The conventional separation of “work” and “life” in academia encourages faculty to ignore or even actively undermine their well-being. This week, we feature several publications that extol the need to prioritize self-care in higher education. Although work-life balance is important for all academics, certain groups face more emotional fatigue from microaggressions, relentless inequities and the . . .
Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, Full Professors, Lecturers, faculty-related items.
Multiple studies have scrutinized faculty evaluation practices and processes, identifying and quantifying the ways in which the historical construct of academic merit, upon which accolades and credit depend, is inequitable. While these findings can be discouraging and disheartening, ADVANCE is intentionally taking a broader perspective that the many studies about inequities in faculty evaluation systems . . .
This year, women had to work until March 14th in order to earn the same compensation as men did during the previous year. That pay gap has changed very little, decreasing by only 2 percent in the last 20 years. In 2022 in the general workforce, women earned about 82 cents for every dollar men . . .
The contemporary shift to online interactions has implications for the quality of academic relationships and experiences. One such pervasive yet troubling practice is “ghosting.” In “The Sad Humiliations of Academic Ghosting,” published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, ghosting is defined as a sudden cessation of response by one party in a digital communication relationship . . .
In a previous Weekly Roundup, we highlighted a meta-analysis of funding by the National Science Foundation over a 10-year period. To review, in 2019, NSF funded 31.3% of proposals from White scientists, but only 22.4% for Asian scientists; the overall funding rate was 27.4%. This translates into a single year award surplus of 798 grants . . .
In a previous Weekly Roundup, we highlighted a meta-analysis of funding by the National Science Foundation over a 10-year period. To review, in 2019, NSF funded 31.3% of proposals from White scientists but only 22.4% for Asian scientists; the overall funding rate was 27.4%. This translates into a single-year award surplus of 798 grants for . . .
The trap of service tasks that take time and energy but are not considered to be significant in promotion decisions was addressed in a recent article in Nature [https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03677-6]. The authors describe themselves as the “No Club” because they have both experienced and researched the ineffectual advice to women academics of “just say no” to . . .
Recently the White House released a roadmap that will expand the federal collection of data about sexual orientation and gender identity in order to advance equity for LGTBQI+ Americans. However, advances in measurement will be needed at all levels, including at universities. The management adage that you can’t improve what you don’t measure applies to . . .
Systemic biases, including biases in funding, are detrimental not only to individual careers but also to the quality of scholarship, the academic research endeavor, and shared commitments to integrity, meritocracy, and fairness. This week’s article from the New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/science/asian-scientists-nsf-funding.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare] reports that white PIs are more likely to be successful at NSF than any . . .
As summarized in the recent Harvard Business Review article, 5 Ways Managers Can Support Pregnant Employees, there are ways to reduce detrimental experiences that affect health and well-being outcomes for pregnant faculty, staff, students, and their babies. The article links to two studies that examined workplace experiences related to pregnancy discrimination specifically and to health-related . . .