Department and Grassroots: Improving Graduate School

Environment for Women

Soha Hassoun Assistant Professor, Tufts University

Soheila Bana Graduate Student, UC Berkeley

Graduate School

Year

Sense ofAccomplishment

1 2 3 4 n-1 n

Exam 1

Exam 2

Defense

Ph.D.

The Reality

Year

Sense ofAccomplishment

1 2 3 4 n-1 n

Exam 1

Exam 2

Defense Ph.D.

Focus

• Create a positive environment for female students

• Basis– departmental policies and practices

– grassroots efforts (students)

Departmental Efforts

• Creating positive environment– decrease sense of isolation

– increase awareness of women’s issues

– convey positive attitudes by example

• Setting role models– provide successful models at all developmental stages

– invite speakers

Departmental Efforts (cont.)

• Recruiting and retaining female students – advertise practices/programs designated for women

to potential students

– assign office space more considerately

• Encouraging grassroots efforts

Grassroots Efforts• What is a grassroots effort?

• Successful model 1. Students’ agenda

2. Feedback

3. Departmental implementation

• How can the department help?

Students’ Agenda• Students define needs and initiate solutions

• Department– Creates communication opportunities among students

• establish support groups• provide facilities and financial support

– Designates faculty/staff as coordinator

– Provides information links• list relevant web sites and resources• encourage participation in regional and national conferences

Feedback

• Students communicate with the department, refine ideas, and discuss options

• Format– individual contact v.s. group presentation

– formal v.s. informal

• Department must convey willingness to listen and participate

Departmental Implementation

• Department establishes policy/practice based on students’ recommendations

• Procedure– outlining policy/practice

– coordinating with the university

– allocating resources

– announcing policy/practice

– providing continued support

Grassroots Efforts: An Example

• Parent policy at UC Berkeley, EECS– flexibility in deadlines for passing exams

– paid maternity leave

– childcare supplements for needy parents

– optional part time status

• Procedure– initiated by the women student group

– presented at faculty retreat

– implemented by the department

Summary

• What works best?– combination of departmental policies/practices and

grassroots efforts

• Follow up– a regional conference on women in CS/EE schools at

UC Berkeley, 1999.

– session at next Grace Hopper

Session Feedback• “..help the male students not make us feel inferior. We can

deal with their comments and get support groups, but this is not a solution”

• “Let’s focus on the small things that make an environment hospitable and ways of raising consciences about them”

• “Very informative! It made me realize how little my school does for women”

• “… encouraging to know what women students can do”• “let’s not assume that all women are going to be as proud of

the special programs as we are”• “promoting better daily environment will make things better”

Grassroots Efforts• Encourage students to define agenda

– Support groups: e-mail or regular meetings – Voice opinions– Family-related issues: paid maternity/paternity leave, facilities for

breast feeding, parents’ support group

• Communicate with the department

• Departmental involvement– assign supportive faculty/staff member– provide facilities and financial support – open to feedback

Information Sources

• Informal session at the 1997 Grace Hopper– questionnaire – panel members– feedback forms

• Women in Computing Resource (WCAR) list– sponsored by the ACM committee on the status of

women– crated by Laura Downey in 1994, maintained by Judi

Clarke