Abstract

Women frequently benefit from focused faculty development opportunities not because they need to be “fixed,” but rather it is a means to demonstrate that success, even in chilly environments, is possible. The Stepping Stones program uses a unique design to provide participants with inspiration, time for reflection, and strategies for how to navigate one’s career, through hearing about the journeys of successful women. In this article, we describe the program and evaluation results. Post-event and longitudinal follow-up surveys indicate that the program and its unique narrative format help to debunk the superwoman myth and leave participants with a sense of optimism about their future careers.

Keywords: faculty development, leadership development, personal development, programs

By many accounts, women are making great strides in higher education. Nationally, women comprise 57% of college students (White House Project, 2009). Similarly, in 2012, 58% of new enrollees in graduate programs were women (Gonzalez, Allum, & Sowell, 2013). From 2003 to 2004, for the first time in history, women made up 50% of U.S. medical school matriculants (Association of American Medical Colleges [AAMC], 2010).

Despite such gains among the student population, progress is mixed among staff at higher levels of administration and all levels of faculty. Across higher education, there are proportionally fewer women at each step up the career ladder (Martinez et al., 2007; National Research Council, 2009). For example, women constitute 50% of assistant professors, 45% of associate professors, and only 31% of full professors (Johnson, 2016). Furthermore, women hold more than half of lecturer and instructor positions, but these types of positions typically do not translate into leadership roles (White House Report, 2009). Women currently make up 27% of presidents at U.S. colleges and universities, up from only 9.5% two decades ago (Johnson, 2016). In U.S. medical schools, in 2013–2014, women comprised 21% of full professors, 15% of department chairs, and only 16% of medical school deans (AAMC, 2014).

Literature Review

The reasons for the gender gap among faculty and staff in higher education are complex and the subject of much discussion. The career disadvantages that women face are cumulative over time, such as lack of mentoring (Bickel et al., 2002), tokenism and smaller professional networks (Thompson & Sekaquaptewa, 2002), a chilly climate (Rosser, 2004), and inflexible policies for the integration of personal and professional roles (Welch, Wiehe, Palmer Smith, & Dankoski, 2011). Furthermore, unconscious biases cause both men and women to overestimate the competence of men and underestimate that of women (Isaac, Lee, & Carnes, 2009; Valian, 1999). This phenomenon plays a tremendous role in academe where peer review, evaluation, and sponsorship are pivotal to advancement (e.g., Trix & Psenka, 2003; Wenneras & Wold, 1997).

Despite such challenges, many women do effectively navigate academe, advance in their career goals, and enjoy satisfying work. To the junior or mid career woman, however, the path to career success can appear confusing, complex, and riddled with challenges (Eagly & Carli, 2007). To help illuminate the sometimes unclear paths to success, it is critical to develop a greater understanding of women’s career journeys and inspire women to consider leadership roles, despite the obstacles. It was for this reason that we developed a professional development program called Stepping Stones of Successful Women. This program aims to highlight the personal and professional milestones and paths (stepping stones) that women leaders took to achieve success. By focusing on milestones or decision points, we hoped to make more visible the problem solving strategies and reflection processes of successful women leaders.

Within educational development, perhaps the most common approaches to supporting women faculty are cohort based programs that are designed to provide women with leadership skills and a supportive peer environment. These programs aim to increase the number of women seeking leadership roles in higher education (see e.g., Bickel, 2012; Ebbers, Gallisath, Rockel, & Coyan, 2000; Johnson, Flood, Ross, & Wilder, 2010). Often, cohort based programs require significant resources and a considerable commitment from participants.

A recent systemic review of the literature on faculty development designed to promote leadership revealed that multiple strategies appear to be effective (Steinert, Naismith, & Mann, 2012). While cohort based programs were cited as effective, reflective practice was also among a number of programmatic features found to contribute to positive outcomes. Steinert et al. (2012) also conceded that nontraditional models for leadership programs, like narrative based interventions, might be helpful to capture the “personal and complex nature of leadership” (p. 499).

Regarding narrative specifically, both Myerhoff and Ruby (1982) and the Personal Narratives Group (1989) argue that narratives are important for understanding the complex boundaries of our relationships and organizations. Stories illuminate several aspects of gender relations, including the construction of identity, the relationship between individual and society, and the power dynamics between men and women. Through the narrative driven format of our program, attendees are able to empathize and connect their experiences to those in leadership roles.

Narrative has been used effectively by Kaminski (2005) and Danzig (1999) in leadership development. In these programs, participants interviewed leaders individually and reflected on their perceptions of and connections with leaders in their fields (union organizing and education leadership). However, these programs, like other cohort based or course based leadership development programs, are labor intensive and can be costly. While not a full replacement for more immersive leadership development programs, the Stepping Stones of Successful Women model provides potential women leaders with important insights not necessarily gleaned from other formats. By seeing successful women’s journeys across these stepping stones, participants are presented with stories that lead to perspective taking, self reflection, and exposure to new ideas and experiences that are not as accessible when presented through a text or traditional lecture (Kumagai, 2012).

