Women Evolving Biological Science (WEBS) will be an annual three-day symposium aimed at addressing early career issues related to transitions from early career stages to tenure track positions and leadership roles in academic and research settings. The goal of WEBS is to increase significantly the retention and advancement of women in academia in biological sciences in order to enhance excellence and create greater diversity in academic and scientific leadership.
The intent of focusing on this career stage is to address the attrition of women between the postdoctoral or research faculty arena and the tenure track. As a nation, the U.S. cannot afford to continue to lose highly trained scientific talent. WEBS will address issues of early career transitions in biological sciences, with emphasis on the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. WEBS will support participants who have earned their doctoral degrees within the past two to eight years and who do not have tenure, in order to address the critical transition period from graduate studies and post-doctoral positions to permanent research and teaching positions. Each WEBS symposium will focus on skills development and on topics participants identify as important to their ability to succeed during the critical transition from graduate school to leadership roles in academic settings.
This effort has support from the Society for the Study of Evolution, the University of Washingtons School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, and the North American Benthological Society. More than 10 professional societies have committed to help advertise the workshops, demonstrating the recognition of the importance of defining strategies to retain and advance the talented pool of doctoral recipients in the biological sciences. This award is supported by an ADVANCE Leadership award. Leadership Awards support the efforts of individuals, small groups, or organizations in developing national and/or discipline-specific leadership in enabling the full participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers
WEBS: Women Evolving Biological Sciences Women to lose. While the biological sciences have a higher percentage of women earning doctorates than most other science fields, women are not represented in the faculty at the same levels as would be expected based on these percentages. During the transition from graduate student and postdoctoral scholar, a worrying number of women leave academic research – many more than their male counterparts. Thus a significant percentage of women are not investing their skills in the scientific enterprise. This attrition represents a waste of talent, a waste of resources invested in training and inequalities in careers prospects and success related to gender. Women Evolving Biological Sciences (WEBS) is a three-day symposium aimed at addressing the retention of female biologists and issues related to the transition of women from early career stages to tenure track positions and leadership roles in academic and research settings. WEBS explicitly addresses the factors impacting the success of women in academia and scientific careers with the goal of equipping early career women with tools and a network to inform and support their career progression and decisions. WEBS targets early career women in the biological sciences with an emphasis on ecology and evolutionary biology. In particular, WEBS focuses on women who have earned their doctoral degrees within the past two to eight years and who do not have tenure in order to address the critical transition period from graduate studies and post-doctoral positions to permanent research and teaching positions. WEBS participants are current post-docs, research scientists and assistant professors in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. Please see the WEBS website for more information: www.webs.washington.edu. WEBS equips participants with the information and resources needed to successfully navigate the tenure track and have thriving careers and personal lives. Through a series of panel discussions and workshops, WEBS provides the following: * Concrete skills and take-home tips for addressing a range of issues from navigating the tenure track, designing a research program and managing time to establishing and maintaining successful mentoring relationships and balancing career progression and life responsibility; * Opportunities to build a peer network and potential mentoring relationships with senior scientists; * Exposure to the range of potential paths and success stories of women in the biological sciences. These early career female biologists are empowered to identify areas where they need help and seek out resources to address them and are enabled to navigate a career path the most suitable for their career and life satisfaction. Four WEBS symposia were held with NSF funding. The 114 early career participants and 38 senior scientist panelists reported feeling inspired and equipped with new connections and tools that they expect will help them in their career in the years to come. WEBS has proven to be effective in providing participants with the information and resources needed to successfully navigate the tenure track and have thriving careers and personal lives. Data from a longitudinal analysis of the 2007, 2008, and 2010 WEBS participants’ responses to pre- and post-symposia surveys suggest significant improvement in the following areas: * participant understanding of the requirements for becoming tenured and securing full professorships; * participation in certain elements of networking; and * feelings of preparedness in a large variety of targeted skill areas. While WEBS was essentially conceived as professional development intervention which created a forum for skills acquisition and networking, the career effects were much more profound. Evaluation results demonstrate that through their participation in WEBS, participants acquire skills and share a professional development and life reflection experience with other women biologists that result in ongoing skills implementation and increasing sense of empowerment. This transformation has resulted in improved career self-efficacy and satisfaction. "Amazing! I knew I was coming here for excellent content from knowledgeable people, but I was not expecting the organizers and speakers to guide this group so intensely, thoughtfully, and personally toward developing our own paths and directions. If it were possible to give this program support to become a permanent, recurring workshop, I think it would literally change the face of gender relations in my academic field, and undoubtedly in others as well. Thank you!"
