Though there has been a rapid increase of women’s representation in law and business, their representation in STEM fields has not been matched. Researchers have revealed that there are several environmental and social barriers including stereotypes, gender bias, and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities that continue to block women’s progress in STEM. In this book, the authors address the issues that encounter women of color in STEM in higher education.
Seeking Solutions: Maximizing American Talent by Advancing Women of Color in Academia is the summary of a 2013 conference convened by the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine of the National Research Council to discuss the current status of women of color in academia and explore the challenges and successful initiatives for creating the institutional changes required to increase representation of women of color at all levels of the academic workforce. While the number of women, including minority women, pursuing higher education in science, engineering and medicine has grown, the number of minority women faculty in all institutions of higher education has remained small and has grown less rapidly than the numbers of nonminority women or minority men. Seeking Solutions reviews the existing research on education and academic career patterns for minority women in science, engineering, and medicine to enhance understanding of the barriers and challenges to the full participation of all minority women in STEM disciplines and academic careers. Additionally, this report identifies reliable and credible data source and data gaps, as well as key aspects of exemplary policies and programs that are effective in enhancing minority women's participation in faculty ranks. Success in academia is predicated on many factors and is not solely a function of talent. Seeking Solutions elucidates those other factors and highlights ways that institutions and the individuals working there can take action to create institutional cultures hospitable to people of any gender, race, and ethnicity.
Women in the Academy are raising issues of pay parity, equal representation on committees, increased leadership positions, stories of resilience, and mentorship espousing changes at all levels including teaching, research, and administration. These strategies demand interrogation, and larger questions are being asked about the place of women empowerment worldviews in the dominant intellectual traditions of the Academy. Further, the trend to make changes requires an exploration of new transformational approaches that draw on critical theory to resist discrimination, sexism, and racism and support resistance and sustainable empowerment strategies. Critical Reflections and Politics on Advancing Women in the Academy is a critical scholarly publication that seeks to make the Academy responsive and inclusive for women advancement and sustainable empowerment strategies by broadening the understanding of why women in the Academy are overlooked in leadership positions, why there is a pay parity deficit, and what is being done to change the situation. Featuring a wide range of topics such as mentorship, curriculum design, and equality, this book is ideal for policymakers, academicians, deans, provosts, chancellors, administrators, researchers, and students.
Many countries have implemented policies to increase the number and quality of scientific researchers as a means to foster innovation and spur economic development and progress. To that end, grounded in a view of women as a rich, yet underutilized knowledge and labor resource, a great deal of recent attention has focused on encouraging women to pursue education and careers in science — even in countries with longstanding dominant patriarchal regimes. Yet, overall, science remains an area in which girls and women are persistently disadvantaged. This book addresses that situation. It bridges the gap between individual- and societal-level perspectives on women in science in a search for systematic solutions to the challenge of building an inclusive and productive scientific workforce capable of creating the innovation needed for economic growth and societal wellbeing. This book examines both the role of gender as an organizing principle of social life and the relative position of women scientists within national and international labor markets. Weaving together and engaging research on globalization, the social organization of science, and gendered societal relations as key social forces, this book addresses critical issues affecting women’s contributions and participation in science. Also, while considering women’s representation in science as a whole, examinations of women in the chemical sciences, computing, mathematics and statistics are offered as examples to provide insights into how differing disciplinary cultures, functional tasks and socio-historical conditions can affect the advancement of women in science relative to important variations in educational and occupational realities. Edited by three social scientists recognized for their expertise in science and technology policy, education, workforce participation, and stratification, this book includes contributions from an intellectually diverse group of international scholars and analysts and features compelling cases and initiatives from around the world, with implications for research, industry practice, education and policy development.
There has never been a better time to for a handbook focused on women in science. In May 2016, the American Association for the Advancement of Science posted an article titled “We need to do more for women in science.” This book describes the importance of carving out spaces for women in science and includes the unique strengths of women scientists as well as challenges they tend to face. Studies of women leadership consistently illustrate that women demonstrate strengths in leadership across communities and have skills in bringing together groups towards a common goal. The role of women in context is an important one in science, but has not been the focus of previous texts about careers in science or medicine. This first of its kind book develops an understanding of research careers occurring within a greater community of colleagues and academicians as well as the fact that women themselves lead within a group, a community, and a context. The book focuses on women who are pursuing research careers in academic medicine with specific emphasis on women in science and research as well as lessons learned from fellow female scientists. It also provides key strategies and skills centered on the social ecological model as well as a sense of community with other women scientists. The book is organized thematically using the social ecological model as a framework in which we all live and complete our work. Women Rock Science is a valuable resource that can be used in a variety of settings. It is beneficial for University classes as well as lab group meetings. It also places an emphasis on community and can be shared with one’s community of mentors, mentees and colleagues.
Neither legalization of abortion nor scientific and political advances in contraception and abortion ensure that training and research in family planning are routinely integrated into medical education. Without integration, subsequent generations of healthcare professionals are not prepared to incorporate evidence-based family planning into their practices, teaching, or research. Omission of this crucial component prevents the cultural and professional normalization of an often stigmatized and embattled aspect of women's health. Taking the successful US-based Ryan and Family Planning Fellowship programs as templates for training, teaching, and academic leadership, this book describes the integration of family planning and pregnancy termination into curricula with an international outlook. With an evidence- and systems-based approach, the book is a unique and practical guide to inspire and train the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Demand for tech professionals is expected to increase substantially over the next decade, and increasing the number of women of color in tech will be critical to building and maintaining a competitive workforce. Despite years of efforts to increase the diversity of the tech workforce, women of color have remained underrepresented, and the numbers of some groups of women of color have even declined. Even in cases where some groups of women of color may have higher levels of representation, data show that they still face significant systemic challenges in advancing to positions of leadership. Research evidence suggests that structural and social barriers in tech education, the tech workforce, and in venture capital investment disproportionately and negatively affect women of color. Transforming Trajectories for Women of Color in Tech uses current research as well as information obtained through four public information-gathering workshops to provide recommendations to a broad set of stakeholders within the tech ecosystem for increasing recruitment, retention, and advancement of women of color. This report identifies gaps in existing research that obscure the nature of challenges faced by women of color in tech, addresses systemic issues that negatively affect outcomes for women of color in tech, and provides guidance for transforming existing systems and implementing evidence-based policies and practices to increase the success of women of color in tech.
The United States economy relies on the productivity, entrepreneurship, and creativity of its people. To maintain its scientific and engineering leadership amid increasing economic and educational globalization, the United States must aggressively pursue the innovative capacity of all its people—women and men. However, women face barriers to success in every field of science and engineering; obstacles that deprive the country of an important source of talent. Without a transformation of academic institutions to tackle such barriers, the future vitality of the U.S. research base and economy are in jeopardy. Beyond Bias and Barriers explains that eliminating gender bias in academia requires immediate overarching reform, including decisive action by university administrators, professional societies, federal funding agencies and foundations, government agencies, and Congress. If implemented and coordinated across public, private, and government sectors, the recommended actions will help to improve workplace environments for all employees while strengthening the foundations of America's competitiveness.
This report aims to 'crack the code' by deciphering the factors that hinder and facilitate girls' and women's participation, achievement and continuation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and, in particular, what the education sector can do to promote girls' and women's interest in and engagement with STEM education and ultimately STEM careers.
