Gendered institutional research cultures in science: the post-doc transition for women scientists

Abstract

This study examines perceptions of post-doctoral women bench scientists working across fourteen major US research universities, and how both individual and institutional experiences influenced their desired futures. Findings reveal three distinct career paths (research, teaching, and industry). This study provides insight into individual career decision processes involving as to how gender is experienced in male-centric cultures, how experiences of barriers are reframed, and how obstacles influence choices. These women emphasized strong desires to contribute to their respective fields and to collaborate with others, a key relational aspect missing in their current work. All participants indicated aspirations to have both a career and a full life beyond the lab. Findings further suggest a post-doctoral environment laden with gender and family biases including subtle discrimination and challenges specific to women working in male-centric cultures. A strong relationship between experiences of gender and family biases suggests that additional burdens are placed on women's career paths and their evolving identity. This study identifies the postdoctoral journey as a unique transition zone marked by a period of adaptation and selection as they make sense of their experience and decide on how best to achieve success and fulfillment as women and as scientists.

Este estudio examina las percepciones de mujeres científicas pos-doctorales trabajando en 14 importantes universidades de investigación en USA, y cómo las experiencias individuales e institucionales influyen en sus planes de futuro. Los resultados revelan tres distintos tipos de carrera (investigación, enseñanza e industria). Este trabajo ayuda a entender los procesos de decisión individuales teniendo en cuenta cómo el género influye en culturas dominados por hombres, cómo las barreras son reformuladas, y cómo los obstáculos afectan a las elecciones. Estas mujeres señalaron deseos fuertes de contribuir a sus campos respectivos y a colaborar con otros, un aspecto clave actualmente ausente en su trabajo. Todas las participantes señalaron su aspiración de tener tanto una carrera como una vida plena más allá del laboratorio. Los resultados también sugieren un ambiente pos-doctoral cargado de sesgos de género y familia, incluyendo discriminación sutil y desafíos específicos para las mujeres trabajando en culturas dominados por hombres. Una fuerte relación entre las experiencias de sesgos de género y familia ponen de relieve la existencia de cargas adicionales en las carreras de mujeres y la evolución de sus identidades. Este estudio identifica el periodo posdoctoral como una zona de transición única caracterizada por un período de adaptación y selección, en el que las mujeres tratan de comprender sus experiencias y decidir la mejor manera de lograr éxito y satisfacción como mujeres, y como científicas.

Keywords:

• postdoctoral experience
• gendered cultures of science
• work-in-life integration
• work-family bias
• women scientists
• career development
• identity

Palabras claves:

• experiencia postdoctoral
• culturas de género de la ciencia
• integración del trabajo en la vida
• sesgo entre trabajo y familia
• mujeres científicas
• desarrollo profesional
• identidad

Acknowledgements

This co-authored paper was partially supported by National Science Foundation ACES ADVANCE Opportunity Grant. The authors appreciate comments from Susan Hinze, Lottie Bailyn, Jeremy Jacobs and Diana Bilimoria that enhanced this paper.

Notes on contributors

Susan Schick Case, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Associate Professor of Social Justice. Areas of research include gender communication and influence, women's career development over the life span, and diversity, all focusing on valuing differences between and among people and designing systems for workplace inclusion. Her newest research involves the brain and gendered discourse in the professional workplace and the postdoctoral transition zone in the bench sciences and women's emerging identity. An active University professor at all levels (undergraduate, MBA, and Ph. D.), consultant, executive coach, and expert witness, all her work intersects ways to enhance human flourishing in organizations.

Bonnie A. Richley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. Her teaching and research interests are sustainability, positve organization development, appreciative inquiry and organizational change, organizational values, leadership assessment and development, experiential learning, organizational behavior and gender issues. As an organizational development consultant, Bonnie has worked with organizations in the for-profit and the not-for profit sectors, focusing on executive coaching, leadership training, strategic planning, program development, organizational change, and team building. She has written papers on the social-business innovations (SBIs), the diffusion of values-based innovation, corporate values, organizational change, teams, gender issues and leadership training. She is the co-author of Managing by Values: A Corporate Guide to Living, Being Alive, and Making a Living in the 21st Century, published in 2006 by Palgrave Macmillan.

Notes

1. A longer version of this paper, available online at the Work and Family Commons, includes a more systematic review of the literature.