Abstract
Social relationships and intra-organizational networking have repeatedly been shown to predict career success.[1] However, building social networks may become difficult when STEM women enter into an area where they are judged, implicitly or explicitly, to be less competent outsiders. Social networks can also become more difficult to manage when work-life demands become unmanageable. Thus, a key component to analyzing the success of the ADVANCE program at the University of Cincinnati (UC LEAF) entails assessing the social climate through real connections between people within UC. To this end, LEAF has begun collecting closed network data from faculty in each of UC’s STEM departments to assess department-level network characteristics. We will use these data specifically to examine whether the networks of men and women faculty within each department differ according to (1) overall number of ties, (2) the types of ties they have (e.g., research vs. teaching, professional vs. personal support), and (3) the “quality” of ties as measured by the rank of those individuals in their departmental networks. We will also match these data with findings from our climate survey to identify whether network characteristics are associated with more or less positive workplace perceptions. In this presentation, we will compare findings from three STEM departments and discuss how these data will be used to assess ADVANCE-related progress and to inform future programming.
[1] Sparrowe, R. T., Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., & Kraimer, M. L. (2001). Social networks and the performance of individuals and groups. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 316-325.
Keywords
social network analysis; STEM; gender differences
Recommended Citation
Holloway, Stacie F. PhD; Kallen, Rachel PhD; Howe, Steve PhD; and Eiler, Brian, "Assessing the Intra-Departmental Social Networks of Male and Female STEM Faculty: A Preliminary Analysis" (2014). ADVANCE-Purdue Gender and STEM Research Symposium. 1.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/advancegsr/2013/presentations/1
Included in
Assessing the Intra-Departmental Social Networks of Male and Female STEM Faculty: A Preliminary Analysis
Social relationships and intra-organizational networking have repeatedly been shown to predict career success.[1] However, building social networks may become difficult when STEM women enter into an area where they are judged, implicitly or explicitly, to be less competent outsiders. Social networks can also become more difficult to manage when work-life demands become unmanageable. Thus, a key component to analyzing the success of the ADVANCE program at the University of Cincinnati (UC LEAF) entails assessing the social climate through real connections between people within UC. To this end, LEAF has begun collecting closed network data from faculty in each of UC’s STEM departments to assess department-level network characteristics. We will use these data specifically to examine whether the networks of men and women faculty within each department differ according to (1) overall number of ties, (2) the types of ties they have (e.g., research vs. teaching, professional vs. personal support), and (3) the “quality” of ties as measured by the rank of those individuals in their departmental networks. We will also match these data with findings from our climate survey to identify whether network characteristics are associated with more or less positive workplace perceptions. In this presentation, we will compare findings from three STEM departments and discuss how these data will be used to assess ADVANCE-related progress and to inform future programming.
[1] Sparrowe, R. T., Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., & Kraimer, M. L. (2001). Social networks and the performance of individuals and groups. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 316-325.