Women in Academia Conference. May 16-18, 2005

Executive Summary

Women in Academia: Institutional Change to Enhance Success

“Someday — people will be judged by their individual aptitude to do a thing and (society) will stop blocking off certain things as suitable to men and suitable to women.”

— Amelia Earhart, to Purdue female students, 1935

The words of Amelia Earhart inspired young women in the 1930s with a message women in those days had never heard — that women should be able to do whatever they want to do. Like us, Earhart believed in women's intelligence and their ability to reach any heights they dreamed. Unlike us, she lived in a time when women were strictly defined by their gender. Yet, this motivated woman earned a place in history as a great aviator, and did not allow the gender stereotypes of her time to keep her from pursuing her dreams and leading the way for other women to follow.

Another less famous but equally courageous woman, Sarah Margaret Claypool Willoughby, became the first woman to receive a PhD in engineering from Purdue University in 1950. When the 18-year-old started her engineering education at Purdue, the dean of engineering called her out of the classroom and suggested that she would have to drop out of school because there were no “facilities” for women in the engineering building. She politely declined his invitation to leave by saying that she would do just fine without a restroom.

These smart, gutsy women and many others throughout history not only inspired us, but held the door wide open for all women who dare to dream and all those — men and women — who believe that academic, professional, and personal potential are not defined by gender. The women who preceded us had no mentors, but they became our role models. They had no support, but they weaved the lifeline of support that sustains us today. They defied the odds, stood alone — tall and proud — and encouraged us to follow. Yet today, many years after walking through the doors these mentors held open, many barriers still exist that prevent female faculty from achieving their full potential and thus, discourage many intelligent, capable women from joining the academic ranks.

Women in academia are “substantially under rewarded. They are paid less, promoted more slowly, and tenured more slowly,” summarizes Virginia Valian, professor of psychology and linguistics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in her book, Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women.

Data from 2001 suggests that only 25 percent of full-time faculty at research universities are women. 1 Female professors earn less than comparably qualified, white, male professors. Women also move slower through the tenure track. For each year after obtaining a tenure-track position, male assistant professors are 23 percent more likely to earn tenure. For each year after earning tenure, male professors are 35 percent more likely to be named full professors. 2

We have made some progress, however. Since 1975, there has been a steady increase in the number of women completing bachelor's degrees in all branches of science. Since that time, the number of female full-time faculty at research institutions has increased by 7 percent. Today, women earn 12 percent of doctorates in physical sciences and 11 percent in engineering. That's 2 percent higher than in 1975. 3 Obviously, progress has been slow.

Numerous books and scholarly articles have identified several barriers responsible for these inequalities and slow progress:

The traditional expectations for achieving tenure and advancing through the ranks.
The dearth of role models and mentors for women.
The existence of gender bias within the university system.
The overall campus climate for non-majority staff and faculty.
The need to balance an academic career with personal responsibility.

In a proactive effort to accelerate the wheels of progress, a conference was held at Purdue University May 16–18, 2005, entitled Women in Academia: Institutional Change to Enhance Success , co-sponsored by the Susan Bulkeley Butler Institute for the Development of Women Leaders, Purdue University , and the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). The primary goal of this conference was to create strategies for institutional change at Research I universities that will eliminate the primary barriers currently inhibiting women faculty from achieving their full potential. The outcomes from this conference will become the stepping stones to launch renewed, intensive efforts to reduce or eliminate these barriers. These recommended actions form the content of this report, and will be distributed nationally to the CIC, Research I institutions, key foundations, and relevant federal agencies.

Conference attendees included approximately 80 women and men as well as majority and underrepresented minority individuals representing 25 Research I institutions and agencies such as CIC, Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, Henry Luce Foundation, American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science Foundation, Intel, and the Anita Borg Institute for Women & Technology. Participants were invited because they fell into one of three categories: 1) academic change agent (such as president, provost, or department head), 2) gender equity expert (such as ADVANCE Grant PI, women's center directors, or women's studies faculty), and 3) advocate for women in higher education (such as faculty members).

