The 2020 book Building Gender Equity in the Academy: Institutional Strategies for Change, by Sandra Laursen and Ann E. Austin, is a resource MSU ADVANCE has used a lot in the past years. Its authors are experts in both STEM itself and issues of gender equity in STEM. Dr. Laursen is the co-director of Ethnography and Evaluation Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has worked with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. Dr. Austin is dean of the College of Education at Michigan State University. She also works with the National Science Foundation. Both have impressive credentials in science, and this book speaks to their expertise.  

Building Gender Equity proposes solutions for barriers to women in STEM. It brings up issues like implicit bias, exclusionary workplace climate, work-life conflict including issues with childcare, and lack of mentors for women. These barriers are built into the way STEM functions. They cannot be solved with quick fixes or individual training. The system itself is the problem. Strategies for change presented by the book include diverse hiring policies and implicit bias education combined with initiatives to diversify hiring pools. Support for dual-career couples is also stressed. Flexibility in work schedules for faculty with children was a major consideration. The book explores case studies of several universities which have used these policies. Each university has its own unique culture to consider when implementing the policies. This book is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in learning about gender equity in STEM. Anyone hoping to enact systemic change to promote equity would benefit from it.  

This week for our featured woman in STEM, we are showcasing Dr. Melida Gutierrez, a geology professor at MSU. Dr. Gutierrez does important research on water quality and sustainability.

“The same research is going to take you to areas that are connected that are not well understood. You never know where it’s going to take you next,” (…) “That’s part of being a scientist — that you see an interconnection — things that you might think are very separate,” she said. “All of a sudden you find that one causes the other one or they’re interconnected somehow.”

Read the full story

There are many exciting events on gender equity being hosted at Missouri State. One upcoming event is a presentation taking place on October 21. That evening, Missouri State will welcome Dr. Rachel L. Roper, a professor from East Carolina University, to give a presentation about systemic change. Dr. Roper will discuss ways that each of us can promote diversity and equity at our institutions. The presentation will take place from 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm, both live in Temple 002 and virtually on Zoom. 

Learn more about this event

Missouri State is far from the only institution with an NSF ADVANCE grant. We’ve met with many other institutions who have made great use of their ADVANCE grants. These schools have done great work to improve conditions for their underrepresented faculty. Their use of their ADVANCE grants has helped better the careers and lives of many women. There are four funding tracks within the ADVANCE grant: Catalyst, Partnership, Adaptation, and Institutional Transformation. We’ve explained the differences between the tracks here. The ADVANCE sites of other institutions we have collaborated with are listed below. We have categorized them by their grant type. 

[Read more…] about Other ADVANCE Institutions