1. Diversity and Inclusion
G. X. Tessema
PD NaFI
Division of Materials Research

3. new ideas often come from new ways of thinking …
smithsonian.com  July 14, 2014

4. Outline: Physics & Diversity
Why?
Implicit Bias
Checklist
APS and AVS Recognitions
PREM
Supplemental Programs at NSF
CLB
ROA
AGEP-GRS
Being a Rotator at NSF

5. Members of underrepresented groups
US Population
Members of underrepresented groups
A rapidly growing segment of the population
Significantly underrepresented in science & engineering
Promoting diversity expands talent pool

6. to Underrepresented Minorities
Percentage of Degrees
to Underrepresented Minorities
average
Average of 2010, 2011 and 2012
Data is collected from the IPEDS Completion Survey by Race. The IPEDS data represent a 3-year average for the bachelor, master and doctoral degrees for the three most recent years data is available.
MS&E has lowest figures: Bachelors is at 8.7% vs Physics 8.6%, Masters is 5.7% vs Physics 8%, PhD is 3.3% vs Physics 6.6%
Although: data collected from different methods. APS used IPEDS Completion Survey vs we used ASEE University survey data.
Credit: APS/Source: IPEDS Completion Survey

7. Diverse groups produce….
more feasible and effective solutions to problems (Cox, 1993; McLeod, 1996)
better, more defensible decisions (Nemeth, 1985; 1995)
more innovation in teams (Kanter, 1983)
Ack. Jo Handelsman
NSF ADVANCE

8. Bias in Evaluation Implicit bias toward a group
Non-conscious hypotheses/stereotypes, often about competence
Lack of critical mass a greater reliance on implicit bias
Few women & minorities in sciences
Accumulation of disadvantage
Small bias in same direction has large effect over time
Very small differences in treatment can have major consequences in salary, promotion and prestige (Valian, 1998)

9. 127 biologists, chemists & physicists Six top research universities
2012 study of scientists
127 biologists, chemists & physicists
Six top research universities
Sent participants a student description
Randomly assigned name “Jennifer” or “John”
Questions about student
Hire as lab manager?
Competent?
Provide mentoring?
Salary?
Moss-Racusin, C.A., J.F. Dovidio, V.L. Brescoll, M.J. Graham, and J. Handelsman Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109(41):

10. Examples of Bias & Implicit Bias
When shown pictures, evaluators overestimated the height of men and underestimated the height of women even given reference points.
Biernat, et al.
When asked to attribute contribution of skill and luck to successful performances, evaluators attributed men’s success more to skill and women’s success more to luck.
Deaux and Emswiller

11. Implicit biases are… Widely culturally shared Founded on stereotypes
All people, even members of underrepresented groups, hold implicit biases about these groups
People are often not aware of them
Applied more under circumstances of:
Lack of information
Stress from competing tasks
Time pressure
Lack of critical mass
Fiske (2002). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11,

12. Examples of Bias & Implicit Bias Gender: The Impact of Blind Auditions
Based on audition records of 14,000 individuals & rosters of orchestras from :
Audition data show use of a screen increases probability that a woman will advance from preliminary rounds by 50%
Roster data show switch to blind auditions accounts for 30% of increase in proportion of women among new hires
Goldin & Rouse (2000) The American Economic Review, 90, 4,

13. Ways to Mitigate Evaluation Bias
(1) Increase awareness of how implicit biases might affect evaluation
(2) Decrease time pressure and distractions in evaluation process
(3) Rate on explicit criteria rather than global judgments
(4) Point to specific evidence supporting judgments
Bauer & Baltes, 2002, Sex Roles, 47 (9/10),
Please incorporate (3) & (4) in your discussions

14. Some Diversity and Inclusion Ideas
Do I support and encourage women/minorities/people-with-disabilities to follow their interests in terms of education and career path?
Do I mentor women more junior, and seek advice from women more experienced?
Do I double-check and ensure I am fairly assessing all applicants for new positions, promotions, etc.?
Do I include underrepresented groups in lunches, gatherings, and technical discussions?
Do I listen to the opinions of underrepresented group in meetings and do I show support for (some/many of) their ideas?
Do I help ensure that our work space and rules accommodate needs?
Do I nominate women for awards/recognitions? Do I suggest underrepresented groups as invited speakers, co-organizers, etc.?

