Success Strategies From Women in STEM

A Portable Mentor

2nd Edition - June 11, 2015
Imprint: Academic Press
Editors: Peggy A. Pritchard, Christine Grant
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 3 9 7 1 8 1 - 4
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 3 9 7 7 7 5 - 5

Success Strategies from Women in Stem: A Portable Mentor, Second Edition, is a comprehensive and accessible manual containing career advice, mentoring support, and profes… Read more

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Success Strategies from Women in Stem: A Portable Mentor, Second Edition, is a comprehensive and accessible manual containing career advice, mentoring support, and professional development strategies for female scientists in the STEM fields.This updated text contains new and essential chapters on leadership and negotiation, important coverage of career management, networking, social media, communication skills, and more. The work is accompanied by a companion website that contains annotated links, a list of print and electronic resources, self-directed learning objects, frequently asked questions, and more.With an increased focus on international relevance, this comprehensive text contains shared stories and vignettes that will help women pursuing or involved in STEM careers develop the necessary professional and personal skills to overcome obstacles to advancement.

Dedication
List of Contributors
About the Contributors
Acknowledgements
Foreword
- A World of Difference
- References
Prologue
- A Magnificent Obsession
Chapter 1. Career Management
- The Myth of “Career Planning”
- What Is Success?
- The Realities of Context: Pressures, Contraints, Opportunities
- Managing Your Career for Success
- References
Chapter 2. Networking
- What Is Networking?
- Is Networking Really Necessary?
- What is a Network? What Is Networking?
- Women and Networking
- Networking Strategies
- Use Social Media Effectively
- Maintain Strong and Effective Networks
- Go Forth and Network
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Further Reading
Chapter 3. Mentoring: Empowering Your Success
- STEM: A Mentoring Profession
- What Is Mentoring?
- Types of Mentors
- Strategies for Finding a Mentor
- Managing and Maintaining the Relationship
- Becoming a Mentor
- References
Chapter 4. Mental Toughness
- Mental Toughness: The “Physical Fitness” Analogy
- Mental Strength
- Mental Agility
- Mental Flexibility
- Mental Balance
- Proper Nutrition
- Mental Rest and Relaxation
- Endurance
- References
Chapter 5. Time Stress: Dealing with the Stress Associated with Time Pressure
- Women: The Consummate “Multitaskers”
- Develop Awareness
- Organize to Do First Things First
- Set Appropriate Boundaries
- Decrease Tension and Relieve Mental Fatigue
- Cultivate a Positive Attitude
- References
Chapter 6. Personal Style
- What is Personal Style and Why Does it Matter?
- The Components of Personal Style
- Matching Personal Style to One’s Position, Function, and Cultural Context
- Developing Your Own Personal Style
- References
Chapter 7. Communicating Science
- Introduction
- Know Your Science
- Understand Your Audience
- Develop a Clear Message
- Transmit the Message Effectively
- Communicating in a Digital Age
- Building Collegial Relationships
- Presenting Science to STEM Professionals
- Public Communication of Science
- Continually Improve Your Communication Skills
- References
Chapter 8. Strategically Using Social Media
- What Is Social Media?
- Understanding Altmetrics
- Getting Started with Social Media
- Getting Started (Step 1): Develop Your Professional Online Identity
- Getting Started (Step 2): Choose Your Online Platforms
- Getting Started (Step 3): Go for It! Start Posting
- Correcting the Misconceptions
- Balancing the Personal and Professional in the Online World
- Final Thoughts: Social Media Is a Complement, Not a Replacement
- References
Chapter 9. Negotiating with Emotional Intelligence
- Introduction
- Negotiation is a Process
- What is Your Current Negotiating Mindset?
- The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence
- Negotiating with EI
- Managing Conflict in Negotiations
- Negotiating Across Cultures
- Dealing with Barriers to High-Quality Negotiations
- Summary
- References
- Further Reading
Chapter 10. A Call to Leadership
- Understanding Leadership: Let’s Bust Some Myths
- Why More Women Don’t Lead and Innovate
- Characteristics of Leadership
- Leadership Theories
- Identify Your Leadership Style
- Be Aware of Cultural Stereotyping
- Say “No” to Self-doubt
- Acknowledge the Impact of Family Life
- Women Leaders Absolutely Must Support Each Other
- Promoting STEM Role Models
- Identify Your Passion
- When You Fail…Press On Until You Succeed
- Your Innovation Matters
- Final Words
- References
Chapter 11. Climbing the Ladder
- Why Climb the Ladder?
- How to Climb the Ladder
- Deciding If an Opportunity Is Right for You
- Personal Traits That Help
- Learning from Failures
- The Theory of Punctuated Equilibrium
- Preserving the Ability to Move Between the Two Ladders
- Helping Others Has Its Own Rewards
Chapter 12. Balancing Professional and Personal Life
- What Does it Mean to be a “Woman in Science” TODAY?
- Reflections on the Career–Family Trade-off
- Reflections on the Role of the Biological Clock in Women’s Career Trajectories
- What About Women Outside the Academy?
- Potential Strategies to Help Achieve Career–Life Balance
- References
Chapter 13. Transitions
- Changes Throughout Our Lives
- Work to Full-Time Motherhood and Back to Work
- Retirement
- Acknowledgments
- References
Index

