How sisters are doing it for themselves

1. How sisters are doing it for themselves The impact of professional development programs for women Maura J. Murphy NC/SC AIR March 2008 North Carolina State University

2. Introduction • Programs like Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) were created to address the concern of gender parity in Higher Education in 1972 • Bryn Mawr College (summer) & Wellesley (academic year) • How does institutional culture create barriers for women?

3. The purpose of the study • To examine how having a professional development program designed to encourage and promote women’s leadership may or may not create the critical mass needed to overcome the barriers to change.

4. Eastern State College • Sent more women to HERS training than any other college or university • Created a local chapter of HERS to a create a “more democratic academic and social environment.”

5. Theoretical Framework • Liberal Feminist Theory • Unequal social & legal practices create barriers for women's advancement • Allows critique of dominant masculine constructs

6. Research question • How does a having a critical mass of women who have attended a professional development program shape the culture for women at a four year institution?

7. Methodology • Participant Selection • 10 ESC/ HERS members- White, Up/Mid SES • Age range: 30-70 years • Years at institution: 2-22 years • Data Collection • Semi-structured interviews, focus group, observations, document analysis

8. Findings: What the documents reveal • Organization structure • Difficult for women to penetrate the upper layers of the hierarchical structure, although well represented at the lower levels • Campus Diversity Report • Unresponsive Administrators • Participants note concerns with Maternity Policy • College Website • President’s Office- distinguished lecture series features 9 men, no women

9. Findings: Institutions change over time

10. Findings: Impact of professional development training on individuals “I learned about all the different parts of the academic city.”

11. Findings: Impact of professional development training on individuals “…you gain this self confidence realizing that you could do anything”

12. Findings: Impact of professional development training on individuals “The career mapping is better than I expected it to be….it provided time to reflect on … what I wanted to do… what were the things that I needed to gain to get where I wanted to go.”

13. Findings: Impact of professional development training on campus “Lift as you climb, find some one who has not been to the program and help them.” “It made sense, when your institution sends you to something like this and you want to give back, it makes sense.”

14. Findings: Impact of professional development training on campus “It takes time, bringing other people along, and I learned techniques of what I can do to help others.” “All of that is the part of institutional culture because there is a certain way of doing business.”

15. Findings: Impact of professional development training on campus “We [HERS] have tentacles out all over campus. If it was just [the presidential leadership] it wouldn’t be sustained and it [HERS influence] would not be as real.”

16. Findings: Limitations of professional development programs “.…everybody sees it, but nobody questions it...”

17. Findings: Limitations of professional development programs “Other places have much more generous policies. No one has really stepped up about it.”

18. Findings: Reflective Assessment “Hey, the Emperor is naked!”

19. Implications for Practice • Professional Development Programs • Encourage investment in employees • Career mapping • Address concerns about attrition • Post event follow up is critical

20. Implications for Practice • Women’s initiatives • Use reflective assessment to evaluate institution • Reach out to others • Campus initiatives • Diversity is more than social justice- it works to create excellence • “…it is the campuses- not the women- that need fixing.”

21. Conclusion • Consistent with other studies, participants experienced increased self confidence, benefits from networking and career mapping • Women actively engaged in sharing the story, and encouraging others to participate in professional development • “Reflective assessment” can help individuals and campuses increase their commitment to diversity through examination of what the “unconscious ways of thinking” are that still create barriers

22. Questions? Please feel free to contact me with follow up thoughts or ideas at murf@email.unc.edu