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STEM Women Faculty Struggling for Recognition and Advancement in a “Men’s Club” Culture

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Exploring the Toxicity of Lateral Violence and Microaggressions

Abstract

Despite having made a number of positive steps to advance diversity and provide support for women scientist in the past ten years, STEM research institutions continue to be an environment where women faculty face a kind of “patriarchal DNA” that treats women scientists as subordinate to men. An environment continues to exist where women faculty often feel unwelcome, and unsatisfied with the rate of their accomplishments. At the time of promotion and tenure women can feel a sense of betrayal as their work is evaluated as being “less than” the work of men. To be successful in a derisive environment, many STEM women faculty report that they have developed coping strategies to adapt to a culture that often excludes them from occupying senior leadership roles, diminishes their accomplishments, and makes them feel remorseful for trying to find a work–life balance.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support provided by the National Science Foundation through grant HRD 1409171. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Language, Culture, and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Bonnie Ruder

  2. School of Public Policy, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Dwaine Plaza & Rebecca Warner

  3. School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Michelle Bothwell

Authors
  1. Bonnie Ruder
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  2. Dwaine Plaza
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  3. Rebecca Warner
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  4. Michelle Bothwell
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University, Brantford, Ontario, Canada

    Christine L. Cho

  2. Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University, North Bay, Ontario, Canada

    Julie K. Corkett

  3. Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University, North Bay, Ontario, Canada

    Astrid Steele

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Ruder, B., Plaza, D., Warner, R., Bothwell, M. (2018). STEM Women Faculty Struggling for Recognition and Advancement in a “Men’s Club” Culture. In: Cho, C., Corkett, J., Steele, A. (eds) Exploring the Toxicity of Lateral Violence and Microaggressions. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74760-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74760-6_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74759-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74760-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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