Journeys to Systemic Change: The process of designing evidence-based interventions to improve career progression for marginalised academics
Keywords:
organisational system change, research culture, career progression, interventions, personas, journey maps, diversity and inclusion, STEMAbstract
This paper describes how the Evidence Base project used a two-stage approach as a foundation for designing systemic policy and practice interventions, with the goal of improving career progression for marginalised scientists at the University of Edinburgh. Stage one involved carrying out qualitative research with new principal investigators in the physical sciences at Scottish universities who had participated in fellowship and career development programmes. Using in-depth interviews to understand the challenges that participants had encountered in regard to their career progression, we share our research results through two ‘personas’ and ‘journey maps’, storytelling and product design tools from consumer research that have rarely been applied to the academic sphere. We used the ‘pinch points’ that were identified through the journey maps as the foundation for creating evidence-based interventions. In stage two of the project, we engaged with a number of stakeholders across the University of Edinburgh to talk about the research results, discuss these possible interventions, and explore the opportunities and challenges to implementing them. We explore why it has been essential for this work to involve engagement with other stakeholders within the University system, particularly within the context of the major disruption and wide-reaching impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, we offer a number of recommendations based on our experience, with the hope that others can use these to better facilitate the process of designing interventions to create systemic change to improve equality, diversity, and inclusion in higher education organisations.
References
Acker, J. (2006) ‘Inequality Regimes: Gender, Class, and Race in Organizations’, Gender & Society, 20(4) (August), pp. 441-464.
Adelaine, A. (2021) Knowledge Equity, 2020: Discussions with UKRI facilitated by Ladders4Action [Online]. Available at: https://ladders4action.org/news-blogs-videos/blog/summary-paper-ukri-knowledge-equity/ (Accessed: 25 February 2021)
Advance HE (2021) REC and Athena Swan Good Practice Initiatives [Online]. Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/charters/rec-athena-swan-initiatives (Accessed: 01 March 2021)
Anaf, S., Drummond, C., Sheppard, L.A. (2007) ‘Combining Case Study Research and Systems Theory as a Heuristic Model’, Qualitative Health Research, 17(1), December, pp. 1309-1315.
Bonello, E., Coombs, H., Dessent, C., Jardine, C., Jones, L., Wann, D., Walton, P. (2017) Unconscious bias observer scheme: Development of a novel unconscious bias observer scheme at Chemistry @York [Online]. Available at: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113533/ (Accessed: 17 March 2021)
Burke, W.W. (2018) Organisation Change: Theory and Practice (Fifth Edition). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Canning, E.A., LaCosse, J., Kroeper, K.M., Murphy, M.C. (2020) ‘Feeling Like an Imposter: The Effect of Perceived Classroom Competition on the Daily Psychological Experiences of First-Generation College Students’, Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(5), pp. 647-657. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619882032
Cebula, C., Nicoll Baines, K., Lido, C., Thijssen, J.H., Halliday, K., Hedge, N., Mulvana, H., Gauchotte-Lindsay, C. (2020) ‘Inclusion DOES Matter: COVID-19 as an Opportunity (not a Near Miss) for Making Decisive Changes in UK STEMM Academia’, SocArXiv, October 2. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/rkj5h
Chakraverty, D. (2020). ‘The impostor phenomenon among Black doctoral and postdoctoral scholars in STEM’, International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 15, pp. 433-460. https://doi.org/10.28945/4613
Collinge, K. (2021) Competency Framework for Research Funding: A User's Guide, Edinburgh Research Office [Online]. Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/competency_framework_for_research_funding.pdf (Accessed: 28 February 2021)
Davidson, M.N. (1999). ‘The value of being included: An examination of diversity change initiatives in organizations’, Performance Improvement Quarterly, 12, pp. 164–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1937-8327.1999.tb00121.x
Eaton, A.A., Saunders, J.F., Jacobson, R.K., West, K. (2019) ‘How Gender and Race Stereotypes Impact the Advancement of Scholars in STEM: Professors’ Biased Evaluations of Physics and Biology Post-Doctoral Candidates’, Sex Roles, 82, pp. 127–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01052-w
El-Alayli, A., Hansen-Brown, A.A. & Ceynar, M. (2018) ‘Dancing Backwards in High Heels: Female Professors Experience More Work Demands and Special Favor Requests, Particularly from Academically Entitled Students’, Sex Roles, 79, pp. 136–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0872-6
EPSRC (2021) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) at EPSRC [Online]. Available at: https://epsrc.ukri.org/funding/edi-at-epsrc/ (Accessed: 12 March 2021)
EPSRC (2020) Understanding our portfolio: A gender perspective [Online]. Available at: https://epsrc.ukri.org/files/aboutus/epsrcunderstandingourportfolio-agenderperspectivereport/ (Accessed: 25 February 2021)
EPSRC (2017) Quick Reference: EPSRC UKRI Innovation Fellowships, Call for Full Proposals [Online]. (Accessed: November 2019, no longer available online.)
