Patricia Rankin and Donna Caccamise
Why Women Aren’t Where They Are Needed in the Workforce: Putting the Pieces Together
Contents
Abstract 2
Overview 3
Social, Economic and Scientific Problem-Solving ‒ the Value of a Diverse Workforce 6
Cognitive Errors and Stereotype Threat 9
Patterns of Women’s Representation 13
Cultural Impacts on Employment of Women 15
Models of Workplace Cultures in STEM 16
Women in Leadership Roles 17
Impact of Leadership Styles 19
Biases Especially Impacting the Employment of Women 23
Addressing the Causes of Under-Representation 24
Keeping Women Interested 29
Work/life Balance 30
Work Teams Thrive with the Right Norms 31
Better Ways to Recruit and Assess Individuals 32
Developing Leadership Potential ‒ Existing Programs 33
Developing Future Leaders with the Right Professional Skills 35
Assessment of the Climate and Effectiveness of Interventions 37
Recommendations 39
Conclusions 42
Acknowledgements 43
Useful Materials/Further Reading 44
References 47
Patricia Rankin and Donna Caccamise1
Why Women Aren’t Where They Are Needed in the Workforce: Putting the Pieces Together
The paper forms part of
the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Expert Reviews Series on
Advancing Women's Empowerment.
To cite this paper, please use:
Rankin, P. and Caccamise, D. Why Women Aren’t Where They Are Needed in
the Workforce: Putting the Pieces Together. The Sasakawa Peace Foundation Expert
Reviews Series on Advancing Women's Empowerment, 2017.
1 Dr.RankinisProfessorofPhysicsattheUniversityofColorado,Boulder,Colorado.Dr.CaccamiseisAssociateDirector
oftheInstituteofCognitiveScienceattheUniversityofColorado,Boulder,Colorado.Allcorrespondenceshouldbe
addressedtoDr.Rankin,DepartmentofPhysics,CampusBox360,Boulder,CO80309.Phone:(1)(303)492-1449;
Email:[email protected]
Contents
Abstract 2
Overview 3
Social, Economic and Scientific Problem-Solving ‒ the Value of a Diverse Workforce 6
Cognitive Errors and Stereotype Threat 9
Patterns of Women’s Representation 13
Cultural Impacts on Employment of Women 15
Models of Workplace Cultures in STEM 16
Women in Leadership Roles 17
Impact of Leadership Styles 19
Biases Especially Impacting the Employment of Women 23
Addressing the Causes of Under-Representation 24
Keeping Women Interested 29
Work/life Balance 30
Work Teams Thrive with the Right Norms 31
Better Ways to Recruit and Assess Individuals 32
Developing Leadership Potential ‒ Existing Programs 33
Developing Future Leaders with the Right Professional Skills 35
Assessment of the Climate and Effectiveness of Interventions 37
Recommendations 39
Conclusions 42
Acknowledgements 43
Useful Materials/Further Reading 44
References 47
Patricia Rankin and Donna Caccamise1
Why Women Aren’t Where They Are Needed in the Workforce: Putting the Pieces Together
The paper forms part of
the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Expert Reviews Series on
Advancing Women's Empowerment.
To cite this paper, please use:
Rankin, P. and Caccamise, D. Why Women Aren’t Where They Are Needed in
the Workforce: Putting the Pieces Together. The Sasakawa Peace Foundation Expert
Reviews Series on Advancing Women's Empowerment, 2017.
2
Abstract
Thispaperprovidesabroad reviewofevidence-based research,underlying theories,and
interventionsrelatedtowomen’srepresentationintheworkforce.Itintroducesthecomplexissues
atplayintoday’sworkplace.Theseissuescontributetocreatingaworkculturethattoooftenis
unfriendlytowomenandsubtlyornotsosubtlydriveswomenfromtheworkforce,particularly
fromscience, technology,engineering,andmathematics (STEM) related fields.Adiverse
workforcecanleadtobetteroutcomes,especiallyinaknowledge-basedeconomy.Theassertion
hereisthatachievingaworkforcefullyinclusiveofwomen,includingattheleadershiplevelsis
desirable,andthatthiswillrequirelookingbeyondlawsandpoliciestoaddressthebiasesthat
womenfaceaswellaspracticalconcernssuchashowtocombinefamilylifewithacareer.Simple
stepssuchasusingaqualificationschecklistintheassessmentofcandidatesforapositioncan
helpimprovehiring,aswouldtheavailabilityofaddedcareerplanningadvicetargetedatwomen
andagreaterawarenessofthevalueofprovidingrolemodels.Leadershipprogramsdesigned
tosupportthenewmodelsofcollaborativeworkandencouragetheparticipationofwomencan
alsohelp.
3
Overview
Asthenewknowledge-basedeconomygrowsinimportance,therearebothfundamentaland
practicalargumentsforensuringthatwomenareequalpartnersinit.Theprojectionsarethat
thepopulationoftheworldwill increasefromaround6.5billionin2015toaround9.3billion
in2050.Overthesameperiod,theprojectionisthatthepercentageofthepopulationover65
willdoublefrom8%to16%(PewResearchCenter,2014).Initiallycountriesmaybenefitfroma
demographicdividend(UnitedNationsPopulationFund,2017)ofacceleratedeconomicgrowth
whenmortalityandfertilityratesdecline.However,thereisonlyalimitedwindowofopportunity
beforetheoldagedependencyratio(whichmeasuresthedependenceof thoseover65on
theworkingagepopulation)increasesandanagingpopulationstartstohavemoreandmore
negativeimpacts.TheoldagedependencyratioisrisingrapidlyinJapanandIndonesiacompared
tocountriessuchasSwedenandBrazil (Magnus,2014).Thesedemographicshiftsdrivethe
necessityofquicklymovingtowardsincreasingwomen’srepresentationintheworkforce.
However, this isnot justamatterofusingwomen tobridge thegapsdeveloping in the
supplychain.Womenbringuniqueperspectivestoproblem-solving,andcomplexproblems
benefitfromtheapplicationofadiversesetofskills.Effectiveteamscombineaverageability
withacomplementarydiversityofperspectivesandexpertise. It is likelythat increasingthe
representationofwomenwillhaveamultipliereffectoneconomicgrowth,increasinginnovation,
andimprovingresponsestorapidchange.Inturn,thecharacteristicsoforganizationsthatmake
themwelcomingtowomenoftenmakethemsuccessfulatinnovating.
Achievingthedesiredlevelofinvolvementofwomenwillrequirenotjusthavingmorewomen
becomeinterestedintraditionallymalefieldsandintraditionallymaleroles,butalsoensuring
that theypersistandareable tosucceed.Thispaper focuseson thescience, technology,
engineering,andmathematics(STEM)fieldsbecausetherepresentationofwomeninthesefields
isnoticeablylow.Inparticular, itconsiderstheunder-representationofwomenin leadership
roles,suchasleadingaproductdevelopmentgroup,whythisisaproblem,andhowthisunder-
representationcanbechanged.Someofthestepsneededtochangethesituationareconcrete:
amatterofadoptingappropriatepoliciesandallocatingresourcestoaddresspracticalconcerns
suchasbalancingafamilyandacareer. It ismoredifficulttochangeorat leastmitigate,the
effectsoftheunderlyingattitudesofbothmenandwomenthatarecontributingtothelackof
womeninthissector.
Belowwehighlightthekeythemes inthispaperand indicatethesectionscontainingmore
detailsaboutthesethemes.
ImprovingProblem-Solving(“Social,EconomicandScientificProblem-Solving:TheValueofa
DiverseWorkforce”and“HowWorkTeamsThrivewiththeRightNorms”)
• Modernbusinessandsocietalchallengesarecomplexandsolvingthemrequiresexpertsfrom
differentdisciplinestocometogethertoworkininterdisciplinaryteams.Thismeansthatthere
needstobeashiftawayfromprojectsdrivenbyindividualstowardsmoreholisticteam-based
problem-solvingeffortsinbothacademiaandindustry.Thesesectionspresentargumentsfor
howamorediverseworkforcecanleadtobettersocialandeconomicoutcomesifconditions
areconducive.
UnderstandingBias(“CognitiveErrorsandStereotypeThreat”and“BiasesEspeciallyImpactingthe
EmploymentofWomen”)
• Manyfactorsinfluencedecision-makinginwaysthatcancauseustodevaluewomenwithout
beingawareofwhatwearedoing.It is importanttobebothawareoftheseinfluencesand
tostructuredecision-makingprocessestominimizetheir impacttoensurethatevaluations
4
arefair. Evidenceshowsthatwomenandmenvaryinhowtheyself-assesstheirabilitiesand
eventhewordingofanadvertisementcanencourageordiscouragewomenapplicants.These
sectionsdiscusstheissueofcognitiveerrorsandtheirimpactsontheemploymentofwomen.
EmploymentPatterns(“PatternsofRepresentation”and“TheCulturalImpactsoftheEmployment
ofWomen”)
• Thepatternsofemploymentforwomenandmencanbeverydifferentandmanywomen
“accumulatedisadvantage”throughouttheircareers.Numerousfactorsaffectwomen’scareer
pathsandprogression,includingsocialculture(forexample,thefactthatwomenareprimarily
responsibleforchildcareandotherdomesticwork)andstructure(forexample,womenare
under-representedinleadershiprolesandscience-relatedfields).Thefirstsectionprovidesa
generaloverviewofemploymentpatterns,andthesecondlooksatissuessuchashowwomen
aremorelikelytobeemployedinpart-timework.
Leadership(“WomeninLeadershipRoles”and“TheImpactofLeadershipStyles”)
• LessthanonepercentofCEOsinJapanarewomen,creatingalackofrolemodelsandother
problems.However,leadershipstylesareevolvingtowardsatransformationalstyle,supporting
collaborativeandteambasedworkandbenefitingfrominterpersonalskills.Theleadership
styleoftheseniorstaffofanorganizationcansupportorhinderachievinggenderequality
dependingonthelevelofresponsibilityindividualleaderstakeforbeingpartofthesolution.
Poorleadershipcanaffectwomenmorethanitaffectsmen.
Changing theCulture (“Addressing theCausesofUnder-representation”,“KeepingWomen
Interested”,and“Work/LifeBalance”)
• Womenarestillunder-representedinmanyindustries,especiallySTEM-relatedprofessions
andlawsandpoliciesalonewillnotchangebehaviorsunlessthereisasharedsenseofwhat
isappropriate.Usinganapproachthatincorporatesdifferentperspectivesandintegratesthem
intoamoreeffectivewholebenefitseveryone.However, it isalsoimportanttocombatthe
mythologythatsimpleinclusioniscountertoameritocracy.Thereisaneedforbettercareer
planningadviceandforrolemodels.Womenalsooftenoptforlowerstatusand/orpart-time
positionstogaintheflexibilitytheyneedtomanagetheirwork/lifebalance.Inthesesections,
weintroduceworkthatshowshowstructuredapproachescanreducebiasandexaminehow
recentinitiativestodesignflexibleworkplaceswillhelpwithretention.
Recruitment(“BetterWaystoRecruitandAssessIndividuals”)
• In this section,wediscussapproaches to tackleunconsciousbias,manyofwhichare
surprisinglysimpleyeteffective,suchasusingaqualificationschecklist intheassessmentof
candidatesforaposition.
TheFutureofLeadership(“DevelopingFutureLeaderswiththeRightProfessionalSkills”)
• Thedesignof leadershipprogramsneedstosupportthenewmodelsofcollaborativework
andencouragetheparticipationofwomen.Thebestwaytodisruptthecurrentstatusquoisto
workinwaysthatdonotdirectlychallengeit.Inthissection,wediscusshowemphasizingthe
valueoffollowingprofessionalpracticewillhelpachievechange,andintroducetheconceptof
T-shapedprofessionals.
MonitoringProgress(“AssessmentoftheClimateandEffectivenessofInterventions”)
• Assessmentofinterventionsiskeytounderstandingtheireffectiveness.Theabilitytointervene
andadvancegenderequityrequiresanewemphasisonassessmentmethodsthatare less
reliantonself-reporting.Recent“bigdata”/computationalapproachesdemonstrategreat
promise.
ConsiderationsfortheFuture(“Recommendations”and“Conclusions”)
• Thediscussionfocusesonhoweffectiveorganizationalchangeneedstoworkacrossmultiple
5
constituencies. Manyof the issues facingus todayoriginate in the fact that thecurrent
dominantleadershipstyletendstobecompetitivenotco-operative,negativelyimpactingthe
long-termhealthofsocietyasawhole.Inviewofthis,weargueforachangeintheworking
culture.ItisparticularlyurgenttohavemorewomenparticipatefullyintheworkforceinJapan
andpartsofAsiaduetothedemographicsandthecomparative lackofnatural resources.
TheimportanceofSTEMworkerstotheknowledge-basedeconomymeansthatthereisan
immediatereturnoninvestment in increasingthenumberofwomen.Thelownumbersof
womeninSTEMmakesiteasiertohighlighttheissuesandhardertoresistthecaseforchange.
Weclosewithrecommendationsforfoundationsandgovernmentagenciestoconsiderrelated
todesigningprogramsandpoliciestoincreasewomen’sparticipationintheworkforce,andto
promotinggenderequalityinallsectorsandindustries.
6
Social, Economic and Scientific Problem-Solving – the Value of a Diverse Workforce
There isgrowingrecognitionthatcontinuedprogressrequiresnewapproachestoproblem-
solvingincludingincorporatingdiverseperspectives.Muchofthediscussioncentersaroundthe
needtoshiftfromthetraditionalmodelinresearchofanindividualresearcherwithexpertise
inasingledisciplinetoateam-basedapproachthatbringstogetherexpertsfromavarietyof
disciplinestosolveproblemsthatcrossdisciplinaryboundaries.Industrialinnovationalsoneeds
toadapttoshiftingmarketsandfindnewones. Page(2007)hasputforthaconvincingcase
thatadiverseskillsetpromotesbetterproblem-solving.Theessentialargumentisthatthemore
similartheskillsarethattwopeoplebringtothetable,themoreredundancythere is inthe
systemandthisredundancydoesnotimprovethelikelihoodoffindingasolution.Toopenup
abroaderspacetofindasolution,youneedtobringinsomeonewithadifferentskillset.This
differentskillsetincreasesthevarietyoftoolsthatmightbeusedinsolvingtheproblem.Page
takesthisfurther,whichhelpsinunderstandingwhattypesofproblemsaremostlikelytobenefit
fromadiversegroupapproach.
FromPage’s(2007)perspective,somefieldsaremore“ladder-like”thanothersareinthatlater
conceptsbuilduponearlierones;thatis,thereisagenerallyagreeduponorderinwhichtolearn
tools.Physics isagoodexampleofa ladder-likefield.Physicists,forexample,studyNewton’s
workbeforeEinstein’s.Considerateammadeupoftwophysicists;thelessexperiencedphysicist
willaddlittletotheoverallskillsetofthepair. Ifyouaresolvingaproblemthatonlyinvolves
physics,thereislikelytobelittleadvantagetobringinginsomeonefromacompletelydifferent
field.Expertsgenerallyoutperformrandomgroupsinfindingsolutionsforproblemswherethere
isahighprobabilityoftherebeingonlyonerightanswerandawell-definedwaytoapproach
findingthatanswer(likealgebraproblems). Incontrast,crowdsdoverywellatestimating
because lowandhighguessestendtoaverageout.Theyalsodowelloncomplexproblems
wherethereislikelytobearangeofpossiblesolutionseachwithadvantagesanddisadvantages.
Incaseswhereskillsfromseveraldisciplinesareneeded,adiverseproblem-solvinggroupismore
likelytogenerateawiderrangeofpossiblesolutionsandmorelikelytofindarobustsolution.
Themost importantsocialandeconomicproblemsofthe21stcenturyaresometimescalled
“GrandChallenge”problems(Whitehouse,2012)becausetheydonotfallneatlywithindiscipline
boundariesbut insteadrequiretrans-disciplinarycollaborations.TheHorizon2020research
frameworkoftheEuropeanCommission,whichwasadoptedin2013,explicitlyrecognizesthis
throughafundingprogramforresearchandinnovation.Knownas“ResponsibleResearchand
Innovation(RRI)”(Horizon,2017),theprogramchallengesscientiststopaymoreattentionto
whatsocietywantsandhastotellthem,bytakingamoreinclusive,reflective,andanticipatory
approachtotheirresearch.Thegoalistobetteralignboththeprocessandoutcomesofresearch
andinnovationwiththeneeds,values,andexpectationsofEuropeansociety.
Thesecollaborationsneedtobringtogetherpractitionersnotjustfromdifferentfields,butalso
fromdifferentcareerpaths,andinvolvegovernments, industries,universities,non-profits,and
philanthropistsinfindinganddeployingsolutions.Forexample,asthepopulationages,healthcare
needswillchange(Rechel,Doyle,Grundy,andMcKee,2009).It ispossiblethatdepressionand
otherchronicdiseasescouldoverwhelmthehealthcaresystemsofmanycountrieswithout
advancesinroboticsandartificialintelligencestokeepanagingpopulationactiveandengaged.
