2006.11.07: November 7, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Iran: University Administration: Engineering: Women's Issues: Sacramento Bee: Donna Shalala writes: Eliminating gender bias in universities will require immediate, overarching reform and decisive action

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Iran: Special Report: Iran RPCV, Cabinet Member, and University President Donna Shalala: February 9, 2005: Index: PCOL Exclusive: RPCV Donna Shalala (Iran) : 2006.11.07: November 7, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Iran: University Administration: Engineering: Women's Issues: Sacramento Bee: Donna Shalala writes: Eliminating gender bias in universities will require immediate, overarching reform and decisive action

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Donna Shalala writes: Eliminating gender bias in universities will require immediate, overarching reform and decisive action

Donna Shalala writes: Eliminating gender bias in universities will require immediate, overarching reform and decisive action

"When I was a young graduate student, the prejudices keeping women down were pretty obvious. Despite a record of strong academic performance, I was told by high-level faculty at two institutions that I would not be eligible for fellowships or for tenure simply because I was a woman. It was too risky, they said. Women didn't finish Ph.D programs or stay in academic careers, and even if they did, their careers were interrupted for marriage and children. Therefore, I was deemed a 'bad investment.' Today, such overt cases of discrimination are rare, not to mention illegal. But unfortunately, most of us -- men and women -- have implicit biases. Decades of cognitive-psychology research reveals that, although we may not be aware of these judgments, they play a large role in our evaluations of people and their work. The data show that people are less likely to hire a woman than a man with identical qualifications and are less likely to ascribe credit to a woman than to a man for identical accomplishments." University of Miami President and former Clinton Cabinet member Donna Shalala served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran in the 1960's.

Donna Shalala writes: Eliminating gender bias in universities will require immediate, overarching reform and decisive action

Donna Shalala: Few women in science, engineering

By Donna E. Shalala -

Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, November 7, 2006

I recently chaired a committee of the National Academies -- the research complex that includes the National Academy of Sciences -- that was charged with gathering and analyzing the best available information on the status of women in academic science and engineering. We found that institutional barriers and biases are depriving the nation of an important source of talent just when we need it most.

When I was a young graduate student, the prejudices keeping women down were pretty obvious. Despite a record of strong academic performance, I was told by high-level faculty at two institutions that I would not be eligible for fellowships or for tenure simply because I was a woman. It was too risky, they said. Women didn't finish Ph.D programs or stay in academic careers, and even if they did, their careers were interrupted for marriage and children. Therefore, I was deemed a "bad investment."

Today, such overt cases of discrimination are rare, not to mention illegal. But unfortunately, most of us -- men and women -- have implicit biases. Decades of cognitive-psychology research reveals that, although we may not be aware of these judgments, they play a large role in our evaluations of people and their work. The data show that people are less likely to hire a woman than a man with identical qualifications and are less likely to ascribe credit to a woman than to a man for identical accomplishments.

In academic science and engineering, women still are not breaking into the faculty ranks, even in fields that have a strong population of women to choose from. And although women are just as productive as men, women are paid less, promoted more slowly and hold fewer honors and leadership positions.

Then there is the old but persistent bias that women's brains are fundamentally different than men's, making women somehow less capable of excelling in science and math. Yes, there are some slight differences in the ways men's and women's brains operate. But the same researchers who stress these differences often fail to note the many more areas in which men and women share the same approaches. Study after study indicates no significant biological differences between men and women in performing science and mathematics that could account for the lower representation of women in these fields.

Still another justification for why there are so few women in leadership positions is the "pipeline" theory: There aren't enough qualified women in the science and engineering pipeline to fill top academic positions. But again, the data indicate it simply isn't so.

Let's look at just one example. For more than 30 years, women have made up more than 30 percent of the doctorates in social and behavioral sciences and more than 20 percent of the doctorates in life sciences. Yet at the top research institutions, only about 15 percent of the full professors in these fields are women.

Eliminating gender bias in universities will require immediate, overarching reform and decisive action.

--Sweeping reform must start at the top. Universities have to incorporate the goal of counteracting bias against women in hiring, promotion and treatment into campus strategic plans. It can't just be lip service, either. University executives should require academic departments to show evidence of having conducted fair, broad and aggressive talent searches before appointments are approved.

--Higher-education institutions -- with the scientific and professional societies -- should form a collaborative, self-monitoring body that would recommend standards for faculty recruitment, retention and promotion; collect data; and track compliance across universities. Just as the opening of athletics programs to girls and women required strong and consistent inter-institutional cooperation, so will eliminating gender bias.

--Hiring, tenure and promotion policies should take into account the flexibility that faculty members -- men and women -- may need as they pass through various life stages. Women are still the primary caretakers of their children and in the community, and their careers have been disproportionately damaged for taking time off for these activities. Men are feeling the squeeze in this area, too.

--Universities should focus on the quality and impact of faculty contributions rather than time served when evaluations are performed. What's more, university leaders should visibly and vigorously support campus programs that help faculty members who have children or other care-giving duties to maintain productive careers.

--Federal agencies should lay out clear guidelines, leverage their resources and rigorously enforce existing laws to increase the science and engineering talent developed in this country.

If the United States truly wants to maintain its lead in the global scientific and engineering marketplace, then policies must be geared to attracting and retaining the best and brightest -- regardless of whether they are male or female.




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Story Source: Sacramento Bee

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Iran; University Administration; Engineering; Women's Issues

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