Fritch R., McIntosh A., Stokes N., Boland M. (2019) ‘Practitioners’ perspectives: a funder’s experience of addressing gender balance in its portfolio of awards’, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 44(2), pp. 192-203. DOI: 10.1080/03080188.2019.1603882
García-González, J., Forcén, P., Jimenez-Sanchez, M. (2019) ‘Men and women differ in their
perception of gender bias in research institutions. PLoS ONE, 14(12): e0225763. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225763
Golom, F.D. (2018) ‘Reframing the Dominant Diversity Discourse: Alternate Conversations for Creating Whole System Change’, Metropolitan Universities, 29(1) (February), DOI: 10.18060/22172
Golom, F.D. (2015) ‘Creating Systemic Change Around Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Issues: A Case Analysis and Recommendations’, in Hawley, J.C. (ed.) Expanding the Circle: Creating an Inclusive Environment in Higher Education for LGBTQ Students and Studies. Albany, NY, USA: State University of New York Press, pp. 107-126.
Gonzales, L.D. & LaPointe Terosky, A. (2020) ‘On Their Own Terms: Women’s Pathways Into and Through Academe’, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 13(3), pp. 274-287.
Guyan, K. and Douglas Oloyede, F. (2019) Equality, diversity and inclusion in research and innovation: UK review [Online]. Available at: https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/UKRI-020920-EDI-EvidenceReviewUK.pdf (Accessed: 25 February 2021)
Handley, I. M., Brown, E. R., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Smith, J. L. (2015) ‘Quality of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the beholder’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 112 No. 43, pp. 13201–13206. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510649112
Hancock, S. (2020) The employment of PhD graduates in the UK: what do we know?’, Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) [Online]. Available at: https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/02/17/the-employment-of-phd-graduates-in-the-uk-what-do-we-know/ (Accessed 28 February 2021)
Jebsen, J.M., Abbott, C., Oliver, R., Ochu, E., Jayasinghe, I., and Gauchotte-Lindsay, C. (2019) ‘A Review of Barriers Women Face in Research Funding Processes in the UK.’ PsyArXiv, November 26. DOI:10.31234/osf.io/27mdz
Kamler, E. and Rasheed, S. (2006) ‘Mentoring Academic Women: Struggles for Advancement and Strategies for Change’, Research and Practice in Social Sciences, 2(1) (August), pp. 1-15.
Madera, J.M., Hebl, M.L., and Martin, R.C. (2009) ‘Gender and Letters of Recommendation for Academia: Agentic and Communal Differences’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(6), 1591-1599. DOI: 10.1037/a0016539
McGuire, G. M., & Reger, J. (2003) ‘Feminist co-mentoring: A model for academic professional development’, NWSA Journal, 15(1), pp. 54-72.
Miaskiewicz, T., and Luxmoore, C. (2017) ‘The Use of Data-Driven Personas to Facilitate Organizational Adoption – A Case Study’, The Design Journal, 20(3), pp. 357-374. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2017.1301160
Moss-Racusin C.A., Dovidio J.F., Brescoll V.L., Graham M.J., Handelsman J. (2012) ‘Science faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 109(41), pp. 16474-9. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211286109
Noone, H. (2020) The ARMA Survey on Research Culture 2020 [Online]. Available at: https://arma.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ARMA-Research-Culture-Survey-2020.pdf (Accessed 29 March 2021)
Padilla, A.M. (1994) ‘Ethnic Minority Scholars, Research, and Mentoring: Current and Future Issues’, Educational Researcher, May, 23(4), pp. 24-27.