Peggy A. Pritchard

Peggy A. Pritchard is a career information specialist and academic librarian highly experienced in designing and delivering innovative curricula to foster the development of a range of academic literacies and professional competencies. In her current position at the University of Guelph (Canada) she works collaboratively with faculty colleagues, educational developers, and writing and learning specialists to support undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and Psychology. She has been formally recognized for excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching at two top-tier universities in Canada.

Ms. Pritchard has presented seminars and facilitated workshops for women in STEM at all academic levels in North America and Europe. The hosting institutions have included the University of California Berkeley (USA), the University of Leicester (UK), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), and the Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal). Her work has also been presented at international, national and regional scientific conferences, women in science meetings, and education conferences. Ms. Pritchard is one of the editors of the first and second editions of Success Strategies from Women in STEM: A Portable Mentor

Affiliations and expertise

Associate Librarian, Learning and Curriculum Support Team, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

Christine Grant

Dr. Christine Grant catalyzes women influencers (and their male allies) in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to successfully navigate their academic and career pursuits. This book is the culmination of Grant’s over 30 years of leadership broadening the participation of diverse populations in STEM fields. A Full Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular (CBE) engineering at North Carolina State University (NC State), she is the Associate Dean of Faculty Advancement in NC State’s College of Engineering. She obtained her degrees in Chemical Engineering (B.S., Brown University; M.S. and Ph.D. , Georgia Institute of Technology) prior to joining NC State. Grant is one of only four African-American women in the U.S. at the rank of Full Chemical Engineering Professor. Her research has focused on interfacial phenomena and more recently biomedical systems. A recipient of the NSF Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), Grant has been recognized for broadening the participation, promotion and retention of underrepresented minorities (URM) in STEM. She has received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Minority Affairs Committee Distinguished Service Award, the Council for Chemical Research Diversity Award, the American Chemical Society’s SERMACS Diversity Award and the NCA&T Urban Education Institute NCA&T Exemplar Award.

She has been recognized for her advocacy for women in science and her educational outreach to Ghana, West Africa, by induction into the YWCA Academy of Women in Science and Technology, Sigma Iota Rho, an International Honor Society, and the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. She is a Life Member of the Society of Women Engineers and AIChE. She has also provided professional leadership as a member of the Board of Directors, and Chemical Technology Operating Council of AIChE and was elected to AIChE Fellow in 2013.

Her work in the arena of STEM policy resulted in her appointments as a Visiting Senior Scholar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an Expert in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Engineering Directorate, and a Boeing Senior Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering’s Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE).

An international speaker, she conducts career coaching and professional development workshops across the United States of America, Ghana and Australia empowering both women and underrepresented minorities on the STEM pathway. Grant’s company, Leveraged Empowerment, a unit of CoolSci Productions LLC (www.drchristinegrant.com), designs custom, targeted programming for corporate and academic environments. A change agent, she has been featured in National Science Foundation funded ADVANCE programming at Texas A&M, Cornell, Purdue, University of Toledo, UVA, Prairie View A&M, the University of Cincinnati and the University of New Hampshire promoting institutional transformation in STEM fields.

Affiliations and expertise

PhD, Full Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Associate Dean of Faculty Advancement, North Carolina State University, College of Engineering, Raleigh, NC, USA

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