Science and Engineering Programs On Target for Women? (1992) / Chapter Skim
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5 Promoting Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in Science and Engineering
5 Promoting Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in Science and Engineering
Pages 67-98
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From page 67... ...
Graduateand postdoctoral-level interventions aid the process whereby individuals form the networks that lead to job opportunities, shared research and, ultimately, a sense of the possibilities, both personal and professional, in their chosen fields of study. As shown in Figure 5-1, the percentage of women enrolled in graduate S&E programs is on the rise in all fields except computer science and the social sciences.
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From page 68... ...
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From page 70... ...
This chapter discusses some model graduate and postdoctoral interventions sponsored by professional societies, universities, private foundations and companies, and federal agencies. The Irvine conference presentations significantly broadened the definition of intervention at the graduate level by suggesting a wide spectrum of programs and outcomes aimed at recruitment and retention of women in S&E (Marrett, 1991~.
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From page 71... ...
In the 1990-91 fiscal year, 270 applications were received and 7 awards made, totaling $20,000 (Kagiwada, 1991~.' At the graduate level, the need for mentoring continues with an increased focus on career advice and professional goals. The structure of the graduate mentoring program sponsored by the Association for Women in Science, with funding from the Alfred P
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From page 72... ...
Although most of the programs do not specifically target women, they nevertheless have provided assistance to women. Interventions Sponsored by Universities Linkage or interaction at all levels—graduate and undergraduate student bodies, administration, and faculty was a recurring theme in both the conference presentations and deliberations of successful interventions at the graduate and postdoctoral levels (see, for instance, Sheridan, 1991)
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From page 73... ...
The present TA training program at Missouri-Columbia includes an intervention that has affected the institutional setting for graduate education. The training program at the university was organized in response to a law passed by the Missouri legislature requiring specialized training or a special exemption for TAs whose native language was not English.
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From page 74... ...
The importance of the G.R.O.W. example lies as much, or perhaps more, in its effect on the graduate student initiators as on the secondary school students at whom the program is aimed.
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From page 75... ...
The Maryland program, which included 20 women and 10 men in 1991, establishes a confidence-building environment by inviting student-run seminars and including student evaluations of the seminars; encouraging student participation in scientific meetings; and bringing in a series of outside speakers who act as role models or mentors. Another important feature is an open management style that gives the students access to the program director in his/her office at any time.
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From page 76... ...
. In light of these statistics and the need to identify the specific situations that give rise to them, the Graduate Research section of the Graduate Division at Berkeley has begun systematic and continuous analysis of graduate admissions and programs and has institutionalized programs through which faculty, students, and graduate department secretaries can apply the results of the Graduate DivisioIl's data collection and analyses.
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From page 77... ...
1 ~ _ . _ Women ~ Men i', n c · ° 4> -° e 1 433 ee ' c s In 0 ~ Z ~ m ~ ~ as of November 1990 SOURCE: Maresi Nerad, Using Time, Money, and Human Resources Efficiently and Effectively in the Case of Coiner' Graduate Students, paper prepared for conference on "Science and Engineering Programs: On Target for Women?
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From page 78... ...
Nerad gives an example of a graduate woman TA's reaction to two Biology 1 undergraduate students: If I have a Biology 1 student who writes a lousy paper, I couldn't imagine not saying, "You have some very good ideas 2Bernice Sandier coined this term. See publications of the Project on the Status and Education of Women, Association of American Colleges, 1982, 1984, 1986.
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From page 79... ...
Berkeley accepts the premise that departmental climate and culture play an important part in the progress of doctoral students, particularly women and minorities. To improve this climate and reduce overall attrition rates in graduate school, the Graduate Division at Berkeley has institutionalized a number of programs that bring together the faculty, students, and departmental graduate secretaries.
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From page 80... ...
. Each year, GEM awards fellowships to American Indian, black American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican students pursuing master's degrees in engineering and Ph.D.s in either science or engineering.
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From page 81... ...
Table 5-2 gives the profile of students holding GEM fellowships in 1991. Interventions Sponsored by the Private Sector Numerous private organizations support programs that encourage U.S.
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From page 82... ...
, and Puerto Ricans. The goals of the programs are to identify individuals of demonstrated ability who are members of these minority groups traditionally underrepresented in the behavioral and social sciences, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, and life sciences and to encourage awardees "to achieve their full potential as scholars who will inspire others to follow an academic career in teaching and research" (1992 program announcement)
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From page 83... ...
In addition, the percentage of awards to women more closely parallels their percentage of applicants in the postdoctoral program than in the predoctoral/dissertation fellowship program. Howard Hughes Medical institute (HHMI)
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From page 84... ...
. SOURCE: National Research Council, Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel, Fellowship Office.
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From page 85... ...
Corporate sponsorship is provided either by the firm individually, or as part of a consortium such as the National Physical Science Consortium. Among programs sponsored by individual firms and specifically targeted to women are American Telephone 85
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From page 86... ...
Internship; and the Bristol-Myers-Squibb Clairol Mentor Program. An example of a jointly sponsored program targeted at women and minorities is the National Physical Science Consortium (NPS C)
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From page 87... ...
In 1991 NSPC awarded 48 fellowships and they will award 85 in 1992. Interventions Sponsored by Federal Agencies Among the many graduate education programs sponsored by federal agencies are two administered within the National Research Council's Office of Scientific and Engineering Education for the National Science Foundation: the NSF Graduate Fellowship Program and the NSF Minority Graduate Fellowship Program.
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From page 88... ...
psychology~id not occur until 1991, a single category is used here. SOURCE: National Resource Council, Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel, Fellowships Office 88
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From page 89... ...
However, disparities occur in broad fields that is, greater percentages of women apply for awards in the biosciences and behavioral sciences while men tend to apply for fellowships in the physical sciences and engineering. It should also be noted that the success rate of women is much higher in the fields of chemistry, earth science, physics/ astronomy/mathematics, and behavioral sciences in the Minority Graduate Program than in NSF,s Graduate Fellowship Program.
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From page 90... ...
* Includes anthropology, sociology, and linguistics; economics, urban planning, and history of science; political science, international relations, and geography, and psychology.
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From page 91... ...
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From page 92... ...
Colvin, We NIST/NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateship Programed, paper presented at the National Research Council conference on "Science and Engineering Programs: On Target for Women? ," Irvine, CA, November ~5, 1991.
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From page 93... ...
An additional aspect of effective programs is opportunities for networking. Although such programs were not part of the formal discussions at the conference on S&E programs held by the National Research Council's Committee on Women in Science and Engineering, it is important to note the existence at the graduate level of informal strategies for increasing the numbers of women receiving master's and doctorates in S&E disciplines.
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From page 94... ...
Nevertheless, in spite of their potential benefits for increasing the number of women receiving graduate degrees in the sciences and engineering, efforts targeted toward women graduate students are presently extremely limited in both number and kind and are primarily in the form of recruitment and/or financial support rather than interactive retention support programs (Bogart, 1984; U.S. Congress, 1988; White House, 1989~.
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From page 95... ...
Ideally, the institution could provide an on-site day-care facility similar to those already present at many federal laboratories and private companies and develop flexible leave policies for essential family/parenting activities. The lack of such support mechanisms is currently strong discouragement for many young graduate women scientists, mathematicians, and engineers who are attempting to balance beginning a family with graduate education.
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From page 97... ...
1991. The NIST/NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateship Program.
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From page 98... ...
1991. The National Physical Science Consortium.
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