{"82121":{"#nid":"82121","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Institutional Transformation: Environments Can Help or Hinder Success of Women in Academia","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Environments do not necessarily operate uniformly or neutrally,\u0022 said Mary Frank Fox, NSF ADVANCE professor of sociology at Georgia Tech and co-director of its Center for the Study of Women, Science \u0026amp; Technology. \u0022The same setting can be experienced differently by individuals or groups and be unevenly helpful in their success -- something that is especially consequential in science and engineering.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn February 13, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science\u0027s annual meeting in Seattle, Fox discussed institutional barriers that impede women\u0027s progress in academia and how Georgia Tech\u0027s ADVANCE initiative is improving the climate for women faculty. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELaunched by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2001, ADVANCE is geared to increase women\u0027s participation in academic science and engineering careers. Among eighteen universities to win funding, Georgia Tech has received $3.7 million from NSF to develop policies and best practices that advance women faculty, and Fox serves as co-principal investigator on the project. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne hallmark of Georgia Tech\u0027s NSF ADVANCE program is its research-driven approach to institutional transformation, critical to determining how environments shape positive or negative outcomes. \u0022Just as organizations are structured for outcomes, they can be re-structured for greater equity and better use of talent of underrepresented groups,\u0022 said Fox. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the NSF ADVANCE initiative, Fox surveyed Georgia Tech faculty during the 2002-03 academic year to document their perceptions and experiences in four areas: research and teaching, work environments, evaluation processes, and family and household scenarios.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA few highlights of Fox\u0027s survey: \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E-- Men (30 percent) are more likely than women (13 percent) to speak to colleagues about their research on a daily basis.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E-- Although a majority of faculty members have colleagues in their home units working on similar research, men report greater \u0022willingness\u0022 of colleagues to collaborate with them.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E-- Men are more likely to characterize their home units as \u0022exciting\u0022 or \u0022helpful.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The survey findings show areas in which women and men converge and diverge and areas in which they may experience the same work setting differently,\u0022 Fox explained. \u0022This reflects the influence of institutional settings.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd that can have important consequences. \u0022Ease of collaboration is particularly important in science and engineering where work revolves around the cooperation of people in groups,\u0022 Fox explained. \u0022Research is a social process of communication, interaction and exchange. These factors, in turn, influence productivity and success in science.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo determine more specifics about how the academic environment can help women, Fox is following up with one-on-one interviews with survey participants. She\u0027s also conducting a faculty survey at eight other academic institutions to see how experiences compare among faculty. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother key aspect of women\u0027s advancement in academia is equitable evaluations. As part of its NSF ADVANCE program, Georgia Tech has created a committee to study its policies and procedures for tenure and promotion. \n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"From scrutinizing evaluation policies to opening doors on insider knowledge, the Georgia Institute of Technology is making strides to address subtle inequities that can adversely affect women\u0027s advancement in academia.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-02-18 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:41","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2004-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/gtresearchnews.gatech.edu\/newsrelease\/advance.htm","title":"NSF ADVANCE"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=\u0022\u003EContact  \u003C\/a\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}