ACS NEWS
COMMENT
WOMEN IN CHEMISTRY: MAKING PROGRESS
child care—help recipients acquire business skills and knowledge to promote their advancement. In the first round of grants, 12 recipients were selected from 46 applications. The G R O W program will continue in 2004.
HELEN FREE, CHAIR. STEERING COMMITTEE. ACS PROGRESS
W
OMEN IN CHEMISTRY AND
chemical engineering have made great progress in the past generation, now earning approximately half of all B.S. degrees in chemistry However, gender equity at senior levels of the chemistry community is still a long way away: Women now hold only about 10% of the senior positions in academe and industry. Recognizing the critical need for improvement, the ACS Board of Directors in 2002 established ACS PROGRESS, which is a three-year pilot project to test, develop, and evaluate programs that promote the full participation and advancement of women chemists and chemical engineers. To meet this challenge, the PROGRESS Steering Committee and Advisory Council members have developed a strategy that fits the world of chemists and chemistry First, we identified areas where improvements will help the advancement of women at early- and mid-career levels. These areas, as spelled out in the PROGRESS acronym, are Partnerships, Reflection, Openness, Grants, Resources, Education, Site visits, and Successes. Second, we developed seven pilot programs that address different sectors of the chemical community and meet the diverse needs of women chemists. Now, we're running our experiments. Halfway through the three-year research effort, we're learning what works and what doesn't. We anticipate that improved versions of many of these pilot programs will become part of ongoing society services. Here's an update at the halfway point: CORPORATE RECOGNITION. This program will establish awards to recognize companies that have successfully diversified their senior management and technical staff. To identify a unique and meaningful role that ACS can play, we held two focus groups at the N e w a r k City national meeting in September, one with individual industrial chemists and one with corporate representatives.
WEB-BASED RESOURCE CENTER. The PROGRESS website (http://chemistry org/progress) has been up since February The site features information and updates on the pilot programs as well as links to other organizations. The site also provides access to ACS information and services on mentoring and networking, careers, employment statistics, and awards. BE VISIBLE: Funding Seminar Speakers. This program provides travel funds for women to present seminars at chemistry and chemical engineering departments. Part 1 of the Be Visible program provides institutional grants to such departments from topranking institutions. In 2002-03,10 institutions received up to $1,500 each to support women speakers. For 2 0 0 3 - 0 4 , 1 2 institutions will receive up to $1,000 each. Part 2 of the program will provide funding directly to "rising star" women in academe to support travel and seminar expenses.
BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP COURSE. This program offers ACS women members the opportunity to improve their business and leadership skills through subsidized participation in "Leadership Principles for R&D Managers and Scientists," an ACS webcast short course for women in the industrial workforce. Women members are eligible—on a first-come, first-served basis—to receive specially reduced pricing of $195 per person. The first course session will be held early in 2 0 0 4 . To apply, contact the ACS PROGRESS office.
ACADEMIC AWARENESS/ SITE VISITS. This program focuses on improving the hiring, promotion, and retention of women faculty members in academe. To identify best practices currently in use, PROGRESS committee members made site visits to seven chemistry departments in major research universities in fall 2002. Each site visit included interviews, focus groups, and written surveys with administrators, faculty, and students. Additional site visits are planned this year, and we exTHRIVING IN THE WORKPLACE. This pect to complete a total of 35 visits to priprogram uses magazine articles, road vate and public major research universishows, and other communications to give ties. Data collected from site visits are reliable information on the challenges analyzed and summarized in reports to the faced by women chemists and on the resources available for success. Three maga- universities, ^fe plan to create tool kits that all institutions can use to identify strengths zine articles have already appeared in Chemistry and Today's Chemist at Work, and others and weaknesses in their own practices. will follow The first road show was at the Southeast Regional Meeting in Atlanta. It For additional information about these included two presentations, a panel dispilot programs, visit the ACS PROGRESS cussion, and a networking reception. website Chttp://chemistryorg/progress) or contact the staff liaison, Felicia F. Dixon, GROW GRANTS. This program, Grants for at (800) 227-5558, ext. 6334; e-mail:
[email protected]. Renewal Opportunities for Women, proTo ensure a bright future for our provides educational funds to ACS women fession and science, we must engage the members in industry or government. full creativity, energy, and commitment of These grants can make a difference in those both men and women. We believe that cases where employers can't or won't pay for professional development opportuniACS PROGRESS can help us move forties. The funds—up to $2,000 for training ward together. We welcome your particiexpenses, including course fee, travel, and pation and feedback.
Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of the ACS committee. 28
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