The conference format maximized information sharing and development of rich, well-thought-out ideas by dividing attendees into eight groups with representatives from each category in each group. The groups were led by trained facilitators. Four plenary speakers selected for their interest and motivation on the primary topic shared their passion for their specific areas of expertise and highlighted the importance and urgency of the mission:

Virginia Valian, distinguished professor of psychology and linguistics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, is a cognitive scientist whose research ranges from first and second language acquisition to gender differences and gender equity. In her landmark book, Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women (MIT Press, 1998; paperback, 1999), she asks why so few women are at the top of their profession, whether the profession be science, law, medicine, college teaching, industry, or business. To provide answers, Valian integrates research from psychology, sociology, economics, and neuropsychology.

Rita R. Colwell served as the 11th director of the National Science Foundation from 1998 to 2004, and was the foundation's first female director. Today, she works at Canon US Life Sciences. Under her direction, NSF developed the ADVANCE Grants that have been awarded to 20 institutions. These grants have led to advances for women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

Linda P. B. Katehi is the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and is the first female dean of engineering at Purdue University . The College of Engineering includes 10 major degree areas with over 6,000 undergraduate students and more than 1,300 graduate students.

Vanessa J. Castagna recently joined Cerberus Capital Management as a senior member of its operations team. Previously, she served as chairman and chief executive officer of J.C. Penney Stores, catalog and internet. She has been on Fortune 's “Most Powerful Women in Business” list for the past four years, as well as 2004's Forbes ' “Most Influential Women in Business” list.

The conference produced valuable recommendations for achieving the institutional changes that must take place. These recommendations were further developed into action statements including concrete steps that can be used to guide programmatic direction and specific implementation strategies.

Significant institutional change requires:

1) Substantive initiatives at many levels including provosts, deans, department heads, and individual faculty members.

Provide education about the issues.
Train persons in leadership roles to deal with the issues.
Develop a strategic committee to oversee hiring practices to ensure follow-through.

2) Making adjustments to the academic structure to make the playing field more level for everyone. This includes making adjustments to the tenure and promotion guidelines and process.

Incorporate flexibility into the promotion process.
Re-evaluate the tenure clock.
Extend the probationary period.
Place the emphasis on quality, not quantity.

3) Providing ample opportunities for faculty development .

Provide career development planning for all faculty.
Develop a mentoring academy and educational programs and conferences focusing on best practices in mentoring. Mentoring should concentrate on the following areas: research, teaching, and leadership.

4) Attention to work-life issues .

Promote the fact that a balanced life can co-exist with a successful, fulfilling academic career.
Address dependent care issues.

5) Proactive CIC teamwork and leadership .

Provide leadership to develop and support the specific recommendations produced by the conference.
Develop a panel to act on recommendations and focus on equity data and practices.
Gather data related to ADVANCE metrics from all member institutions.

The conference was extremely well received, as indicated by the following written comments from attendees.

“This was one of the better conferences that I have attended.”

“The entire conference was superb! It was extremely effective to intersperse speakers and general discussion with the breakout groups.”

Sixty-four percent of the participants responded to the post-conference evaluation survey. They overwhelmingly rated the conference at 4.5 out of 5 and indicated that they would attend a similar conference in the future.

Several attendees commented on the importance and value of the interactions with representatives from other institutions.

“The opportunity to hear about similar problems and creative solutions put the situation in my home institution in perspective and provided some potential solutions to current problems.”

“The opportunity to come together — to work together — to have access to our deans and provosts provides us with the rare opportunity to make a difference.”

To summarize, conference participants identified the barriers and outlined the primary actions needed to accelerate the wheels of progress. Now, it's time to recruit all those who believe that achievement potential in academia should not be defined by gender. It's time to roll up our sleeves and move forward in a major, cohesive, motivated effort to put those actions into motion. In the words of Provost Sally Mason, chief academic officer at Purdue University , “There are far too many who have done far too much and sacrificed far too long to bring us to this point for us to stop now. We owe it to the past. We certainly owe it to the present in which we live and work. And we owe it to the future.”

More information about the conference can be obtained through the conference Web site at www.science.purdue.edu/success.

Citations:

1. Gender Issues Related to Rank and Tenure Decisions , Peggy E. Chaudhry, Department of Management, Villanova University, First Annual WAIB-Sponsored Panel 2004, “Bridging With the Other: Working Successfully With Other Faculty,” Academy of International Business Annual Meeting, Stockholm, Sweden

2. Summers Storm , The New York Times , January 19, 2005

3. Ensuring the Future Participation of Women in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering , Shirley M. Tilghman, PhD, Princeton University , The Markey Scholars Conference: Proceedings (2004)

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