“Gender in education and professional life: Preparing for a career in science”

1. “Gender in education and professional life: Preparing for a career in science” Laura Frost Biological Sciences, U of Alberta Professor Emerita, Biological Sciences University of Alberta Aigner-Rollett Guest Professor of Women and Gender Studies Univ. of Graz, Austria laura.frost@ualberta.ca Twin Lake, Banff

2. Why did I take on the Aigner-Rollett position? My experiences while I was Chair included: Accusations that we were not interviewing/hiring enough women -typically, only 7-20% of applicants were women 50% of our GS (MSc and PhD) but <10% of our PDFs were women Women Asst Professors have trouble negotiating salary/start-up -their first grant applications were often too self-effacing and meagre, budget-wise (lack of mentoring as GS and PDF) Many of our best women undergraduates went into comfortable rather than high-powered labs for graduate studies -too few publications to be competitive Too many women are in the pink ghetto of low-paying, soft-funded research/teaching positions that leave them vulnerable to life’s vicissitudes-- “I want to be a postdoc forever”

3. Why are we concerned about women in SET? We need a diversity of opinion/expertise -avoid “group think”, “old boys’ club” We cannot discount 50% of the population Universities are facing a recruitment crisis as baby boomers retire “Feminists” see their gains eroded: politicians unwilling to fund a “non-problem” WinSET seldom cracks the 20% barrier; aim is 30% (30% is lower limit for influencing a group)

6. Women often take the non-traditional career path FASTS Report: Women in Science in Australia

7. Women in Natural and Physical Sciences Continuing “horizontal” and “vertical” gender differences FASTS Report: Women in Science in Australia

8. There are 5 (at least!) steps in bias: • Gender differences • -biology • 2. Gender schemas • -subconscious assumptions • 3. Gender bias • -subconscious decisions • 4. Gender discrimination • -conscious decisions • -possibly illegal • 5. Sexual harassment • -illegal

9. Gender differences: -obvious: hair patterns, strength, sex traits, etc -spatial abilities (male) versus language abilities (female) -affects program/course choice -self-esteem/-image is higher for men -men are easier on themselves; women feel undeserving -”stereotype threat” in women -need for praise is higher for women -men deal better with negative/no feedback Women move away from SET to less competitive or more caring professions/careers Often this involves accepting low pay and no security

10. Schemas: Subconscious Bias • Schemas (expectations or stereotypes) influence our judgments of others (regardless of our own group). • Include gender, race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, etc. • Test yourself: Project Implicit, Harvard University • https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

11. Schemas do… • allow efficient, if sometimes inaccurate, processing of social information. • often conflict with consciously • held or “explicit” attitudes. • can change based on • experience and exposure. • Nosek, Banaji, & Greenwald (2002). Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu (2002). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

12. Solo status -inherently risky -stands in for the entire gender -success is attributed to the team -failure is attributed to gender -solo status leads to institutional inertia -inertia leads to rules/policies that support bias If you know what this is, you can deal with it.

13. If we do not actively intervene, the institution reproduces itself Accumulation of disadvantage Performance is underestimated Evaluation bias Schemas Lack of critical mass Lowered success rate Institutional Inertia STRIDE, UofMichigan 2008

14. Why do women opt out? The Turning Point -marriage and children -SET is seen as too “hard” -the “two body problem” -naivete about careers -societal pressure -hidden bias that they are not wanted/valued Leaving SET is an almost irreversible decision Ottoline Leyser: “Mothers in Science” http://bioltfws1.york.ac.uk/biostaff/staffdetail.php?id=hmol

15. The Backdrop…A backlash against “feminism”. Women should be “yummy mummies” coupled with “family values”, women can never relax. The competition to be the perfect mother with the perfect children… “helicopter parents” now, “tiger mothers”

16. Strategies for Breaking the Cycle • Increase awareness of bias/schemas • Examine structure of committees • Seek out qualified applicants • Alter dept’l/university policies and practices • Examine age limits, other barriers to success • Be aware of “bias avoidance behaviour” • Mentor young people on how to proceed/succeed in science • -more professional development; less science is “fun” • Develop better career options for scientists

17. Personal style: what can graduate students/PDFs do to further their careers?

18. Getting into science: graduate school and postdoctoral training. R.U. Lemieux and student, 1959

19. What affected your choice of lab for your PhD/PDF? -professor -location -funding -ambition -lab atmosphere -topic -career path -others?

20. Biggest mistakes graduate students make (in my opinion): -no world view -too concentrated on their own project -cannot multi-task -cannot prioritize within a project -do not read the literature -do not use opportunities to meet people -cannot talk about their work -do not publish enough or in time

21. Some questions you should ask yourself… • Self-awareness • Are you good at this? • Are you competitive with others? • Are you enjoying it? • Do you catch on quickly? • Are you good with money? 2. • Networking skills • Can you describe your work to a politician? • 2. Can you describe it to your Mom? • 3. Do you enjoy meeting people at conferences? • 4. Do you attend seminars outside your field? • 5. Do you ask questions at seminars?