Theseproblemsarenot ladder-like.Socialscientists,engineers,healthcarepractitioners,and
policymakerswillallneedtoplayarolenotjustinproducingtheneededtechnologies,butin
7
makingthemaccessibleandacceptable.
Theautomobileindustryisanexcellentcasestudyrelatedtotheimportanceofincludingwomen
inthedesignprocess. 2Theconsequencesofmale-onlydesignteamsgobeyondseatsthatdonot
adjustfarenoughordifficult-to-reachcontrols.Womenare47%morelikelytobeseriouslyinjured
inacrashthanmen(Bose,Sequi-Gomez,andCrandall,2011)baseduponananalysisofaccidents
occurringfrom1998to2008.Thestudy’sauthorsarguedthatthisoccurredbecausethevehicles’
safetyfeaturesweretailoredwithmeninmindandnotwomen.Theinvestigatorsfoundthat
femaledriverswearingseatbeltsweremore likely tobe injuredthanmaledriverswearing
seatbelts,andthatbeltedfemaledriverssufferedmorechestandspineinjuriesthanbeltedmale
driversincomparablecrashes.Inaddition,intheU.S.,womeninfluenceover80%ofallnewcar
purchases.Womenaregainingground in theautomobile industryand theirnumbersare
increasing.IntheU.S.in2015,womenmadeupjustalittleoverone-quarteroftheautomotive
industry’sworkforce(2015BureauofLaborStatistics)andasaresult,womenarebecomingmore
central tothedesignprocess.Forexample in2015,NoraArellano,aToyotaPrincipalDesign
Engineer,wasawardedapatentforsidecurtainairbagdesignusedintheToyotaTundra.
Wecanmakeasimilarcaseinthebiomedicalsciencesfortheimportanceofconsideringthe
needsofwomen.Drugdosagesnotonlyneedtotakeintoaccountweightdifferencesbutalso
hormonaldifferences. Inaddition,sincewomenareoftentheprimarycaregivers inasociety,
prioritizing theirvaccinationcanbettersloworprevent thespreadofadisease.While, in
principle,malescientistscouldhaveledadrivetostudythedifferentialimpactsoftreatmentson
women,inpracticeitwaswomenpractitionerswhobroughttheseconcernstothefore(thelater
sectionon“KeepingWomenInterested”willdiscusshowpublicizingthecontributionsofwomen
alsohelpstoencouragewomentofollowcareersintheSTEMfields).
Researchonteamsandthecharacteristicsofsuccessfulteamsstronglysuggeststhattheskills
thattendtobeassociatedmorewithwomen(suchascollaboration,bettercommunication,and
focusonthewhole)thanwithmenarethemost importantskills inensuringteamsfunction
effectively(Wolley,Malone,andBerinato,2011).Itisgenerallyagreedthatwomenimprovethe
qualityofdebates,focusmoreonpossiblehumanfactorsthatcouldbeinfluential,andtendto
addaccountability.
Historically,universityprofessorshaveworkedaloneor ledteamsofmorejuniorresearchers.
However,withtherecognitionthatreal-lifeproblemsarebecomingmoreandmorecomplexand
cannolongerbeaddressedbysimplelaboratoryexperiments,researchfundingagenciesare
nowshowingapreferenceforsupportingmultidisciplinaryteamsacrossinstitutions.Teamwork
amongfacultypeersisbecomingincreasinglynecessaryandexpected(whichwilldrivechanges
intherewardsystemforfacultyscholarship).Incontrast,teamshavebeenactiveinSTEM-related
industriesforsometime.
Page’s (2007)work isbasedontheoreticalskillsets thatrepresent intellectualdiversity.His
frameworkisoftenusedtosupporttheinclusionofmembersofunder-representedgroupsand
broadeningparticipationbecausepeoplewithdifferentbackgroundsandexperiencescanbring
differentperspectives.However,whatistheevidencethattheydo?
Oneinterestingstudyofcorporateboardsandthe impactofwomenonthoseboardsfound
someapparentlyencouragingresults.Fortune500companieswiththehighestrepresentationof
womenontheirboardsgenerallyoutperformedthosewiththelowestrepresentationofwomen
ontheirboardsonsomekeyfinancialindicators(Catalyst,2011).Thereturnonequitywas53%
2 PatriciaRankinthanksDr.ElizabethPollitzerofPortiaLtd.forthediscussiononthistopic.
8
better;thereturnonsaleswas42%betteronaverage;andthereturnoninvestedcapitalwas66%
better.ThestudywasdonebyrankingtheFortune500companiesbythepercentageofwomen
ontheirboardsandcomparingthetopandbottomquartiles.AsimilarstudybasedonEuropean
firmsbyMcKinsey(Desvaux,Devillard-Hoellinger,andBaumgerten,2007)foundsimilarbenefits.
What thesestudiesshowis that incertainspecificcases there isacorrelationbetweenthe
percentageofwomenonaboardandthefirm’sperformance.Thisisnotthesameassayingthat
thereisacausalrelationship.Moredetailedanalysesshowthecomplexityofthesituation(Eagly,
2016),anditisimportanttounderstandthesecomplexitiestomakeeffectiverecommendations.
First,analyzingtheboardroomdatatolookforcausalityshowsthattherearelittletonodirect
effects,andsecondly, increasingthepercentageofwomendoesnotalwayshaveapositive
impact.Thesefindingsareperhapsnottoosurprising.Therearemanyreasonswhyafirmmaybe
performingwell,includinganabilitytoadapttochangingmarketsandproduceinnovativegoods.
Theculturethatmakesafirmopentoinnovationmayalsomakeitmoreopentonontraditional
hires.Thepresenceofwomenontheboardmayreflectacultureofprofessionaldevelopment
ofaspiringleaderswhoempowerpeopleatall levelsofthecompany.Furthermore,companies
thataredoingwellfinanciallycouldbemorewillingtotakerisksonhiringdecisions;conversely,
thereissomeevidencethatfirmsdoingverypoorlyarealsowillingtotakerisks.Forexample,
YahoohiredMarissaMayerandHPhiredCarlyFiorinaaftertheseorganizationsencountered
difficulties(knownastheGlassCliffeffect;thisisdiscussedmoreinthesectionon“Womenin
LeadershipRoles”).Finally,andperhapsmostimportantly,ifthewomencomeintoasituationas
outsiders,theymaynothavetheinfluenceneededtoimpactdecisions.Moreover,ifthewomen
donothavetherespectoftherestofthegroup,thentheycouldbemoreofadistractionthanan
advantagetotheteam.Hiringwomen,inandofitself,isnotenoughtomakeadifference.
Webelievethattheuseofquotasneedstobecarefullyconsidered.Quotasaremostlikelytobe
effectiveinsituationswheretheevidencesuggeststhatthereisapoolofwomenwhoarebeing
overlookedandwhereeffortsaremadetosupportthefullintegrationofthewomenhiredinto
theorganization.NagoyaUniversityinJapan,forexample,hasmadeeffectiveuseofquotasto
recruitwomenfaculty.NagoyaUniversityisa“HeForShe”ImpactChampion(UNWomen2016)
andhasastrongoverallorganizationalcommitmenttogenderequity.
Tocompletetheoverviewofsomeofthekeyassumptionsandconceptsbehindthispaper,the
nextsectionwillprovideaquickreviewofhowhumanthoughtprocessescanbeinfluencedin
waysthatcomplicateattaininggenderequityinorganizations.
9
Cognitive Errors and Stereotype Threat
Decadesofresearchshowthatdespitepeoples’bestintentionstomakeunbiaseddecisions,that
thiscanbedifficulttoachieve.Valian(1997)inher influentialbook,“WhysoSlow”laysouta
compellingcase.PsychologistspresentedwithaCVfromreal-lifescientistsaremorelikelytohire
thecandidatewithamalename(Steinpres,AndersandRitzke,1999).Successismorelikelytobe
attributedto“luck”forwomenand“skill”formen(DeauxandEmswiller,1974).Evaluatorsunder
stress(suchasneedingtocompletemanyratings inashort-timeperiod)givewomenlower
ratingsthantheydomenwiththesamewrittenevaluationsofperformance(Martell,1991).
Studyafterstudyshowsthattherearedifferencesbetweenhowmenandwomenarejudged,and
howmuchweightisgiventotheircredentials.
The“SwedishPostdoctoral Study” (WennerasandWold,1997)describesa reviewof114
postdoctoralapplications in1995where therewere62maleapplicantsand52women.
Sixteenmenreceivedawardsbutonlyfourwomendid.Thereviewprocessseemedveryfair —
applicationswerereadbyoneof11committees;eachapplicationwasreviewedbyfivepeople,
andscoredfrom0to4onscientificcompetence,relevanceofproposal,qualityofproposal,and
methodology.Scoreswerethenmultipliedtogether(0-64)andaveragedoverthereviewers
toproducea rankingbasedon impact factorandoneto threenamesweresubmitted toa
finalcommittee.Aregressionanalysisshowedthatamajorfactoringettinganawardwasthe
competenceratingandmenconsistentlyreceivedhighercompetenceratings.Wennerasand
Woldfoundamodelthatdidagoodjobofpredictingthecompetenceratingforthemenby
lookingatthenumberoftheirpublicationsweightedbythequalityofthejournalstheyhad
publishedinandthenumberoftheircitationstodetermineanimpactpointsrating.However,
themodeldidnotfitthewomenapplicantswhoneededatleast100impactpointstoberated
thesameasamanwith40impactpoints.
A salary studyby twoeconomists, Egan andBendick (1994)demonstrates again that
qualificationscanbeweighteddifferentlyformenandwomen.Thesurveyexamined17factors
thatcouldinfluencesalary,suchasthekindofdegreetheyhad,howmanyhourstheyworked
aweek,theiryearsofexperience,andsoon.Ofthe17factors,14helpedmenmorethanthey
helpedwomen.Forexample,havinglivedoutsidetheUSadded$9,200tomen’ssalariesbut
subtracted$7,700fromwomen’ssalaries.
Whatcouldbegoingon?
Valian(1997)arguesthatthereexistasetofimplicithypothesesaboutthedifferencesbetween
thesexesthatshapetheconceptionsofmenandwomen,whichshecallsgenderschema(to
helpdifferentiatethemfromstereotypes).Itisimportanttonotethatbothmenandwomenhold
tothesamehypotheses.Whenwearelookingatapopulation,weunderstandthatanythingwe
usetocharacterizeindividualshasanassociateddistribution.However,whenweareconsidering
an individual,we tend toassume that theyaredescribed in termsof themeansof these
distributions.Onceweclassifypeopleasmenorwomen,wefindthatthisaffectsourperceptions,
eveninthecaseofobjectivecharacteristicslikeheight.Inoneexample,astudybyBiernat,Maris
andNelson(1991),collegestudentsweregivenasampleofphotographsofmenandwomen
andaskedtoguesstheheightsofthepeopleinthephotographs.Thepicturesalwayscontained
areferenceitem(forexample,adeskorchair)tohelpintheheightestimate.Thesamplewasset
up(unknowntostudents)tomatcheverymaninthesamplewithawomanofthesameheight.
Maleandfemalestudentsestimatedtheaverageheightofthesampleofwomentobelessthan
10
thatofthesampleofmen,presumablybecausemenareexpectedtobetaller.
Thishelpsus tounderstandthedataonthe lowervalueofwomenscredentials.Employers
interpretthemdifferentlyformenthantheydoforwomen.Inthecaseofmen,employerswill
seespendingtimeabroadasanaffirmativechoicetoaidcareerpreparation.However,since
womenareassumedtomakechoicesbasedontheir intrinsicvalue, itmightbethoughtthat
awomantravelledforpleasureandthustimespentabroadcouldbewrongly interpretedas
signalingindifferencetotheircareer.
Weliveinacomplexworldandweareofteninformationoverloaded.Asaresult,wefilterout
muchoftheinformationcominginviaoursensestojustwhatweneedforthecurrenttask.
Thus,weoftenmakedecisionsbasedonasmallamountof informationandweoftenmake
thesedecisionsautomatically;thus,weareinfluencedbyassumptionswemaynotrealizeare
influencingourdecision-making;thisistheunderlyingcauseof“UnconsciousBias”.
Theresearchandliteratureondecision-making,inparticularstudiesrelatedtocognition,helps
ustounderstandwhatisgoingon.ThinkBetter(Hurson,2008)andThinkAgain(Finkelstein,
Whitehead,andCampbell,2008)arebothgoodresourcesforanyonewhowouldliketolearn
moreaboutimprovingdecision-making.Inthepast,oursurvivalrequiredarapidassessmentof
thethreatlevelofasituationandwedevelopedalargelyautomaticfightorflightresponsethat
tendedtoassessdifferentlevelsofdanger.Youenhancesurvivalbyensuringsafetyratherthanby
takingapossiblerisk.Therefore,theneedforaquickresponsetoarealthreatfavorsfalsealarms.
Whatthistranslatestointoday’senvironmentisthatwetendtoreactfirsttonewideaswith
instinctivecaution.Overtime,theneuralcortextakesoverwithamoreanalyticalresponse(think
aboutdrivingacar;inanemergency,youwillslamonthebrakesbeforebecomingfullyawareof
whatishappening).
Ourbrainshaveevolvedtoimposeorderandlookforpatternsinordertoautomateatleastsome
ofourdecision-makingforefficiencyandspeed.Thislevelofprocessingistypicallyunconscious.
Whenitcomestojudgingindividuals,thecognitiveerrorscomingfromunconsciousdecision-
makingcanintroducebias.However,wewanttostressthatwhilethiscanhavediscriminatory
impact,thepersonjudgingmaybetryinghardnottobebiased.
A relatedbias isknownasAffinityBias,which is the tendencywhenselectingsomeone
tounconsciously select thepersonwhoseemsmost likeyou.We tend to look forpoints
ofconnection to individualswemeet, suchas ifweattended thesameschool,or shared
experiences,or ifwelikethesamemusic/films/sportstheyareinterestedin. Ifwefindthese
pointsofconnection,thenboththepersonwearetalkingtoandustendtorelaxandbecome
moreateasewitheachother. Inan interviewsituation,an intervieweebeingateasecan
helpthemrespondbettertotheinterviewer’squestions.This inturnleadstotheinterviewer
respondingevenmorefavorablytotheinterviewee.
Wealsotendtoresistchangingdecisionsoncemade —aneffectknownasRe-enforcement
Bias.Oncewehavedecidedonsomething,wetendto lookforevidencethatwemadethe
rightchoice.Forexample,youmaybemakingachoicebetweenaredandawhitecarbut
finding ithardtodecide.Beforeyoudecide,however,youmightmakea listofadvantages
anddisadvantagesforeachcolor;butafteryoudecide,youarelikelytostarttofocusonthe
advantagesofthecoloryouchoseandthedisadvantagesofthecoloryoudidnotchoose.Aftera
decisionismade,individualsusuallybecomemoreconfidentthattheyareright(wedonotenjoy
thinkingwemadeamistake).
TheconceptofCognitiveDissonancedatesback to the1950sand isassociatedwithLeon
Festinger.Hediscussedhowitishardtomaintaintwoconceptsiftheyseemtobeinconflict(this
is importantinunderstandinghowinterventionsthatworktochangesomeoftheunderlying
11
assumptionswemakethatarewrongcanbemadeeffective).Wehaveatendencyto justify
ouractionsandtheactionsofthosearoundus—forexample,SallyandSamworkforthesame
company,withthesamecredentials,doingthesamejob,butSallydiscoversthatSamismaking
moremoneyforthesamework. ThissetsupthecognitivedissonanceinSally’smindthaton
theonehand,sheandSamareequalwithrespecttothejobtheydo,butontheotherhand,the
companyvaluesSam’sworkmore.Torelievethestresscausedbythesetwoincompatibleideas,
Sallycaneitherleavethejob,orcomeupwithareasoninhermindthatjustifiesSam’shigherpay.
Itdoesnotmatterwhetherthelatterrationalizationistrue;aslongasSallybelievesit,itwillhelp
torelievehercognitivedissonance.
Cognitivedissonancewants internalconsistency inwhatwearethinking.Arelatedconcept
ConfirmationBiaswantsexternalconsistencybecausethisbenefitsusbyreducingourneedto
thinkaboutsomethingandourneedtochangeouractions.Inthisframing,schemasaremental
constructs.Wewanttoavoidcallingthemstereotypesbecausethistermtendstomakepeople
defensiveabouttheirviews,whichmakesithardertochangetheirperceptions.Manyofour
schemasarebasedonaperson’soragroup’smaincharacteristicsandtherelationshipbetween
features;thusfollowingschemasactasaformofhypothesisthat:
• Allowsustoperceiveandclassifynewindividuals;
• Providesexplanationsofpeople’sactions;and
• Providesuswithabasistopredictfuturebehaviors.
Theytendtobepersistentandconflictinginformationrarelychangesschemabecausewere-
interpretconflictingdata toexplain itaway.Thisoftenallowsus toassumewearedealing
withanexception.Aswewilldiscussmoreinthesectionon“WomeninLeadershipRoles”,the
traditionalviewisthatleadersneedtobecharismatic,strong,decisive,andassertiveandwetend
toassociatetheseabilitieswithmen.Thisiswhythemorefeminineawomanisviewedasbeing;
thelesslikelyshewillbeseenasaleader.Worse,themoreawomanisregardedasaleader;the
morelikelyshewillalsobeseenasdeviant.Thus,womencanbepenalizedforactingtoolike
men(theyareexpectedtobepoliterand,spendmoretimeon“niceties”suchashelpingcleanup
afterevents).Thegoodnewsisthatraisingawarenessofunconsciousbiaseshelpscountertheir
effects.
