In the proposed project, Universidad Metropolitana and the University of Maryland Baltimore County will conduct a pilot workshop that will bring together noted experts from several communities, including the ADVANCE community, the NSF and gender studies researchers to broaden the professional and mentoring networks of Latina postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. These institutions have a longstanding partnership in increasing the number of underrepresented minority students who earn the doctoral degree that dates back to 2003. However, since 2007, this partnership has been formalized through a memorandum of understanding that includes a focus on collaborations among faculty at both institutions. It is expected that the pilot workshop will provide a foundation upon which more meaningful and deliberate investigation of Hispanic women in the academic STEM disciplines can be examined. The workshop is characterized by relevant plenary and group breakout sessions that will provide attendees with the opportunity to better define the course of study on Latina STEM faculty and determine pathways to broader and future emphases as it relates to this target population.
The Universidad Metropolitana and the University of Maryland Baltimore County were awarded a grant under the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation, and Dissemination (PAID) solicitation during 2012 to 2014 . The goal of the ADVANCE program is to develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic STEM careers. The grant funded an inter-institutional collaboration between the two universities to address the advancement of Hispanic female STEM faculty by building a professional network of accomplished women in science in Puerto Rico. A NETWORKing (New Explorations for Transforming Work, Opportunities, Research, and Knowledge) Workshop was used as an organizing framework to generate discussion regarding faculty issues and to collate ideas, strategies, and recommendations for effective policies that promote career advancement and improve career-life balance. The primary goal of this project was to 1) provide a forum that will lay the groundwork for scientifically documenting the issues and concerns for the advancement of Hispanic women in the STEM academic pipeline and 2) establish the networks that can address these concerns on a broader national level. Two (2) NETWORKing (New Explorations for Transforming Work, Opportunities, Research, and Knowledge) Workshops were used as an organizing framework to: broaden the professional and mentoring networks of Hispanic female STEM faculties at different ranks from profesors to post-doctoral fellows or junior faculty; generate open and frank discussion regarding issues ranging from faculty advancement and retention, securing grants, organizational politics, and mentoring to career-life negotiations; collate ideas, discuss strategies, and solicit recommendations aimed at developing and implementing effective policies that promote career advancement and improve career-life balance. establish an identified network of Hispanic female STEM faculties thru multiple communication mechanisms incuding a blog and a list of local and external contacts. Workshop I: October 4 - 6, 2012, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The first pilot workshop launched in October 2012 included 50 female STEM faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and researchers in Puerto Rico. This 48-hr workshop offered plenary sessions led by national leaders from NSF ADVANCE and prominent scholars in faculty mentoring and gender studies, as well as group breakout sessions addressing a variety of career and non-work topics. The outcomes of that workshop are summarized in a previous, separate report authored by Drs. Frances Carter Johnson and Angela Byars-Winston. Workshop II: March 6 - 7, 2014, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The second workshop that included 49 female STEM faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and researchers in Puerto Rico was a continuation of the 2012 workshop. Format for this workshop was similar to the first one but included two additional components: 1. poster sessions on participants’ work at their respective institutions 2. a luncheon for key stakeholders comprised of university presidents, chancellors, and STEM administrators in Puerto Rico that focused on institutional support and engagement around NSF ADVANCE goals. To obtained the necesary data two sets of Evaluations (Overall Evaluation of Workshop and Evaluation of Individual Guest Speakers) as well as a survey were implemented. Survey: The Faculty Work Climate Survey, adapted from the ADVANCE program at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s WISEST Program was used for this project. Surveys were distributed to all NETWORKing Workshop participants during both workshops. The three primary survey variables of interest were Satisfaction with Institution, Satisfaction with Career Progression, and Consideration to Leave One’s Institution. Participants were from varied STEM departments including:College of Engineering, Natural Sciences (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Earth & Environmental Sciences; Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Sciences; Physics), and Social Sciences (Anthropology, Communication; Criminal Justice; Gender & Women’s Studies; Political Science; Psychology; Sociology). Participant's ranks included: full professorship, Associate Professorship, Assistant Professorship, Instructors and postdoctorals. Highlights of Results: Hispanic female faculty participants in these workshop were generally satisfied with their positions and their career progression at their institutions, however they are presenting work/family balance issues that are affecting their desicion making; Participants aspired to conduct more research in their institutions in Puerto Rico but are experiencing little support to realize these aspirations; On average, more Assistant Professors and Professors had considered leaving their present institution than had Associate Professors; Survey responses reflect that participants generally perceive a positive work climate for women in their departments and relationships with colleagues do not appear to be a concern for most participants; Overall, participants indicated that the best parts of the workshop were networking ("meeting powerful women"), faculty presentations on their careers/research programs, and the ADVANCE webinar. Recommendations offered focus on the advocacy role that the project and its leadership may consider playing in addressing both structural and institutional processes, policies, and programmatic interventions to advance the careers of Hispanic female faculty in STEM in Puerto Rico.
