Beyond Bias And Barriers

The United States economy relies on the productivity, entrepreneurship, and creativity of its people. To maintain its scientific and engineering leadership amid increasing economic and educational globalization, the United States must aggressively pursue the innovative capacity of all its people—women and men. However, women face barriers to success in every field of science and engineering; obstacles that deprive the country of an important source of talent. Without a transformation of academic institutions to tackle such barriers, the future vitality of the U.S. research base and economy are in jeopardy. Beyond Bias and Barriers explains that eliminating gender bias in academia requires immediate overarching reform, including decisive action by university administrators, professional societies, federal funding agencies and foundations, government agencies, and Congress. If implemented and coordinated across public, private, and government sectors, the recommended actions will help to improve workplace environments for all employees while strengthening the foundations of America's competitiveness.

The United States economy relies on the productivity, entrepreneurship, and creativity of its people. To maintain its scientific and engineering leadership amid increasing economic and educational globalization, the United States must aggressively pursue the innovative capacity of all of its people--women and men. Women make up an increasing proportion of science and engineering majors at all institutions, including top programs such as those at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where women make up 51% of its science undergraduates and 35% of its engineering undergraduates. For women to participate to their full potential across all science and engineering fields, they must see a career path that allows them to reach their full intellectual potential. Much remains to be done to achieve that goal.--Summary, p. S-1.

Movement into academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has been slow for women and minorities. Not only are women and minorities underrepresented in STEM careers, there is strong evidence that many academic departments are resistant to addressing the concerns that keep them from entering careers in these fields. In light of recent controversies surrounding these issues, this volume, examining reasons for the persistence of barriers that block the full participation and advancement of underrepresented groups in the sciences and addressing how academic departments and universities can remedy the situation, is particularly timely. As a whole, the volume shows positive examples of institutions and departments that have been transformed by the inclusion of women and recommends a set of best practices for continuing growth in positive directions.

Is your professional network as diverse as the workforce and community around you? If not, you could be missing important opportunities for your career. This book will help you remove the artificial barriers that may be keeping you from your next mentor, star hire, or big customer.

In 2007, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Promise of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, an influential study suggesting that women face a hostile environment in the laboratory. The NAS report dismissed the possibi...

Careers in science, engineering, and medicine offer opportunities to advance knowledge, contribute to the well-being of communities, and support the security, prosperity, and health of the United States. But many women do not pursue or persist in these careers, or advance to leadership positions - not because they lack the talent or aspirations, but because they face barriers, including: implicit and explicit bias; sexual harassment; unequal access to funding and resources; pay inequity; higher teaching and advising loads; and fewer speaking invitations, among others. There are consequences from this underrepresentation of women for the nation as well: a labor shortage in many science, engineering, and medical professions that cannot be filled unless institutions and organizations recruit from a broad and diverse talent pool; lost opportunities for innovation and economic gain; and lost talent as a result of discrimination, unconscious bias, and sexual harassment. Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine reviews and synthesizes existing research on policies, practices, programs, and other interventions for improving the recruitment, retention, and sustained advancement into leadership roles of women in these disciplines. This report makes actionable recommendations to leverage change and drive swift, coordinated improvements to the systems of education, research, and employment in order to improve both the representation and leadership of women.

Sliver award winner in Women/Minorities in Business category, 2020 Axiom Business Book Awards It's not you, It's the Workplace offers a fresh approach to understanding why women's relationships with other women at work are often fraught and when they are, have the potential to completely derail women's careers. It's a pervasive and complicated issue which, until now, has been falsely represented by books that paint women as inherently bitchy back-stabbers who cannot help but have challenging relationships with other women. As the authors prove, this is patently untrue! Immensely practical, the book features real-world advice and tactics to overcome and avoid workplace conflict, and most-importantly, build on the positive aspects of women to women relationships, developing stronger networks that foster women's career success and creating a more supportive and satisfying work environment.

Despite extensive and costly diversity initiatives, little progress has been made in recent years in ending workplace gender inequality. Beyond Bias presents a compelling explanation of the reasons for this failure. Current diversity initiatives focus primarily on “teaching” people to be less biased and more inclusive. But this is the wrong focus. As Beyond Bias make clear, workplace gender inequality is a systemic problem caused largely by the (unintended) discriminatory operation of personnel systems, policies, and practices. Beyond Bias presents the four-prong PATH program for directly attacking this structural discrimination—and with it, individuals’ discriminatory conduct: Prioritize Elimination of Exclusionary Behavior Adopt Bias-free Methods of Decision-Making Treat Inequality in the Home as a Workplace Problem Halt Unequal Performance Evaluations and Leadership Development Opportunities In the authors’ characteristically clear and engaging style, Beyond Bias lays out a comprehensive set of actions that organizations can take to ensure women no longer encounter gendered obstacles to their career advancement and find their workplaces engaging, supportive places where they—and everyone—can thrive. Advance Praise for Beyond Bias: “Beyond Bias offers a curated introduction to the literature on workplace gender bias, and many concrete steps organizations can take to interrupt bias by providing more structure in their business systems.” --Joan C. Williams, Author of Bias Interrupted: Creating Inclusion for Real and for Good, Harvard Business Review Press, 2021 “Beyond Bias’s actionable best practices equip leaders with the tools to create an equitable and more productive workplace that allows everyone to thrive. The “must read” for every leader who is serious about positioning their organization for success in the 21st century!” --David G. Smith, PhD, Johns Hopkins University & W. Brad Johnson, PhD, U.S. Naval Academy, authors of Good Guys and Athena Rising “Finally, a book that tackles workplace gender inequality at the root of the problem. Grounded in solid research, this book is a must for leaders determined to improve business results by fostering deeper engagement from both men and women.” --Carol Frohlinger, President, Negotiating Women, Inc. “Beyond Bias is a timely, powerful, and compelling book. In it, Kramer and Harris provide a clear and do-able PATH to create a business climate where people feel trusted and appreciated; one where DE&I is more than hope—it becomes a reality.” --Andi Simon, Ph.D. Corporate Anthropologist and CEO Simon Associates Management Consultants “Here it is! We’ve long been in pursuit of creating a bias-free workplace—what is needed to unlock so much potential and profit for our businesses. Yet so many companies have put in place huge efforts that have failed. Through their PATH program, Andie and Al show us how big goals are met through small wins. Focus on the seemingly small practices they outline that compound over time, and you and your organization will reach the goal we all seek.” --Lee Caraher, CEO, Double Forte, Author of Millennials & Management and The Boomerang Principle, and host of Everything Speaks