AnotherhelpfulconcepttounderstandisthevalueofTacitKnowledge,atermusuallyapplied
toinformationthat isdifficulttowritedownorotherwisetransfer.Oftenit is justassumedto
beknown.“Boulderis inColorado”isafact —explicitknowledgethatcanbewrittendown,
transmitted,andunderstoodbytherecipient.YoucandescribesolvingaSudokuproblemandit
ispossibletowritedowntherulestofollow—butnoteveryonefindsitequallyeasytosolvea
puzzle.Finally,whenitcomestoridingabicycle—youreallyhavetoexperiencedoingittolearn
howtodoit.
Evidenceismountingthattacit/hiddenknowledgeplaysanimportantroleinhelpingpeople
tobesuccessful.Everyfieldhasitsownjargon,unchallengedassumptions(forexample,must
work24/7),andcommonculture.Considertheprocessofreplicatinganexperiment.Sometimes
whenitseemslikeapatentorajournalarticlecontainsalloftherelevantinformation,replication
maystillprovetobedifficult,aswasthecasewhenpeoplefirsttriedtoreplicatetheprocess
tomakeBessemersteel.Bessemercouldmaketheprocesswork,butotherscouldnot.Nonaka
andTakeuchi(1995)hypothesizethathiddenknowledgeisapropertyofsocialnetworks—held
andcommunicatedtoitsmembersbyinformalmeans.Thus,ifwomenandmenhavedifferent
networks,theygaindifferentknowledge,andinthecaseofwomen,theyarejustnotprivytothe
importantaspectsofcorporatecultureandpoliticsthatarepartofthe“goodoleboys’”network
(Rankin,Nielsen,andStanley,2007).
Tobecomplete,weshouldalsomentiontheconceptofStereotypeThreatandespeciallythe
12
impactthiscanhaveontestperformance.Especiallyatearlystagesofacareer,howwellpeople
scoreontestscanbeanimportantselectioncriterionforentrytoprestigiousschools.Wehave
longknownthatperformancegapsexist intheSTEMfields(thoughthesevarywidelyfrom
countrytocountry).Explanationsofwhytheyexist rangefromgenetics(nature)tosocietal
causes(nurture)andthevariationfromcountrytocountryarguesfor the latter. Steeleand
Aronson(1995)showedthatperformanceis influencedbyexpectations.Supposeyoutakea
groupofwhitemaleengineeringstudentsintheUSandgivethemamathematicstest, ifthe
personsupervisingthetesttellsthestudentsinadvancethatAsianstudentsgenerallyperform
better, thentheaveragegradeforthewhitestudentstakingthetestdrops.Thefactthatthis
effectcanbedemonstratedusingaprivilegedgroupintheU.S.suggeststhatitismorecomplex
inoriginthananinternalizedresponsetostereotyping.Laterresearchhasshownthatthereare
physiologicaleffectsonthetesttakers—theirbloodpressureincreaseswhenthetesttakersare
toldtheyarenotexpectedtodowell.Studiesshowthatwomen’sperformanceinmathematics
andscience isconsistentlydisadvantagedbythisphenomenon(Spencer,SteeleandQuinn,
1999).
Stereotypethreatcanhavea larger impactonpeople if theyare invested indoingwell, for
example, thepioneeringmembersofunder-representedgroupswhoare the first tomove
intonewareas.Acomparisonofwomenstudentswhodidnotcareabouthowtheydid in
mathematicstowomeninamathematicshonorsclasswhowantedtopursuecareersinscience
showedthatthehonorsstudentsweremoreimpactedbybeingtoldtheywerenotexpectedto
dowell.Stereotypethreatcanbeinvokedjustbyaskingtesttakerstonotetheirgender(thus,if
thisquestionisimportantintrackingachievementasafunctionofgender,itshouldbeaskedat
theendofthetesttakingwhenitwillnotaffectperformance).Thisresearchalsohasimportant
implicationsforthedeliveryoffeedbackonperformance;hence,lettingstudentsknowthat“We
havehighstandardsandweexpectyoutobeabletomeetthem….”producesbetterresultsthan
tellingstudentsthat“Youwillfindthisdifficultbuttryyourbest”.
Nowthatwehavethisbackground,thenextsectionsurveysthecurrentsituation, lookingat
theavailabledataontherepresentationofwomenintheworkplaceandtheresearchintowhat
womenexperience.
13
Patterns of Women’s Representation
TheAssociationofPacificRimUniversities’gendergap report (APRU,2013)examined45
universities;amongthem,eightuniversitieswereinAsiancountries,includingJapan.Examining
thepercentageofwomenprofessorsinSTEMwithrolesasseniormanagementand/orDeans,the
Japaneseuniversitieswereatthebottomofthescale,withahighoftwopercentrepresentation
andhalfoftheuniversitiesscoringzero;overall,thehighestscoringcountryhaduniversitieswith
50%womenintheseleadershiproles.ThepercentagesofwomenservingasDepartmentChairs
inJapanwereonlyslightlybetter.Thispointstowomenfacingbarriersinachievingasuccessful
arcfortheircareermilestonesovertheirlifetime,withleadershippointedlywithheld.Theratio
ofwomenscientists in Japanhasbeenreportedannuallysince1992bytheGenderEquality
Bureau,GovernmentofJapan,whichindicatesin2016womenmakeup15.3%ofresearchers,
upfrom11.9%in2005.This includestheevenlowerrepresentationofwomenresearchersin
companiesat8.7%in2016(GenderEqualityBureau,2017).OtherdemographicdataonJapan
arehighlightedonthewebsiteof theJapanInter-SocietyLiaisonAssociationCommitteefor
PromotingEqualParticipationofMenandWomeninScienceandEngineering(EPMEWSE,2017).
ArecentEPMEWSEsurveyshowedthattheratioofwomenscientistsinscientificsocietiesinJapan
variesdependingontheirfields,from2%(MechanicalEngineers)to24%(MolecularBiology).
Only10outof82societieshavefemalePresidents/VicePresidents(Ohtsubo,Ogawa,Sato,and
Hirata-Kohno,2017).ThisisaworldwideproblemaswellasanimportantissuetotackleinJapan
ifwehopetoeffectivelyutilizehalfoftheintellectualtalentavailable.Despitethewidely-held
beliefthattheSTEMfieldsoperateasameritocracyand,therefore,thereisapurelylogicaland
justsystemthatdetermineshiringandpromotiondecisions,wewilldiscussbelowwhythisisnot
thecase(seeespeciallythesectionsonthe“ImpactofLeadershipStyles”and“BiasesEspecially
ImpactingtheEmploymentofWomen”).Wewanttoemphasizethatthepatternofpromotionis
notduetothewomenbeinglessable(seethe“BetterWaystoRecruitandAssessIndividuals”).
InJapan,surveysindicatethatfamilyresponsibilitiesplayanimportantroleinthisoutcomeand
driveupwardsof70%ofeducatedfemaleworkerstoleavetheworkforceentirelyormoveto
part-timework—thelatterbeinganundervaluedemploymentstatus.Ingeneral,universityand
juniorcollegeeducatedwomenwholeavetheworkforceinJapanaremuchless likelytore-
entertheworkforceaftermarriageandchildrearingcomparedto lesseducatedcounterparts
(RaymoandSo-Jung,2011).ForJapanesewomensurgeons,54%workfull-time,whereas80%
ofwomensurgeonsintheUSandHongKongworkfull-timeduringchildrearingyears.Studies
ofthecareertrajectoriesofwomensurgeonsinJapan,justoneexampleofpossibleSTEM-based
careerchoices,findthatwomenarestillsignificantlyunder-representedinthefield,despitethe
EqualEmploymentOpportunityLaw(EEOL)enactedseveralyearsago. Inaddition,only35%
ofJapanesewomensurgeonsbelievetheywillachievehigherprofessionalstatusin10years,
comparedto55%intheUSand87%inHongKong.OnedistinguishingfactoristhatHongKong
surgeonshaveaccesstonewlyenactedprogramsthatprovideaclearpathtoenhancingtheir
careersandtheresourcesnecessarytoachievethis.AconfoundingfactoristhattheHongKong
cohortwaslesslikelytobemarried(orhaddelayedmarriage)andoverall,thesurveyoutcomes
aredependentontheindividuals’circumstanceswhochosetorespond(Kawaseetal.,2012).
Abe(2011) lookedat the impactof Japan’sEEOLonwomen’semploymentfor theperiodof
1987-2007.Exploringtheincreasebymaritalstatus/age/educationrevealedthattheincreasein
regular(full-time)employmentforuniversitygraduatewomenatyoungages(under40)wasthe
resultofadelayordeclineinmarriage.However,regularemploymentdidnotgoupforeither
marriedorsinglewomenpost-EEOL.Foreducationalgroupsotherthanuniversitygraduates,
theregularemploymentrateforpost-EEOLsinglewomenfell.Thedataindicatedthatmiddle-
agedwomenaremorelikelytoparticipateinpart-timeemployment(reflectingare-entryinto
thejobforce,althoughit is importanttonotethatbenefitsandpaywerenotthesame,and
14
thattheywerelowerthantheywereatthetimeoftheiroriginalemployment).Abefoundthat
universitygraduatewomenaremuchlesslikelytoworkaspart-timerscomparedtoseniorhigh
schoolgraduates. Inaddition,universitygraduatewomenhadtwodistinctpatternsof labor
forceparticipation;eitherapersistentparticipationinpaidemploymentoracompleteexitfrom
thelabormarketaftermarriageorchildbirth.Further,womendothebulkofpart-timework.
Overall,thesefindingsindicatethattheEEOLmaynotbehavingtheintendedimpactonJapan’s
workforcedemographics.
It isworth commentinghereon the idea that theobserveddatapatternsmight reflect
demographicinertia.Thisconceptarguesthatittakestimeforimprovementsinthepercentage
representationofwomenintheearlystagesofacareertopropagateonupthroughallthestages
ofacareer.Thus,evenifthepercentageofwomenassistantprofessorscanbeincreasedto50%,
youwillneedtowaitfivetotenyearsforthosewomentobepromotedtoseethepercentageof
newassociateprofessorstoalsoreach50%.Wearecurrentlystillfarawayfrom50%entrylevels
inmostprofessionsMostcomputermodellingofhowtherepresentationofwomenwillchange
overtimebasedoncurrent improvementtrendsdoesnot leadtoparity(Marschke,Laursen,
Nielsen,andRankin,2007).
15
Cultural Impacts on Employment of Women
InJapan,as it istovaryingdegreesworldwide,womenareheldresponsiblefor lookingafter
childrenandtheelderly,aswellastakingonotherdomesticduties,disproportionatelymore
thanmen.YamamotoandBrinton(2010)pointtothebeliefinJapan(andlikelyelsewhere)that
itisadvantageous,evenstatusenhancing,tohaveastay-at-homemotherwhoiseducated.They
furtherreportthatsomescholars inJapansuggestthateducationispursuedmoretoachieve
anadvantageousmarriagematchmorethanoccupationalstatus.Theseculturallymediated
pressuresrepresentonlyaportionofthepressuresthatcausewomentoleavechallengingand
rewardingcareers,suchasthoseinSTEM.Thereareotherfactorsintheworkplacethatalsoexert,
oftensubconscious,butrelentlesspressureandstressthatalsocontributetowomenleavingthe
careerstheytrainedfor.Thesewillbeexploredinmoredetaillaterinthispaper,includinginthe
sectiononthe“ImpactofLeadershipStyles”.
Culturaldifferencesbetweenmenandwomenwithregardtochildrearingandotherdomestic
responsibilities isnotanewidea,andsomeinstitutionshavepoliciesdesignedtohelpwith
this imbalance.However,theproblemcontinuestobeanissueand,therefore, it is important
tounderstandtheseeminglackofimpactofthesepoliciestobeabletomovetosolutionsthat
aremoreeffective.Inaddition,therearemanyothercausesofstressintheworkplaceaffecting
womenandtheirsuccessandwillingnesstoremainintheworkforce.Thesestressors include
unconsciousbiases, suchas thebeautypremiumtrap,haloeffects, confirmationbias, the
differentialvalueplacedonapart-timeversusafull-timecommitmenttowork,inherentbeliefs
thatwomenaresomehow“lesserthan”men,andmanifestlowself-esteeminwomen.Integrated
withtheseissuesarethereporteddifferences incareerdevelopmentopportunitiesbetween
menandwomensuchthatsystemically,womenaresubjecttoapatternoffailure.Someofthe
issuesincludereducedpreparation(educationaltrackandopportunities),reducedacademicand
careeropportunitiesthatprovideprofessionalgrowthandmentorship,worknotequallyvalued
orpromoted,andlackofopportunitiesforleadership—allnecessaryingredientsforafullcareer
arc.InJapan,biasescanbeginasearlyasmiddleschoolandthehighschoolapplicationprocess,
when teachersmakedecisionsaboutastudent’s“fit”basedonsocio-economicand family
background.Theunderlyingassumptionisthatstudentswillbehappiest iftheirplacementis
basedonfamilyexpectationsandaspirations.Whileacademicperformanceisalsoanimportant
factor in Japanas inelsewhere,parentalbackgroundalso influences thedecisionprocess
(YamamotoandBrinton,2010;Yamamoto,2015).Allthishasanimmenseeffectonanystudent’s
futureopportunitiesandprospects.
Themanyfactorsthathaveanegative impactonwomen’scareers leadthemtoaccumulate
disadvantage,whichputs them furtherand furtherbehindmenateachcareer stage.As
Valian(2007)says,“Evenverysmallamountsofdisadvantageaccumulate.Thisisthelessonof
compoundinterestandthelessonofevolution.Verysmallimbalances,ifencounteredrepeatedly,
addupovertimetomajordifferences”.Evenasmallbias(onepercent)inpromotionateachstage
ofthecareerladdercanleadtoasignificantimbalanceatthehighestleadershiplevels.Martell,
LaneandEmrich(1996)consideredaneight-levelhierarchical institutionwithapyramidal
structure.Theystaffedthishypothetical institutionwithequalnumbersofmenandwomen.
Theythensetupacomputersimulationandexaminedwhathappenswhenthepromotions
betweenlevelsintheorganizationwerebiasedveryslightlyinfavorofmen.Thisbiaswassetat
onepercent;alevelmostofuswouldassumewouldnotbesignificant.However,overtime,the
balanceofmenandwomenatthetoplevelshifted,endingupat65%infavorofmenattheend
ofthesimulation.
Finally,itisworthconsideringsomestudiesaboutthecultureofSTEMworkplaces.Issuesinthese
culturesoftenactincombinationwiththeotherculturalissuesthatwomenface.
16
Models for Workplace Cultures in STEM
Aninterestingapproachtakentounderstandvariationintherepresentationofwomenwasone
thatfocusedonthefieldofphysicsinEuropeancountries.PhysicstendstobeoneoftheSTEM
fieldswiththelowestrepresentationofwomeninallcountriesandisconsideredtoepitomizethe
abstract,mathematicalsciences.Understandingwhywomenleavephysicsandfiguringouthow
tokeeptheminterestedandretainthemmightbeawaytocomeupwithrobustsolutionsthat
willapplytoallotherSTEMfields.Mostscienceandengineeringdisciplinesrequiresometraining
inphysicsandthepercentageofwomenphysicistsisbelowparityinmostEuropeancountries.
However,theexactpercentageofwomenphysicistswhostartacareerinphysicsbutthenleave
thefieldvarieswidelyacrosstheEuropeanmemberstates.Generally, therepresentationof
womenintheNorthernEuropeancountries ismuchlowerthanthat inEasternandSouthern
Europeancountries.Thedetailsofthecareerpathsofmenandwomenalsodifferfromcountry
tocountry.StudyingmenandwomenphysicistsinEuropeprovidesawaytoprobeintocultural
influencesaswellastheroleofgendertraits.
Thesereasonsandthe factEurope isalso facingdemographicshiftshasmotivatedwhat is
knownasthe“UnderstandingPuzzlesintheGenderedEuropeanMap(UPGEM)”project(Hasse
andTrentemÖller,2008).TheUPGEMprojectsoughttoexplaintherepresentationofwomen
inphysicsintermsofinteractionsbetweentheculturalnormsofdifferentEuropeancountries
andthedifferentstylesofdoingphysics.Theresearchersanalyzethedata(interviewswithmen
andwomenphysicists)intermsofgender(male/female),persistence(stay/leavethefield),and
culture(boththecultureofphysicsandtheroleofphysicsinthenationalculture).