22. 3. Do you have good time management skills? 1. Do you work sequentially or multi-task? 2. Do you procrastinate? 4. Do you stress out easily? 1. Do you have a lot of physical/mental stamina? 2. Do you care too much what others think? 3. Do you need a lot of reassurance? 4. Can you separate work from home life? 5. Are you a workaholic? 5. Do you like to argue? 1. Do you get angry when people disagree with you? 2. Can you change your mind?

23. 3. Do you have good time management skills? 1. Do you work sequentially or multi-task? 2. Do you procrastinate? 4. Do you stress out easily? 1. Do you have a lot of physical/mental stamina? 2. Do you care too much what others think? 3. Do you need a lot of reassurance? 4. Can you separate work from home life? 5. Are you a workaholic? 5. Do you like to argue? 1. Do you get angry when people disagree with you? 2. Can you change your mind?

24. What are reasonable goals in an MSc or PhD program? -publication output: -0-2 papers: other career options; MSc -3-5 papers: PDF in good lab; no Fellowship (2-3 first author; impact factor counts) ->5 papers: Fellowship material -1-2 papers with impact -10-15 papers: Assistant professor material - publications from each career stage -time to completion (institution dependent) -1-3 years for an MSc -5-7 years for a PhD -3-5 years for a PhD after a MSc -developing expertise: WRI3ST

25. Goals: Some WRI3ST Action! Writing Reading Ideas, Industry, Instrumentation Speaking Teaching

26. PhD Student papers Now Van Biesen 4 Partner, Bain & Co, NYC Fekete 4 Ambion/ABI/GE Klimke 8 NCBI Jerome 2 Biotech Co. Montreal Anthony 6 Yale, RA Lu 7 PDF, UofA Will 6 PDF, Cambridge, USA Gubbins 6 Res Leader, Health Canada Brett Finlay 20 Prof, UBC

27. Selecting a PDF position: -do you want to come back home? -what does your home institution look for? -look at CVs of recent appointments -professor -approachable, successful, well-funded -can take the project with you -go to meetings and meet people -look at websites -send CV to potential supervisors -papers are critical -develop close ties to professors for good Letters of Reference Typical MIT prof

28. Your CV: complete, informative and impressive Personal information -contact information !!!!! -birth date (optional) -marital status (optional) -nationality (optional)

29. Education: -Degrees (institution, year, (co-)supervisor, title of thesis) -advisory committee members (optional) Professional qualifications: -Research Experience -job title, years, location, supervisor -certification (keep documents!) -Animal care, Radiation, Biosafety etc. -Teaching Experience -course, role, years, institution, location Awards: -everything from undergraduate on -no sports awards etc -explain important ones (brag!)

30. Service: -international -national -regional -university -faculty -department Keep track of this stuff! It is very important when you are being nominated for awards, promotions!

31. Publications -peer-reviewed, published -impact factor, contributions of authors -bold your name, underline trainees -number them! -note (invited) reviews -peer-reviewed in press (same as above) -in preparation -books, book chapters -technical reports -patents, applied and granted with numbers -other (non-refereed publications; editorials, letters to the editor, etc.

32. Presentations: -invited talks -presentations at conferences, etc -underline presenter -name conference, location, date, prizes Trainees: -graduate students -give name, degree, years, title, -awards, current position -PDFs (same as above) -undergraduate students (summer, project) -visiting professors/scientists -technicians

33. Grants and Contracts: -list active, past and applied for -list title! -list PI and co-PIs (identify your role) -list agency, grant type, amount/year, duration

34. Professional societies: -join some! Editorships: (later) Reviewing duties: -list journals, agencies (grants) and number/year -do not list authors or titles (confidential) Training/certification: -biohazards, radiation training, animal care References: -complete contact information -ask for permission -make sure they have a reputation for writing good letters

35. Research Profile -describe field and your area of interest -describe your contributions -describe your future plans 5 most important accomplishments/papers

36. Teaching dossier (in your CV) -have a look at a junior and senior dossier -list all courses taught -number of lectures per term (number/total and %age) -content and level of course (briefly) -role in course (co-ordinator, examiner, co-lecturer, etc) -contribution to course (just lectures or designed course, added new content, WebCT or other on-line resources, video, Blogs, on-line quizzes) -if available, student evaluations (very important!)

37. Success in academic science: getting the job.

38. Where do you look to find a job? -Nature, Science, Cell, New Scientist and other journals and their on-line sites -many have tips on improving your resume -society web pages (ASBMB, ASM, EU?) -National university magazines (in Canada, AAS:UA, CAUT) -Targeted institutions’ Human Resources offices -supervisor and other professors

39. The ad…. Assistant or Associate Professor in Medical Microbiology UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA – We invite applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level in research areas related to medical microbiology. The successful candidate will be expected to interact with a vigorous microbiology group which has expertise in medical and molecular microbiology, virology and immunology including innate immunity. Strong collaborative interactions are also available with the Centre for Infectious Diseases and the Centre for Microbial Evolution. The candidate should have a strong record of research and demonstrated potential for excellence in teaching. The University of Alberta offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience and an excellent benefits plan. (1/2) -apply if you are at all interested!

