Support Networks of Women in Higher Ed: A Crucial Pit Stop in Busy and Challenging Paths
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This piece was originally published by Women In Higher Education/57742311/eff25e.
Women in higher education are navigating complex paths in academic fields, paths that see a steady increase in participation by women but still have more men in leadership positions. Support networks play a crucial role in helping women advance. Tessens, White and Web explain in “Senior Women in Higher Education Institutions: Perceived Development Needs and Support” that allocating resources, setting up of networks and gatekeeping for leadership positions is considered a gendered activity in academia. Through my informal conversations with women faculty, staff and graduate students at the University of Minnesota, I saw how women in higher education engage with and react to support networks.
The focus of my conversations was four-pronged:
Why women participate in support networks,
What they get out of it
What makes the groups work
What are some of the tensions and challenges faced.
Women shared their experiences participating in different kinds of networks in their lives. These could be formally, institutionally set up, such as the Women’s Leadership Institute by the Women’s Center at the University of Minnesota, which takes in a cohort of faculty women every two years and provides yearlong workshops and trainings. At other times, support networks take off in an informal shape, such as a group that meets over coffee or lunch every month. This often results from interaction at academic and social events. Finally, support networks are also set up by groups of women for themselves, such as the Lean In group of graduate women in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
Why do it?
Interviewees mentioned that even though they were aware of other women at the university in roles similar to their own, they had not had opportunities to meet and chat with them. The groups allowed them to converse and strike relationships with like-minded peers, in a more interactive environment than structured classes and groups or at faculty and department meetings. They saw these groups as a chance to learn how other women navigate the world of higher education and build relationships that will last beyond just their time at school or university. Such support networks also allow them to engage beyond their immediate work environment, which although collegial can sometimes be small, house complex and hierarchical relationships, and not always support difficult conversations.
What do you get out of it?
Being part of a community and a sense of solidarity was one of the factors for participation. Women highlighted that it helped to have someone to talk to who may have faced similar challenges at the workplace or school but didn’t have a stake in their specific situation. Examples included but were not limited to: being in rooms where their voices and ideas were ignored, when they were passed over for promotions and when professors only called on men in class. Another benefit women highlighted was the chance to connect with women speakers and mentors, who bring in expertise not just from academia but other industries as well. In the more structured networks, sessions and trainings on negotiation, leadership styles and skills offered concrete takeaways for women.
Dr. Marina Aleixo, coordinator of international initiatives and relations of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota and participant in the 2014 Women’s Leadership Institute, mentioned that “while workshops on skills were always welcome, they were a component of most leadership-focused events, and it was the building of a community that felt more rewarding and relevant.”
In the interviews, creating and sustaining networks with peers was also a plus, though most participants were quick to emphasize that they were not motivated to share business cards or figure out a route to a particular job. These networks went beyond impersonal networking to advance professionally. Participants also mentioned that not everything they discussed was necessarily a women’s issue, even though many acknowledged coming from strong feminist backgrounds. Instead, discussions were rich and thought-provoking because they involved people who had similar experiences in their work and personal lives who could offer insight. Given everyone’s busy professional and personal lives, almost all participants expressed a wish to minimize the initial discomfort and disconnect among strangers in the group.
Bringing strangers together was not without its challenges. Interviewees acknowledged that participants grouped together based on similar identities, sometimes consciously as a smaller group of women of color from a larger network and sometimes unconsciously sorting themselves into a group with similar academic and professional aspirations.
What makes it work?
Women emphasized that while they were participating in a formal group, the informal, unstructured element was important to them. Several members of the Lean In group mentioned that often the first hour of their meetings is spent catching up and discussing what has happened in people’s personal and professional lives. The similarity of the group members ensures a faster understanding of each other’s histories and lives, almost like shorthand (as one interviewee referred to it). Other members of the group saw this informal element as crucial to building sustainability in the group, to ensure it continues beyond just their time in graduate school. Mari Jo Long, another member of the Lean In circle, mentioned that while members share a lot in common and enjoy catching up, “the group has to work actively to find a balance between the more informal conversations and focus on professional development activities and discussions.”
Having a dedicated time and space to meet peers helped people to step away from the details of their daily lives and reconnect with their larger aspirations and goals. Not having a prescriptive approach to the discussions was another attribute that interviewees highlighted. Participants didn’t expect other group members to solve their problems for them. Instead, they wanted to learn about how others have tackled issues of sexism and work-related frustration and whether these approaches worked.
What are some of the challenges?
Many women mentioned how hard scheduling was, given everyone’s busy and varied schedules. However, consistency and commitment was seen as one of the most important ingredients of the support network. While emergencies and occasional absences were understood, participants said it was important to prioritize and schedule support network activities to make it successful. Karen Spitzfaden, co-founder and member of the Lean In group, stressed that commitment to regular participation unless there are emergencies is one of the key rules in the group.
This commitment to regular participation has led to some difficult decisions in terms of closing participation to additional interested members and a slight reduction in the group size from when it started, but it has played a role in building a more engaged and trusting relationship for regular participants. Participants in most of the support networks acknowledged that they were similar to each other in terms of age, racial and ethnic identities, professional achievements and aspirations, and academic work. While this similarity helped build a sense of camaraderie, it also meant that other potentially diverse views never even made it to the table. Most of the support network groups did not see much participation by international women students.
Uyenthi Tran Myhre, assistant director of the Women’s Center at the University of Minnesota, mentioned that she encourages students to lead events that focus specifically on issues and identities international students most relate to. For international students, relocation and migration creates a vacuum for new support networks, ones that can bridge multiple worldviews and expectations. It is difficult to isolate the impact of support groups for women’s success. While they matter, it is not possible to break down individual aspirations, organizational and societal considerations and other factors that contribute to success. But it is evident from these conversations and the literature that support networks where women feel connected to their peers and have time to build trust and commitment play a significant role in bolstering women as they advance through their professional careers, in academia or outside.