Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Behavior Therapy 43 (2012) 721 – 723

www.elsevier.com/locate/bt

Inspiration From Role Models and Advice for Moving Forward Michelle G. Newman The Pennsylvania State University Lata K. McGinn Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University Albert Einstein College of Medicine

This Behavior Therapy series on overcoming the glass ceiling followed from a highly attended panel at ABCT on the same topic. The current paper summarizes the common themes across the various papers in this series with respect to obstacles prominent women have faced, and how we can learn from their stories to help inform the future. These themes include the importance of role models, messages from a supportive environment, difficulties balancing careers with children, coordinating careers with family, importance of taking charge of one's career, moving forward despite negative internal and external messages, and questions about whether things have changed substantially. In addition, this paper contains a summary of the helpful advice from accomplished women in academia for navigating the academic waters. It is our aspiration that going forward this series will stimulate other conversations as well as increase thought, behavior, solidarity, and awareness about this topic so that we can continue to work toward a future when things will continue to improve for women.

Keywords: women; women's issues; inequities among women in academia; women in academia; gender differences

THE PAPERS IN THIS series provide an important understanding of where prominent women in academia have come from and what they have experienced Address correspondence to Michelle G. Newman, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, 356 Moore Building, University Park, PA 16803; e-mail: [email protected]. 0005-7894/43/721-723/$1.00/0 © 2012 Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

with respect to being a woman. Each trailblazer recounted an important and inspiring story of obstacles and triumphs. Although the perspectives offered in the papers of this series are varied, they nonetheless stipulate some common important themes that may help women understand where we have been and how we can learn from their stories to inform what we can do in the future. One of these themes is the importance of role models, and in many respects these trailblazers themselves and their stories provide inspirational models for young women at the beginning of their careers. At the same time, the papers all highlight the importance of having encouraging mentors, positive feedback about one's capacity to succeed, and/or observing other women as successful faculty and mentors. For example, Dr. Zeiss (2012-this issue) talked about how important it was for her to have had a female professor who spoke about her children and family as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Several of the authors also noted that the male mentors, who provided encouraging messages, played key roles in their confidence that they could succeed. On the other hand, Dr. McCrady (2012-this issue) and Dr. Foa (2012-this issue) lamented the paucity of role models early in their professional development. Related to the idea of models are the messages that come from a supportive environment. Dr. Foa attributed some of her fortitude to growing up in Israel in a cultural environment that presents an equal opportunity message to women. Dr. Nelson-Gray (2012-this issue) began in a graduate environment where gender was irrelevant. Dr. Jarrett (2012-this issue) highlighted the necessity of knowing that others struggled

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with the same issues and the importance of women talking with one another. Likewise, Dr. Nelson-Gray (2012-this issue) and Dr. Zeiss (2012-this issue) actively sought jobs in professional environments that felt supportive to them. For Dr. Nelson-Gray (2012-this issue), this was more important than being at a “big ten” institution. On a positive note, it is currently much easier to find women academic role models today than ever before. Another common theme was centered on the struggles between balancing aspirations for career success with a desire for children. Most of the trailblazers indicated that they had decided to have children but that this decision required them to work harder to navigate a number of obstacles. These obstacles included such things as no paid maternity leave policy, comments and/or concern expressed by coworkers, the expectation of others that their pregnancies meant that they would step back from their careers, and ongoing struggles with guilt and fear about achieving the “right” balance between career and family. Navigating this balance looked different for each of these women. For example, Dr. McCrady (2012-this issue) worked extra hard to show that she could have a child without sacrificing her publication rate, Dr. Zeiss (2012-this issue) held her child while writing her dissertation publication, Dr. Foa (2012-this issue) had a hands-on supportive husband who was willing and able to handle most of the day-to-day responsibility, Dr. Resick (2012-this issue) sacrificed sleep and hobbies and timed her pregnancies to give birth during breaks, and Dr. Nelson-Gray (2012-this issue) postponed taking on leadership roles and travel obligations during some life periods. Many of the trailblazers watched other women sacrifice their careers for children, relinquish children for careers, or warn students against having children altogether. Despite approaching this role differently, these women noted that their children had not been damaged and each trailblazer was able to achieve success in her own right. Many of these women also had to confront decisions related to coordinating their careers with the careers of their husbands. This sometimes meant making compromises and sacrifices by choosing a less prestigious graduate school, forgoing the ideal job, or staying home during a sabbatical. Additional challenges arose from being married to another academic. This issue was particularly salient for Dr. Foa (2012-this issue) who found that she wasn't always given credit for her contribution to co-authored publications. Dr. Foa made a concerted effort to develop a separate professional identity from that of her husband and she was mindful to take the lead on some publications when collaborating with male professionals.

