The key to rooting out hidden bias is to raise academics’ awareness of their unconscious gender biases, create a culture of inclusiveness and audit relevant policies and procedures to ensure that they do not differentially disadvantage women. Training is a valuable tool for raising awareness. The WISEST Leadership Seminar Series brings to campus experts on the social science research which reveal some of the forms of unconscious gender bias and how these may impact evaluation of the abilities and performance of women. By setting forth the common patterns of gender biases and examples of bias in the informal hallway interactions that take place everyday, as well as in the hiring and promotion decisions, leadership seminars and Town Hall meetings heighten accountability by increasing the visibility of patterns of bias. Facilitators understand the power of gender schemas and the accumulation of disadvantage through reading Why So Slow, viewing a DVD of Virginia Valian’s presentation at MIT, and receiving training from the Michigan STRIDE committee. Facilitators were advised on the importance of proactive searches and the difference between a “Search Committee” and a “Letter-Opening Committee” by Professor Laurie McNeil from the University of North Carolina at a WISEST Leadership Seminar. We realize that the Town Hall meeting vignettes depicting the subtleties of unconscious bias in race/ethnicity within a search committee setting have succeeded in raising awareness when a large fraction of the audience recognized the behavior of the faculty search committees in their very own department in the vignettes. Open discussions following the presentations are meant to engage the audience in self examination.

The Town Hall Meetings:
Sep 25, 2007 featured a theatrical production of three vignettes displaying various aspects of unconscious gender bias within a search committee.

Oct 15, 2008 featured a theatrical production of two vignettes displaying various aspects of unconscious race and ethnic bias within a search committee.

For more details: Town Hall Meetings

The leadership seminars:
February 28, 2008, "Gender and Family in the Academy”, Robert Drago, Professor of Labor Studies & Women Studies, Penn State University

March 23, 2007, “Battling Biases and Barriers: Necessary Steps our Academic Institutions Must Take to Assure a Strong Science and Engineering Workforce”, Geraldine L. Richmond, Richard M. and Patricia H. Noyes Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Oregon, founder and chair of COACh (the Committee on the Advancement of Women Chemists).

February 2007, “Words Matter - How Language Can Promote the Activation of Stereotypes”, Molly Carnes, Jean Manchester Biddick Professor of Women’s Health Research, Department of Medicine, Director University of Wisconsin Center for Women's Health Research, WISELI Co-Director, Professor of Psychiatry, Industrial and Systems Engineering.

November 15, 2006 "No Talent Left Behind: A Discussion on Increasing Flexibility in Tenure-Track Careers”, Dr. Claire Van Ummersen, Vice President, Center for Effective Leadership, American Council on Education (ACE).

October 19, 2006 "Balancing Faculty and Family Obligations: Organizational Change or Private Solutions?”, Joan C. Williams, 1066 Foundation Chair and Distinguished Professor of Law, Director of the Center for WorkLife Law, University of California. Panelists Kathleen Gerson, Professor of Sociology, New York University and Paula England, Professor of Sociology, Stanford University, Faculty Research Affiliate of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University.

April 6-7, 2006 “Institutional Change for Work-family Balance: The Family-friendly Edge”, Mary Ann Mason, JD, Dean of the Graduate Division, Professor of Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley, co-director of the Berkeley Center on Health, Economic and Family Security.

During the pre-ADVANCE grant period, nine WISEST Leadership Seminars were hosted:
2003: Possibilities for Faculty with Family Responsibilities in Engineering and the Sciences by Robert Drago, Professor, Labor studies and employment relations and Women’s Studies Pennsylvania State University, author of Striking a Balance: Work, Family, Life (Economic Affairs Bureau, Inc. Boston, 2007).

2004: Abby Stewart, Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies, Director of U-M ADVANCE Program at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan, editor of Transforming Science and Engineering: Advancing Academic Women (University of Michigan Press, 2007).

2004: Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute, Molly Carnes, University of Wisconsin.

2005: Recuitment and Retention of Women in Science and Engineering , Laurie E. McNeil, Professor of Physics and Astronomy and of Applied and Materials Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

2005: Klod Kokini, Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering, Purdue University.

2005: Stephanie Riger, Professor of Psychology and Gender and Women's Studies, UIC, author of Transforming Psychology: Gender in Theory and Practice (Oxford University Press, 2000);

2005: Patricia D. Galloway, President of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

2005: Recruitment Workshop members of the Michigan STRIDE committee.

For more details see: Leadership Seminars and other seminars by STEM Women

Heads workshops:
Training is even more important for heads because they set the tone in their department as to what is acceptable language and behavior and what is not. Heads Workshops were offered by the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (WISEST PI):

Jan 2006: “Supporting a High-Quality Faculty,” 4 STEM Heads and 1 STEM Dean attended (of 31 participants)

May 2006: “Budgeting,” 5 STEM Heads attended (of 50 participants)

Sep 2006: “Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Campus Climate,” 9 STEM Heads and 2 STEM Deans attended (of 50 participants)