Empirical Research: Breaking through the Reputational Ceiling: Professional Networks as a Determinant of Advancement, Mobility, and Career Outcomes for Women and Minorities in STEM

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

The proposal addresses the characteristics and role of networks in career advancement, outcomes, and mentoring for women and underrepresented minority academic scientists in non-Research I institutions. The questions driving the research concern the structural and resource determinants of underrepresentation, career success and satisfaction of women and underrepresented minorities PhDs who have faculty appointments in Research II and Comprehensive institutions. The PIs propose to use OLS regression and structural equation modeling to answer research questions related to gender differences, relationships between network structure and outcomes, and the association of background characteristics on networks. The PIs will survey women and minority scientists in civil engineering, chemistry, physics and computer science. They will use event history analysis to study career trajectories from the curriculum vitae. To ensure limited bias, the PIs will compare characteristics of the respondents with the general population in terms of rank, gender, and field. Finally, another survey and interviews will target named mentees. The interviews will add an important qualitative dimension to the study. The study addresses significant questions about how women and minorities at Research II and Comprehensive institutions access and use professional networks and to what effect. The PIs state that the project can inform education policy as it continues to seek new mechanisms to encourage and foster greater representation of women and minorities in STEM fields. The findings would provide a more nuanced assessment of the complex interactive environment that creates structures and provides resources that are critical to the career trajectory of minority STEM faculty.