Human Capacity Building: Gender Issues

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Human Capacity Building Gender Issues
WFEO Capacity Building Committee
Meeting Shanghai, China October 31, 2004 Suzanne
G. Brainard, Ph.D., Affiliate Professor in
Technical Communication Women Studies
Executive Director, Center for Workforce
Development University of Washington
2
Advancing Women Engineers Scientists
Womens Forum, World Engineers
Convention Shanghai, China November 2,
2004 Suzanne G. Brainard, Ph.D., Affiliate
Professor in Technical Communication Women
Studies Executive Director, Center for Workforce
Development University of Washington
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Why a Global Alliance?

• Most countries facing shortages of engineers
  scientists in certain fields
• Decreasing enrollments (9 a year) in US
• In 1997 in the US white males made up over 70 of
  the SMET workforce. By 2050, they will make up
  only 26 of the overall workforce
• Engineering accrediting boards worldwide are
  requiring graduates to have new skills -
  communications, teambuilding, etc.
• Business needs to look beyond traditional pool of
  talent for recruiting

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Global Alliance

• Goal
• To diversify the global engineering and science
  workforce, with particular attention to improving
  the recruitment, retention and advancement of
  women
• US Partners
• AAAS - Worlds largest federation of scientific
  engineering societies
• WEPAN - US national organization that provides
  technical assistance and training on gender
  issues
• AWIS - Largest multi-discipline organization for
  women in science

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Worldwide Partners

• African Technology Studies Network
• ASM International
• Association of Female Engineers (Mali)
• Association of Professional Women Engineers of
  Nigeria
• ATT Labs
• NSERC Chairs (Canada)
• Danmarks Tekniske Universitet
• The Dow Chemical Company
• The Ford Motor Company
• Gender Science Technology (GASAT)
• Global Eng. Education Exchange
• German Association of Engineers
• International Network of Women Scientists
  Engineers (INWES)

• International Council for Science Institute for
  Women in Technology
• Ministry of Education Science, GERMANY
• Ministry of Education, SWEDEN
• Ministry of Industry, SWEDEN
• National Academy of Engineering
• Once Future Network (OFAN)
• Society of Women Engineers
• UNIFEM
• UNESCO
• UNCSTD Gender Advisory Board
• US Department of Energy
• Women in Global Science Technology (WIGSAT)
• WITEC, Sweden

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Strategies of the Global Alliance

• Develop networks of institutions
• Identify and disseminate best practices of
  corporations, government, and higher education
• Develop common standards for data collection
• Showcase prominent women scientists and engineers
• Develop and provide training and seminars
• Organize collaborative projects
• Publish occasional papers
• Research
• Share information on web site

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Selected Accomplishments

• Sweden-US collaboration on best practices in
  corporations and higher education (2000, 2002)
• GASAT 10, presentation on research in African
  women in engineering and science (2001)
• African Women in Engineering Science web site
  funded by the Engineering Information Foundation
  (2001-2002)
• Womens Forum of the World Engineers Convention
  in Hannover, Germany, co-sponsored event (2000)
  in Shanghai China (2004)
• UNESCO/ICSU World Conference on Science,
  Participation at meeting (1999)
• UNESCOs World Congress of Engineering Educators,
  WEPAN panel presentation (1996)

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Future Steps

• Planning of ICWES 13 conference in Seoul, Korea
  in 2004
• Planning of the Beijing 10 UN Conference
• Working with international organizations to
  ensure a greater prioritization of gender and SET
  issues
• Expansion of country-specific research in more
  African nations and Asia
• Research on diversity practices in leading
  organizations worldwide

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Sponsors

• AAAS
• ATT Foundation
• Dow Chemical Company
• Engineering Information Foundation
• Ford Motor Company
• Hewlett Packard
• Microsoft
• Motorola
• U.S. National Science Foundation
• U.S. Department of Energy

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Comparative Statistics Female Earned SE
doctoral degrees in selected regions and
locations 1999
All S E Math CS Engineering
Source National Science Board, Science and
Engineering Indicators - 2002, Arlington, VA
NSF, 2002 (NSB-02-1), Appendix 2-43.
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Strategies for Change

• Research collecting gender disaggregated data
• Evidence of a problem
• Serves as baseline data
• Policy Examples
• Equal opportunity legislation Equal pay for
  equal work
• Affirmative action Research funding
• Programs
• Mentoring Quotas for professorships
• Funding schemes Building networks
• Teacher training, curriculum review
• Hands-on activities in primary and secondary
  schools
• In the workplace, tying performance reviews to
  diversity results
• Corporate systems to track equal pay for equal
  job responsibilities

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UK (1)

