Women faculty panel discusses academic bias

At a panel discussion with more than 40 attendees in the Memorial Student Union, female University of Arizona faculty members described how they cope with gender bias in their career fields.

"I feel quite fortunate that I have survived here," said Mary Poulton, chairwoman of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Poulton, also a UA professor, said that as a geological and mining engineer, her field is dominated by men. She knows of no other woman who has maintained a professorial position in the field of mining and petroleum engineering.

"I see tremendous opportunity at this institution for women and for change," Poulton said. She cited the Association for Women Faculty as one of the driving forces for change at the UA.

"Being involved with organizations like this makes the difference between having a reason to stay and not having a reason to stay," Poulton said.

She was one of five senior female faculty members who sat on an orientation panel intended to welcome new women faculty members and graduate students to the university.

Amid laughter and murmurs of commiseration, each panelist related her unique history and struggle in the role of female academician or administrator. They discussed gender-related difficulties that arise at the UA and other universities and gave advice on how busy professional women can survive everything from staying up all night with a sick child to negotiating for salary raises.

Balancing a professional and personal life is a tremendous challenge, panelists said.

Saundra Taylor, vice president for campus life, said she attends a plethora of meetings, dinners and other social events out of professional obligation.

"Balance for me is having some remnant of a personal life," Taylor said. "I really have no time because I have allowed my job to encroach on all the things I do."

Panelist Mimi Gray doubted it was possible to achieve a sane, happy medium.

"I don't know if there is a balance when we are all under such tight timelines," she said.

As coordinator for the Office for Child Care and Family Resources, Gray said what professionals really need is more time for a personal and family life.

"We don't need 24-hour child care," Gray said. Instead, women need to say "I need six hours a day with my 4-year-old," she said.

Gray discussed a case that occurred in her office when an employee with new baby was allowed to bring the infant to work because she could not find child care. Gray said that as more women take on high-level positions, "we will be seeing more of these blurry lines and rubber walls" when professional and personal lives cross paths.

Juggling personal and professional obligations is not the only trick to succeeding as a UA academician, the panelists said. Research, teaching and service responsibilities all must be met in order to earn tenure at the UA.

There are different expectations for men and women in fulfilling these responsibilities, they said.

"There are these structures of male supremacy or male bias in the institution that we have to work very hard to change," said Elizabeth Kennedy, the women's studies department head.

She said women are expected to be good teachers, but less competent researchers.

"It's very seductive to not give our research the attention it deserves, as women," Kennedy said. "The university does not really take us seriously as researchers yet."

Kennedy went on to discuss the problem of pay inequity between men and women. She said professional women are sometimes hesitant to ask for a raise when they are earning as much as $50,000 because so many other women are lucky to make half that amount.

"But that's not the way to look at it," Kennedy said. "If we don't fight for pay equity with senior men, it's harder for women earning $25,000 to fight for pay equity."

In addition to equal pay issues, Taylor characterized the limited number of women who advance to full professor status as a gender-related problem prevalent at the UA.

"There is a lot of diversity here, but if you scratch below that surface, there are a lot of problems," Taylor said, adding that while there is a lot of talk at the university about building openness and valuing uniqueness, "there's more rhetoric than practice" when it comes to really encouraging diversity on the UA campus.

The panelists agreed that institutions such as the Association for Women Faculty are crucial in resolving gender-related problems.

"We can accomplish concrete achievements as a foundation," association president Naomi Miller said.

The foundation is lobbying the UA to support on-campus child care for faculty, staff and students. A subcommittee has printed a booklet entitled "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Family Care Policies at the University of Arizona," which is available to UA employees.

Miller said that with the publication of the booklet, it will be much easier for UA employees to approach their superiors and demand more schedule flexibility and other special considerations afforded by university policy. Prior to the booklet's publication, employers could feign ignorance of university rules regarding employee rights, Miller said.

Amelia Tynan, vice provost for university information technology, said women should seek the companionship of like-minded individuals.

"No one can stay united and energized alone," Tynan said.

Miller said that with the support of women-oriented groups, they can learn to express their opinions without fear of censure.

"There are women you can learn your voice with," Miller said.

Taylor agreed that "it's so important to find our voice and the longer we put that off, the more we interrupt our self-esteem."

While the panelists identified many gender-related problems they consider prevalent at the UA, they also see the university making steady progress in those areas.

"The climate for female administrators at the University of Arizona is changing," Taylor said.

Kennedy compared the UA to the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she once worked, and agreed that the professional climate for women at the UA is "less chilly" than at other universities.

Still, she said women faculty members have to consider appearances when making professional and personal choices.

"I would recommend that new faculty on campus not have affairs with provosts or department heads," Kennedy said. "In the power balance of the universe, it is very hard for us to protect people who have done this."

Sarah Spivack can be reached via e-mail at Sarah.Spivack@wildcat.arizona.edu.