Begell House Inc.
Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
JWM
1072-8325
24
2
2018
WOMEN PHYSICISTS AND SOCIOCOGNITIVE CONSIDERATIONS IN CAREER CHOICE AND PERSISTENCE
95-119
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2017019867
Ghada
Nehmeh
Institute for STEM Education, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
Angela
Kelly
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
expectancy-value theory
gender
physics
phenomenology
physics education research
qualitative methods
self-concept
self-efficacy
women in STEM
Despite research that has investigated the underrepresentation of women in physics, the disparity is persistent. This study explores the academic and career experiences of professional women physicists to propose different strategies to prepare, recruit, and retain women in the physics community. A qualitative phenomenological case study methodology was employed to analyze this problem through the lens of a sociocognitive theoretical framework, based upon psychological theories of behavior and derived from two career motivation constructs: 1) self-efficacy and self-concept, and 2) expectancy-value theory. Subjects included seven career women physicists with master's degrees in physics and doctorates in physics-related fields. The influences of psychological and social variables were evaluated to generate theories on proposed strategies for inclusiveness. Various latent constructs related to career interest and retention were identified, including early interest in physics and mathematics, recognition of the societal value of physics, and positive experiences with role models. Tensions in their career pathways were related to pervasive feelings of inadequacy, lack of social support, negative stereotypes, awareness of minority status, and struggles with work-life balance. Suggestions for academic
and professional institutional paradigm shifts are discussed, including active acknowledgment of disparate participation and increased efforts to recruit and retain women through improved school and workplace environments.
MENTORING WOMEN AND MINORITY FACULTY IN ENGINEERING: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL MENTORING NETWORK APPROACH
121-145
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2017019277
Ziyu
Long
Department of Communication Studies, Colorado State University, 1783 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1783, USA
Patrice M.
Buzzanell
Department of Communication, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, CIS 1040, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-7800, USA
Klod
Kokini
Purdue University, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
Robyn F.
Wilson
School of Mechanical Engineering, 585 Purdue Mall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2088, USA
Jennifer C.
Batra
School of Mechanical Engineering, 585 Purdue Mall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2088, USA
Lindsey B.
Anderson
Department of Communication, University of Maryland, 2130 Skinner Building, 4300 Chapel Lane, College Park, MD 20742, USA
mentoring
multidimensional communication network
engineering faculty
network evolution
inclusivity
Based on network mapping of 12 in-depth interviews, this exploratory study analyzes the configurations
and evolutions of engineering faculty's mentoring networks. Gender, race/ethnicity, and academic ranking have shaped faculty's mentoring experiences. Women and ethnic minority faculty in our study tend to be more proactive in building mentoring networks, and their networks generally consist of more diverse nodes compared to men and majority participants' mentoring networks. Participants' mentoring networks evolve as faculty move up academic ranks—assistant professors have extensive mentoring network with diverse mentor nodes; associate professors experience a shrinking of mentoring networks; and full professors assume the role of mentors in others' mentoring networks. Findings suggest a multidimensional and evolutionary network approach has the potential to offer holistic understandings of mentoring and important theoretical and practical implications to women and minority engineering faculty development and inclusivity.
DEMONSTRATING THE CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF UNCONSCIOUS BIAS WITH WAGES-ACADEMIC (WORKSHOP ACTIVITY FOR GENDER EQUITY SIMULATION): SHORT- AND LONG-TERM IMPACT ON FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATORS
147-163
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2018014113
Stephanie A
Shields
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
Kaitlin T.
McCormick
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
Elaine C.
Dicicco
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, USA
Matthew J.
Zawadzki
University of California, Merced, Merced, California 95340, USA
experiential learning; academic culture; salary equity; university administration; STEM faculty
The long-term effectiveness of WAGES-Academic, a brief intervention that illustrates the cumulative negative effect of minor disadvantages, is reported. University faculty and academic administrators (n = 69) in six sessions at four different universities completed assessments at two time points: a pre/post questionnaire at intervention and open-ended questions in response to email between two and four years after the WAGES session. Pre/post evaluations replicate and extend results obtained in randomized trials. Specifically, after playing WAGES compared to before, participants were more likely to endorse statements that the effect of many small incidents of gender inequity are cumulatively harmful, that case-by-case comparisons of individual applicants are difficult to do objectively, and that masked evaluations are effective in making unbiased hiring decisions. No change occurred in participants' agreement with standardized evaluation forms or accountability of decision-makers as effective. Open-ended questions indicated that WAGES validated many participants' experiences and observations about subtle bias. Long-term follow-up responses were obtained for 23 of 60 individuals
with working email addresses. All except two indicated that they remembered participating and recalled inequity as WAGES' focus. Fifty-seven percent indicated that WAGES had led to changes in their behavior, insights into gender biases in their institutions' policies and practices, or policy change at their institutions. We discuss the implications of using WAGES-Academic as a primary or supplemental intervention to educate regarding unconscious bias, (i.e., systematic errors in judgment due to ordinary cognitive processes rather than conscious decision).
DEGREE ASPIRATIONS OF UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF RACE/ETHNICITY AND GENDER
165-193
10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2018017998
Elizabeth
Litzler
Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Julie
Lorah
Counseling and Educational Psychology, School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
engineering education
race/ethnicity
gender
degree aspirations
intersectionality
Although educational aspirations are a key part of models of educational and status attainment, they are currently not well understood. This study examines both aspirations for a master's degree as the highest degree and aspirations for a doctoral degree as the highest degree for undergraduate engineering students. A theoretical framework in which educational aspirations are a function of social constraints and individual agency was used. Multilevel logistic regression models were estimated to investigate the empirical relationship between covariates and student degree aspirations. Results suggest key differences in degree aspirations at the intersection of race and gender, with minority groups exhibiting higher aspirations. However, these differences may be specific to males and master's degree aspirations. In this study, White females are consistently lower than other groups on master's degree aspirations, a result which extends the literature by providing an example of how a gender effect can be moderated by race/ethnicity. In addition, results indicate that the processes for formation of highest degree aspirations for the Master's degree compared with PhD degree are likely different. The institutional variation in aspirations outcomes was relatively small when compared to the variation due to individual differences, implying that individual agency may play a much larger role than institutional constraints in aspirations formation.