{"id":236543,"date":"2025-06-05T12:16:45","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T12:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/?page_id=236543"},"modified":"2025-08-22T23:07:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T23:07:30","slug":"female-faculty-recruitment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/actions\/female-faculty-recruitment\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Faculty Recruitment &#8211; Action"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset3&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=&#8221;Female Faculty Recruitment&#8221; button_one_text=&#8221;Back to All Actions&#8221; button_one_url=&#8221;https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/actions\/&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; title_font_size=&#8221;25px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#021024&#8243; custom_button_one=&#8221;on&#8221; button_one_text_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; button_one_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; button_one_bg_color=&#8221;#FFFFFF&#8221; button_one_border_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; custom_margin=&#8221;||-3px|||&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;13px||9px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;23px||0px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;2_5,3_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;2px|||||&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; border_style_all=&#8221;none&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_code _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div id=\"menu-buttons\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-desc\">What is the Action?<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-facts\">Quick Facts to Support this Action<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-background\">Background<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    <\/p>\n<div class=\"sidebar-dropdown\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->        <\/p>\n<div class=\"dropdown-toggle\">Case Studies \u25bc<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->        <\/p>\n<div class=\"dropdown-menu\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-how-mit\">> Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-how-usc\">> University of Southern California<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-how-um\">> University of Melbourne<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-how-tud\">> Technological University Dublin<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->        <\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    <\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-eval\">Evaluation Approach<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    <button class=\"sidebar-btn\" data-target=\"action-references\">References<\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><script><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function () {<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    const buttons = document.querySelectorAll(\".sidebar-btn[data-target]\");<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    const contentBlocks = document.querySelectorAll(\".content-block\");<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    const dropdownToggles = document.querySelectorAll(\".dropdown-toggle\");<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    \/\/ Handle sidebar button clicks<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->    buttons.forEach(button => {<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->        button.addEventListener(\"click\", () => {<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            const targetId = button.getAttribute(\"data-target\");<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            if (targetId) {<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->                \/\/ Hide all content blocks<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->                contentBlocks.forEach(block => block.style.display = \"none\");<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->                \/\/ Show the selected one<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->                const target = document.getElementById(targetId);<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->                if (target) {<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->                    target.style.display = \"block\";<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->                    const yOffset = -80; 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_builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;description&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-desc&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;gcid-body-color&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||-100px|||&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22text_text_color%22%93}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span>What is the Action?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>Recruit female staff at a faculty that offers computing courses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;facts&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-facts&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; custom_css_free_form=&#8221;||&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3>Quick Facts to Support this Action<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"testimonial-box\">\n<p>There is evidence that a <a href=\"https:\/\/peer.asee.org\/getting-to-gender-parity-in-a-top-tier-mechanical-engineering-department-a-case-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">better gender balanced faculty attracts female students<\/a> and can lead to an enhanced gender balance among students.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul class=\"testimonial-text\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/peer.asee.org\/getting-to-gender-parity-in-a-top-tier-mechanical-engineering-department-a-case-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Female faculty members can act as role models and as mentors<\/a>, since some female students feel more comfortable talking to a female faculty member.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2110.06094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Turnover of female academic staff tends to be lower, as low as 0%<\/a>, than male staff at the same computing department, when the environment was improved to be more female friendly.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/peer.asee.org\/getting-to-gender-parity-in-a-top-tier-mechanical-engineering-department-a-case-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Female students look for an \u201cexistence proof\u201d<\/a> of jobs in relevant areas, filled by women.<\/li>\n<li>Undertaking just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/1360080X.2022.2157928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one round of targeted female faculty recruitment<\/a> signals the commitment of the institution to gender equity to potential female applicants in the future.<\/li>\n<li>Working towards a faculty gender balance is working towards the United Nation\u2019s sustainable development<a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">goal number five: achieve gender equality<\/a> and empower all women and girls.