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Below, we share some resources that may help Chairs/Directors increase gender equity through improved work-nonwork balance. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions about these resources.

If you find a helpful resource that is not yet included on this list, please let us know.

If you use one of these resources, we would appreciate it if you would let us know about your experience. Was it helpful? How did you adapt it for 91������Ʒ and for your unit? Would you recommend it for others?

PROGRAMS & POLICIES

• Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB’s)
  • Source: Numerous journal articles
  • Summary: FSSB’s are a set of behaviors that supervisors (such as chairs) can exhibit, and that are related to employee outcomes such as work-nonwork conflict, positive spillover between domains, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. Although we are not yet aware of a program to instill or encourage such behaviors, we could develop one.
  • Suggested use: Groups of chairs or faculty
  • For more information, see articles such as Hammer, L. B., Kossek, E. E., Zimmerman, K., & Daniels, R. (2007). Clarifying the construct of family supportive supervisory behaviors: A multilevel perspective. Research in Occupational Stress and Well-Being, 6, 171-211.
  • Empirical support: See subsequent articles by Hammer and others
• STAR Training
  • Source: Work, Family & Health Network
  • Summary: This is an extensive, empirically-supported program that is designed to change organizational cultures from one that is driven on being present / working a specific number of hours to one that is instead focused on whether or not employees achieve the desired results. The program, which contains an extensive facilitator’s guide, covers many different topics (including the use of ‘sludge’ language that can inadvertently send the wrong message about the use of time)
  • Cost: Free if you want to run it yourself
  • Suggested use: Departmental or larger-unit initiative
  • For more information: 

ACTIVITIES

• Evaluate 91������Ʒ’s Family-Friendly Policies
  • Source: University of Washington
  • Summary: Walks through a summary of what family-friendly policies are, common barriers, policy issues, strategies, and suggestions for department chairs. Includes discussion questions
  • Recommended use: Chairs with other chairs / administrators. Could also be adapted for faculty discussions
  • For more information: 
     
• “Navigate Your Career” mentoring exercise
  • Source: Georgia Tech
  • Summary: Interactive scenarios in which participants choose which professional activities to engage in, balancing needs such as research, teaching, service, and health. Provides opportunities to discuss potential sources of bias.
  • Recommended Use: Chairs could use this as part of a developmental opportunity with faculty, hiring committees, or PRC’s.
  • For more information:  (choose “Navigate Your Career”)

VIDEOS

• Maternal Bias
  • Source: Facebook
  • Summary: This is one of a series of videos that show presentations to groups of Facebook employees. This video talks about the bias that women with children experience in the workplace
  • Recommended use: Facilitated viewings with faculty
  • For more information: 

SPEAKERS

Based on the specific topic and interest, 91������Ʒ ADVANCE can help you recruit and bring in expert speakers or workshop facilitators

READINGS WITH SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR CHAIRS

GENERAL READINGS

• Do labmates matter? The relative importance of workplace climate and work-life satisfaction in women scientists’ job satisfaction.
  • Abstract: Workplace climate and work-life balance are two factors that influence women’s decisions to leave or remain in a science workplace.  This study applies structural equation modeling to data from nearly 600 early-career geoscientists to examine relationships among perceptions of workplace climate, work-life satisfaction, job satisfaction and productivity.  The results include analytic path models comparing women to men, women professionals to women graduate students, and women professionals with child caregiving responsibilities to those without.  For all groups, workplace climate—measured in terms of both collegial interactions in the workplace and influence on decision-making—outweighed satisfaction with work-life balance in shaping job satisfaction, which in turn positively influences perceived productivity.  Work-life balance increased in importance and became significantly more influential for women caregivers.  The findings suggest that institutional efforts to improve workplace climate benefit all academics, while unmitigated work-life conflict may tip the balance for women’s satisfaction.   
  • Source: 2015 International Journal of Gender, Science & Technology