40. Process Sciences & Production Lab Head, Microbial Expression Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research | - - United States | posted 05/21/2009 | Full Time The Process Sciences & Production (PSP) team at Novartis Biologics (NBx) is seeking a highly motivated Ph.D. scientist with relevant experience to establish a Microbial Expression laboratory.Division :PharmaceuticalsBusiness Unit :General MedicinesPosting Functional Area: Novartis BiologicsEmployment Type: Permanent A Ph.D. in Microbiology, Biology, or related life science field and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the biotechnology industry. Expertise in molecular biology tools: host cells, gene engineering, vectors, transformation. Expertise in cell physiology and metabolic flux analysis and high-throughput screening is a plus. Motivation and ability to lead a microbial expression laboratory. A typical ad in industry….from Science career page

41. Send in the requirements as requested: -covering letter -very important; sell yourself! -CV -keep a complete up-to-date CV that can be tailored to job ad (academic, industry, other) -research proposal (tailor to requirements) -teaching statement and teaching philosophy (if needed) -arrange for letters of reference -from professors/bosses that know you well -from others if applying for a teaching job, job in industry, etc. -be on time!

42. CV Academic research jobs want a complete CV -contact info, education, employment, awards, service, editorships, trainees, publications, invited presentations, posters etc, teaching dossier Academic teaching jobs want more emphasis on teaching (surprise!) so move teaching dossier forward; de-emphasize presentations, posters -keep it as brief as possible Industry jobs want more emphasis on techniques/business that you have experience with (not usually listed in an academic CV) -minimize posters, presentations etc; max 2-4 pages

43. Research Accomplishments and Plans Teaching statement Teaching Philosophy Mentoring Philosophy -this requires more gushy talk than you might be comfortable with-get used to it! -good to have a standard one that you can tweak as the need arises -mention existing and new courses that you could teach -mention interest in outreach and UG supervision as appropriate

44. Letters of reference -make sure they are good and on-time! Selection committee and short lists -after the closing date, the committee members review all the applications -rank the top ~8 candidates and pick out top 2-5 -make sure you are available; read your E.mail, answer your phone! Late application? -phone/E.mail and inquire if you can still apply

45. Interview procedures:do’s and don’ts -get some sleep! This is very tiring -read up on what people in the dept are doing-check on-line seminars and find out who is your competition (they might hire 2 of you!)-acquaint yourself with funding or be prepared to ask intelligent questions-be clear about what you want to do -in the first year (lab set-up) -in five years -in your career-what do you want to be famous for?-what is your lab style? Small? Huge operation?-what facilities/equipment will you need? -make a list with an estimatedcost-how are graduate students supported? -ask to see the city -be yourself…you can fool some of the people some of the time……

46. Don’t… -assume this will be like your other experiences -answer in monosyllables or…talk too much -sit like a bump at dinner/social events or speak to one person only -announce at the restaurant that you are a fruitarian (tell the secretary/committee chair ahead of time) -announce you need $2 million in start-up -say you don’t like teaching UG, only GS, if you are at a comprehensive university -compare other offers to this one -wear awkward, uncomfortable clothing -wear a T-shirt and jeans

47. The recruitment seminar… -know your audience: heterogeneous or specialized? -general introduction -your past work -your past work as it relates to what you want to do as a professor -demonstrate your mastery of subject -your career plans -be on-time! Neither too long nor too short -be prepared to answer tough questions (don’t cry!)

48. The teaching seminar… -inquire what level you are teaching, the subject and the length of the lecture -act as if you are in the midst of the course and refer to “past lectures” -encourage class participation -give an assignment at the end of class -make sure your lecture is up-to-date (ask a colleague who teaches this material or refer to the course textbook, if known)

49. The interview… -usually meet with members of the department for 30-45 minutes each for a chat -meet with the Dean and/or Chair (see below) -at the end of the visit (usually) there is an interview with the committee -departments differ in the level of formality -go with the flow -there could be a request for a 15 minute “chalk talk” -describe your future work without any visual aids; just a blackboard and chalk -stay on time or a little over; let committee ask for more clarification

50. Interview with the Dean or Chair… -they are sizing you up -they usually explain policies and procedures -Faculty evaluation procedures -tenure and promotion criteria -teaching loads -pay scales -pensions -space and renovations -spousal recruitment policies -child care; mat/pat leave policies -moving expenses -housing allowances -immigration policies -start-up; they might ask for a list of equipment; be prepared Not allowed to ask about age, marital status, immigration status, etc. but can explain the rules. By all means, open up the discussion-it is your perogative!