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;background&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-background&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span>Background<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>In Ireland, women represent only 19% of all academic staff in computing departments (data was collected in 2019 from the <a href=\"https:\/\/hea.ie\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/10\/2020-IADT-Irish-Network-for-Gender-Equality-in-Computing-INGENIC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">INGENIC network group)<\/a>. The most gender-diverse computing faculty in the United States in 2020 was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1273070\/female-staff-computer-sciences-united-states-universities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duke University, with 27.4% of women<\/a> among academic and research staff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When researchers explored the circumstances and statistics around computer science faculty turnover in the United States, the results revealed that female staff choose to leave their academic jobs less frequently and therefore a <a href=\"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/792548.611944\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recommendation has been made to recruit more women<\/a> for better sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Despite the obvious benefits of a better gender-balanced computing faculty, this action requires a structural change at the faculty or university level. Examples of success stories, involving results of both, <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2110.06094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">longer term, consistent efforts<\/a>, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/1360080X.2022.2157928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shorter-term approaches<\/a> are discussed below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;MIT&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-how-mit&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span>Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has one of the most gender balanced STEM student populations in the world, with, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/peer.asee.org\/getting-to-gender-parity-in-a-top-tier-mechanical-engineering-department-a-case-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nearly 50% of students at the Mechanical Engineering department being female<\/a>. One of the key contributing factors to achieve this was changing the ways in which faculty is recruited.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>First, a target was set by the Dean of Engineering to achieve a certain percentage of female faculty recruited. Additionally, there was a recruitment policy change, which required the interview panel to justify their decision when a female candidate was turned down. Additionally, these candidates were required to be kept in the pipeline of university recruitment for other roles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Faculty recommended potentially suitable candidates for hiring, which included recent graduates or postdoctoral researchers, and some of them were directly contacted by head of department and asked to apply. All of the hired female staff from this case study reported that they would have not applied for the respective jobs they were later hired for. Reasons include <a href=\"https:\/\/peer.asee.org\/getting-to-gender-parity-in-a-top-tier-mechanical-engineering-department-a-case-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lack of confidence or perception of the job description being unsuitable to a candidate<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;USC&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-how-usc&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span>University of Southern California<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Enhanced gender balance among faculty at the University of Southern California is associated with the Women in Science and Engineering Program (WiSE), which was established in 2000 by an anonymous donation. With its help, <a href=\"Enhanced%20gender balance among faculty at the University of Southern California is associated with the Women in Science and Engineering Program (WiSE), which was established in 2000 by an anonymous donation. With its help, the number of women in tenured and tenure-track faculty positions increased from 15 in 2000 to 58 in 2018  across sciences, engineering and mathematics departments. The programme achieved this by:\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the number of women in tenured and tenure-track faculty positions increased from 15 in 2000 to 58 in 2018<\/a> across sciences, engineering and mathematics departments.<\/p>\n<p>The programme achieved this by:<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('recognition'); return false;\">\u27a4 Recognising Practices<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"recognition\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Recognising the practices already implemented at certain departments when recruiting new staff;<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('guidance'); return false;\">\u27a4 Career Guidance<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"guidance\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Supporting departments by facilitating career workshops for senior students and postdoctoral researchers, helping to broaden job advertisements and to mitigate unconscious bias by assessing language and wording in recommendation letters;<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('recruit'); return false;\">\u27a4 Supportive Recruitment Strategies<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"recruit\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Supporting faculty candidates during the recruitment process by meeting every candidate and allowing them to ask questions and to practice for their interviews;<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('junior'); return false;\">\u27a4 Junior Professorship<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"junior\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Establishing a junior professorship with funds provided by the initiative to outstanding female faculty candidates.<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('retention'); return false;\">\u27a4 Retention Strategies<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"retention\" class=\"dropdown-content\">The focus was also on retention, by providing awards and research grants to recruited staff. Examples include travel grants that help faculty members with younger children afford childcare and\/or additional travel costs when presenting at research conferences, or support to bridge temporary funding gap on a project, or to ensure a teaching release for a semester where required.<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3292040.3219676\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Recruited staff has been actively involved in mentoring undergraduate and postgraduate students<\/a>, as well as receiving mentoring awards at university level for outstanding work.