mentoring women grad students

[Julia Frugoli]

It seems someone has written a book about women and graduate school. 
I thought this was appropriate to our thread, so I got permission to 
cross post it.

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>Folks:
>
>The excerpt below is from, THE WOMAN'S GUIDE TO NAVIGATING THE PH.D. 
>IN ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, by Barbara B. Lazarus, Lisa M. Ritter, and 
>Susan A. Ambrose.  Copyright, © 2001, IEEE Press, reprinted with 
>permission. It is designed to help women doctoral students survive 
>and thrive in graduate school.  Much of the book is useful to 
>graduate students in all fields. The unique nature of the graduate 
>school learning process and how we can all deal effectively  with it 
>is the subject of the excerpt below.
>
>Regards,
>
>Rick Reis
>reis at stanford.edu
>UP NEXT: Mobile Learning
>
>             Tomorrow's Graduate Students and Postdocs
>
>           -------------- 701 words -----------------
>
>			LEARNING BY CRITIQUE
>
>* Why We Hate It
>* What You Can Do
>* Learning How "Not" to Be a "Nice" Girl
>
>As an undergraduate, the method of learning was probably something like
>this: your professor lectured on a series of topics on which you were
>later tested. Whether there was little or a lot of discussion about the
>material, the lesson was clearly defined.  Your professor had certain
>objectives she or he wanted to cover, and the material was chosen to
>illustrate definitive points.  You were learning existing knowledge.
>
>In graduate school, the method of learning is very different - and
>difficult for a number of women.  At first, your classes will seem like
>those in college - you'll study and learn an existing body of knowledge.
>However, the ultimate goal of attending these classes is to help you
>search out questions and define your research interests - not to
>specifically "learn" a lesson.
>
>As you progress in your graduate work, most of your learning will come
>through a series of formal and informal exchanges in which others, both
>faculty and peers, will challenge and test your ideas.  As your research
>progresses, you will be expected to share and discuss your findings with
>others.  If you haven't already encountered questioning of this sort,
>imagine how novice lawyers are trained.  We've all seen and heard about
>law professors "grilling" their students on case law.  Although the
>questioning may be intense, the professor is really trying to test the
>student's analytical, reasoning, and communication skills.
>
>WHY WE HATE IT
>
>Many women perceive insistent questioning as harsh and negative, or as a
>personal attack.  They may feel particularly uncomfortable with
>situations in which their understanding is continually challenged.
>Women may feel vulnerable as a result of stereotypes portraying them as
>"dumb," or they may lack the confidence and self-esteem necessary to
>handle intense inquiry.  By asking questions and continually challenging
>their reasoning, many women feel that a professor is commenting on their
>intelligence or worthiness as graduate students.  Some report feeling
>strange or unworthy for asking "too many questions" or for presenting
>new ideas.
>
>Although some women can positively respond to learning through critique,
>many internalized the criticism.  Conversely, professors may believe
>that they are pushing a student to explore new areas and to think
>independently.  However, a female student lacking in confidence may only
>hear, "you're wrong and you don't belong here."
>
>The nature of learning through critique - which is at the core of the
>graduate school experience - lends itself to another problem that is
>closely related to internalizing criticism.  Although you are learning
>to test and evaluate your own ideas, there are very few rules to guide
>your progress.  An idea is not perfect the first time around - learning
>to be an original thinker takes a lot of trial and error.  Once you
>begin to understand the nature of original research, you'll come to
>understand the tenuous nature of knowledge.  Many "right answers" change
>over time.
>
>WHAT YOU CAN DO
>
>Self-esteem and socialization are the root of many women's difficulty in
>dealing with new methods of learning in graduate school.  Although
>problems like these are not going to be solved overnight, there are
>steps you can take to make your experience more rewarding and
>satisfying.
>
>Hints on feeling Confident:
>
>* Set realistic goals.  You are not going to know everything the minute
>you start graduate school.  Why put that kind of pressure on yourself?
>Remember, you're here to learn.
>
>* Recognize that many things can only be learned through trial and
>error.  You will make mistakes, you will be embarrassed once in a
>while - it happens to everyone!  When you make mistakes, focus on what
>you can and did learn from it.  If at first you don't succeed....
>
>* Talk to others about your experience.  Older and more experienced
>graduate students, faculty members, counselors - they all understand
>what you're going through and many of them have already been there.
>
>* Realize that you can never be completely prepared for everything.  You
>may think because you're a graduate student in a prestigious university,
>you should automatically know what's going on at all times.  There is a
>tremendous amount of pressure on women, especially women in science and
>engineering, to prove themselves.  Go ahead with your work, and if you
>find you're lacking in a certain area, do what you need to improve.
>Don't judge yourself too harshly.
>
>* Ask for what you want.  Your professors are there to help you - they
>aren't out to get you, no matter how it may seem.  Realize, however,
>that some of your superiors may be oblivious to your concerns and may
>forget how it feels to be critically evaluated.
>
>* Negative feedback does not always mean that you are wrong.  Try to
>evaluate the comments on your work objectively, and then make a rational
>decision about whether or not to open a discussion or a debate.  This is
>important.  Some criticism is wrong; in general, criticism is usually