TheUPGEMresearchersidentifiedthreedifferentphysicsworkplacecultures:theHerculesculture,
theCaretakerculture,andtheWorkerBeeculture.Thesethreeculturesdifferintheimportance
placedonworkversusoutsideinterests,oncompetition,onpowerrelationships,andfinally,on
theroleofgender.TheHerculescultureischaracterizedasanenvironmentinwhichphysicsis
theonlythingthatmatterstoanindividualandthereisafocusonindividualsuccess.Thereisan
emphasisoncompetitionandthiscompetitioncanuseanyweapontowin,includingexploiting
gender identitynegatively, forexamplebyassertingthatwomenmaybemoreinterestedin
havingafamilyand,thus,itmaynotmakesensetoinvestintheircareers.IntheCaretakerculture,
thegroupisimportantandmembershipinagroupislikenedtobeingpartofafamily.Physicsis
stillimportantbutnottheonlythingthatmatters.Competitionisbetweengroupsandthereisan
acceptanceofgenderrolesinrelationtothegroups.IncountrieslikeItaly,forexample,bringing
childrentoworkisok.Finally, intheWorkerBeeculture,physicsisnotseenasbeingcentrally
importanttoparticipants’ livesandmembersofthisculturearenotinterestedincompetition.
Littleattentionispaidtogender,butbeingaphysicistmaynotcarrythestatusthatitconfersin
theothercultures.
Thesituationiscomplicatedbythefactthatinpractice,individualsandcountriesdisplayamixof
idealcharacteristics.However,thebalancebetweentheseculturesdiffersfromcountrytocountry,
andthecareerpathsinthesecountriesoftenreflectwhichculturedominates.InScandinavian
countries, forexample,theHerculesculture ismoreimportant,whiletheWorkerBeeculture
is foundmostfrequently inEasternEuropeancountries.The inclinationforoneortheother
culturestobedominantineachcountryhasamajorimpactnotjustonthelikelylevelofgender
representationinphysicsbutalsoontheprestigeattachedtothecareer.
17
Women in Leadership Roles
AgeneralandtellingstatisticisthatinJapan,only0.8%ofCEOsarewomen,comparedto10%in
theUK.InJapan,10%ofmanagersarewomencomparedto43%intheU.S.(DavidsonandBurke,
2011). Thesestatisticshighlightthe importanceofexploringeffectivewaystodevelopand
promotequalifiedwomenintoleadershiproles.Understandingthepatternsofrepresentation
(orlackthereof)mayalsorevealsomecluesastohowtobestachieveahigherparticipationof
womenacrosscountriesandeconomies,asdidtheUPGEMstudy.
Theabilitytomoveinto leadershiproles isanaturalprogressioninanycareerfieldandone
womeninSTEMfieldshavebeensystematicallydenied.Thefactorsthatcontributetothisare
complex.Aswedefinetheissuesandprocessesofsuccessfulleadershipbelow,theunconscious
biasesdefinedaboveinteractwiththisprocesstoreinforcebarrierstowomenaspiringtoand
succeedinginleadershiproles.
Womenareparticularlyabsentfromseniorpositionslaterinthecareerarcthattypicallyinvolve
leadershiprolesofsomesort,fromteamleadertounithead,toDeanorChancellororcompany
CEO.Thisalsocreatesadearthofpossiblerolemodelsandmentors,consistentlyidentifiedas
akeyingredienttohelpingwomenachievesuccessinSTEMcareers.Whatthenaretheissues
thatseeminglyblockwomen’sriseto leadershiproles?First,welookatacceptednormsand
definitionsof leadership,astheseunderlyingdefinitionsandrelatedassumptionsguidethe
recognitionandhiringoflikelycandidates.Thesenormsalsoinfluenceperceivedsuccessinthe
leadershipposition,bothinacademiaandcompanies.
Schoolsofthoughtaboutleadershipfocusontraits,biologicallyand/orculturallydictatedversus
malleableskillsthatcanbelearnedandtailoredtothenatureofthework.Societalnorms/life
experiencesandmalleableskillsaremorewidelysupportedintheresearchliterature.Becauseof
theevidenceforsocietalinfluences,andthemalleabilityofleadershipskills,femaleleadership
traitsmaybecomemoredominantornotbasedonculturalpressuresandultimatelyonwhat
works(DelaRey,2005).Whilethereareindividualdifferencesinone’sinnatetendenciestoward
leadershipthatcrossesgender lines, leadershipprogramsthataddressculturalexperiences,
beliefs,aswellassuccessfulleadershippractices,standtomakeadifference.
Atraditionalviewofleadershipisknownasthetransactionalformandisvirtuallysynonymous
withacceptedandentrenchedstereotypesofmasculinetraits.Itishierarchical,andemphasizes
assertiveindividualism,aggressiveandcompetitivebehaviors,authoritarianism,andtechnical
competence. In contrast, the transformational formof leadership encouragesgreater
collaboration,moreconsultativedecision-making,andissuitedtomorecollegialworkplaces
(DeLaRey,2005).Transformational traitsareusuallyassociatedwithawoman’s leadership
styleandareconsistentwithstereotypicnormsoffemaletraits ingeneral.Thecharacteristics
associatedwith this femininestyle includebeingparticipatory,democratic,moresensitive,
nurturing,tolerantandempathetic. Inaddition,theseleadershaveexcellentlisteningskills, in
additiontohavinggoodconflictmanagementandinterpersonalskills.Infurthersupportofthis
genderstratificationof leadershipstyles,ameta-analysisstudybyEaglyandJohnson(1990)
concludedthatwomenadoptedamoredemocraticorparticipativestylewhilemenadopteda
moreautocraticordirectivestyle.Thistrendinfavorofgenderdifferencesinleadershiphasbeen
supportedinmorerecentresearch.AnAustralianstudyonseniorwomenexecutives(Chesterman,
Ross-SmithandPeters,2004)reportedthatwomenencouragedgreatercollaboration,more
consultativedecision-making,andmorecollegialworkplaces.
Interestingly, in theClark,Chandler,andBarry(1999)study, theyfoundthatbothmenand
womenpreferredthetransformationalstyleofleadership.Organizationshavestartedtoadopta
18
flatterstructure(versusthetraditionalverticalhierarchy)inwhichinterpersonalandparticipatory
skillsaremorecritical.WomenleadersaredescribedintheChesterman,Ross-Smith,andPeters
(2004)articleaspossessingtheentrepreneurialvisionandeffectivecommunicationskillsthat
better fitsmodernteam-basedworkenvironments.Womenaremore likely toacknowledge
andrewardthecollectiveteam,whichresults inaworkatmospherewhereall individualsare
motivatedandworktogethertoachievetheorganization’smission.
Twenty-firstcenturyenterprisesincreasinglyrelyonteam-basedknowledgework.Withtoday’s
complexproblems,hierarchicalleadership,rewardsforindividualinnovation,andperformance
aregivingway tocross functionalandself-managedwork teams,creatingnewchallenges
foreffective leadership(Bligh,Pearce,andKohles,2006).Managingthecomplexprocesses
andneedsofteammemberstoachieveanintegratedefficientandeffectiveoutcomeseems
bettersuitedtotheleadershipskillstypicallyattributedtowomen,wheretheyarecapableof
sharingleadership,leadfrombehind,employcompassionateandempatheticskills,anddisplay
nurturingbehaviors.Thiscontrastswiththetraditionalmodelofleadershipthatvaluestraditional
masculinetraitssuchasshowinghighlyambitious,highlycompetitive,andaggressivebehaviors.
Inperhapsanodtoquotastogetwomenintoleadershiproles,wefindthattheyareappointed
underverydifferentcircumstancesthanmen.Womenaresignificantlymore likelythanmen
tofindthemselvesonthe“glasscliff”,asmentionedearlier.Givenequal leadershipabilities,a
studyofFTSE100companiesfoundthatwomenweremorelikelytobetappedforleadership
roleswhenthecompanyperformancepriortotheirleadershipappointmentwasinturmoiland
experiencedconsistentpoorperformanceinthemonthsleadinguptotheirappointment.These
circumstancessettheappointees(thatis,thewomen)uptofail,ascontinuedpoorperformance
ofthecompanyoverallistypicallylinkedwiththenewfemaleleadershipregardlessofwhatwas
alreadyunderwayandestablishedbeforetheirarrival.Menaregivenfarmoreopportunities;
thus, it isunusualtofindmenonthe“glasscliff”(HaslamandRyan,2008)sincetheyfeel less
obligatedtotakethechanceonriskyleadershippositionoffers.
Amuchbetterknownandrelatedphenomenonisthe“glassceiling”andearlierreportedstatistics
seemtospeaktothiswhenweseethatwomendonotholdsenior/executivelevelleadership
positions.EaglyandCarli(2007)usetheanalogythatwomenhavetonavigatealabyrinthover
theircareers.Ateachcareerdecisionstage,thetimewomenneedtotaketodeterminetheirbest
optionslowsdowntheirprogresscomparedtothatoftheirmalepeerswhotypicallyhavemore
careerinformationeasilyattheirdisposal.Ifwomenmakethewrongchoice,theycanendtheir
careers.Valian(1997)andEagly(2016)areeacharguingthatitistheaccumulationofmanysmall
biasesratherthantheexistenceofonemajorhurdle(theglassceiling)thatexplainsthepatterns
ofwomen’semployment.However, it isalsopossibletoconsidertheglassceilingasthefinal
barrierthatwomenwhonegotiatethelabyrinthneedtomakeitthroughtoreachtheirdesired
finaldestinationintheexecutivesuite.Thus,it isnosurprisethatrecentresearchdemonstrates
thatwomenin leadershiprolesmaybemorevulnerableandless likelytoachievesustained
leadershipsuccessthanmenwithcomparableprofessionalexperience.Withoutmorewomenin
leadershiproles,wefailtoobtainacriticalmassnecessarytoaffectrealchange(Morahan,Rosen,
RichmanandGleason,2011).
19
Impact of Leadership Styles
Uptonow,wehavebeendiscussing leadershipskills inwomencomparedtomen.Another
importantaspectof leadershipwhenitcomestothegendergapconcernstheleadersunder
whichwomenbuildtheircareerandeventuallyrisetotheirownleadershipposition.Thereare
ahostofbehaviorsbywomen,theirmalepeers,andtheirleadersthatareimportantattributes
tounderstandastheyaffectthedegreeofgenderbiasandinformthemethodsofassessment
oforganizationalclimates(inbothacademiaandindustry)andwellasinformpossibleclimate/
genderbiasinterventions.
McClellandandHolland(2015)examined leaders’perceptionsof responsibilityas itaffects
genderbiasanddiversityinSTEMacademicdepartments.Theirstudyemployedsemi-structured
interviewsof31STEMdepartmentChairsandDeansata largepublicuniversity intheU.S. In
interpretingtheirresults,theyusedamodifiedversionoftheBrickmanetal.(1982)modelof
helpingandcopingtounderstandattributionofresponsibilityforaproblemversusattributionof
responsibilityforasolution.Usingthismodel,theywereabletocharacterizeanddistinguishtheir
studyrespondentsaccordingtotwogroups:highversuslowresponsibility.Theexamplethey
putforthtodescribehowhighversuslowresponsibilityinleadersworksinvolvesnurses.Nurses
workinginahospitalcanbeconsideredlowinresponsibilityforcausingapatient’sproblemsbut
highinresponsibilityforprovidingsolutionstotheproblems.Atthesametime,anursewould
ascribehighresponsibilitytothemselveswhentheyhelptosolveeachpatient’sproblems,but
lowresponsibilitytothepatienttosolvehisownproblems.Thisfour-dimensionalmodelisthe
frameworkMcClellandandHolland(2015)usetounderstandhowindividualsseetheirownlevel
ofparticipationinchangingthemselvesand/orthestatusquo.“Peoplemaynotevenbeaware
of theassumptionstheyhavemadeaboutresponsibility forproblemsandresponsibility for
solutions.Buttheycannot,associalactors,avoidmakingsuchassumptions,andtheassumptions
theymakeinturnhaveconsequencesbothfortheirownbehaviorandforthebehaviorofothers
theyinfluence”(Brickmanetal.,1982,p.370).
Theoutcomeof theMcClellandandHolland (2015) study indicated the following.High
Responsibility(HR)leadersdescribedthemselvesas“activelyinvolved”intermsofhiringwomen
ontotheirfaculty.Theypositionedthemselvesasleadersoftheirteamsandsawthemselvesas
responsibleforbeingarolemodeltoothersintheirunitforhowwomenwereperceivedintheir
organization.For instance,onedepartmentheadquantifiedwhoandhowmanywerebeing
askedtoserveoncommittees,howoften,andsoforth.Studiesshowthatwomenarefrequently
askedtodomore“service”worksuchasbeingonmorecommitteesthantheirmalecolleagues(for
example,Adams,2002,Blackburnetal.,1999).Bytakingtheactivestepofsimplyquantifyingthe
numberofcommitteeshisfacultywereon,theChairwasabletodeterminewhoappearedover
orundertaxed.TheHRleadersalsoproactivelytalkedaboutbecomingsensitizedtotheissue
ofgenderbiasastheysawthemselvesasneedingtoeducatethemselvesandtheirpeersabout
whatinequitylookedlikeandthatchangedidnotoccursimplywithtimeorthroughretirements
of“dinosaurs”.
Lowresponsibility(LR)leaderstendedtodescribechangewithregardtosolvinggenderbiasas
notbeingneeded.Theysaidthingssuchas“thingsaregoodenough”,“betterthanothers”,“better
thanbefore”,“simplynotaproblem”because“20%ofourfacultyarefemale,whichisgreat!”“more
timewilltakecareoftheissue,”andsimilarrationalizations.IftheseLRleadersadmittedchange
wasneeded,theyattributedresponsibilitytosomeoneorsomethingelse,suchasnotenough
studentsinthepipeline,notenoughinstitutionalsupport,andsoon(McClellandandHolland,
2015).
McClellandandHolland(2015)alsonotedthat theconstructof“pipeline” isan ineffective
20
metaphoras“itdoesnotlocateresponsibilityinanyone’shands.Thepipelineconstructcreates
apassiverelationshipbetweenthosewhoareabletochangethingsandstructuresthatneed
tobechanged”(McClellandandHolland,2015,p.217).Furthermore,Morahanetal., (2011)
describesthepipelinemodelasafailurebecauseofseveralinteractingfactorsincludingoutdated
institutionalpolicies,a lackof family-friendlypolicies,a lackofsuccessfulwomenmentors
androlemodelswhoholdleadershippositions,andthecontinueddisproportionatedomestic
responsibilityexpectedofwomenascomparedtomen.Hewlett(2007)hasproposedthata
bettermetaphoristothinkofcareerpathsintermsofahighwaywithonandofframpswhich
impliesagency.Thisisanimprovementoverthepipelinemetaphorsinceitencouragespeopleto
thinkofwaystogetbackontothepaththroughinterventionsthatcanhelppeoplerestarttheir
careersorenterinnon-traditionalways.
Howunitand institution leaders talkaboutwomenfacultyalso impactshowothers in the
organizationviewthesewomen,theirskills,abilities,andachievements.LRleadersessentially
viewedwomenfacultyasbeingresponsiblefor theirowngender inequity,aswellasbeing
responsibleforthesolution!Forinstance,LRleaderssawchoicesmadebywomenfacultysuch
ashavingchildren, lackofaggressivenesswithinthedepartment,andnothavingthe“right”
attitude,asnegativechoicesandthecauseofanyperceived inequityontheirpart. TheLR
leadersevenimpliedthatthesewomendidnothavea“naturalinclination”towardscience.The
takeawayisthatLRleadersprojecttotheirfollowersthatitisallthewomen’sfaultthatwomen
areunderrepresented inSTEMandthusLR leadersdonotspendanytimeconsideringtheir
leadershiproleorpossibleactionsthey(theLRleaders)mighttaketosolvethisproblem.Even
worse,someHRleaderswhorespondedalsoallowedthatwomen’schoicetohavechildrenwill
negativelyimpactontheirabilitytomovefromassistanttoassociate,orassociatetofullprofessor
(McClellandandHolland,2015).It isimportanttonotethatthesesamechoiceswereneveran
issueformalefaculty.
Theideathatthedecisiontohavechildrennegativelyimpactswomen’spersistenceandupward
successintheirSTEMcareersisubiquitousintheliterature,supportedbyexamplesfromacross
theworld,and ispervasiveamong leaders,peers,andthewomenthemselves.Thisoccurs
unabatedinspiteoftheavailabilityofmaternityleaveasaninstitutionalbenefit.Althoughthere
maybeaprogram,suchasmaternityleave,designedtoprovidesomeassistance,therealityis
thatutilizingitmaynotbeagoodideaespeciallyifthewomenemployeewantsto“stayontrack.”
Onewaytohelpaddresswomen’sretentionistomakepolicies“optout”ratherthan“optin”,which
reinforcestheideathatthetakingofleavefromworkisanorganizationalnorm.
Womenfacultyattitudeswerealsooftenmentioned. Whiletheconstructof“attitude”seemsa
bitmurky,itappearstoboildowntotheideathatwomenareexpectedtochangethemselvesto
bemorelikemento“fitin”.Evenwhenlackofsupportwasofferedasbeingpartoftheproblem,
itwasfollowedupwiththeexpectationthatwomenshouldmoreaggressivelyprocuresupport
andthatitwasnotthedepartmenthead’sjobtooffersuchsupport.
