Pivotal Career Decisions Guiding Potential Women Science Faculty

自20世纪70年代以来，实施了许多方案和干预措施，以鼓励更多的妇女 进入科学职业生涯。虽然在某些领域的早期培训阶段已经实现了与男性的平等， 进展非常不均衡，在教授方面取得的进展最小。虽然很多人 一些因素被认为可能是造成这一缓慢进展的原因，大多数人关注的是阻碍 职业发展。然而，一个同样可信的解释是，稳步上升的数字和 一小部分年轻女性，包括那些来自代表人数不足的群体的女性，认为自己完全有能力 在学术事业上取得成功，但他们选择不去追求它。为了设计干预措施来 支持和促进女性在学术科学事业中的崛起，至关重要的是相对 持续的障碍和积极的职业决策的贡献是确定的。没有研究表明 系统地试图确定女性进入学术科学职业的低进步率是否 由于准备不足、长期存在的歧视或年轻女性主动做出不追求的决定 这条职业道路。在拟议的纵向研究中，将使用访谈为主的定性研究方法 通过实现以下具体目标来揭示年轻女性的职业决策：1) 确定年轻女性在生物医学领域做出职业决定所使用的流程和标准 科学，特别是与学术职业有关的科学，因为他们从本科生进入博士培训， 女子高校不同民族学生与女强人的比较 在科学(WIS)项目中，历史上的黑人学院和大学，以及其他学院和大学；2) 将这些女性的职业决策过程与广泛而多样的男性样本进行比较 这些学校，以及NIGMS赞助的MARC、RISE、IMSD和PREP项目的男女学生；3) 比较妇女方案(WIS)和代表不足的少数民族方案(MARC， Rise、IMSD和Prep)影响学生对学术事业的看法和兴趣；4)决定是否 先前显示的预测学生可能进入生物医学博士项目的主题同样适用于URM 以及其他女性和男性，在这个更广泛的学生样本中；5)决定了文雅的程度 的职业决定可以用社会认知职业理论来解释，重点是性别如何发挥作用 社会化过程影响信念、态度和自我概念，而这反过来又影响动机、选择和 行为，尤其是女性的行为。这项研究将扩展和补充正在进行的类似研究 NIGMS少数民族学生发展计划支持的学生中的问题。合在一起，他们会 提供对青年科学家职业决策过程的无与伦比的了解，以及如何 干预措施和支持性环境会影响他们的决策。

Since the 1970s, many programs and interventions have been implemented to encourage more women to enter science careers. While parity with men has been achieved in the early stages of training for some fields, progress has been very uneven, with the least progress being made in the professorate. Although many factors have been proposed as likely contributors to this slow progress, most focus on barriers preventing professional advancement. However, an equally plausible explanation is that a steadily rising number and fraction of young women, including those from underrepresented groups, see themselves as perfectly capable of succeeding in an academic career, but are choosing not to pursue it. In order to design interventions to support and promote the rise of women in academic science careers, it is essential that the relative contributions of persistent barriers and active career decision-making be determined. No studies have systematically attempted to determine if the low rate of progression of women into academic science careers is due to inadequante preparation, persisent discrimination, or active decisions of young women not to pursue this career path. In the proposed longitudinal study, interview-based qualitaitive research methods will be use to reveal the career decision-making of young women by accomplishing the following Specifc Aims: 1) Determine the processes and criteria young women are using to make career decisions in the biomedical sciences, especially related to academic careers, as they progress from undergraduate into PhD training, comparing students with different ethnicities in women's colleges, colleges and universities with strong Women in Science (WIS) programs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and other colleges and universities; 2) Compare the career decision-making processes of these women with a broad and diverse sample of men in these schools, and women and men in NIGMS-sponsored MARC, RISE, IMSD and PREP programs; 3) Compare how activities of programs for women (WIS) and those for underrepresented minorities (MARC, RISE, IMSD and PREP) influence students' perceptions of and interest in academic careers; 4) Determine if themes previously shown to predict students likely to enter biomedical PhD programs hold equally for URM and other women, and men, in this broader sample of students; 5) Determine the degree to which refinement of career decisions can be explained by Social Cognitive Career Theory, with a focus on how sex role socialization processes affect beliefs, attitudes and self concepts which in turn affect motivation, choices and behaviors especially for women. This research will expand and complement an ongoing study of similar questions in students supported by NIGMS minority student development programs. Together, they will provide an unparalleled understanding of the career decision-making processes of young scientists and how interventions and supportive environments affect their decisions.