<\/p>\n<p>\n<script>\n    function toggleDiv(id) {\n      var x = document.getElementById(id);\n      x.style.display = (x.style.display === \"none\" || x.style.display === \"\") ? \"block\" : \"none\";\n    }\n  <\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;UM&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-how-um&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span>University of Melbourne<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>An affirmative recruitment strategy was used in this initiative, which received strong support from the senior management at relevant faculty and respective schools. The strategy was implemented by performing a targeted recruitment of female applicants. This approach aimed to increase the number of women in faculty positions by allowing only women to apply in areas where women were underrepresented. It received some criticism but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-02829-y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was deemed legal under the state law promoting equality<\/a>. The champions who worked on this initiative recommend verifying local laws before applying this strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With the involvement of the Associate Dean at the Faculty of Engineering and IT, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-024-00212-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three academic roles were advertised in 2016 at School of Mathematics and Statistics, where only women were eligible to apply<\/a>. Since then, multiple roles have been advertised in a similar way in other departments, including engineering and information technology.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The female staff ratio at the School of Mathematics and Statistics increased from 17% in 2016 to 30% in 2023. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-024-00212-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The proportion of female staff at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology increased by 4% to 24% within one year<\/a> of the strategic efforts, compared to a 3% increase in the 16 years preceding the initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The approach had four key features. Firstly, support from the senior leadership at each department was secured before proceeding. Secondly, the strategy was to attract a broad pool of female applicants by recruiting at a broad disciplinary level, not limiting the positions to sub-disciplines. Thirdly, all of the jobs advertised offered unlimited contracts for research and teaching roles. Finally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/1360080X.2022.2157928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this approach was a once-off initiative<\/a>, with recruitment open to all genders continuing after that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Promoting and maintaining an inclusive culture in the participating departments was crucial to ensure the retention of recent recruits. Different departments implemented different inclusion initiatives, including mentoring programmes for female staff, establishing career support and parental leave grants, as well as providing training for those on the recruitment and promotion panels to deal with implicit bias.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-02829-y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lessons learned at the University of Melbourne<\/a> through their implementation of an affirmative recruitment strategy include the importance of:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('consulting'); return false;\">\u27a4 Consulting<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"consulting\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Consulting senior faculty members for support;<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('evidence'); return false;\">\u27a4 Evidence<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"evidence\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Providing an evidence-based rationale for the need to use this approach;<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('legal'); return false;\">\u27a4 Legality<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"legal\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Ensuring that the strategy would be legal in a local setting;<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('inclusive'); return false;\">\u27a4 Inclusivity<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"inclusive\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Including junior male staff when promoting an inclusive environment for all.<\/div>\n<p>\n<script>\n  function toggleDiv(id) {\n    var x = document.getElementById(id);\n    x.style.display = (x.style.display === \"none\" || x.style.display === \"\") ? \"block\" : \"none\";\n  }\n<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;TUD&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-how-tud&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span>Technological University Dublin<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>TU Dublin implemented the <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2110.06094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SUCCESS initiative<\/a> in 2012 to increase its female faculty recruitment. SUCCESS consists of four strands: source, career, environment, and support.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>source strand<\/strong> focused on achieving better gender balance through the targeted recruitment of candidates. For instance, one of the women targeted for the role was successful in getting a departmental head position.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>career strand<\/strong> included initiatives aimed at boosting female staff\u2019s skills, confidence, and career ambition. These included performance reviews, encouraging staff to participate in leadership programs, financial support for early-career researchers e.g., funding for conferences and part-time PhD course fees, and mentorship opportunities by encouraging more senior female staff to become mentors for more junior female staff.<\/p>\n<p><span>The <strong>environment strand<\/strong> promoted gender equality. This was addressed, for instance by the presence of senior female academics and managers in the School, which offered role models to junior staff and students. Furthermore, the participation in networks such as Women Leaders in Higher Education (WLHE), was encouraged. The School also supported and encouraged its staff in the establishment of national networks such as <a href=\"https:\/\/hea.ie\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/10\/2020-IADT-Irish-Network-for-Gender-Equality-in-Computing-INGENIC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">INGENIC<\/a> to share insights and promote joint projects. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Finally, the <strong>support strand<\/strong> covered practical support that was provided to female staff, particularly after maternity leave. This included planning the workload upon their return from maternity leave together with their managers, with consideration of their new family commitments in timetabling and allocation of their teaching, and striving for realistic schedules in each individual case. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2110.06094\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">This initiative resulted in 36% of the academic staff being women<\/a>, as well as 50% of the senior academic leadership team being women.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Impact&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-eval&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3><span><\/span>Evaluation Approach<\/h3>\n<p><span>It is often difficult to identify whether an initiative to enhance gender balance among academic staff has offered measurable benefits to an institution. