Supporting transitions from graduate school to work force in academia
Cecilia H. Marzabadi , Susan A. Nolan,
Janine P. Buckner & Valerie J. Kuck
Seton Hall University

According to the National Science and Technology Council (2000)
 Increasing demand for persons with scientific, technical, and engineering
(STEM) expertise
Yet…
 Widening gap between the supply and demand. White males not pursuing degrees in these fields.
marzabce@shu.edu

Possible Solutions to Scientific
Workforce Problem
 Women large part of the pool of candidates in
Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) fields

Female degree recipients in STEM fields:
~ 50% of bachelor’s degrees
 ~ 34% of doctorates
But….they, don’t all make it into the workforce marzabce@shu.edu

In Academic Chemistry
Percentage of Female, Full-Time Faculty
Members
Institution-Type
Terminal Degree
Ph.D.
M.S.
B.A./B.S.
2-year
Female Faculty
(% Full Time)
13.3
20.3
26.1
31.7
marzabce@shu.edu
ACS Women Chemists 2000

 Look at graduates from top ranked chemistry departments.

Graduates from these “prestigious” institutions should have the most opportunities available to them !!! J. Chem. Ed. 2004 , 81, 356-363
 If disparities are seen at the top, how much greater is the disparity at less prestigious schools?
marzabce@shu.edu

 We surveyed the PERCEPTIONS of nowgraduated Ph.D. recipients (1988-1992) from top chemistry departments
 Views of education, training, preparation
 Undergraduate, graduate , post-doctoral levels
 Experiences at first place of employment marzabce@shu.edu

 Respondents (1,950 graduates):
 315 men
 135 women (30.0%)
 Gender: 28.2% female 1
 Response rate: 27.3% marzabce@shu.edu
1 WebCASPAR

Doctoral Universities of Graduates
Polled (by NRC Rank-Order)










Univ. of California, Berkeley
California Institute of Technology
Harvard Univ.
Stanford Univ.
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
Cornell Univ.
Columbia Univ.
Univ. of Illinois
Univ. of Wisconsin
Chicago Univ.
 Purdue Univ.
marzabce@shu.edu

 Yes/No answer
 Open-ended responses
 A scale (1 through 7) was used for a number of questions:
1 = very little, worse than, not at all, minor
4 = neutral, same as, neither worse than nor better than
7 = a lot, better than, very much, very well, major marzabce@shu.edu

In Regards to Their Experiences in
Graduate School……
 Graduate school selection
 Choice of dissertation advisor
 Help/support from dissertation advisor
 Interactions with dissertation advisor marzabce@shu.edu


1.
2.
3.
No gender difference in chief criteria used:
Reputation of department/school
Perceived environment
Geographical location
 15% of the women and 8% of the men responded that they would not make the same choice of graduate school.
marzabce@shu.edu

Graduate School Findings-Choice of Dissertation Advisor
 In identifying criteria used in making their advisor choice, men more often cited receiving the help of others.
 A higher percentage of women reported that they:


Would use different criteria in selecting their advisor
Decided to change advisors (14% women vs. 8% men) marzabce@shu.edu

Graduate School Experience-
Support of Dissertation Advisor
 Men rated higher the help that they received from their dissertation advisor in:






Knowing how to do independent research (5.0 vs
4.6)
Properly evaluating data (5.3 vs 4.9)
Knowing their research goals (5.3 vs 4.8)
Overcoming research difficulties (4.9 vs 4.4)
Understanding the balance between teaching and research (4.3 vs 3.8)
Working on a project that would have impact (4.9 vs
4.4) marzabce@shu.edu

Graduate Research- Interactions with their Dissertation Advisor
 Men rated higher the help offered in:


Support of their careers goals (5.0 vs 4.6)
Assistance in finding a job (4.8 vs 4.3)
 Men gave higher marks (4.8 vs 4.4) to the quality of the interactions with their dissertation advisor.
marzabce@shu.edu

 Pronounced gender patterns in a variety of mentoring experiences
 Similar gendered patterns were also observed at post-doctoral level. Men felt more suported.
 How does this data translate into career outcomes?
marzabce@shu.edu

With Respect to Employment in
Academe…….
 Percent applying for tenure-track positions at
Ph.D.-granting institutions (~7 apps ea)


Men – 35.2%
Women – 25.9% (vs. 28.2% in pool)
 Percent applying for tenure-track positions at non-Ph.D.-granting institutions


Men – 27.6% (3.1 apps ea)
Women – 34.1% (1.9 apps ea) marzabce@shu.edu

Furthermore…
 Men (56.0%) more likely to accept a position at a doctoral “extensive” school than were women
(53.7%) 1
 Conversely, women (23.8%) more likely than were men (17.8%) to accept a position at an
“intensive” school
 22.5% of female respondents were offered positions at Ph.D-granting schools but declined the offers
1 Carnegie classifications marzabce@shu.edu

Another way to look at academic job outcomes
WOMEN wound up in…
 Jobs at less prestigious Ph.D. granting programs
 BA level schools
 Non-tenure track jobs at Ph.D. extensive schools marzabce@shu.edu

Reasons Given for Not Applying for
Tenure Track Position at Ph.D.
Granting Schools
 51 responses (29 women, 22 men)
 Pressure and lifestyle expectations (11 W,
9M)
 Not enough teaching; want more interaction with students (10W, 4M)
 Not qualified enough (2W, 2M)
 Financial and other marzabce@shu.edu

 Can our understanding of these differing training perceptions and career choices translate into action?
 Do these patterns extend to other STEM fields? (our “new” survey study—NSF funded) marzabce@shu.edu

 Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Special Grant Program in the Chemical
Sciences (SG-02-072)
 NSF (HRD- 0327904)
 Rohm & Haas Company
 Clare Boothe Luce Fund for a
Professorship for CM marzabce@shu.edu