15. The Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) Program
… to address the pipeline of under-represented minority materials scientists…
The Division of Materials Research (DMR) seeks to broaden participation in materials research and education by stimulating the development of long-term, collaborative partnerships between minority serving institutions and DMR-supported groups, centers, institutes, and facilities.

16. Supplemental Funding Career-Life Balance (CLB)
Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) for faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions
Alliances for Graduate Education & Professoriate (AGEP) Graduate Student Supplement
Graduate Student Supplement for Veteran
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) for sites and supplements

17. Career-Life Balance (CLB): Flexibility
no-cost extensions or temporary suspensions of NSF awards due to family leave
flexible start dates for NSF awards
supplements for additional personnel to sustain research when principal investigators are on family leave
flexible postdoctoral fellowships to accommodate dual-career placements
options for remote panel participation
local child care recommendations for panelists
instructions for panelists describing family-friendly practices
While we are a research division, we do fund special projects on diversity. Here are activities.
We are encouraging participation in the AGEP program, which will now fund projects focused on disciplines – e.g. materials science. We especially are encouraging our centers and facilities, as well as professional societies.

18. Alliances for Graduate Education & Professoriate (AGEP)
To increasing numbers of underrepresented minorities (URMs) entering / completing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate education and postdoctoral training to levels representative of the available pool
Minorities: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders
AGEP program supports development, implementation, study & dissemination of innovative models & standards of graduate education & postdoctoral training designed to improve URM participation, preparation and success
While we are a research division, we do fund special projects on diversity. Here are activities.
We are encouraging participation in the AGEP program, which will now fund projects focused on disciplines – e.g. materials science. We especially are encouraging our centers and facilities, as well as professional societies.

19. AGEP‐Grad. Research Supplement (GRS)
Support for a new doctoral student who is a United States citizen, national, or permanent resident
Requirements
a mentoring plan signed by PI
An explanation of how proposed doctoral candidate and project will serve to broaden participation
Must have a current active MPS research award – note instrumentation acquisition awards, REU awards and large awards governed by cooperative agreements are not eligible
A letter signed by PI of Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) award or legacy award, certifying that proposed Ph.D. student is or will be a beneficiary of AGEP infrastructure

20. Thank you!

21. Women Faculty in Physics
Source Data:

22. Examples of Bias & Implicit Bias Race: The Evaluation of Identical CVs
“Jamal” had to send 15 resumes to get a callback, compared to 10 needed by “Greg”
“Greg” yielded as many more callbacks as an additional eight years of experience for “Jamal”
The higher the resume quality, the higher the gap between callbacks for “Greg” and “Jamal”
Jamal
Greg
Bertrand & Mullainathan (2004) Poverty Action Lab, 3, 1-27.

23. Evaluation of Fellowship Applications
“…the success rate of female scientists applying for postdoctoral fellowships at the [Swedish Medical Research Council] during the 1990s has been less than half that of male applicants.”
Wenneras & Wold (1997) Nature, 387, p. 341
Women had to be 2.5 times more productive to receive the same competence score.
Similar findings:
GAO report on Peer Review in Federal Agency Grant Selection (1994); & European Molecular Biology Organization Reports (2001)
*Cited by Richard Zare, Stanford chemistry professor and former NSB chair, editorial in 5/15/06 Chemistry and Engineering News

24. Women Students in Physics
NSF-NIH Survey of Graduate Students & Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering
Will try and find a graph of Physics Faculty members by Gender
Credit: APS/Source: IPEDS Completion Survey

25. Einstein on Diversity