• History of research informing policy
• Realising Our Potential (HMSO 1993)
• Linked women in SE to economic societal
  benefits
• Led to the creation of the Committee on Women in
  Science, Engineering, and Technology
• Rising Tide (HMSO/Nancy Lane, 1994)
• Recommendations on education, employment, and
  leadership
• Targeted funding opportunities, work-life
  policies, and further research suggestions
• Set targets of 25 participation in higher
  education government
• SET Fair A Report on Women in SET (DTI/Baroness
  Greenfield/Jan Peters, 2002)
• Secured government commitment of 1.5 million to
  new initiatives
• Establishment of science resource center
• Funds for women returning to STEM professions
  after career break

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UK (2)

• Major Initiatives and Funding
• Creation of DTIs Promoting SET for Women (1994)
• collects and disseminates data
• provides seed funding for a variety of programs
  and research
• Athena Project (1998)
• increase women in SET leadership,
• highlight good practices and disseminate
  information
• establish local area womens networks (LAWNS)
• Equality Challenge Unit (ECU), (2000)
• promote diversity equality of opportunity in
  higher education
• administers the Athena Project
• Professional Networks
• AWISE, WITEC, GASAT-UK, INWES

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US (1)

• Congressional committees (CEOSE, CAWMSET)
• BEST program to collect and disseminate best
  practices
• Federal programs to fund gender equity
• National Science Foundation Gender Equity
  Program, Engineering Education, Information
  Technology Workforce, Advance Program
• Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary
  Education (FIPSE)
• NSF Criterion 2 broader participation
• NSF ADVANCE program increase participation of
  female faculty
• Example UW Center for Institutional Change
• Leadership development for current chairs and
  deans in SEM
• SEM department cultural change
• Policy transformation
• Mentoring women in SEM for leadership
• Transitional Support Program for SEM faculty
• Visiting Scholars Program

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US (2)

• University Initiatives
• WISE/WIE (Program for women)
• MSEP (Program for minority retention)
• MESA (program for minority recruitment)
• DO-IT (program for people with disabilities)
• Corporate foundations support gender equity
• ATT, Ford, Motorola, Hewlett Packard, Dow
  Chemical
• Professional Networks
• Women in Engineering Programs Advocates Network
  (WEPAN)
• National Association of Minority Engineering
  Program Administrators (NAMEPA)
• Society for Women Engineers (SWE)
• Association for Women in Science (AWIS)
• National Action Council for Minorities in
  Engineering (NACME)

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Asia

• Large number of globally competitive, high-tech
  firms
• Automobiles, electronics, etc
• Traditional views of women in the home are still
  strong
• Womens universities are growing in Asia
• Ewha Womens University has 21 of students are
  enrolled in science or engineering
• Asian University for Women (open in September
  2005)
• Seoul Womens University offers natural science
  and computer science courses
• Rise of professional associations for women
• Japanese Women Engineer's Forum
• Society of Japanese Women Scientists
• Chinese Association for Science Technology
• Shanghai Association for Science Technology
• Association of Korean Women Scientists
  Engineers

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Limitations of International Comparisons

• Dearth of Evaluation Data
• Standardization of Data Collection
• Adaptation versus Replication

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Discussion

• Other examples of best practices
• Similar initiatives for under-represented
  minority groups
• Status of female engineers in your workplace

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Sweden

• History of Gender Equality policies e.g. dual
  breadwinner perspective
• Maternity/Paternity leave at 80 pay
• State-subsidized childcare
• Groundbreaking research to provide evidence of
  gender inequity in grant awards through peer
  review (Swedish Medical Research Council 1997)
• Government programs to support gender equity in
  higher education
• Annual proposal competition among universities
  for increasing recruitment and retention of
  students
• Professorships awarded to women instructors who
  met minimum levels of expertise and
  qualifications
• Flying experts program to provide technical
  assistance to organizations interested in
  promoting gender equity

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EU (1)

• Conducts regional research
• Science policies in the EU Promoting excellence
  through mainstreaming gender equality (ETAN
  report 2000)
• Noted the lack of gender disaggregated data
• Made recommendations to remove academic barriers
  facing women (publishing articles, maternity
  leave, funding availability)
• Established Helsinki Group panel of experts
  (1999)
• Responsible for harmonized data collection
• National Policies on women and Science in
  Europe(1999) report published about 15 EU
  nations
• Establishment of Expert Group Women in Research
  in the Private Sector (2002)
• Charged with preparing a report detailing the
  status of women in industry

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EU (2)

• EU Framework Programs/Directives - goal to
  mainstream gender into European research activity
  
• Setting targets for female participation (40) on
  top-level committees
• High level of research funding to influence
  member nations (14,960 million euros) to persuade
  organizations to meet female participation goals
• more attention focused on data collection and
  compiling statistics