HRleadersmorefrequentlynamedtheirmalecolleaguesasresponsibleforpromotinggender
equityalongwiththemselves,withfewmentionsofwomenfaculty.Conversely,LR leaders
pointedtowomenasbeingthecauseandthesolutiontogenderinequity.SometimesLRleaders
couldappear tobesupportiveandeven invitechange,butwhen itcametoactuallydoing
somethingtomakeadifference, theytypicallydeflectedthechangeeffort fromthemselves
orothermenandredirected it to thewomen.Thesesleightofhandactions,asMcClelland
andHolland(2015)calledthem,areimportanttoobserveandunderstandtohaveanyequity
initiativebesuccessful.
Intheend,basedonbiasesandmyths,women’sunderrepresentationinSTEMforLRleaders
wasalltheirownfault,beggingthequestionofwhoandwhatwillfixthis.Placingtheblameon
womenthemselvesdoesnothingtodisruptorganizationalsystemsthatdevaluewomen,their
21
scholarship,andtheircapabilities.Thus,successofdiversityinitiativestoachievegenderequity
requirestheparticipationofwomen,theimplementationofinstitutionalpolicies,malecolleagues
taking responsibility for theirbehaviors,and the rolesand responsibilitiesofdepartment
leadershipactivelyaligningwithequitablepractices.Thesebehaviorsarefundamentaltoany
leadership roleandwhile thisstudy tookplace inacademia,webelieve that lowandhigh
responsibilityleaderscanexistinanyenterprise.
WewanttonotethatonepromisingprogramtorecognizeandencourageHRleaders is the
HeforShecampaignsetupbyUNWomen(UNWomen,2014),whichencouragesmentotake
actionstoadvancegenderequality.
Anotherimportantaspectofleadershipasitinteractswithgenderconcernsissuesaroundtoxic
leaders —analltoofrequentoccurrenceinworkenvironments.AccordingtoChuaandMurray
(2015),menandwomenrespondtotoxicleadersdifferentially,withmenoverallhavingbetter
“survival”skills.Wecouldapproachthisintwoways:(1)helpwomenlearnhowtonavigatetoxic
leadersinSTEMworkenvironments,and/or(2)instituteinitiativesthatneutralizetoxicleaders.
Letus firstunderstandthephenomenaof toxic leadershipaswellasexaminetheresponse
differencesbetweenmaleandfemaleemployees.ChuaandMurray(2015)describesixtypesof
toxicleadership:abusive,tyrannical,destructive,bullying,laissez-faire,andtoxic.Manifestations
oftheseformsofbadleadershippracticesincludeattacksonone’spersonality,character,abilities
andemotionalstability.Examplesofthissortofbehaviortheauthorsgiveincludecriticismof
theemployee’sperformance,usingemployee’sideasastheirown,andhumiliatingemployeesin
frontoftheircolleagues,whichopenthedoorforpossibleobjectivequantificationtogettothe
realworkplaceclimateasopposedtoaperceivedone.Findingnewwaystoobjectivelyidentify
andthenquantifyinequitablebehaviorsmaydoabetterjobofsheddinglightonwhatneedsto
change.
Withregardtotoxicleadersandthetoxicclimatetheyfoster,acaveatintheliteratureisthatitis
thefollower’sperceptionsthatindicateswhetherornotthesituationistoxic(Lipman-Blumen,
2005),andthisiswhereChuaandMurray(2015)describesomenoteworthydifferencesbetween
thegenders. Infact,Padilla,HoganandKaiser(2007)talkaboutthisphenomenonasa“Toxic
Triangle”madeupofleaders,followers,andtheenvironment.AccordingtoPadillaetal.,atoxic
leaderwilllikelyfitaprofilecharacterizedbyanideologyofhate,highlevelsofnarcissismand
charisma,apersonalneedforpower,andnegativelifethemes.Toxicenvironmentsaredescribed
asbeingunstable,whichcould includesomeperceived levelof threat to theemployeeor
organization,disregardforculturalandethicalvalues,andanabsenceofchecksandbalancesas
partoftheorganization’spolicies.Theseareorganizationalfactorstoconsiderwhenlookingfor
effectiveinterventionsandprogramstoachieveequitywithinanorganization.
Padilla,HoganandKaiser(2007)characterizefollowersasbeingoftwotypes—conformersand
colluders.Anemployeewhoisaconformerisdescribedasgenerallygoingalongwithwhatever
thetoxicleaderwants,butnotforpersonalgainandevenifitconflictswiththefollower’sown
personalvaluesorpositions.Conformingfollowersarecharacterizedasthosewithlowmaturity,
unmetneeds,andlowself-esteem,believingthattheydeservetobetreatedwithdisrespect.
Colluders,on theotherhand, seepotential forpersonalgainby followinga toxic leader.
AccordingtoOfferman(2004,p.56),“Althoughdestructiveleadershipcreatesnegativeoutcomes
fororganizations,somemembersmightprosper”.Enronisanexampleofthiswhenemployees
assistedtheircharismatic leaderstocommit illegalandimmoralbusinessdealingsbasedon
personalambitionandpotentialforpersonalgain.Overall,menareviewedasmorelikelyto
becolludersandwomenconformersseeminglyreflectingtraditionalgenderroles.Qualities
typicalofcolludersarestereotypicallymoremasculine,whileconformercharacteristicsalignwith
traditionalstereotypesoffemaleroles.
Addingmorenuancetotheseconstructs,ChuaandMurray(2015)alsoexaminedinformation
22
processing,communicationstylesanddifferencesbetweenmalesandfemalesthattheyclaim
canmediatewhetheranemployeeseesleadershipbehaviorsastoxic,andhowtheyrespondto
thesecircumstances.Theyreportthattheresultstheyfoundconformwithbroadgeneralizations
ofgender inaccordancetosocietalstereotypes.Theycharacterizewomenasplacinggreater
emphasisonnegativeinformationfromleadersbecauseforthemithasgreatersalience.This
greatersalience,accordingtotheauthors,isbecausestudiesshowthatwomenaremoreattuned
tosubtle,false,andorinconsistentcues.Males,ontheotherhand,tendtobemoreheuristic,big
picturethinkersandplacemoreemphasisonpositiveinformation.Ingeneral,womenseetoxic
leaderssignificantlymorenegativelycomparedtomen,regardlessofthegenderoftheleader.
However,bothgendersaremoreattunedtotoxiccommunicationsandsubtletieswhenthey
comefromasame-sexleader.Otherfactorsthatmaybeimportantbutnotfullynaileddownin
theliteraturemayinteractwiththeseissues.Forinstance,perceptionsoftoxicleadershipmaybe
mediatedbyage,andthereisevidencethat“attractiveness”mayalsomediatethecommunication
outcomes(Braun,PeusandFrey,2015). Inaddition,the“distance”fromtoxic leadershipmay
mitigatesomeofthetoxicity. However,withflatterorganizationsbecomingthenorminthe
modernworkplace,toxicbehaviorsmaybehardertoavoidandincreaseperceived(andreal)
problemsintheworkplaceculture.
Whileoverall, thepatternsof informationprocessingandcommunicationinemployees,tend
toindicategender-basedbehaviordifferencesinemployees, it isstill thecasethat individual
differences cancausecounterexamplesbasedongender. Furthermore, thesecomplex,
interactingfactorsofleadershipstyle,employeepersonalitytraits,andcognitivestylewilllikely
interplayinamalleablemannergivenwell-designedandimplementedorganizationalpolicies
designedtomitigatetheseinequitablepracticesandbeliefs. Importantaspectsofsuccessful
implementationwill involve thorough, relevant,andeffectivedefinitions foracceptable
behaviors,aswellasassessmenttechniquesalignedwiththedefinitionsforacceptablebehaviors
toyieldmeaningfulperformanceassessment.
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Biases Especially Impacting the Employment of Women
Bohnet(2016)studiesbiasandtheuseofstructuralapproachestoreducebias.Bohnetargues
that languageisnaturallygendered.Withoutactivelyassessingthis,webegintheprocessof
sortingandnotincludingwomen(ormen)invariousjobsectors.Notsurprisingly,thelanguage
inSTEMenterprisestendtobesolidlygenderedtowardmen.Bohnetconsiderstheroleofthejob
advertisementasanearlyandclearsortingtool.Forinstance,doestheadvertisementsaytheyare
lookingforcommunaloragenticcharacteristics?Youwillrecognizethatthisdistinctioncameup
whenwewerediscussinggenderedleadershipstyles.Iftheadvertisementsaystheyarelooking
forcandidateswithgoodinterpersonalskills,anduseswordslikeunderstanding,compassionate,
andsupportive,theadvertisementismuchmorelikelytoleadtoapplicationsfromwomen.In
addition,ifthegenderbalanceintheworkplaceismeasuredforhiringorganizationsthatuse
thistypeofadvertisement,oneis likelytofindmorewomeninexistingpositions. Incontrast,
advertisementsthatsaytheyarelookingforambitious,competitive,assertiveindividuals,are
morelikelytoreceiveapplicationsfrommen,andonewill findmenpredominate inexisting
positions.Genderedadvertisementstellapplicantssomethingaboutwhetherthey“belong”in
thatorganization,andwomenareparticularlyattunedtowhetherthey“belong”.Economistscall
itsorting;andpeoplesortthemselvesallthetimeintojobs,wheretheylive,clubstheybelong
to,schools,andsoforth,basedonlinguisticcues.Thesecuestellapersonwhethertheyfitinor
ifthe“cost”wouldbetoohigh.WhenitcomestowomeninSTEMcareers,thiskindofgendered
languagesorts50%oftheworld’spopulationawayfromthischoice,regardlessofwhetherthey
wouldactuallybegoodatthejob.
It is alsoknown thatwomenaremore riskaversiveandmore likely tooptoutofwork
environmentsthataredescribedascompetitiveandusevariablepaystructures.Thenetresult
isthatunder-confidentqualifiedwomenarelesslikelytoapplyforjobstheywouldbegoodat,
whileover-confidentbutperhapsunder-qualifiedmalesroutinelyapplyforandgetthesesame
jobs.Findingagenderneutralevaluationmethod/measurementwouldbehelpful inproperly
sortingandassigningbothmenandwomentojobsthatfitthembest.Interestingly,thisopting
outpatterninwomenreversesif theyarecompetinginteams.Teamstendtoattractwomen
candidates,whilepushingawaymales(consistentwiththemalemeritocracy, individualistic
worldview).
Withanodto removingstereotypethreats,anorganizationcanmovetogenderequityby
removinggenderedlanguageandcreatingenvironmentsthatareinclusiveofdifferentrisk-taking
typesandpromotesuniversaljobflexibility(seebelowformoreonflexibilityinsectionon“Work/
LifeBalance”).Theseareparametersforpossibleinclusionincomputationalmodelsassessing
organizationalclimate.OthernotablefactorsdiscussedbyBohnet(2016)thatare important
whenconsideringgenderequity interventionsincludethemethodsoforganizationalclimate
assessment.Forexample,it isadvisablenottoshareself-evaluationswithsupervisorsbecause
womenconsistentlyunder-ratethemselvesandthisfactorsinnegativelywhensupervisorstry
tobalancewomen’sself-evaluationswiththoseoftheirmalepeers.Companiesneedtoconsider
givingearlyobjectiveperformancefeedbacktoallemployeesandcompensatethemaccordingly.
Organizationalclimatecanbemeasured,rated,andrankedacrosscompanies.
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Addressing the Causes of Under-Representation
Thehistoryofpreviousefforts to increasetherepresentationofwomeninSTEMfields,and
worktoincreasetheirleadershiproles,offerssomeinsightsintowhatisneededforsustainable
changeandtorealizethebenefitsofbroadeningparticipation.Uptonow,workondiversifying
thedemographicsofSTEMseems tohavegone inwaves.First, therewasa focuson role
modelsandthenonactiverecruitmentmethodsandprogramsaimedathelpingmembersof
under-representedpopulationsdevelopskillstoworkinwhateverdominantculturetheyfind
themselves in.Neitherapproachhadatrulytransformational impact.Rolemodelsbynature
oftenseemtobeexceptionalpeoplethatmanypotentialstudentsstruggletoseethemselves
emulating.Teachingwomentonegotiate, forexample,seemstodirectlyaddressaproblem
womenfacebutlaterresearchshowedwomenwhonegotiatedthewaymendidfailedtogetthe
samebenefitsandfacedpushbacks(Catalyst,2007). Initial improvementsinnumberswithout
afocusonretentionandonchangingtheconditionswhichmakewomenunder-representedin
thefirstplaceusuallyleadstotemporarygains.Furthercomplicatingthesituation,oncesome
womenhavebeenhired,theexistenceofthisgroupcancausetheactiverecruitmenteffortsto
stalloutbecausethereisnolongerseentobeaneedforanyaction.
Iforganizationscontinuetopursuetheproblemofgender inequity intheirworkplace,after
initialattemptssuchasthosedescribedaboveprovelessthanadequatetosolvetheproblem
inasustainableway,thenextstepisusuallyamorestructuredapproach.TheNationalScience
FoundationADVANCEInstitutionalTransformationprogram(ADVANCE,2017)isagoodexample
asitsystematically looksattheresearchintowhywomenareunder-representedandusesthis
to informprogramsdesigned to introducesustainableorganizationalchangewithbuilt in
assessmentsofthischange.Theseprogramsofteninvolveapolicyreview/updatecomponent.
Someofthesepolicychangesorrecommendationscanbeveryeffective.Forexample,while
an institutionmightallowafacultymembertoasktostopthetenureclock inthecaseofa
pregnancy;theuseofthispolicywasoftendependentonthewomanfacultymemberhaving
adepartmentChairwhounderstoodtheimportanceofthepolicy.Switchingtoautomatically
stoppingthetenureclockwhenafacultymembertookmedicalleavetookawaytheperception
thatthereneededtobeanegotiationovertheuseofthispolicyandthischangemadeitmuch
easieronthefacultymember.Whilethesepolicieshelp,startingandstoppingasciencecareer
isnoteasy.Thisiswhyprogramsthathelpwomenstayinvolvedintheirresearch,perhapsby
providingtemporaryfundstohireadditionallaboratorystaff,assomeprogramsinJapanhave,
alsoneedtobeconsidered.
However,whatworks inoneorganizationorcountrymaynotwork inanotherbecausethe
reasonsforfollowingacertaincareerpathorleavingonearecomplex.Asdiscussed,underlying
muchofwhatisgoingonistheinfluenceofunconsciousbiasesorpersistentmythsaboutthe
natureofbeingascientistorengineer.Whilethemythscanberootedinreality,forexample,it
ishardtobalanceaSTEMcareerandfamilylife,theseareoftenseenmoreasabsolutes—thatis,
youcannothaveafamilyandacareer.U.S.datathatlooksathowparticipationbyspecificgroups
decreasesatdifferentcareerstagesshowsthatthepatternsofdecreasevarywidelyfromfieldto
field(DiversityinScienceAssociation,2007).Thismeansthatthebestinterventionstoincrease
participationinchemistry,forexample,maynotbeaseffectiveinmolecularbiology.Overlaying
thesepatternsaredatashowingthatinanyfield,thereissignificantvariationfromcountryto
countrythatmustalsobeconsideredwhendevelopingleadershipmodelsandconsideringwhat
policiestoputinplace.
Nevertheless,understandingthesepatternsof loss,andwhyapparentlysimilarprogramscan
25
haveverydifferentoutcomes,mayprovideusefulframeworksforthinkingaboutfutureprograms.
Aswehavediscussed,badteaching,stereotypethreat,unconsciousbias,micro-aggressions,
toomanyofframps(waysto leaveafieldwithoutaneasyroutetoreturn, forexampleafter
childbirth),poorbalanceinintegratingworkandlife,andlackofopportunity,allcontributetothe
loss.WeknowthatthepeoplewholeaveSTEM(academiaandindustry)aresmartandthatlosing
theirskillsetshurtsacountry’sabilitytomakeprogress.Weknowthatdemographicinertiadoes
notexplainthedataandthatwithoutinterventions,thedemographicsofSTEMwillnotchange
assignificantlyasneeded.Weneedtofindinnovative,disruptive,andscalableapproachesto
addressingandreversingthelossesofourverycapablewomenintheworkplace.
Lawsandpoliciesarenotenough.Forexample, inJapan,womenSTEMworkerdemographics
havenotsignificantlychanged,evenafterthepassageoftheEEOL.Thisraisesthequestion:how
doesonecreateaclimateofinclusion,whetheritisinacademia,orsomeSTEM-basedenterprise?
Avery(2011)distinguishesthedifferencebetweendiversityendorsementandactualactivism
tomakechangehappen.Hediscussestwogeneralreasonswhyanemployeemightendorseor
opposeinitiativesaimedatpromotingdiversityandinclusion.Oneisself-interest—humanstend
tobemotivatedbywhatevermaximizestheirpersonaloutcomes;anotherisideology—thereare
manyfactorsinthiscategory.Forinstance,howdoestheindividualfeelaboutintergroupequity?
