Certain Practices Seek to 

 Relieve Some of the 

 Pressures for Women of 

 Beginning a Tenure Track 

 University Career 



by the National Academy of Public Administration in 2001 foxmd that NSF 

 does not have adequate data to track changes or improvements to 

 encourage greater participation by underrepresented minority researchers. 



In addition, researchers told us that many NSF supported projects include 

 outreach components, frequently aimed at undergraduates and K-12 

 students. Often, analysts speak of an insufficient "pipeline" of women high 

 school and college students plarming to pursue higher levels of education 

 in the sciences. The goal of outreach programs is to pique the interest of 

 younger students in the sciences. Outreach activities can include speeches 

 or demonstrations or work opportunities in a laboratory. These outreach 

 activities may encourage some young women, who otherwise might have 

 lost interest, to pursue education in the sciences. 



Adjusted Tenure Clock 



Some universities extend the tenure clock by one semester or one year 

 when a jimior faculty member has a child. Most commonly, tenure 

 decisions are made severed years after appointment as assistant professor. 

 To achieve tenure in the sciences, high productivity in research and 

 pubUcation is required. As one faculty member expressed it, "the 

 biological clock and the teniu-e clock are perfectly in sync." Some female 

 faculty put off children untU after they gain tenure, often in their late 30s. 

 Allowing junior faculty to "stop the clock" reheves some of the pressvu-e 

 on junior faculty seeking tenure. Many uiuversities allow female faculty 

 only 6 to 8 weeks of paid maternity leave. 



At some imiversities, the tenure clock ac^justment that comes with the 

 arrival of a child applies to male faculty members as well. Some professors 

 we spoke with told us that often male professors do not play as large a 

 role as women in caring for newborns and can use the extra year to add to 

 their research and publication portfoUos. In addition, some junior faculty 

 fear that stopping the clock wUl be counted against them in the temu-e 

 decision. Even though adjusting the tenure clock may be imiversity policy, 

 that poUcy may not be evenly implemented in all departments. Moreover, 

 assistant professors seeking tenure must have many recommendations 

 from estabhshed academics in their field, some of whom may not be aware 



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GAO-04-639 Gender Issues 