>opinion.  Learn to evaluate criticism (opinion) and decide if it's
>valued.  Just because it was said by a faculty member doesn't make it
>right!  Women are more likely than men to believe that negative feedback
>is justified and keep quiet.  Don't internalize criticism.
>
>* Feed your self-esteem bank.  Remember those times when you have asked
>the "right" question or solved a difficult problem.  You'll soon realize
>you have what it takes to make it.  Remember your successes.
>
>* Remember that time will help you feel more confident.  As a first- or
>second- year Ph.D. candidate, it's difficult not to feel hopelessly
>clueless.  As you define your interests and begin work on your own
>research project, you will undoubtedly develop a stronger sense of
>yourself and your own abilities.  Take one day at a time.
>
>LEARNING HOW "NOT" TO BE A "NICE" GIRL
>
>You're certainly at least as smart as the guys in your classes, but the
>testosterone levels that your male peers boast may be serving to make
>your playing field a bit bumpy.
>
>The first difference between you and the guys is that you probably argue
>differently - and that may give them an edge.
>
>A 1990 study showed that women are more concerned than men about damage
>that an argument might cause in an interpersonal relationship.  In
>general, men who argue are regarded as "rational," while women who argue
>are deemed "disagreeable."  Therefore, in fields where argument is
>necessary, women are at a disadvantage when dealing with male peers.
>
>This gender difference (whether true for an individual or perceived true
>by others) can also prove to be a disadvantage in working with a male
>advisor.  If a male advisor believes that women may react more
>"emotionally" to criticism, he may not give her the feedback she needs
>to make her work better.  And so the female student is denied an
>advantage that the male student is not, through no fault of her own
>(Mapstone, 1990).
>
>Nancy Hutson, who holds a Ph.D. in physiology and is vice president of
>Strategic Management for the Central Research Division of Pfizer Inc.,
>cautions:
>
>	Make no mistake, sex and gender are not the same.  Sex is genetically
>	determined, universal, and unchanging.  Gender represents those
>	behaviors taught by society and that therefore differ from culture to
>	culture.  To a very real extent, our society still mandates that women
>	should be distinct in their behavior from men: more passive, less
>	competitive, and less aggressive.  So the first thing we must do is
>	break loose from our gender restraints and instead, listen to our inner
>	voice.  Science, by its very nature, demands confidence, assertiveness,
>	and a competitive streak that will give one to be the first to make and
>	report an observation.
>
>-----------
>>From "women Drivers" in (Cecily Cannan Selby, ed) Women in Science and
>Engineering: Choices for Success (1999).
>-----------
>
>Another difference you may have noticed is that guys tend to be
>"pushier" when it comes to taking over experiments, using the computers,
>or speaking up in class.  But this is not always the case, and even if
>it is certainly behavior that women can learn and employ as well.  The
>stories on the previous page illustrate how some women see learning to
>be "bossy" as simply another skill to master along with their studies.
>-----------
>
>TIPS FOR NEGOTIATION
>
>Negotiating is a critical skill that you will need from your first day
>of graduate school on into your career.  In her article "Negotiation
>Advice for Women: How Not to Lose Your Skirt" (Committee on the Status
>of Women in the Economics Profession Newsletter, Winter 1999), economics
>professor Linda Babcoak presents an interesting argument that women
>don't adopt inferior (negotiating) tactics, but don't recognize
>opportunities for negotiating."
>
>Babcock suggests these opportunities for negotiation:
>
>1. Recognize opportunities for negotiation.  Don't accept everything as
>the status quo, but identify less-than-optimum situations as
>opportunities to negotiate.  For example, Ph.D. student wasn't defending
>until the end of the summer but had wanted to go through the spring
>graduation ceremony with her classmates.  She was disappointed because
>two male colleagues who also had not yet defended had gotten to go
>through the ceremony.  The problem was she had not asked, but the male
>students had.
>
>2. Overcome anxiety over negotiating.  Babcock asserts that "women tend
>to view the conflict inherent in negotiating as jeopardizing" the
>relationships they have with the person with whom they will negotiate.
>Men, however, see the relationship and the negotiation as independent of
>each other.  She suggests viewing negotiation as "an accepted and
>expected activity" that can be done while maintaining one's relationship
>with the other party.
>
>3. Be sure of what you want to get out of the negotiation.  Before you
>enter into any negotiation, be clear on what goals you are trying to
>achieve and what is the minimum you will accept.  At the same time, be
>assertive, yet creative.
>
>4. Don't view negotiations as win/lose.  The "variable-sum" way women
>typically view negotiations, says Babcock, is a strength that they have
>over men, who tend to view negotiations as "zero-sum."  Women bring a
>"more cooperative and problem-solving approach and a willingness to
>understand the interests of the other side to the bargaining table."
>
>--------------
>BARBARA B. LAZARUS
>Associate Provost for Academic Affairs
>Adjunct Professor of Education Anthropology
>Carnegie Mellon University
>Pittsburgh, PA
>
>LISA M. RITTER
>Communications Consultant
>Carnegie Mellon University
>Pittsburgh, PA
>
>SUSAN A. AMBROSE
>Associate Provost for Educational Development
>Director of the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence
>Principal Lecturer, Department of History
>Carnegie Mellon University
>Pittsburgh, PA
>
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Julia Frugoli
Asst. Professor
Biological Sciences
Clemson University
132 Long Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

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FAX (864) 656-0435
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