Becoming Leaders: A Practical Handbook for Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology

Extensive research has identified factors that affect women’s career success, retention, and leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Several issues are common for women at all stages of their career and for institutional leaders in all sectors. These issues fall into two main categories: equal opportunity and fair evaluation, and work-life balance. Implicit bias is more likely to result in disadvantage for women in work settings where they have traditionally been underrepresented, such as STEM, and in roles associated with strength and decisiveness, such as leadership positions. Business texts and articles consistently state the importance of a satisfactory work-life balance in achieving high standards in organizational health. In practice, work-life balance usually appears in the same sentence as issue, because everyone struggles with decisions about time, priorities, and career path, and no one has found the mythical balance. Finally, this chapter presents an overview of this book.

Women can be leaders at many levels, and they can influence outcomes in a positive manner at every level. This chapter looks at leadership from the point of view of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Women should be part of decisions that affect their community, even very small parts of that community. The leaders of science and engineering organizations must understand that such organizations work not for their own sakes but for the good of a larger community. Women’s integrative and communicative leadership style, if there could be a generic women’s style defined, is suited to such organizations’ cultures and will contribute to their success. Women, and young women in particular, benefit when there are women in leadership roles, which demonstrably shows all women that there is a place for their talents within an organization.

Learning styles have many dimensions. This chapter examines differences between the eagle view and the hawk view styles of learning. Eagle learners want to know how new material relates to other things they have learned, or to the world outside the classroom. Hawk learners want to get to the point and prefer to focus on the applications afterward. Many young women as well as many young men are eagle learners, who may experience an initial mismatch with how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses are presented. In general, women want to reduce uncertainty before they proceed; for men, the priority is to advance and mistakes are part of the process. This difference in risk assessment has an impact at the very beginning of a STEM career. Working out solutions to problems is an important part of learning in many STEM courses. By working on difficult problems, student learns to look at the information connections in different ways and understanding grows.

People who have not pursued graduate studies wonder why so much attention is paid to the graduate student experience and whether they are missing something important. This chapter addresses the questions asked by people considering graduate studies, discusses some of the challenges of graduate student life, and provides tips on how to deal with them. Most graduate students begin their studies immediately after completion of their undergraduate degree: momentum, lifestyle, and career plans are contributing factors. In a typical academic arrangement, a professor accepts a student, guides the student in studies and research, and provides financial assistance in the form of a graduate stipend. The life of a graduate student has many attractions: intellectual stimulation, flexible schedules, and a variety of social opportunities. This chapter concludes, as do most graduate programs, with a discussion of the thesis.

This chapter focuses on the three key stages common to most new job processes: applying for the job, the job interview, and negotiating the terms of women's employment. Social media platforms provide opportunities to communicate to external audiences including potential employers. Women tend to understate their capabilities and to expect a positive interpretation by the recipient of their resume of the significance of their experience. Gender is a factor, however, in how people express their nervousness and how nerves affect their performance. Gender is also a factor in the level of self-confidence men and women feel at similar stages of their careers. One of the least controversial statements about gender differences is that women and men communicate differently. In general, women consider context information more important than do men. Hence, women often include more information about people, places, and circumstances.

This chapter provides information on how to harness career progress potential, highlighting high-value career skills and strategies. A career plan is a matter of making decisions and taking responsibility for the outcomes. For every woman who asks herself the motherhood question, there is usually a man who asks himself the fatherhood question, or perhaps a female partner who will deal with being a parent too. Both partners will have career and life plans and work-life balance challenges. The evolution of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workplaces is resulting in more opportunities for women. Striving for success, while ignoring the factors that contribute to success, is like doing a job with the wrong tools: the results are more work and less satisfaction. Because of unconscious bias, women get evaluated differently than men at work. Satisfactory job performance is often taken for granted even when, at the same time, a woman is assisting colleagues and averting crises regularly.

This chapter shows why networks, mentors, and sponsors are important to women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Networks, in the sense of this chapter, are sets of people interlinked by mutual interests and meaningful two-way communication. Networking involves actively obtaining and passing on information, as well as developing personal relationships on various levels. Networking at work is a deliberate action to develop personal contacts for the purpose of receiving helpful information. Career advice for women usually makes clear the importance of a support network. A mentor provides information on the unwritten rules and the unrecorded wisdom. A good mentor is interested in the success of the whole person, and thus may give personal as well as professional advice. The mentoring relationship is a special case of the networking relationship. Sponsorship is now promoted as particularly important for women in STEM organizations, where they are underrepresented, and in leadership roles.