Another theme that was raised across various papers was the importance of taking charge of building professional relationships and professional networks that could facilitate research and social support. This includes choosing your academic institution carefully, initiating contact with like-minded researchers, creating research teams, active networking, and organization of groups of women for advice and support. One consistent take-home message from all of these women is that success requires putting oneself out there and persisting despite self-doubts, being dismissed, underestimated, and discounted, and what may appear to be unrealistic odds. In spite of encountering many hardships, none of the trailblazers allowed these obstacles to get in their way and even took these difficulties as a challenge to prove their capabilities. Several authors wondered whether things have changed entirely or whether some of what was blatant has become subtle and less observable. Are people still thinking about what they once said out loud? On the optimistic side, there are now laws that require maternity leaves and that prohibit sexual harassment; graduate schools have predominantly female students, there are more women in academia than before, more women in leadership roles, and more women receiving awards for contributions to psychology. Nonetheless, it is still difficult for two academics who are part of a couple to be hired in the same institution, and academia is still predominantly male. Also, women doing the same jobs as men continue to earn less money. Perhaps our ABCT panel was so well attended because it struck an identifiable chord in so many women. So what do we do and where do we go from here? The trailblazers provide good advice about navigating the academic waters. They suggest that we work hard, publish often, follow our passion, use it to keep us going, and don't settle. There is no such thing as a perfect work or parenting level, so do your best to develop healthy internal achievable standards to balance your choices. Marshal your social support. Take an active role in fighting for what you want, asserting your interests, and selling yourself, but be diplomatic, respectful, and collaborative. Look for models and colleagues who you can emulate and consult with them often. Become a role model for junior female colleagues and graduate students and try to help shepherd them through the process. Develop a collaborative and participatory leadership style. Actively try to ensure that your workplace is family friendly and supportive for women. Invest in building and using professional and social networks. Make time for what is important

advice for moving forward and necessary to move forward at your institution. Don't spread yourself too thin, and prioritize (e.g., grants and publications over teaching and service). In the end, be cognizant of the impact of the choices you make. As we wrap up this series, this isn't the end for us. We hope to continue to help young women, make a difference, try to find ways to inspire other professionals, and do something positive for the future. It is our hope that organizing the ABCT keynote panel, as well as the current invited series that focuses on issues that women grapple with, will help to foster continued conversations between women in academia. It is our aspiration that this series will stimulate other conversations, as well as increase thought, behavior, solidarity, and awareness about this topic, so that we can continue to work toward a future when things will continue to improve for women.

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References Foa, E. B. (2012). How Being Female Influenced My Professional Experiences and Growth. Behavior Therapy, 43, 715–717 (this issue). Jarrett, R. B. (2012). Looking Ahead: Questions for and About Behavioral Scientists and Practitioners. Behavior Therapy, 43, 701–704 (this issue). McCrady, B. S. (2012). Overcoming the Glass Ceiling: Views From the Cellar and the Roof. Behavior Therapy, 43, 718–720 (this issue). Nelson-Gray, R. O. (2012). Comments by ABCT's First Female President on Overcoming the Glass Ceiling. Behavior Therapy, 43, 705–707 (this issue). Resick, P. A. (2012). Getting Out of Our Own Way. Behavior Therapy, 43, 708–711 (this issue). Zeiss, A. (2012). Never Turn Your Back on a Wave. Behavior Therapy, 43, 712–714 (this issue). R E C E I V E D : February 25, 2012 A C C E P T E D : March 1, 2012 Available online 9 March 2012