Leveling the Playing Field for Women in Tenure and Promotion

This report addresses the ADVANCE initiative at Georgia Institute of Technology, aimed at improving the conditions and the chances for advancement of science and engineering women faculty. This initiative, funded by a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, was motivated by local findings of gender differences in curriculum vitae (CVs), the quality and quantity of mentoring, and the knowledge of and responses to tenure and promotion expectations and requirements. ADVANCE entails covering topics of interest and concern to all faculty, such as case studies of promotion and tenure; training to remove possible subtle gender and racial biases in promotion and tenure decisions; and developing ADEPT, a web program for faculty and administrators, as well as family-friendly policies and various practices that assess, promote, and guide the advancement of women faculty.