Somefolksseeinequityasjustifiable,perhapsbecauseofworkethic,butalsobecauseofforms
ofprejudice,suchasrace,gender,andsoforth(thatis,mygroupissuperiortoyours).Peoplecan
differintheiropennesstoothernessandtodiversitybeliefs.Somemayseediversityaslowering
standards,creatingconflict,anddiminishingperformance,whileothersmayviewdiversityas
enhancingcreativity,anddecision-making,therebyimprovingperformance.Butthesebeliefsare
verymuchsubjecttobeinginfluencedbythoseinapositionofauthority,orevenco-workers.
Employeeswhofeeltheircorebeliefsarecountertoauthorityorotherworkers’beliefsystems
mayfeelpressurenottoshowtheirtrueselfforfearofrepercussions,ifthereisnotanaccepted
constructiveprocessfordissention.Thiscreatescognitivedissonanceinaworkeroutofsyncwith
others,andistypicallyquitetaxingpsychologically(ElliotandDevine,1994),whichcouldresultin
emotionalexhaustionanddiminishedperformance.Ontheotherhand,ifthebeliefsystemheld
byoneinauthorityisrifewithprejudiceandbiasedbehaviors,thisgiveslicensetoemployees
whosharethosebeliefstogivefullreintothatkindofinappropriatebehavior.Typically,diversity
advocacyseemstobeassociatedwithminoritygroupswhereasdiversityoppositiontendstobe
associatedwiththeprivilegedmajority(Avery,2011).
Adiversityclimate isasharedsenseofhowemployeesaretreatedwithrespectto inclusion
andfairness(McKay,Avery,andMorris,2008).Theseclimatesarebelievedtobeaffectedby
malleablefactorsthatcanimpactemployees’personalstanceandbehaviors.Thereareexamples
ofobtainingapositiveinfluenceonbuildinganinclusiveworkclimateviaawarenesstraining
sessions(seebelow).Butmoreimportantly,theorganizationalleadershipmust,bytheiractions,
sendastrongsignalfortheirexpectationsforinclusionandrespectfulinteractions.Thisincludes
punishingbadbehavior,suchasharassment,bullying,discrimination,andrewardinggood
behavior,suchasinstancesofemployeeshelpingdissimilarcoworkersandcustomers —allof
whichmakesadifference. Notpunishingbadbehaviorsendsasignalthatthisunacceptable
behavior isacceptablenotonlytotheperpetrator,butalsotoeveryotheremployeeinthat
organization.Butonceagain,thisintersectswithassessment.Wemustgetsmarteraboutthetell-
tailsignsofbiasthatcanbeobservedandquantified(intheabsenceofagoodleaderoverseeing
everythingthatgoesoninhisorherunit—thatisnotascalablesolution!).
VandenBrinkandStobbe(2014,p.187)pointouttheelephantintheroom.Whilegovernments,
businesses,anduniversitieshaveshownconsiderableinterest inimplementinggenderequity
programs,theyarestillmet“withopenresistanceandtheyareconsideredhighlycontroversial”.
Theirargumentgoesback tostudiesdiscussedaboveaboutwhat typicallyunderlieswork
cultureswithgendergaps,whichistheperceptionthattheseequityprogramsareforcingmen
toputupwithwomenwho“couldn’tmake it”ontheirown.Further, thesupports thatmen
26
routinelyreceivearetakenforgranted,whilewomenareexpectedtofixthemselvesandany
externalproblemscausingtheirperceivedinequitableworkenvironment.Notsurprisinglyand
exacerbatingtheproblem,equity initiativesaretypicallyframedasbeingaboutdiversityand
equalopportunityandare,thus,perceivedasstandinginthewayoftraditionalnotionsofawork
culturebasedonmeritocracyandindividualadvancement(Lamont,2009).
VandenBrinkandStobbe (2014)goon todescribe threebroad typesofgenderequity
interventionsimplementedtodate,butitisnoteworthythatalloftheminvolvevariousaspects
oftraditionalviewsaroundskills thatwomenneedtodeveloptofixtheproblem.There isa
perceptionthat theseprogramsalso lower thestandards for femalehiringandpromotion.
Morahanetal.(2011)listcomponentsofatraditionalinterventionmodelthatcorroboratesthis
traditionalapproach.Theirmodelreliesondeficitskillstrainingincludingmentoringinitiatives,
strategiccareerplanning,financecourses,andstrategiestoincreasewomen’sself-efficacyand
self-confidence.Anothertypicalapproachthatispartoftheirstrategydealswithpoliciesandis
oftencoupledwithdeficittraining;theseincludeequalopportunityviapoliciesandprocedures
designedtoaddressbarrierstoadvancementthatdisproportionatelyaffectwomen,butmay
beviewedbyat leastsomemenasaddedsupports forunder-qualifiedwomen.Are these
approachesofanyrealvalue?ThepersistenttrendofwomenleavingSTEMfieldsandoverall
significantunderrepresentationintheworkforceatall levelssuggestthatthesepoliciesand
proceduresarenotenough.AccordingtoVandenBrinkandStobbe(2014),meninacademia
(andlikelyotherworksectors)failtorecognizetheinformalsupportsystemstheyhave.When
interviewed,theywilltellyoutheysucceededintheircareerbasedonthemeritoftheirwork/
performance.Theyconsistentlyfailtorecognizetheirprivilegedpositionanddonotseetheir
considerableinformalsupportstructurewheremendoothermenfavorsallthetimeasaform
ofhelporsupport.Evenwithmentoring, Ibarra,Snook,andRamo(2010)foundthatmentors
aremuchmorelikelytogobeyondgivingadvicetomen(butnotwomen)inthattheywould
additionallyandactivelysponsormenbyadvocatingforthemforpositionsandpromotionswith
otherseniormenintheorganization.Womenseeandknowtheydonothavethesamesupport.
Perhapsre-framingtheseequityinitiativesinamannerthatappearstoequallybenefitallteam
members,menandwomenalike,wouldbeakeydistinctionthathasnotbeentriedwithmost
existinginterventionsandmaywork.
Workingfromtheperspectiveofsuccessfulorganizationalchangeinitiatives,ThomasandEly
(1996)offeraninterestingframeworkforthinkingabouteffortstoincreaserepresentation.They
discussthreeparadigms:
• TheDiscriminationandFairnessParadigm.Thisstartsfromthepositionthateveryoneshould
haveequalopportunitiestosucceedandissometimestermedtheassimilationparadigmsince
thefocusisontreatingeveryonethesameratherthanontheendresults.Sincethisfocuseson
equalityofinitialtreatmentratherthanonoutcomes,thetendencyistoexpectpeopletoadopt
theexistingnormstobesuccessful.
• TheAccessandLegitimacyParadigm.Thisrecognizesthattheworldisincreasinglymulticultural
andthatremainingcompetitiverequiresamorediverseworkforcethatisculturallycompetent.
Thisparadigmfocusesonwhatmakespeopledifferentfromeachotherwitharesultthat it
tendstoassignpeopletoparticularnichesbutdiscouragespeoplefromworkingoutsideof
areastheyareassumedtobecompetentinbecauseoftheirexperiences.
• TheLearningandEffectivenessParadigm.Thisparadigmisabalancebetweenthefirsttwo —
it looksforwaystoincorporatedifferentperspectivesandintegrateapproachesintoamore
effectivewhole.
Institutionsand industries thatdevelopmanagerialand leadershippractices thatsupport
attainingthethirdparadigmarethosewhobenefitmostfromdiversity.
ThomasandEly (1996) list theeightcharacteristics thatare reflected in theoperationsof
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successfulthirdparadigmgroups:
• The leadershipunderstandsthatadiverseworkforceembodiesdifferentperspectivesand
approachestowork,anddemonstratesthattheytrulyvalueavarietyofopinionsandinsight;
• The leadership recognizesboth the learningopportunitiesand thechallenges that the
expressionofdifferentperspectivespresentforanorganization;
• Theorganizationalculturecreatesanexpectationofhighstandardsofperformancefrom
everyone;
• Theorganizationalculturestimulatespersonaldevelopment;
• Theorganizationalcultureencouragesopenness;
• Theorganizationalculturemustmakeworkersfeelvalued;
• Theorganizationhasawell-articulatedandwidelyunderstoodmission;and
• Theorganizationhasastructurethatisrelativelyegalitarianandnotbureaucratic.
Thekeytotheeffectivenessofathirdparadigmapproachisthatthereisashiftfromfocusing
effortsonhelpingwomensurvive(firstparadigm)ortreatingwomenasdifferentfromthenorm
(secondparadigm)towardsmakingtheworkingenvironmentonethatbenefitseveryoneand
recognizesthevalueofanyonewhoispartofit.
Studies indicate thatwhatattractsmen3 toSTEMareaspectsof thework thatareseenas
consistentwithmasculinetraitssuchas logic,objectivity,abstractthought,andindependent
effort.Liketraditionalmasculineleadership,STEMfieldsarehistoricallypracticedashierarchical,
highlystructured,context-free,andvalueneutralarenas.WhatattractswomentoSTEMalso
resonateswiththeirperceivedtraditionalapproachtoleadership.Overwhelminglywomenare
attractedtoSTEMfor itssocialusefulnessandabilitytohelppeople.Forwomenthere isan
emphasison flexibility, inclusion,collaborationovercompetition, interactive/integrative
methods,communicationandsituatingscienceinitssocialcontext.Theseareallthingscalledfor
inbothfollowersandleadersof21stcenturyproblem-solvingwithincross-functionalworkteams
(Kezar,2009).TheseareimportantconstructstoconsiderwhencreatingSTEMeducationthat
attractsandretainswomen,aswellaswhenassessingcurrentandconstructingnewprogressive
organizationalworkplacepoliciesandclimatesinthehopeofattractingandretainingwomen.
Whathas tochange ifwomenare tohave theopportunity tohavecomplex,demanding
careers?WhilethefocusbelowandfortherestofthispaperisonwomenintheSTEMfields,
thesearereallyconditionsthatifmetwouldbenefitallemployees(maleandfemale)acrossthe
professions.
I. Needtokeepwomenengaged.Thisisespeciallyimportantduringthesecondaryeducation
stagewherethereisthemosttogainintermsofnumbersinSTEMfields,bothinacademiaand
industry,includingbusinessfieldssuchaseconomics.Theneedistomitigatetheprecipitous
decreaseinwomeninSTEMdisciplineswhichisobservedwhencomparingthenumberof
womenstudyingscienceathighschoolwiththesignificantreductionofwomenmajoringin
STEMoncetheyareinuniversity.However,womenexitSTEMcareersatallcareerstages.
II.Needtoprovidesolutionsthatallowforflexiblecareerssothatit ispossibletobalancelife
eventsandworkmoreeasily.Manywomenseetheneedtochoosebetweenacareerand
afamilyortoaccepta lessdemandingcareer inordertoaccommodatefamilyneeds.This
meansthatthereisaneedforprogramsthatallowwomentocontinuetheircareers,perhaps
atareducedlevel,whilepregnantandwhenthechildrenareyoung.Italsomeanslooking
foreffectivewaystohelpwomenreturntotheSTEMworkforceaschildrenbecomeolder.
3 Thisisprobablyagoodplacetoremindthereaderthatwearegeneralizinghere.Anindividualmaydeviatequite
stronglyfromthesenorms.
28
Ultimately, findingwaysto includewomenintheworkforceregardlessoftheir lifestages,
suchaschildrearing,wouldenablethemtoretainandsteadilyenhancetheirskillsandbuild
necessaryconfidenceintheircareer.Increasingly,worklifebalanceisofinteresttomenaswell
aswomenanditcouldhelpinrecruitment.
III.Needtoensurethatwomenhavethesameopportunitiesasmentobesuccessful,especially
inleadershiproles.Thefactthatsomewomencansucceeddoesnotmeanthatthereareno
biasesagainstwomeninthesystem.
Therestofthispaper looksatcurrenteffortsunderwaytohelpdevelopanenvironmentthat
meetstheseconditions,andimportantlyhowtousewhathasbeenlearnedthroughresearch
studiesandmovetowardsevidence-drivensolutions.
29
Keeping Women Interested
Womenstart todropoutofSTEMcareers in their teenageyears.Thereare lotsof reasons
proposedtoexplainthistrendincludinga lackofencouragementfromteachersandparents
tocontinueonaswellasperceptionsaboutwhatacareer inscienceentails,anda lackof
confidencethattheycanbesuccessful.Tocounterthis,manyoutreachprogramsworktoprovide
opportunitiesforgirlstolearnmoreaboutwhatSTEMcareersreallyentail,emphasizingpractical
problems likely toappeal to them.Theseprogramsoftenalsowork topublicizesuccessful
womenscientistsandengineerswhocanactasrolemodels.
Thevalueofprovidingrolemodelshascomeupconsistentlyacrosstheliterature.Bohnet(2016)
describesstudiesattheHarvardKennedySchool.Womenperformbetteronataskwhenthey
arefirstshownpicturesof,orevenjusttoldaboutsuccessful,famouswomendoingtheirwork
(famousrolemodelsdidnotaffectmaleperformance).Bohnetnotesthatwhenyouentera
boardroom,picturesofpreviousandcurrentcompanyleadersmatter —forexample,arethey
allmale?Thiscreatesanimplicitstereotypethreattowomenlowerontheorganization’sladder,
whereasamorebalancedboardsendsthemessagethatindeed,womenareservingand,thus,
seenasrolemodelsascompanyleaders. Infact,McGinnandMilkman(2010)didastudyat
a lawfirmanddiscoveredwhentherewerea limitednumberofwomenpartners,thissenta
messagetowomenlawyersjuststartingoutintheircareersthattherewaslimitedopportunity
foradvancement.Thiswasexacerbatedifmorejuniorwomenwerehired,asthewomensaw
greatercompetitionfor limitedadvancementopportunities,whichlikelycontributedtomost
oftheyoungerlawyersleavingthefirmwithinfiveyears.Relatedtothisfindinginacademia,
awomanassociateprofessoronafacultypromotioncommitteeissignificantlylesslikely(38%
less)topromoteawomanassistantprofessorthanisamaleassociateprofessor.Thissamesex
genderbiasdisappearsatthefullprofessorlevel,presumablybecauseofadesiretohaveand
embracesomeonesimilarattheirrank.Buildingtheworkforcesothatthereareconstructive,
effectivefemalerolemodelsateverylevelisimportanttodemonstrateapositive,collaborative
trajectoryamongwomeninsteadofcompetition —thatwetoooftenseethecompetitiveside
speakstothehallmarkbehaviorofanygroupwhereopportunitiesandresourcesarescarce.In
STEMcompanies,thehierarchical, individualisticcultureisgivingwaytoteamenvironments
asinterdisciplinaryproblem-solvingbecomesthenorm,while individualismstillcharacterizes
academia.
Inadditiontooutreachandpromotingwomenrolemodels,someinterdisciplinaryprograms
seemtobeeffectiveatrecruitingandretainingwomen —forexample, theundergraduate
coursesatSingaporeUniversityofTechnologyandDesign(SUTD)andthegraduatecoursesat
OkinawaInstituteofScienceandTechnology(OIST).SUTDhasagoalofproducingengineers
whowillservesocietalneedsandaims(successfully)ata40%femaleclass.Theyrananeffective
recruitmentprogramfocusingonthecontributionsofwomenengineersandscientists.SUTD’s
educationalofferingsarearrangedaround“pillars”suchas“EngineeringProductDevelopment”,
whichmaybemoreappealingtowomenthanthemoretraditionalengineeringcurriculum.
OISTisanexplicitly interdisciplinarygraduateschoolthatrequiresincomingstudentstorotate
betweenareasofstudy.OISTalsohasademonstratedorganizationalcommitmenttowork/
lifebalanceandprovidesonsitechildcare—factorsthatalsohelpitrecruitwomenstudentsand
faculty.
30
Work/Life Balance
ThecompetitivecultureofSTEMaswellasthefocusona24/7commitmenttosucceedisakey
reasonwomenchooseotheroptions.Work/liferelatedissuessuchasconflictsbetweenfamily
andcareercanaffect the likelihoodofdepressionandother illnesses,andgenderplaysan
importantroleintheseconflicts(Fujimoto,Kawamira-Shinohara,andOohira,2012),(Fujimoto,
Azmat,andHärtel,2013).Anecdotally, interviewswithsuccessfulwomenscientistshighlight
theimportanceofthisissue—eitherascommentsontheimportanceofmarryingasupportive
spouseorascommentsaboutfeelingthatachoicehadtobemadebetweenhavingacareerora
family.
Traditionally,womenoptforlowerstatus,part-timepositionstogaintheflexibilitytheyneedto
managetheirwork/lifebalance.Uptonow,thishasbeenakeyfactoringenderseparationin
thelabormarket(seestatisticssuppliedearlierinthispaper).TypicallyinSTEMcareers,tosecure
higherpayandbetterpositions,oneisexpectedtoworkallthetime,continuously,withlittle
regardtofamily.
Recentinitiativesarerevolutionizingthenotionofaflexibleworkplace.Asanexampleofthis
changeattheAustraliancompanyTelstra,workplaceflexibility isthedefault —allrolesflex,
andthisremainsthedefault,unlessprovennottoworkforaparticularrole.Thisallowsawork/
lifebalanceforeveryone —bothmalesandfemales —withoutapologies.Thisorganization-
widecultureshiftremovesinherentdiscriminationagainstanyoneseekingflexibility(heretofore
mostlywomen)sinceeveryoneintheorganizationisdoingit.
