Students prepare for an informal discussion about the rewards and challenges in balancing their personal and professional lives.
One way to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in faculty positions is by opening the doors of opportunity in academia as early as possible and mentoring underrepresented minorities once they are here.
Recently, the UCSF Center for Gender Equity and the UCSF Student Activity Center, along with UC Office of the President, held a two-day conference where women representing all of UC’s health sciences campuses were brought together to interact with women leaders.
“This conference provides the tools and inspiration needed to encourage underrepresented women of color to pursue careers in the academic health sciences,” said Amy Levine, EdD, director of the Center for Gender Equity. “By providing cutting-edge, skill-building workshops and ongoing mentoring, we hope to reduce barriers to the recruitment, retention and advancement of a diverse faculty at UC.”
The UCSF Strategic Plan and the Diversity Initiative both aim to create a more diverse campus community. The strategic plan specifically states that “it is imperative that UCSF continue to improve the diversity of faculty, staff, students and trainees to effectively establish a culture of diversity on the UCSF campus.”
The UC Regents also have adopted an initiative on faculty diversity that they’re pursuing on each campus. The UC campuses that have health sciences programs were charged with identifying those women they believed would most benefit from the conference. In fact, the conference is a direct result of UC’s initiative, which aims to increase the number of women of color in academia. Many of the women who attended the conference were enrolled in MD/PhD programs.
Sustaining a Career
The conference was an opportunity for graduate students to mingle with faculty and understand what the academic process is about. This included how to enter into academia, what to expect and how to sustain a career.
In addition to the traditional roundtable discussions and seminars, a workshop called “pillow talk,” led by Mijiza Sanchez, assistant director of the, UCSF Center for Gender Equity, included the women getting into their pajamas to frankly discuss with faculty the challenges of an academic career.
“I think it is critical to have an open and honest discussion with young women about the tremendous rewards as well as the challenges,” said Renee Navarro, MD, PharmD, director of academic diversity. “I think if we portray this image that it’s easy and that you can have it all, then, when people start struggling, they think ‘Oh gosh, I’m struggling and everyone else seems to get it.’ We were very candid with some of our challenges and some of the ways we’ve worked to make our lives do able.”
The impetus behind the pillow talk activity was that the relaxed atmosphere allowed for topics not usually discussed on panels to reveal themselves. UCSF faculty and campus leaders shared how they had made lifestyle choices, which included how to care for children or deciding not to have children.
Part of the more formal agenda included giving serious thought to how to take care of oneself – part of sustaining an academic career. “It’s important to take care of yourself, whether you jog or write journals. We emphasized the idea of self-care since I think many women, regardless of what profession they choose, tend to put ourselves last,” said Navarro.
Among the UCSF students attending the conference was Asal Sadatrafiei, PharmD. The UCSF class of 2008, health policy and management pathway , whostudent found the conference to be a source of support as she continues her academic career.
“The UC Diversity Pipeline Conference was a wonderful opportunity to develop relationships with faculty and administrators who support and encourage our efforts towards pursuing an academic career,” said Sadatrafiei. “The conference also provided us the chance to broaden our network with other health professional students in the UC system.”
Organizers hoped the participants were able to take away specific tools that could better help them navigate the male-dominated academic terrain.
Importance of Mentoring
In addition to Navarro, Sharon Youmans, PharmD, MPH, associate dean for diversity in the UCSF School of Pharmacy, and Carmen Portillo, RN, PhD, a professor in the UCSF School of Nursing, plan to continue providing tools and support by mentoring these women throughout the year.
The importance of mentoring is valued at every stage in the pipeline and at every stage of a faculty member’s career. UCSF views increasing opportunities for mentoring as an integral component to promoting a supportive work environment. The UCSF Strategic Plan specifically calls for “developing effective mentoring programs for all at UCSF.”
One way in which mentoring is supported is through programs like the Comprehensive Mentoring Program, a joint venture of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the UCSF Faculty Mentoring Program, which is directed by Mitchell Feldman, MD, professor of medicine.
“A robust faculty mentoring program is critical for maintaining a diverse faculty at UCSF,” he said. “The mentor development program is part of our overall strategy to improve faculty mentoring at UCSF and strengthen faculty diversity.”
Navarro, Michael Adams, Director director of the Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity and Diversity Office, and Barbara Gerbert, PhD, a professor in the UCSF School of Dentistry, among others, served on a mentor development program panel titled “Understanding Diversity Among Mentees,” which addressed, in part, the issue of how to mentor someone who is of a different race.
Because so few faculty members come from underrepresented groups, the workshop sought to train mentors in recognizing their own biases.
“When you have a privilege that you don’t even realize is a privilege things may seem pretty fine to you,” said Navarro. “It’s often difficult to put yourself in the shoes of someone who feels alienated and isolated.”
As stated in the 80-page handbook distributed at the training, “Mentoring extends beyond the teaching of a specific skill; it encompasses personal, professional and civic development – the development of the whole person to full capacity and the integration of the person into the existing hierarchy.”