This chapter suggests three approaches to dealing with the work-life balance issue: park the guilt, define balance, and share the load. One reason that work-life balance engenders such concern among women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is that it generates high levels of guilt. Although families add to the demands, they also provide a built-in rationale to shift the balance away from work, and it is clear that the change of focus and support these loving relationships provide are good for people in the long run. The support of partner and family is essential. In fact, the support and encouragement of husbands and partners is considered a critical success factor by many women. Organizations may assist employees to achieve a healthy balance between work and personal life by supporting alternate work arrangements and developing family-centered policies. One effective way is establishing core work hours with flexible start and stop times.

Family support is a critical success factor for women in science and engineering. This chapter is aimed at those who have the closest relationships with these special women: spouses, partners, and children. Successful women in science and engineering almost always cite the support they receive from partners and family as a major factor in their success. Some appreciation for the nature of the work goes a long way toward creating a supportive environment for a scientist or engineer. If a job requires periods of intense concentration, then taking over taxi duties and handling family interruptions at these times is tangible support. Life with a scientist or engineer is guaranteed to be interesting, and that is better than boring. Children can enjoy the good parts and avoid the bad parts if they pay attention to what their mother is doing and help her when life gets hectic.

Among the many specific techniques for time management are goal setting, prioritization, and good organization. This chapter presents a philosophy of time management that has proven successful for women working in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The four parameters of project management are scope, schedule, budget, and resources; the fundamental resource is time. There is a parameter equation that must be satisfied for each project. Like time, mental and physical health are also fixed resources. Once expended, there is no replacement. Incoming (used as a noun) refers to the unsolicited messages and requests that arrive electronically, on paper, and in person. The main reasons for losing control of the amount of time spent on incoming are guilt, indecision, procrastination, and, perhaps these days, addiction. Like multiple interests, sensitivity to related tasks is a characteristic of many women in STEM.

An audio or video clip posted on the internet will reach a wide audience over an extended period. Hence, the risk of a bad interview should be rated as high, even if the chance of it happening is very small. Preparing for an encounter with the media is one of the best ways to help ensure a positive outcome. When people are not accustomed to hearing a woman speak as an expert in certain situations, they have a tendency to evaluate her differently than a male speaker. More frequent than media appearances, opportunities to speak professionally could include a one-minute comment at a meeting, a thirty-minute presentation to a client, a conference presentation, or a job interview. One of the frustrations most frequently expressed by early career women is the difficulty of being heard at meetings.

Tenure is a longstanding academic tradition. Originally, tenure was conceived to protect faculty members from losing their jobs because of powerful people who might object to the professors’ teachings or research results. Tenure is granted to a faculty member who has performed well in some combination of research, teaching, and administrative work. In engineering, industrial experience is considered an asset; in pure science or mathematics, it may be considered a lower quality research environment. A tenure-track position is one in which the incumbent may apply for tenure and for which the department has salary funds on a continuing basis. Several major reports move beyond the discussion of challenges to describe actual effective strategies and solutions that can be used by universities and colleges to promote career success for women academics. Because peer evaluations have a subjective component, implicit biases may influence the outcome.

Traditional institutions, such as the university, will not change spontaneously. Strong leadership and proactive diversity measures are required to achieve change. This chapter is addressed to deans and other academic leaders who are committed to change and who have specific objectives for their institution to improve the participation of women. It offers four sample objectives, each followed by set of actions that will move an organization toward the objective. Some early research documented that the mean academic performance of women who left engineering was higher than the mean academic performance of the men who remained, with attrition rates highest during the first and second years. There are many resources, strategies, and practical actions to assist deans, directors, and department heads in increasing the hiring of highly qualified women. Strong and visible leadership by the academic unit leader (head, dean, provost) is the most critical element in establishing a culture of diversity

This chapter describes the special features of the public service environment that may affect career satisfaction. It helps women in science and technology in the public sector to understand the environment in which they are developing their career, select optimal strategies, and achieve success on their own terms. Three special features of public sector workplaces are the continuous challenge of service-career balance, the wealth of workplace policies, and a traditional workplace culture. Federal public service organizations have been strong and longstanding supporters of women in the workplace. In the public sector, managers and human resource professionals tend to measure progress in women’s participation against employment equity objectives. Compared with other institutions, cultural change in the public sector has been slow. The special features of the public sector work environment suggest additional career strategies appropriate for women in science and technology.