Givendecliningbirthratesandlongerlifespans,aswellasthetechnologicaladvancesthatmake
workingremotelyincreasinglypossible,itseemslikethetimeisrighttorethinktheroleofwork
inaperson’s life.Ratherthantakingakaizenor incrementalapproach,this isaproblemthat
Hurson(2008)wouldarguedeservestenkaizen4thinkingbecauseitrequiresbeingwillingtobe
disruptiveofthecurrentnorms.Whilethismayseemdifficult,the24/7lifestyleisacomparatively
recentphenomenonandonethatcomeswithmanynegativeimpactsonthehealthandcapacity
forcreativethoughtbyindividuals.
4 Tenkaizenreferstorevolutionarychange(forexample,disruptivetoexistingpractices), incontrast toanother
popularformofthinkingaboutproblemsandsolutionsinbusinesscalledkaizen,whichisaboutincrementalchange
andcontinuousimprovement.
31
Work Teams Thrive with the Right Norms
Increatingeffectiveworkteams, therecommendation(andtheeffectivenessof thiscanbe
assessed) is tocombineaverageabilitywithcomplementarydiversityofperspectivesand
expertise.Thereshouldbeacriticalmassofeachsubgroup5topreventtokenism.Theseteams
shouldhavenorms for theirprocesses thatembrace inclusiveness toallow fordiverse
perspectivestobecontributedandheard.Thewillingnesstospeakupcanbedifferentforthose
outsideoftheprivilegedmajorityand,thus,processrulessuchasunanimityorsensitivityto
opposingperspectivesshouldbebuilt into the teamnormstomitigate threats to fulland
inclusiveperformanceamongteammembers.Studiessuggestthatyoucanturndescriptive
normsintoactionablenormssimplybytellingpeopleaboutthem.
Anareathathasnotbeenreallywellstudiedconcernsdeterminingbestpractices forwork
teamsandstrategies tocommunicationthesenorms.Ausefulprojectandadeliverable for
organizationstousewouldbetosurveyandelaboratewhichsetofrulesandcodesofconduct
characterizehighlyeffectiveteams ingivencontexts.Onerecommendation is tostudyand
measurecommunicationaroundnormssuchthattheyareframedintermsofpositiveresults(for
example,discussingsuccessfulcompaniesthathavegenderdiverseboardsand/oremployees,
ratherthanfocusingontheperformanceofcompanieswithtoofewwomen)sincethismay
bemoreeffective.Developmentofacompanyrankingindexcouldthenbeusedtomotivate
companiesandpeopletocompeteongenderequity.
5 Subgroup in thiscontext refers towhatever rangeofpersonnel thatmakesupawork teamsuchaswomen,
minorities,privilegedmales,experts,productusers,etc.Theideaisthatthereshouldbeabalancesuchthatnoone
istreatedasa“token”member.
32
Better Ways to Recruit and Assess Individuals
Thereareseveralpromisingareasofresearchthatarelookingintowaystoreducetheimpacts
ofunconsciousbiasonhiringandonindividual’sperceptionsofthemselves.Evenstepsasbasic
asusingaqualificationschecklist intheassessmentofcandidatesforapositioncandecrease
unconsciousbias.This ismosteffectivewhenadiscussionof theneededqualifications is
undertakenbeforeanycandidatefilesarereviewed.Takingthisastepfurther,TheBehavioural
InsightsTeam(2017)isworkingtoapplyresearchfindingsfromthebehavioralsciencestopublic
servicesincludingrecruitment.Theirworkisgroundedinanempirical,research-basedapproach.
Recently,anoffshootcalledBIVenturesputoutatoolcalled“Applied”(TheBehavioralInsights
Team,2017)aimedatreducingbiasinhiring.
Thereisalsoasignificantamountofworkgoingintowaysto improvestudentachievement,
especiallyways tocloseachievementgapssuchasbetweenmenandwomenand,more
generally,betweenmembersofmajoritygroupsandmembersofunder-representedgroups.
YeagerandWalton(2011)havedoneanextensivereviewofhowshortexercisessuchasasking
studentstowriteabouttheirpersonalvaluesordiscussionsofhowmathematicsabilitycanbe
developedthrougheffortcanchangestudentoutcomes.Theyalsolookatthechallengesthatcan
beinvolvedinscalingtheseinterventionsandhowtoovercomethem.Theencouragingresults
arethattherearesomestraightforwardwaystoimprovethecurrentsituation.
33
Developing Leadership Potential — Existing Programs
Aswearguedabove,accessto leadershipopportunities iscritical towomenachievingafull
andsuccessfulcareerarc.Datademonstratethatwomendonottendtomoveintoleadership
positionsatanywherenearthedegreetowhichmendobecauseof issuessuchasthe“glass
ceiling”effect.Furthermore,whenwomenareofferedleadershipopportunities,theytoooften
representafalseandprecariouspathto leadership(forexample,theglasscliff).Withoutthe
sameopportunitiesasmen(leadershipbeinganimportantexample),ithasbeendocumented
thatwomeneventually leavetheworkforce,acceptasignificantlyreducedrole,oroptoutof
mainstreamenterprisefortheriskierentrepreneurialpathwheretheycancalltheirownshots.
Since leadership ispivotal toasuccessfulworkcareer,what thenare theopportunities for
leadershipdevelopment?
Kezarandcolleagues(2009)takeadeepdiveintoacademicleadershipprogramsprovidedto
menandwomenwiththerecognitionoftoday’scomplex,multiculturalandglobalenvironment.
Theseprogramsattempt toexamine foundational leadershipskillsas theypertain to the
academicworkplace.Theyfoundthatwhilethereareacoupleofprogramsthathavelastedfor
decades(othershavecomeandgoneinthemeantime)andaretrustedandwellbranded,they
appeartosufferfromsystemicissuesthatdonotaddresstoday’sleadershipneeds.Thatis,these
programsremainviableinthemarketplacebecauseoftheirrobustbranding,longevity,andtrust,
ratherthananypretenseatmeetingactualneedsformodern-dayleadershipdevelopment.They
categorizedtheseprogramsasbeingofferedinternally,byexternalgroups,andbyassociations
foragivenfield.Internalprogramsaredescribedasinformalandadhoc;manyarecharacterized
bybeingorganizedbyvolunteerswhohave“dayjobs”and,thus,notprovidingmuchconsistent
commitmenttothemissionofthetraining.Theoverallorganizationoftheseprogramsislacking
andisbestcharacterizedbyacollectionofexpertsdeliveringmodulesintheirareaofexpertise,
withonlytheprogramdirectorhavingsomedegreeofoverallvisionofofferingabroadand
engagingsetofmoduleswithinthe“program.”Mostacademicprogramstarget leadershipat
theexecutive level(forexample,HigherEducationResourceServices(HERS,2017))andtend
toneglectthemiddleandjunioremployees.Thoseaddressingthelattertendtobeofferedby
disciplinaryassociationsandaretoofewtomeettheneedanddemand.Moreover,theexecutive
levelisgearedmoreatthenationallevel,whereasanyleadershipdevelopmentofferedtomore
junior,risingemployeestendstobefocusedonissueswithintheinstitution.Itisarguedthatboth
levelsoffocusneedtobeapartofafullleadershipdevelopmentcurricula.
Arecognizedworldexpert inthisfield,McDade(2009)arguesthatthereseemstobeinertia
amongthewell-regardedprogramsthatarewell-brandedandtrusted,yetoutoftouchwith
currentthinkingandtheneedforupdatedleadershipdevelopmentinitiatives.Theseprograms
seemtochoosetomaintaintheircurriculaasopposedtoevolvingthemtomeetcurrentneeds,
apparentlybecauseofhavingachievedtrustintheirbrand.Itisamarketplaceissueinthatthey
canrelyontheirstrongbrandingasaresultofambiguityandlackofknowledgebyconsumers
ofthefundamentalconstructsforsuccessfulleadership.Thatis,anorganizationmayrelyona
well-branded, trustedprograminthemarketplacebasedonthosemarketingfeaturesrather
thanathoroughunderstandingofwhattheirorganizationneedsforaneffective leadership
developmentprogramtailoredto theirneedsandcontext.Recognizingthe issuesof these
programs’shortcomingscanprovidethebasisforbetterprogramsandinterventionsinthefuture.
Currently,virtuallyallprogramsaredesigned(typicallyinthe60sand70s)tomaintainthestatus
quonotionofleadershipasahierarchical, individualistic,top-down,authority-basedapproach,
meetingtheneedsofcurrentorganizational leadershipthattypicallyrepresentsthis typeof
34
leadership!(KezarandBeesemyer,2008).Moreimportantly, theseprogramstypicallydonot
fostercollaborationandteamleadership—identifiedasimportantto21stcenturyenterprise.
McDade(2009)pointsoutthatthereisactuallyverylittleempiricalresearchaboutleadership
developmentprograms,andaverysmallcadreofscholarstalkingandwritingabouttheissues
relatedtotheeffectivenessoftheseprograms.Fromoursurveyoftheextantresearchliterature,a
reviewofbothprogramsandevaluationsbyscholarsseemstobedirectedtowardtheacademic
context.Leadershipdevelopmentneedsandprogramsinindustryappeartobeevenlessstudied,
perhapsbecausethedirectionofbusinessplanningfollowsmarketoutcomesandisagnostic
whenitcomestoequityanddiversityissues,regulationsnotwithstanding.
ThereareafewprogramsthatMcDade(2009)arguesshowpromiseandcouldbemodelstobuild
on.TheAmericanCouncilonEducation(ACE)offersnationalworkshops, includingleadership
programsdirectedatwomenandminorities inacademia.TheirCampusInternationalization
program,whileofferedoff-campus(costfactorsarehighertosendgroupsoff-campus)does
offercampusteamparticipationandteam-buildingopportunitiesintheirforumsandlaboratory
offerings.TheoverallfocusofthisprogramisattheUniversityPresidentiallevel.
Moreover,theExecutiveLeadershipinAcademicMedicine(ELAM)atDrexelUniversitysupports
collaborationandcooperationintheirprogramactivities.McDade(2009)pointsoutthatviaa
RobertWoodJohnsongrant, therearestudiesbeingdoneonthisprogramdocumentingthe
contributionofthisprogramonparticipants’leadershipandcareeropportunitiesandsuccessin
thelongterm,withwomenwhoparticipated,showinganadvantageoverwomenwhodidnot
participateintheprogram.
35
Developing Future Leaders with the Right Professional Skills
BuildingLeadershipdevelopmentprogramsthatmeet thecurrent revolution in leadership
strategies(forexample,team-based,collaborative,egalitarian,democratic,andsoforth)requires
revolutionarychanges inmission, format,curriculumandparticipants.Sowhopaysforthis?
Traditionally,institutionsandindividualshopingtoimprovetheircareertrackpaytoparticipatein
theseprograms,withsomefundingcomingfromendowmentsandfoundations.Budgetary
limitationsinallsectorsarenotatrivial factor.Thecostofthisrevolutionwillnotbesimple;
exploringafundingmodelisanimportantgoalinandofitself.Nevertheless,oneimportantway
toimprovetheretentionofwomenisthroughthespreadofeffectivebestpracticesthatimprove
the cl imate they experience by reducing unconscious bias and the incidence of
microaggressions 6 .
Theresearchliteraturepointstotheexistenceofbiasinhiring,graduateadmissions,mentoring,
andbuildinglearningenvironments(includingscientificlaboratoryenvironments).Aswehave
discussed,thescientificcultureisrootedinthebeliefthatthebestindividualssucceedinrisingto
thetop,andthatawardsandrecognitiongotothosemostdeservingandthattheSTEMfieldsare
ameritocracy(thatis,withlittleconsiderationofothercontextualandculturalfactorsthatinhibitor
facilitatesuccess).Again,aswehaveshown,theliteratureonunconsciousbiasinhiringsuggests
otherwise(BertrandandMullainathan,2003),asdostudiesofscientificselectionprocesses
(WennerasandWold,1997).Ourunderstandingofcognitivedissonancetheorysuggeststhat
thebestwaytodisruptthecurrentstatusquoistoworkinwaysthatdonotdirectlychallenge
thestatusquo,butinsteademphasizethevalueofprofessionalpracticeinhiring,selecting,and
buildinglearningenvironments,aswellas insupportingandmentoringnewcomersintothe
scientificcommunity(Bohnet,2016).
Justasauditioningorchestraplayersbehindascreenincreasedthenumberofwomenorchestra
playersanddemonstratedthatthepriorselectionprocesshadindeedbeengenderbiased(Goldin
andRouse,2000),evidencealsoshowsthatadoptingamorestructuredreviewprocessalso
helps increasethelikelihoodofhiringmembersofunderrepresentedgroups(Wilson,Dalton,
ScheerandGrammich,2010).Aprofessionalpracticescurriculumwillspreadprocessesthatcan
act likethe“screen”andcandisruptthemindsetthatameritocracycurrentlyexists, leadingto
betterdecision-makingandmoreequitableenvironments.
Onewaytodothisistofocusonthedevelopmentofprofessionalskillsthatlookateffective,
research-drivenwaystorecruitandretainstaff.Wearguethatthistrainingisnotcommonfor
STEMpractitioners,whichisonereasonwhywomenarecurrentlysounder-representedinthis
group.
Complexadaptivesystemshavefourbroadcharacteristics:(1)thesolutiontothechallengesthis
groupfacesareinitiallyunknown;(2)challengesareongoing,emergent,andunpredictable;(3)
thevariedanddiverseexperiencesofeachmemberisrequiredinordertoaddressthecomplex
problemsthegroupfaces;and(4) thesystemis interdependent(Dooley,1997).Thesefour
characteristicsdescribethetypicalscientificresearchsettingwell —acomplexadaptivesystem
6 Microaggressionsare theeverydayverbal,nonverbal,andenvironmentalslights, snubs,or insults,whether
intentionalorunintentional,whichcommunicatehostile,derogatory,ornegativemessagestotargetpersonsbased
solelyupontheirmarginalizedgroupmembership(SueandRivera2010).
36
mustlearntosolvenovelproblemsthatcouldnothavebeenpredictedasopposedtoapplying
prescribedsolutionstoknownproblems(Daft,2008).Thenotionofcomplexadaptivesystems
hasrecentlybeenusedinconjunctionwithrelationalleadershiptheoriestodevelopamodelof
institutionalchange(BorregoandHenderson,2014).Relational leadershipiscontrastedwith
managementleadership,asshowninFigure1.
Figure 1. Relational models bring sociocultural considerations into the theory of leadership
Leadershipwithinadaptivesystemsisdefinedasarelationalprocessthatengagesallparticipants
andenableseachpersontocontributetoachievinganevolvingvision(Uhl-Bien,2006).Thistype
ofenvironmentismoreequitablethanonethatdependsonleadersandfollowers.Becausethe
focusisonprofessionalpracticesratherthanontheculturalcompetenciesthatitmightbring
about,itmaybemoreaccessibleandimmediatelyuseablebymajorityandminorityresearchers
andotherSTEMworkgroups.Ourexpectationisthatafocusonprofessionalpracticeswill lead
totheoveralldevelopmentofprocessesthataidtherecruitmentandretentionofmembers
ofunder-representedgroups(URGs),aswellashelpingresearchersestablishmore inclusive
mentoringandadvocacypracticesandbuildmoreequitableworkenvironments.
Onepromisingapproach is theT-shapedprofessionalmovement.TheconceptofT-shaped
professionals 7isoftenusedtodescribeindividualswhoaretrainedforinterdisciplinarywork.
Theybalancethedeepskillsneededinasinglediscipline(theverticalpartoftheT)withthe
broadskillsneeded tosucceed inworking in teamsandacrossdisciplineboundaries (the
horizontalbaroftheT).Thegoalistoworktodevelopthesebroadskillsinalargefractionofthe
population.T-shapedtrainingprogramsaresuitableforeveryonetotake,andemphasizebuilding
effectiveskills that teamscanapply toabroadrangeofproblems.SinceT-shapedtraining
programsdonotfocusspecificallyonincreasinginclusion,usingthisapproachcouldincreasethe
likelihoodofbroadacceptanceandadoption.Thisisageneralapproachthatunifiesratherthan
separatesbyhavingbothmajorityandminoritypractitionerslearntogether.
7 Abriefintroductiontothismovementcanbefoundat:
37
Assessment of the Climate and Effectiveness of Interventions
Theabilityto interveneintheseissuesseemstohingeonassessment.Therearetwogeneral
categoriesofassessmentthatwewillconsiderhere.First,thereistheenterpriseofassessingan
organization’scultureandworkclimate.Thereisaseparate issueofassessmentas itpertains
toobjectiveand fairperformanceassessmentof individuals.Nielsen,Marschke,Sheffand
Rankin(2005)proposethatbasicquantitativedatadoesnotnecessarilyprovidetheinformation
neededtomonitortheclimateandprogresstowardsequitygoals.Traditionally,wehaverelied
onsurveysthatinvolveself-reportingtotellusabouttheculture,climate,andbeliefsystemsof
individualsthatcomprisesomeworkinggroup,fromteamstowholeorganizations.Self-report
strategies inanycontextareinherentlybiased,andperhapsmoresowhenthesubjectofthe
surveyisexploringgenderorracialbiases.Tobeofvalue,oneneedstoexploremethodically
andunderstandhowaself-reportcanbefaultywithineachcontext it isused,andtakesteps
tomitigate thisbias.Alternatively,wecan look tomoreobjectiveassessmentapproaches.
