Mary Ann Mason, Professor of Social Welfare and Law at the University of California, Berkeley, presents "Do Babies Matter? The Effect of Family Formation on Men and Women in Science." In her talk, she discusses the difficulties of women who have a career in science or in other male-dominated professions.

Do Babies Matter? is the first comprehensive examination of the relationship between family formation and the academic careers of men and women. The book draws on over a decade of research using unprecedented data resources, including the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, a nationally representative panel survey of PhDs in America, and multiple surveys of faculty and graduate students at the ten-campus University of California system.

The new generation of scholars differs in many ways from its predecessor of just a few decades ago. Academia once consisted largely of men in traditional single-earner families. Today, men and women fill the doctoral student ranks in nearly equal numbers and most will experience both the benefits and challenges of living in dual-income households. This generation also has new expectations and values, notably the desire for flexibility and balance between careers and other life goals. However, changes to the structure and culture of academia have not kept pace with young scholars’ desires for work-family balance. Do Babies Matter? is the first comprehensive examination of the relationship between family formation and the academic careers of men and women. The book begins with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, moves on to early and mid-career years, and ends with retirement. Individual chapters examine graduate school, how recent PhD recipients get into the academic game, the tenure process, and life after tenure. The authors explore the family sacrifices women often have to make to get ahead in academia and consider how gender and family interact to affect promotion to full professor, salaries, and retirement. Concrete strategies are suggested for transforming the university into a family-friendly environment at every career stage. The book draws on over a decade of research using unprecedented data resources, including the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, a nationally representative panel survey of PhDs in America, and multiple surveys of faculty and graduate students at the ten-campus University of California system..

During the last 40 years, the number of women studying science and engineering (S&E) has increased dramatically. Nevertheless, women do not hold academic faculty positions in numbers that commensurate with their increasing share of the S&E talent pool. The discrepancy exists at both the junior and senior faculty levels. In December 2005, the National Research Council held a workshop to explore these issues. Experts in a number of disciplines met to address what sex-differences research tells us about capability, behavior, career decisions, and achievement; the role of organizational structures and institutional policy; cross-cutting issues of race and ethnicity; key research needs and experimental paradigms and tools; and the ramifications of their research for policy, particularly for evaluating current and potential academic faculty. Biological, Social, and Organizational Components of Success for Women in Academic Science and Engineering consists of three elements: an introduction, summaries of panel discussions including public comment sessions, and poster abstracts.

Gender equality in science is a major challenge for higher education systems, which are facing many constraints. This book presents some of the latest research findings from Germany, South Africa and Austria on women’s careers in science and research. The volume provides insights into the research system from a female career perspective, and highlights the lessons women can learn from the findings in order to promote their own careers.

CHOICE 2015 Outstanding Academic TitleWhat do women academics classify as challenging, inequitable, or “hostile” work environments and experiences? How do these vary by women’s race/ethnicity, rank, sexual orientation, or other social locations?How do academic cultures and organizational structures work independently and in tandem to foster or challenge such work climates?What actions can institutions and individuals–independently and collectively–take toward equity in the academy?Despite tremendous progress toward gender equality and equity in institutions of higher education, deep patterns of discrimination against women in the academy persist. From the “chilly climate” to the “old boys’ club,” women academics must navigate structures and cultures that continue to marginalize, penalize, and undermine their success.This book is a “tool kit” for advancing greater gender equality and equity in higher education. It presents the latest research on issues of concern to them, and to anyone interested in a more equitable academy. It documents the challenging, sometimes hostile experiences of women academics through feminist analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, including narratives from women of different races and ethnicities across disciplines, ranks, and university types. The contributors’ research draws upon the experiences of women academics including those with under-examined identities such as lesbian, feminist, married or unmarried, and contingent faculty. And, it offers new perspectives on persistent issues such as family policies, pay and promotion inequalities, and disproportionate service burdens. The editors provide case studies of women who have encountered antagonistic workplaces, and offer action steps, best practices, and more than 100 online resources for individuals navigating similar situations. Beyond women in academe, this book is for their allies and for administrators interested in changing the climates, cultures, and policies that allow gender inequality to exist on their campuses, and to researchers/scholars investigating these phenomena. It aims to disrupt complacency amongst those who claim that things are “better” or “good enough” and to provide readers with strategies and resources to counter barriers created by culture, climate, or institutional structures.

Few things are more essential to the success of an academic institution than vital faculty members. This book is a rich combination of findings from the literature and practical tools, which together assist academic leaders and faculty in implementing and participating in a successful formal mentoring program that can be used as a strategy for maintaining the vitality of a diverse faculty across all stages of an academic career. In Faculty Success through Mentoring, the authors describe the tangible benefits of formal, traditional mentoring programs, in which mentor-mentee interactions are deliberate, structured, and goal-oriented. They outline the characteristics of effective mentors, mentees, and mentoring programs, and cover other models of mentoring programs, such as group and peer mentoring, which are particularly suited for senior and mid-career faculty. Also included are tools that institutions, mentors, and mentees can use to navigate successfully through the phases of a mentoring relationship. One of the unique features of this book is its explicit attention to the challenges to effective mentoring across genders, ethnicities, and generations. No matter what role one plays in mentoring, this book is an invaluable resource.