Senior Compared to Junior Women Academic Scientists: Similar or Different Needs?

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter explores whether issues and policies for senior academic women scientists are similar or different from those of their junior counterparts.

Methodology

Both statistical comparisons and qualitative analyses of responses of 175 respondents, who were National Science Foundation (NSF) Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) awardees in 1997–2000, to a 2012 e-mail questionnaire provide the basis for the comparison.

Findings

Most respondents agree that the issues faced by junior and senior women differ significantly. Although considerable consensus appears to exist about issues that junior women face and institutional policies to help alleviate those issues, few respondents have ideas about how to improve the situation for senior STEM academic women scientists.

Practical and social implications

Just as a loss in the percentage of women in the STEM workforce occurs at each higher level on the career ladder, women in the academic STEM professoriate also decrease at higher ranks. Many educational institutions have adopted policies and practices such as parental leave and stop the tenure clock, heralded as significant for attracting and retaining women in academic science, particularly at the junior level. Recognizing the issues facing senior women scientists and addressing them with appropriate policies and practices decreases the risks of undercutting the productivity and professional contributions of these women at the peak of their career.

Citation

Rosser, S.V. (2014), "Senior Compared to Junior Women Academic Scientists: Similar or Different Needs?", Gender Transformation in the Academy (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 221-241. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-212620140000019010