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Below are some examples on what has been done at several universities to look for impact of such an initiative:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('tracking'); return false;\">\u27a4 Tracking Recruitment<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"tracking\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Tracking recruitment and staff retention numbers over a span of time after the initiative begins (<a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2110.06094\">Technological University Dublin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/1360080X.2022.2157928\">University of Melbourne<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/peer.asee.org\/getting-to-gender-parity-in-a-top-tier-mechanical-engineering-department-a-case-study\">MIT<\/a> )<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('interview'); return false;\">\u27a4 Interviewing Stakeholders<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"interview\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Interviewing stakeholders, such as the dean of admissions, heads of relevant departments, and newly recruited female staff, to find out about the details of procedures that were introduced, as well as what they might have affected. For example, at MIT interviewees reported that there might be <a href=\"https:\/\/peer.asee.org\/getting-to-gender-parity-in-a-top-tier-mechanical-engineering-department-a-case-study\">a link to increased gender balance among students<\/a>, as newly recruited staff became role models.<\/div>\n<p class=\"text-dropdown\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"toggleDiv('follow'); return false;\">\u27a4 Following Up<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"follow\" class=\"dropdown-content\">Following up on the career progression and other ways of national or international recognition of the recently recruited females by e.g., finding out what projects they are working on, <a href=\"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3292040.3219676\">whether they have won any awards<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2110.06094\">took leading roles within relevant academic boards and\/or networks<\/a>. This information could be used to advertise these achievements to prospective or existing female students in order to inspire them, as well as to ensure students have female role models at the faculty.<\/div>\n<p>\n<script>\n    function toggleDiv(id) {\n      var x = document.getElementById(id);\n      x.style.display = (x.style.display === \"none\" || x.style.display === \"\") ? \"block\" : \"none\";\n    }\n  <\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Consider&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-next&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span>Actions to consider next<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>Consider using this action along with some others, such as Buddy Systems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;References&#8221; module_id=&#8221;action-references&#8221; module_class=&#8221;content-block&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;RGBA(255,255,255,0)&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"boxed\">\n<p>Byrne, D. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5rrW6hynIKs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How we boosted female faculty numbers in male-dominated departments. <\/a>2024. (YouTube Podcast)<\/p>\n<p>Golubchik L. and Redel M. 2018. <a href=\"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/3219617.3219676\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Diversity in Faculty Recruiting: A WiSE Approach<\/a>. SIGMETRICS Perform. Eval. Rev. 46, 1 (June 2018), 140\u2013142.<\/p>\n<p>Guillemin M., Wong E. &amp; Such G. (2023) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/1360080X.2022.2157928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Affirmative recruitment of women in STEM: a case study<\/a>. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 45:3, 291-305.<\/p>\n<p>Guillemin M., Wong E. &amp; Such G. (2022). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-02829-y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How we boosted the number of female faculty members at our institution.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Higher Education Authority Ireland, 2018, Higher Education Institutional Staff Profiles by Gender, published July 2018, available at <a href=\"https:\/\/hea.ie\/assets\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Higher-Education-Institutional-Staff-Profiles-by-Gender-2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/hea.ie\/assets\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Higher-Education-Institutional-Staff-Profiles-by-Gender-2018.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>INGENIC \u2013 Irish Network for Gender Equality in Computing. <a href=\"https:\/\/hea.ie\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/10\/2020-IADT-Irish-Network-for-Gender-Equality-in-Computing-INGENIC.pdf\">https:\/\/hea.ie\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/10\/2020-IADT-Irish-Network-for-Gender-Equality-in-Computing-INGENIC.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Lagesen, V. A., &amp; Suboticki, I. (2022). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/19460171.2021.1991822\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Department heads enacting gender balance policies: navigating voices of ambiguity and concern.<\/a> Critical Policy Studies, 16(3), 333\u2013351.<\/p>\n<p>Lagesen, V.A., Suboticki, I. <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10734-023-01138-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Performing excellence and gender balance in higher education.<\/a> High Educ (2023).<\/p>\n<p>McGrath Cohoon J., Shwalb, R. and Chen L-Y. 2003. <a href=\"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/792548.611944\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Faculty turnover in CS departments.<\/a> SIGCSE Bull. 35, 1 (January 2003), 108\u2013112.<\/p>\n<p>McKeever, S., &amp; Lillis, D. (2021). <a href=\"https:\/\/arrow.tudublin.ie\/scschcomart\/115\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Increasing Gender Balance Across Academic Staffing in Computer Science<\/a> \u2013 case study.<\/p>\n<p>Statista (2021). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1273070\/female-staff-computer-sciences-united-states-universities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Percentage of female computer science staff at universities in the United States in 2020.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals \u2013 Goal 5. 2024. <a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal5\">https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal5<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Xu K., Wendell D., and Walsh A.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/monolith.asee.org\/public\/conferences\/78\/papers\/19081\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Getting to gender parity in a top-tier mech eng dept<\/a>: A case study. In ASEE Annu. Conf. Expo., pages 1\u201324. ASEE, 2017.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the Action? Recruit female staff at a faculty that offers computing courses.Quick Facts to Support this Action There is evidence that a better gender balanced faculty attracts female students and can lead to an enhanced gender balance among students. Female faculty members can act as role models and as mentors, since some female [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":236654,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32,33,34,35,37],"class_list":["post-236543","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-ltim1","tag-mang1","tag-newst1","tag-pol1","tag-rec1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/236543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236543"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/236543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237642,"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/236543\/revisions\/237642"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/236654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ascnet.ie\/techmate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}