Fortunately,recentcomputationalapproachesareprovidingtoolsthatmayprovidetheobjectivity
thatcanoverlookwhatarespondentsaysabouttheirbiasesandtakeanobjectivelookatwhat
theyactuallydothatimpactspotentialinequitableoutcomes(thatis,provideawaytoquantify
whetherarespondent“walksthetalk”).
Aswehaveseenwithstudiesofleadership,whatpeoplesayabouttheirbeliefs,andwhatthey
doonadailybasis,canbequitedifferent.Whoastudent,professororemployeeinteractswithon
adailybasisorwhotheyactuallygotoforadvicecanprovideimportantinsightsintotheiractual
accesstothepeoplewithpowerwhomightaidtheircareertrajectory.Anemergingstrategyto
understandthesecommunitynetworkscomesfromrecentadvancesincomputationalstrategies
ofassessment.Thisisametadataapproachthatshowspromise,butthecautionisthattreating
metadataas“groundtruth”canintroducetheoreticalandpracticalproblemsininterpretingthe
results intermsofreal-worldnetworkstructures. Infact,assignedmetadata labelscanmask
importantcontributionsofsubgroups.Thesesubgroupscanbeoverlookedbecausethemetadata
labelscorrespondtoanattractivelysimplenetworkandexplanation.Peel,Larremore,andClauset
(2016)addressthisissuebyintroducingstatisticalmethodsthatshowpromiseinquantifyingthe
relationshipbetweenmetadataandcommunitystructureandthusinyieldinginsightsofgenuine
worth.Communitynetworkshavebeenexplored to identifymanyconnections, including
allegiancesorpersonalinterestsinsocial(orworking)networks.Clauset(2017)presentedwork
conductedinhislaboratorywhere,byutilizingthisstatisticalnetworkmodelingtechnique,he
couldreliablysortworkingcolleaguesofanorganizationbasedonaskinginsightfulquestions
aboutwhotheyspoketoatwork.Whatisnoteworthyisthatthetypeofquestionsaskedelicited
straightforwardreportsofwhopeoplehadspokentointheworkenvironment,andwhenthey
didso.Thequestionswereaskedinamannerthatwasunlikelytoinvokeposturingassociated
withpowerandbiases —issuesthatcanbeimplicit inself-reportsurveysofculturalclimate
withintheorganization.Clustersemerged,andintheexamplestudied,racialandgenderbiases
werequitepronounced.Attheendoftheday,carefully-designedquestionsarecritical.Equally
criticalistheinterpretationofthemodel/clusterresults,andthesecanbemeaningfulwithcareful
considerationofrelevantfactorsthatco-occurinthedata.
Clauset,Arbesman,andLarremore(2015)reportafullyrealizedapplicationofthistechniqueas
itappliestothefacultyjobmarketinthreequitedifferentdisciplines:computerscience,aSTEM
URL:<http://agileleanlife.com/t-shaped-skills-every-area-life/>(accessedApril30,2017).
38
fieldwithlowfemaleparticipation;business;andhistory.Facultyhiringisanexpensiveandde-
centralizedprocess.Clauset,Arbesman,andLarremore(2015)examined19,000facultyhiring
inNorthAmerica.Theyfoundthat25%of institutionsaccountedfor71%to86%ofalltenure-
trackfacultyplacements.Lookingat institutionprestige,scholarlyproductivity,andplacement
outcomesrevealedprestigehierarchiesinfacultyhiringnetworksthatmakeapuremeritocracy
implausible,suggestinginfluencesofnon-meritocraticfactorssuchassocialstatus.Themore
prestigioustheinstitutiongrantingone’sdoctorate,themoreprestigioustheplacement.Eventhe
likelihoodofreceivinganyplacementatallincreases.Anobjectiveviewofthecomplexinterplay
offactors impactingfemaleacademicandcareersuccessemerge,aswecombinethisfinding
withotherworkthatdemonstratesthat importantaspectsofscholarlysuccessshowgender
inequity.Forinstance,studieshavereportedthatgrantproposalandpeerreviewsuccessrates
canbehigherformenthanwomen(forexample,Kaatz,Gutierrez,andCarnes,2014;vanderLee
andEllemers,2015)implyingimplicitbiasesintheevaluationprocess(Clauset,et.al.,2015).
39
Recommendations
Effectiveorganizationalchangeneedstoworkacrossmultipleconstituencies. InFigure2,we
outlineatheoryofactionforongoingwork inthis field.Weproposesomespecificstepsto
advance theseconceptsandencouragetheiradoption intopractice inbothacademiaand
industry.Thegoal is tohaveasignificant impactonSTEMworkersandtheSTEMworkforce
culture.
Broader Issues for Gender Equity Programs:
• Recommendation:aproject toexploremodelsanddevelopevidence-basedperformance
evaluations.Thisiscomplex,giventheliteraturecitedabovethatdemonstratedsuchthingsas
womenaregivenfeweropportunities,havetheirworkundervalued,andarelesslikelytoget
publishedthanmen.However,anobjectiveassessmentofawoman’scapabilitytothriveiskey
todevelopingagenderfairenvironment.
• Recommendation:undertakeadetailedsurveyofgenderequityinitiativesworldwide.First,
buildarubricthatcharacterizesatraditionalfocusthatsetsupwomenagainstmenversus
initiatives thatbuildT-shapedskills forwomenandmenalike,giving themtheskills to
productivelyworktogether.Qualifyandquantifytheorganizationalpoliciesthatallowflexible
workhoursforbothmenandwomentoaccommodatetheirprivatelives.Buildamodelthat
comparesthesequalitieswithquantifiablesuccess,suchaslong-termgainsinwomeninSTEM
careersandtheirretentionbeyondathreshold(fiveyearswasusedinalawstudy(McGinnand
Milkman2010)). Also,quantifychangesinnumbersofwomenmovingintoleadershiproles,
andrecordhowlongtheyremainintheleadershipposition.
Design considerations for gender equity:
• Recommendation:buildademographicallyblindalgorithmtomatch-makeandcomparea
STEMjobwiththeobjectiveskillsandabilitiesofcandidates.Buildingthiscomputationalmodel
requiresunderstandingandquantifyingtheseattributes.Thismeasurementcanbeappliedto
lettersofrecommendation(knowntobeshorter,withagreateruseofhedgesandnegative
languageforwomenthanforcomparablemalecandidates),aswellasresumes,curriculum
vitae,andjobadvertisements.
Assessment:
• Recommendation:Organizationsneedanobjective ratingmethodandanormed index
thatratesandranksthemaccordingtohowwelltheyhaveattainedagender-neutralwork
environment.Aworthwhileprojectwouldbetodeepenourunderstandingofthescopeand
dynamicsofworkplaceculturesthatimpactgenderequitybydevelopingandimplementing
adetailedsurveyofthesemanyissuesandinitiativesworldwide,usingevaluationstrategies
withparticularattentiontotheemergingcomputationalnetworkapproachesthatdonotrely
ondirectself-reportsaboutone’sbiases.Rather,ifproperlycrafted,thesesurveyswiththeright
evaluationstrategiescanprovideobjectiveevidenceofbehaviorsthatareknowntounderlie
genderbiasorgenderneutrality.Thesesurveysshouldundergopilottestingandnorming
inrealworkplaceenvironments.EPMEWSEhasalreadydevelopedsignificant infrastructure
tosurveyandtrackthegendergapinSTEMinJapan —anorganizationsuchasthismaybea
naturalhomeforthisalgorithmicdevelopment.
Professional Development:
• Recommendation:Survey theexisting leadershipprograms in industryandacademeto
40
determinewhatexistsaswellasthelongitudinaloutcomeswheretheyhavebeenapplied(for
example,numbersofwomeninSTEMandinleadershiproles)andtodeterminecomponents
oftheircurriculumandcostsforanoverallassessmentofcostversuseffectiveness. It isalso
importanttoaddresswhatseemstobeworkingversuswhatappearsnottobeworking,andto
proposerecommendationsforchange,includingacostmodelandfundingstrategy.Thiscould
befollowedupwithapilotimplementationofthebestpracticesthatemergefromthedatain
representativeworkplaces(thatis,businessandacademia)todetermineefficacy.
Recommendations Regarding Gender-Gap Related Programs in Japan:
• WenotethatthereareseveralinitiativesbasedinJapanthatshowpromisefordecreasingthe
gendergap.Longitudinalresearchshouldbedone(orcontinued,ifalreadyinplace)onthese
andother initiativestodemonstratethat theyactually impactpersistence inSTEMcareers
amongwomen.AmongthesearetheKASOKUprogram—aprogramtoacceleratepromotion
amongwomenresearchersatKyushuUniversity 8 .Thisprogramcouldhavethepositiveimpact
ofestablishingwomenleaders intheirdepartmentsandprovideexperiencedmentorsfor
juniorresearchers.Anotherprogramthattargetsakeyproblemwithpersistenceandrestarting
one’scareerafterchildcare leave, theRestartPostdoctoralFellowship(RPD)9 ,alsoshows
promise.From2006whenitstarteduntil2016,theprogramhasgonefrom30awardeesper
yeartoapproximately70awardeesperyear,althoughapplicationshaveremainedconsistentin
the200to250range.Ofthosethatparticipate, thedatademonstratethatafterfiveyears,
participantsmovefrom63%full-timeemploymentto90%.Overacareer(longitudinaldata)is
thereincreasedpersistenceinSTEMemployment(bothacademicandindustry)forwomen?If
thishasbeenthecase,howcanthisprogrambeexpandedtohelpmorewomenwhohadbeen
educatedandhadworkedintheSTEMfieldstore-entertheworkforceafterchildbirth?We
recommendcontinuingtodevelopandexplorefurthertheseinitiatives.
8 DirectedbyErikoJotaki,OfficeforthePromotionoftheEqualOpportunityintheWorkplace.KyushuUniversity
9 AJapanSocietyforthePromotionofScience(JSPS)Fellowship–moredetailscanbefoundat:URL:<http://www.
jsps.go.jp/english/e-quart/17/02.html>(accessedApril30,2017).
41
Figure 2. Project Theory of Action/Logic Model for Gender Equity in STEM careers
Problem Activity Outcomes
1.Womenmake up a very small
percentageoftheSTEMworkforce,
bothinacademiaandindustry.
2.Notenoughwomen in college
careerprepforSTEM;notenough
womenintheSTEMfaculty.
3.With an aging population,we
needallthecapabletalent,having
equalaccessibilitytoSTEMcareers.
4.Womendonotpersist in STEM
careers.
5.Womendonotcompleteacareer
arcbymovinginto leadershipas
comparedtomen.
6.Manyprogramsandinterventions
have been around for many
years,yetthenumbersofwomen
succeedingandpersistinginSTEM
careershavenotchangedmuch.
Develop anobjective index that
scoresand ranksorganizationson
genderequitypracticesrelatedto1,
3and4.
Explorepipeline issuesandmake
recommendationsforbestpractices
tobuild interestand foundational
skills includingamongthoseinpre-
collegeandcollegetoaddress2.
Document successful leadership
traits fortypesofworkbydifferent
organizations; create criteria for
expected performance to use in
recruitingand training leaders to
meet5.
Exploreretentionissues;document
evidenced-basedfactorsthatimpact
retention;cross-cuttheseissueswith
interventioncurriculumforwhich
therearemeasuresofimpact;make
recommendationsforbestpractices
in evidence-based interventions,
withadditional recommendations
for added curriculum to address
all key organizational practices
documentedtoimpactpersistence;
andpilotprogramstomeet4,5and
6.
An index provides transparency
aboutwhereequityproblemsexist
andwhere intervention needs to
be focused,andcreatesameasure
that, in turn,createsopportunity for
competitionforthebesttalent.
Prov ides eas i l y communica ted
descriptionoforganizationalpractices
thatfosteremployeeequityandcareer
success.
Createsguidelines/ interventionsfor
betterorganizational leadershipand
equitableopportunities forunder-
represented groups, particularly
women.
Providesguidelinesforeffectiveequity
practicesandinterventions
Demonstratesover time that these
practicesand interventions increase
women’s sustainedparticipation in
STEMcareers.
42
Conclusions
Manyoftheissuesfacingustodayoriginateinthefactthattheleadershipstylethatdominatesis
competitive,withawinatallcosts,“mefirst”thinking,focusedonachievingshorttermbenefits.
Thereseemstobelittleinterestorabilitytodevelopstrategiesthatconsiderlong-termimpacts.
Thus,weareseeinganerosionofpublictrustinthepoliticalleadership,andethicalbreakdowns
inresearchandbusiness.
The long-termhealthof societyasawhole, suchasabetterqualityof lifeandaccess to
fundamentalrightsincludingtherighttofoodandeducationforall,demandsachangeinthe
workingculture.Weneedcollaborative leaderswhoarewillingtotakeonglobalproblems
andworkforthelong-termbenefitofsociety.This istheleadershipstyleembodiedbyHigh
Responsibility leadersandwhich ismoreeffective forcomplexproblem-solving.This isa
leadershipstylethatweknowtendstobemorethenormforwomen,andgiventherelatively
lowrepresentationofwomeninleadership,weknowthereisalargepotentialpoolofleadersin
thisgroup.Hence,workingtoincreasethepresenceofwomeninleadershiparguablyprovides
thequickestwaytoshifttoabetterleadershipstyle.Inaddition,changingdemographictrends
makeit imperativetoincreasetheparticipationofwomenintheworkforce(andalsomakeit
importantthatthisisachievedinawaythatdoesnotdiscouragewomenfromhavingandraising
afamily).
ThispaperfocusesonwomenintheSTEMfieldsbecausetherepresentationofwomeninSTEM
isparticularlylowinJapanandmanyothercountriesintheworld,notbecausetheSTEMfields
haveuniqueproblems,butbecausemostoftheproblemsfacedbywomenintheworkforce
arefoundintheirmostextremeformsintheSTEMfields.TheimportanceofSTEMworkersto
theknowledge-basedeconomymeansthat there isan immediatereturnon investments in
increasingthenumberofwomen.Asaresult,notonlyhastherealreadybeenmuchworkinthis
area,butalsothereisageneralongoingwillingnessandinterestinimprovingtherepresentation
ofwomeninSTEM.Theextremelackofrepresentation inSTEMmakes iteasier tohighlight
theissuesaroundraisingwomen’snumbersinthissectorandhardertoresistthecasechange
isneeded.ProgramsinSTEM,especiallysuccessfulones,receiveattention.ProgramsinSTEM
produceabeneficialfeedbackloop;raisingthenumbersofwomenandrecognizingtheskillset
thesewomenbringtotheSTEMenterprisereinforcesthenecessitytoworkonglobalissuesto
attractmorewomen.Inotherwords,whatworksinSTEM-relatedcareerscanbeadaptedforuse
inotherfields.Webelievethatthisistherighttimetoadvocateforgenderequity—thereisan
understandingofthesalientissues,increasingabilitytoassessprogramsandinvesteffectivelyin
themand,mostimportantly,atrueneed.Wechallengeeveryonetomakeattaininggenderequity
theirgoalandresponsibility.Wecanallmakeadifference!
43
Acknowledgements
Theauthorswouldliketothankthemanyindividualswhohelpedshapethispaperfortheir
willingnesstomeetanddiscusstheirwork.AmongthecampusesthatwevisitedinJapanand
Singaporeduring thecourseof thisworkare:TohokuUniversity,NagoyaUniversity,Kyoto
University,DoshishaUniversity,OkinawaInstituteofScienceandTechnology(OIST),National
UniversityofSingapore(NUS),Yale-NUS,NanyangTechnologicalUniversity(NTU),Singapore
UniversityofTechnologyandDesign(SUTD),andtheNUSMedicalSchool.Wewouldliketothank
theadministratorsandresearchersattheseinstitutionsfortheirworkongenderequityandfor
theirtimeandhospitality.WewouldalsoliketothanktheSingaporeCommitteeforUNWomen,
MasterCard,andTheBehavioural InsightsTeaminSingaporeforthevaluablediscussions.We
especiallywanttothankDr.MiyokoWatanabeofJST,Mr.HiroyukiKarasawaofMEXT,Dr.Machi
DilworthofOIST,Dr.HisakoOhtsuboofNihonUniversity,Dr.ElizabethPollitzerofPortiaLtd.,
Ms.GeorgetteTanofMasterCard,andDr.ElizabethLyonsoftheUSNationalScienceFoundation
forfindingtimetotalkwithus.Finally,weareespeciallygratefultoDirectorMariKogisoandDr.
LilyYuoftheSasakawaPeaceFoundationforthemanyvaluableexchangesofideasandforthe
supportoftheSasakawaPeaceFoundation.
44
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