Diversity and inclusion have been hot topics over the last decade, and there are numerous quality resources available to guide actions. This chapter outlines introductory advice and practices for any manager and examines areas where further improvement can be made at an organizational level, using the example of a Diversity and Inclusion Report Card and process. Strong and visible leadership by senior people in promoting diversity in their organization is essential. Women should be included in ensuring effective diversity management and accountability practices by encouraging them to be part of the solution. There are three stages in the evolution of diversity and inclusion within the organization: awareness, behaviors, and consequences. Recognition of these stages will help managers to break down the complexities of cultural change into manageable pieces. The work of managing diversity and inclusion never ends because the process is simply a form of continuous quality improvement for the workforce.

Sexual harassment is wrong because it infringes on an individual’s basic human rights to respect and dignity. People who are uncomfortable or stressed because of a harassment-filled environment cannot enjoy their work or perform at their full potential. Academic institutions and businesses also lose when sexual harassment is present in their classrooms or workplaces because they suffer reduced student and employee success and productivity. Harassment has also moved in a significant way to the online realm. Increasingly, incidents of online harassment are from anonymous posters. Managers and teachers want the work or study environments for which they are responsible to be free of harassment. Hence, their objective should be prevention, with measures for dealing with harassment incidents as a backup. An environment free of harassment is more likely to occur with the leadership, clear statement, and example of the people in charge

Active membership in any professional organization has benefits for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It provides opportunities to gain experience and confidence by leading activities and speaking on behalf of women in their fields. Membership in an organization dedicated to women in STEM provides these benefits in a highly supportive and understanding environment. In addition, members of these women-centered organizations share information about the culture of science and engineering and how to work successfully within it. The formal structure (with officers, annual general meetings, financial reports, elections, and nonprofit registration, incorporation, or charitable status) may be essential for eligibility for certain funding sources. Organizations can benefit from a formal (strategic) planning session with a skilled facilitator and from a marketing plan. Even with limited financial resources and a small membership, women in STEM groups can plan and enjoy many interesting activities.

Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are often asked about their experiences, about why the underrepresentation situation persists, or about how to encourage young women to be interested in science. Sometimes the questions are more challenging, such as why there should be special scholarships or books for women in STEM. This chapter gives examples of some common questions. In organizations that depend on intellectual capabilities, diversity means creativity and having different ways of looking at issues and problems. To achieve this, a diverse group of people is required. Gender is an important element of diversity; others include age, ethnicity, race, culture, and training. Data continue to show that women still carry more of the domestic responsibilities than men. Employee-sensitive organizations consider that family-friendly policies are an investment in employees during their time of childrearing. Such policies not only respond to employee needs, they also have strong motivational impact, strengthen loyalty, and increase retention.

This chapter focuses on steps to move toward better gender balance. It presents high-level strategies within which programs, projects, and everyday actions can be directed toward positive change. The collection of personal experiences and anecdotal evidence indicates a continuing frustration with career success, a never-ending task to encourage girls’ interest in science, and a widespread public perception that engineering is for men. The first strategy is leadership. The key to this strategy is the identification, development, and exercise of leadership by women. The second strategy is excitement in science, engineering, and technology as the motivation for women to enter and remain in these fields. The third strategy involves new traditions, recognizing that many of the factors that overtly or subtly deter women from science and engineering careers are not explicit in policy or statement but rather are deep and systemic factors in existing institutions.

People in all sectors of society need more and better information about the science, technology, and engineering that influence their lives. Women participating in these fields tend to be effective communicators, and they are often active in community groups and schools. The claim is sometimes made that diversity is not an issue in science. Science is objective, the argument goes, and objectivity is gender independent. Although more women are entering all fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) today, many work in groups where women are in the minority. Statistically, there are significant gender differences in communications, social conventions, and information handling. The challenge and excitement of science and engineering careers are part of the attraction for women. The opportunity to use their abilities to contribute to the betterment of society is what many women find most rewarding. Independence and greater financial security than that available in many customary career paths are also attractive.