectedly. (Jerome Hines)
What does all this mean?
The lens you peer through determines the view you see and what you describe to others.
“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received – only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” (St. Francis of Assisi)
Four little words that can change the world:
You can do it!
Career trees (not ladders)
Many branches can lead to success
“Whom the gods wish to destroy,
they give unlimited resources.” (Twyla Tharp, choreographer)
Universities
Rutgers University
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Cincinnati
Tulane University
Florida Atlantic University
University of Houston
New Mexico State University
University of Southern California
California Institute of Technology
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
National facilities
National Primate Research Centers
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
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