Transcript What’s Data Got to Do with It? How to Measure Change in
What’s Data Got to Do with It? How to Measure Change in Academic Work Environments
Karen Stamm, Lisa Harlow, Marimer Santiago Rivas, Barbara Silver, & Helen Mederer University of Rhode Island Presented at the 34 th Annual Meeting of the Association for Women in Psychology March 14, 2009, Newport, RI
Diversity in the Sciences
Diversity is important in the pursuit of scientific knowledge (National Science Foundation, 2005) However, a gender gap in the sciences exists Women represent only 20% of the engineering, and math faculty in STEM fields – science, technology,
Climate Change
Good news – positive change is occurring Gender gap is narrowing (Feist, 2006) Still, STEM women face many challenges Stereotype threat (Steele, 1997) “Leaky pipeline” Accumulation of disadvantage (Valian, 1998) Chilly climate
NSF ADVANCE Program
ADVANCE is an initiative by the National Science Foundation to promote the careers of women faculty in STEM fields The University of Rhode Island received a 5-year ADVANCE Institutional Transformation award At URI, the ADVANCE Program has focused on: Recruitment Faculty Development Work-Life Climate Change Measurement and Evaluation
Academic Work Environment Survey
All tenure-track faculty at the University of Rhode Island were asked to participate The survey was distributed twice: 2004 and 2007 (M)ANOVAs were conducted with main constructs as dependent variables and gender as the independent variabl e
Academic Work Environment Survey
Main constructs Climate Career attitudes Interpersonal/work issues Spouse/partner issues Work and gender Mentoring Teaching Service Research Productivity Recognition Resource satisfaction
2004 Climate Survey
Distributed during the 2004-2005 academic year Approximately 277 faculty (118 women, 144 men, and 9 unknown gender) completed the survey About 40 % of all tenure-track faculty completed the survey
2004 Climate Survey Results
Women reported: More interpersonal work challenges More workplace discrimination Delaying or not having children Greater willingness to leave URI to accommodate partner’s career Endorsed a belief in combining career and family Men reported: Greater career satisfaction, More positive work environment Greater workplace equity Greater departmental influence More work-life balance Endorsed traditional views of gender-work roles No Gender Differences on: Research Productivity Teaching Service Resource Satisfaction Recognition
2007 Climate Survey
Revised version of 2004 climate survey Distributed during the 2007-2008 academic year Approximately 241 faculty (129 women, 110 men, and 2 unknown gender) completed the survey About 38% of tenure-track faculty completed the survey
2007 Climate Survey Results
Women reported: Higher ratings of mentoring importance More workplace discrimination More work-life conflict Delaying having children Placing greater emphasis on a partner’s career Endorsed a belief in combining work and family Men reported: Greater gender equity Greater positive work environment Endorsed traditional views of gender-work roles No gender differences on : Career Satisfaction Research Productivity Teaching Service Resource Satisfaction Recognition
Usefulness of Climate Data
Importance of collecting social science data Dissemination of findings Executive summary College meetings Reports on website Benchmarking Recruitment, retention, and promotion of women in STEM Use climate data in conjunction with benchmark indicators Collection of benchmark indicators to track the ADVANCE Program Other analysis plans: longitudinal cross-sectional data Unique participants (took survey in 2004 or 2007) Repeat participants (took survey in both 2004 and 2007)
Limits of Climate Data
Length of survey Timeframe for measuring climate change How long does climate change take? Is 5 years enough time?
Longitudinal data Had planned 3 surveys Only did 2 surveys Used the time to revise the survey
Strategies for Promoting Women in
STEM 3-level model of climate change Individual Interactional Institutional Effective climate change must target all 3 levels Measure variables at different levels
References
Feist, G. J. (2006). How development and personality influence scientific thought, interest, and achievement. Psychology. Special Issue: The Psychology of Science. 10(2), 163-182.
Review of General National Science Foundation. (2005). More women receive Ph.D.s, but female senior faculty are still rare . Retrieved March 31, 2007, from http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104363 Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613-629.
Valian, V. (1998). Why so slow? The advancement of women. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.