Patton Davis, L. & Museus, S. (2019) ‘What Is Deficit Thinking? An Analysis of Conceptualizations of Deficit Thinking and Implications for Scholarly Research’, Currents, 1(1), pp. 117-130. http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/currents.17387731.0001.110
Portigal, S. (2008) Persona Non Grata. Interactions, January + February, pp. 72-73.
QSR International Pty Ltd. (2020) NVivo 12 Plus (released in March 2020), https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo-qualitative-data-analysis-software/home
Reid, N. (2014) ‘Gender-Correlated Systematics in HST Proposal Selection’, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 126, pp. 923–934.
Royal Society, The (2018) What is research culture? [Online]. Available at: https://youtu.be/mZ3bdTmjPKg (Accessed 02 March 2021)
Royal Society of Chemistry, The (2020) Position Statement: Research culture – improving diversity in the physical sciences [Online]. Available at: https://www.rsc.org/globalassets/22-new-perspectives/talent/policy-summaries/rsc-research-culture-position-statement.pdf (Accessed 15 March 2021)
Rollock, N. (2019) Staying Power: The career experiences and strategies of UK Black female professors, University and College Union (UCU) [Online]. Available at: https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10075/Staying-Power/pdf/UCU_Rollock_February_2019.pdf (Accessed 25 February 2021)
Schensul, J.J. and LeCompte, M.D. (2016) Ethnography in Action: A Mixed Methods Approach. Boulder: AltaMira Press.
Sheltzer, J.M. and Smith, J.C. (2014) ‘Elite male faculty in the life sciences employ fewer women’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 111(28), pp. 10107–10112. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1403334111
Strijbos, S. (2017) ‘Systems Thinking’, in Frodeman, R. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198733522.001.000
Strolger, L. and Natarajan, P. (2019) ‘Doling out Hubble time with dual-anonymous evaluation’, Physics Today, 1 March, DOI:10.1063/PT.6.3.20190301a
UKRI (2021a) Research and Innovation Culture [Online]. Available at: https://www.ukri.org/our-work/supporting-healthy-research-and-innovation-culture/research-and-innovation-culture/ (Accessed: 15 March 2021)
UKRI (2021b) What are Future Leaders Fellowships [Online]. Available at: https://www.ukri.org/our-work/developing-people-and-skills/future-leaders-fellowships/what-are-future-leaders-fellowships/ (Accessed: 9 March 2021)
York Chemistry (2018) Athena SWAN Department Application: Gold Award, Department of Chemistry, University of York [Online]. Available at: https://www.york.ac.uk/media/research/documents/athenaswan/York-Chemistry-Gold%202018%20for%20publication.pdf (Accessed: 01 March 2021)
Vaughn, A.R., Taasoobshirazi, G., Johnson, M.L. (2020) ‘Impostor
phenomenon and motivation: women in higher education’, Studies in Higher Education, 45(4), pp. 780-795. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2019.1568976
York, University of (2021) Family Friendly Working, Department of Chemistry [Online]. Available at: https://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/ed/fam-friendly-work/ (Accessed: 01 March 2021)
Walton, P. (2016) Athena Swan Launch Event - Promoting Equality in STEM, University of Chester Learning and Information [Online]. Available at: https://vimeo.com/159486745 (Accessed: 01 March 2021)
Wellcome (2020) What researchers think about the culture they work in [Online]. Available at: https://wellcome.org/reports/what-researchers-think-about-research-culture (Accessed: 15 March 2021)
Witze, A. (2019) ‘NASA switches how it divvies up telescope time to reduce bias: The move to double-blind peer review will affect projects worth roughly US$55 million’, Nature, 571(July), pp. 156.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Emily F. Porth, Jean E. O'Donoghue, Katie Nicoll Baines, Catherine Lyall, Sara Shinton
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
