Professor Ramirez´s research has, among other things, focused on gender effects in higher education. He joined the FFNT (Female Faculty Network Twente) lunch discussion to share his experience on how it might be possible to stop the leaking pipeline in academia.
'The leaking pipeline' refers to a hypothesis that at each step on an academic career, such as a step from Assistant Professor to an Associate Professor, more men are selected and more women leave the academia. That seems to be true in Twente, where there is still a relatively low number of female senior faculty. How to fix this and are there some lessons UT could learn from universities like Stanford?
Advertise widely
'We can´t afford to miss talent. Right now we seem to be focusing only on half the talent out there and ignoring the rest,' thinks Professor Maarten van Steen, the Scientific Director of CTIT at the University of Twente. 'There are a few simple rules we could follow. Be demanding on everyone, without exceptions. We should broaden our scope and advertise new positions widely. You hire people for their brains, not only their expertise.'
Professor Ramirez agrees: 'At Stanford, we have to advertise widely, focus on diversity. There is a strong unwritten rule in the US to not hire your immediate graduates. And indeed, you shouldn´t look only at research and qualifications, but the whole person. You should cast a wide net.' With that in mind, Stanford University never offers female only positions.
Dual careers
According to Prof. Ramirez, an academic´s family life is also taken into account at Stanford. If a staff member has a child, their tenure position is prolonged. If a great candidate for an open position is found, Stanford University often tries to make job arrangements for their spouse as well. 'We always try to get the best possible candidate. If their spouse is also an academic, we might try to find a suitable position for them at Stanford or at another nearby university,' explains Professor Ramirez.
'Dual careers could be a good strategy for the UT to attract people,' points out Prof. Liudvika Leisyte from FFNT. 'However, we shouldn´t only look outside, but also look critically on what is happening internally at the university. Many women seem to be leaving throughout their career. Why? Perhaps it´s because they don´t get promoted. Many women are also concerned with the lack of role models. There are many talented, skilled women. Why aren´t they in Twente?'
'Don´t be intimidated.'
How to change this? Diana Reckien, a FFNT board member, thinks that female only positions might be the way to go: 'Men prefer men, and so I´m not against female only functions. I took one, so I could prove that I could do it. If we don´t take such opportunities, we can´t show that we are capable and there will be no women in leadership.'
Once a woman is in a leadership, she is also often asked to be a member of various high-level committees. That way she can influence policy making and help other women. 'If you are invited to be a member of a committee, accept,' advises Maarten van Steen. 'Don´t be intimidated and give your opinion. You will find out that people actually listen.'
