The ADVANCE Program: Promoting Women's Careers in Science and Engineering

1. The ADVANCE Program: Promoting Women’s Careers in Science and EngineeringA National Science Foundation Institutional Transformation Award Barbara Silver1 Leanne Mauriello2 Helen Mederer1 Lisa L. Harlow1 1University of Rhode Island 1Pro-Change Behavior Systems Presented at 2007 Annual Meeting of the New England Psychological Association Western Connecticut State University, October 20, 2007 Supported in part by NSF Institutional Transformation Award SBE-0245039

2. Fewer professional networks Less access to resources Fewer collaborations Less mentoring Fewer social networks Women in STEM experience . . “Ideal worker” norm Burden of token status Stereotyped work expectations Chilly work environment

3. Resulting in: Isolation and exclusion Heavier workloads More challenges balancing work and family “Bias avoidance” behaviors Salary and promotion lags Less career satisfaction Higher attrition More part-time, non-tenure line work

4. National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program • Launched 2001 • 87 awards to date (another round 2008) • > $90 million • Various levels of awards • Institutional Transformation Grants • Fellows Awards • Leadership Grants • PAID (Partnership, Adaptation, Implementation, Dissemination) Grants • Expanding criteria for future awards • Broader range of institutions • Wider target population

5. URI ADVANCE PROGRAM GOALS Develop & Share a Comprehensive Understanding of the Status of Women STEM Faculty Increase the Number of Ranked Women STEM Faculty Advance the Careers of Women STEM Faculty Improve Available Networks of Support, Especially for Women STEM Faculty Promote Organizational Change in Collaboration with University Leaders Evaluation Recruitment FacultyDevelopment Work-Life-Family ClimateChange

6. Recruitment Faculty Development Work-Life Initiatives Program Components • Faculty Fellows Program • Supplemental Start-up Funding • Best Search Practices Training • Incentive “mini-grant” Fund • Topical Lunches • Career Workshops • Mentoring Program • Parental Leave Policy • Dual Career Hiring Program • Creation of a Work-Life-Family Center • Lactation sites, flexible work policies, & other initiatives

7. Academic Work Environment Survey (pre and post) • Benchmark Data Collection • Program Evaluation • Dissemination Evaluation Climate Change • Internal Advisory Action Council • Department Climate Workshops • Public Events, Workshops, Literature, Manuals, etc. • Chairs’ Discussion Forum • Integrated Theoretical Model for Climate Change

8. Successes . . . • STEM recruitment now > 50% female • Best practices for all searches • New ad language required • Formal Faculty Mentor Program • Topical Lunches to continue • Dual Career Policy approved • Incentive Fund absorbed • Paid Parental Leave Policy in place • Lactation sites approved • Work-Life Center planned • ADVANCE Center approved • Inclusion in President’s 2006-2009 Strategic Plan • Many reports of warmer climate, more support, more networking, etc., etc.

9. How does change occur? The traditional model: Top Down (Formal policy change, administrative leadership) Climate Change or “Institutional Transformation” Bottom Up (Individual, grass roots)

10. Recruitment Program - $$ Parental Leave Policy Lactation site established Mentoring Program Top Down Acknowledging all comments in meetings Scheduling meetings when all can attend Offering to cover classes during leaves Inviting new woman faculty to lunch Openly discussing family responsibilities Collaborating on grants Encouraging use of leave policies Social Interaction Bottom Up Joining a diversity committee Personal endorsements or complaints Attending workshops Talking about equity issues with colleagues

11. 3-Level Structural Model Do Chairs, HR, etc., offer information and help proactively? Does a culture of coverage exist among colleagues? Are administrative offices in support of adequate leave options for parents? INTERACTIONAL INSTITUTIONAL Are parents using the policy openly and without fear of negative repercussions? Do non-parents endorse the policy? INDIVIDUAL PARENTAL LEAVE

12. Appreciative Inquiry Choosing the positive as the focus of inquiry Creating an Integrated Change Model Transtheoretical ModelPeople change when they are ready to Strategies for change A vehicle for change 3-Level Structural ModelMeeting institutions and individuals in the middle Change at all levels

13. Successful climate change is a strategic process • Approach change from a variety of levels • Individual • How does this benefit me, my department? (self- and environmental re-evaluation) • Accrue large cadre of individual supporters and liaisons (self-liberation) • Increase awareness and personal connections to issues – (consciousness raising) • Interactional • Highlight key behaviors identified by colleagues – make it personal (dramatic relief) • Ensure equity issues regularly appear on all agendas (stimulus control) • Identify subtle behavioral contributions or deterents to a healthy climate(reinforcement management) • Institutional • Support from Leadership crucial (self- and social liberation) • Commitment of funds and policy changes • Interact with potential change agents at their level of readiness to engage • Precontemplation & Contemplation • Awareness building  talks, lunches, workshops, meetings, literature • Stress Universal Benefits - “A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats” • Stress Pecuniary benefits - $$$, grants, retention, etc. • Preparation & Action • Obtain and widely advertise public, formal endorsements from administration • Celebrate, reward, acknowledge all forward movement • Collect data and show results often • Secure commitments for institutional funding • Maintenance • Ensure institutionalization – permanence of initiatives through policy change, mainstreaming of initiatives in culture, permanent committees, etc.