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1. Creating a collaborative cross-institutional culture to support STEM women of color and women with family responsibilities at four midwestern research institutions.

   Cervato, C. ( July 2022 , American Society for Engineering Education Annual Meeting, Proceedings Paper #36476)

   NSF ADVANCE has been instrumental in supporting institutional practices leading to the increased representation of women in STEM. However, research suggests institutional culture and practices evolve slowly, and much progress remains to create a collaborative and supportive work environment where women scientists, mathematicians, and engineers can thrive, particularly those with intersectional identities, including women of color and women with caregiving responsibilities. A partnership of four midwestern research universities joined together in late 2019 to adapt, design, implement, and assess the impact of a coordinated suite of programs intended to enhance the career success of women and underrepresented STEM faculty. The programs promote mentoring, male advocacy, and informed and intentional leadership as integral to campus culture, and foster community and cross-institutional data-based collaboration. This paper summarizes the programs designed and implemented to improve retention and job satisfaction of women in STEM fields with a focus on the intersectionalities of women of color and women with family responsibilities, including navigating the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, by creating support networks for these faculty. 

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2. Creating a collaborative cross-institutional culture to support STEM women of color and women with family responsibilities at four midwestern research institutions.

   Cervato, C. ; Bilen-Green, C. ; Koretsky, C. ; Minerick, A. ; Wahl, D. ; Burnett, A. ; Wingate, L. ; Green, R. ; Raman, R. ; Okudan-Kremer, G. ; et al ( July 2022 , Zone 1 Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education)

   NSF ADVANCE has been instrumental in supporting institutional practices leading to the increased representation of women in STEM. However, research suggests institutional culture and practices evolve slowly, and much progress remains to create a collaborative and supportive work environment where women scientists, mathematicians, and engineers can thrive, particularly those with intersectional identities, including women of color and women with caregiving responsibilities. A partnership of four midwestern research universities joined together in late 2019 to adapt, design, implement, and assess the impact of a coordinated suite of programs intended to enhance the career success of women and underrepresented STEM faculty. The programs promote mentoring, male advocacy, and informed and intentional leadership as integral to campus culture, and foster community and cross-institutional data-based collaboration. This paper summarizes the programs designed and implemented to improve retention and job satisfaction of women in STEM fields with a focus on the intersectionalities of women of color and women with family responsibilities, including navigating the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, by creating support networks for these faculty. 

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3. Toward institutional transformation: warming the chilly climate for women in STEM through macrostructural change

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1328574  

   Erichsen, Kristen ; Šaras, Emily D ; Perez-Felkner, Lara ( April 2024 , Frontiers in Education)

   Introduction. Although the demand for graduates with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) credentials continues to climb, women remain underrepresented as both students and faculty in STEM higher education. Compounding social forces can hinder organizational change for gender equity in STEM, constraining institutions and individuals within them. This study advances macrostructural theory to examine the impact of gender composition (including group size and heterogeneity) of women faculty on structural change, as measured by gender desegregation of STEM degree earners. We advance this theory by incorporating faculty, rather than treating group composition as a static category. Method. This study draws on a federal repository of data to assess institutional change in the share of STEM women faculty in the U.S. We employ quasi-experimental methods to explore the following research questions: (1) does hiring more women onto an institution’s faculty roster shrink the gender gap among STEM degree earners? and (2) does segregation of faculty by gender within institutions shape the gender gap among STEM degree earners? Findings. While institutional efforts herald their efforts of hiring more women faculty, our findings indicate that gender desegregation of STEM degree earners partially depends on the promotion of women faculty to tenure. Discussion. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed, with a focus on institutional-level change.< 

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4. Role Congruity Prejudice Toward Women of Color Faculty in STEM Disciplines

   Tahir_Jan, F ; Lane, T ; Mariella_Walrond, H ; Johnson_Austin, S ; Darko, S ; Bradham_Cousar, M ( January 2023 , Hawaii International Conference on Education)

   Tahir_Jan, F ; Lane, T ; Mariella_Walrond, H ; Johnson_Austin, S ; Darko, S ; Bradham_Cousar, M (Ed.)

   Women of color (WOC) professors confront distinct problems in academic institutions due to the intersection of their gender, cultural, and racial identities. Using role congruity theory and intersectionality as a conceptual framework, this study investigated how bias influenced the experiences of WOC professors in the STEM disciplines and the consequences for advancement. Role congruity theory evaluates leadership conduct less positively when performed by a woman, which makes it harder for women to achieve or persist in leadership roles (Eagly & Karau, 2002). As such, we examined the intricate interaction of role congruity and intersectionality (compounded oppression due to having multiple marginalized identities) among WOC professors through in-depth interviews with three tenured and five pre-tenured WOC faculty members from various US universities. The findings offer insight into their' challenges with unwelcoming instructional environments, institutional culture, and prejudice towards their leadership roles, undermining their evaluation and professional development. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the critical need for institutional reform in creating supportive and inclusive workplaces for WOC scholars. 

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5. Structural Impediments Impacting Early-Career Women of Color STEM Faculty Careers

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14060581  

   Woods, Johnny C ; Lane, Tonisha B ; Huggins, Natali ; Leggett_Watson, Allyson ; Jan, Faika Tahir ; Johnson_Austin, Saundra ; Thomas, Sylvia ( June 2024 , Education Sciences)

   Woods, Johnny C ; Lane, Tonisha B ; Huggins, Natali ; Leggett_Watson, Allyson ; Jan, Faika Tahir ; Johnson_Austin, Saundra ; Thomas, Sylvia (Ed.)

   Women of Color faculty continue to experience many challenges in their careers, especially in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As such, more research is needed that considers structural issues inhibiting their success. Using structuration theory and critical race feminism as a conceptual framework, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 faculty and administrators in STEM departments at higher education institutions to investigate their perceptions of structural impediments impacting early-career Women of Color STEM faculty careers. Our findings revealed the need to establish policies that are clear, documented, and transparent. Additionally, incremental approaches to tenure and promotion evaluations should be reconsidered, especially when this approach may position Women of Color faculty to appear as if they are underperforming, when the opposite may be true. Furthermore, as higher education institutions endeavor to diversify the professoriate, this study is significant in enabling institutions and STEM departments to be aware of systemic issues confronting them to make significant inroads in retaining and advancing Women of Color faculty in these disciplines.

    

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