Program Overview

Women frequently benefit from focused faculty development opportunities not because they need to be “fixed” but rather to “warm” the climate and counteract the ways that institutions have traditionally failed to support them (Stewart, Malley, & LaVaque Manty, 2007). Successful programs for the advancement of women require multiple, systemic approaches, including empowering women with skills necessary for success, addressing institutional policies and inequities so that there are equal opportunities for advancement, changing the culture, valuing relational skills, and increasing the visibility of women (Ely & Meyerson, 2000).

Drawing upon several of these strategies, our Stepping Stones of Successful Women program uses a unique design to stimulate reflection and enable faculty and staff to learn about career development through hearing the stories of successful women (for a full description of the curriculum and other details of the program, see Dankoski, Welch, Palmer, Hoffmann Longtin, & Walvoord, 2014). The goals of the program are to: (a) provide participants with strategies for how to navigate one’s career, (b) demystify the path to career achievement by debunking the superwoman myth, (c) broaden available role models of success, and (d) provide inspiration and opportunities for self reflection.

We identify women leaders at our institution (such as department chairs, deans, and high level administrators) who are willing to serve as our featured guests and share their career journeys in the presence of attendees. Then, we invite them to do a one on one public interview conducted by a faculty member from our office. There is no formal presentation or panel; rather, a faculty member from our office conducts the interview with the leader about milestones in her personal and professional life. Using a semi structured interview protocol (Patton, 2002), we ask the featured leader to tell stories of pivotal moments or “stepping stones” in her career journey that encouraged her growth or success. To dramatize and organize these stories, we place a small basket of stones of various shapes, sizes, and colors on the table in front of the guest, and we ask each speaker to select a stone to represent a milestone and “describe what the stone represents for you, and how it contributed to you becoming the person that you are.” Additional follow up questions include:

  • Did you make any mistakes or wrong turns along the way that you wish you could have avoided? What were they?

  • What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were starting out in your career? What advice do you have for women who are early in their professional development?

  • What accomplishment do you consider to be the most significant? What are you most proud of? What do you hope to do in the future?

The program format allows the story to unfold naturally and capitalizes on the power of storytelling to stimulate learning. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions at the end of each interview. The program is funded and supported by our educational development office. Featured guests are not paid, in part because we have framed it as an honor to be invited. So, the only real costs of the program are labor and lunch.

The sessions are fairly small with 26 attendees on average (with a range of a high of 55 attendees to a low of 14). Total attendance across the 28 sessions (spanning from 2008 to 2015) was 733. Attendees were predominately female (90%); 65% of participants identified as White, 11% as African American, 12% as Asian, 3% as Hispanic, and 9% declining to provide information on race and ethnicity. Faculty comprise just under half of participants, with 37% staff and 16% learners attending. The vast majority of faculty attendees were in full time appointments (91%), with clinical and tenure track appointments represented equally. In terms of rank, 43% of faculty attendees were assistant professors, 32% were associate professors, and 25% were full professors. Half (50%) of participants were from three departmental areas: Administration, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine. A total of 80% of attendees were from the School of Medicine; the remaining participants were distributed among a variety of schools. A total of 18% of the participants (130) attended multiple Stepping Stones events and were invited to participate in a follow up survey.

Program Evaluation

At the conclusion of each interview, attendees were asked to evaluate the session on a postevent survey. The form consisted of both quantitative and qualitative items. Using a 5 point Likert scale, with 5 being strongly agree, attendees were asked to rate two statements: (a) “The format of today’s program (interview format) was interesting and effectively held my attention” and (b) “I would recommend this program to others.” The open ended questions were:

  • Please describe in some detail a memorable moment or portion of today’s program.

  • What is the “take home” message for you from today’s program?

According to Kirkpatrick (1994), program evaluation should address four levels: participant reaction, learning, behavior change and/or application, and institutional results. Our choice to ask attendees to identify a memorable moment and a take home message was intended to target the evaluation questions at the level of learning and application.

In addition to the postevent surveys, we conducted an online follow up survey with all attendees who participated in two or more programs from 2008 to 2015. Our follow up survey furthered the goals of learning and application by focusing on the extent to which key messages from the program were retained over time.

Postevent Survey Analysis

A total of 388 postevent surveys, which yielded a response rate of 53%, were completed during the 28 session series. Attendees found the sessions to be interesting and effective at holding their attention, with a mean score of 4.81 (on a Likert scale of 5 to 1, with 5 being strongly agree), and individual session means ranging from 4.28 to 5. Furthermore, most attendees also strongly agreed that they would recommend this program to others (with a mean response score of 4.80 and individual session means ranging from 4.36 to 5).

Responses to the qualitative postevent survey items were analyzed for themes. Members of the research team read the written answers to each open ended question. As often suggested in qualitative analysis (Patton, 2002), an inductive process was used to determine consistent categories across interviews. Separate elements were placed into larger categories, and the research team developed descriptors to represent the sentiment of each section or cluster (Patton, 2002). Researchers then analyzed the relationships among the clusters and developed higher level themes that drew together several related concepts (Patton, 2002). After returning to the original data, representative examples were identified from the evaluations.

Although many comments were specific to the individual interviews, seven themes emerged from the analysis of the postprogram evaluation surveys. These themes included: (a) the superwoman is a myth; (b) adversity is common; (c) be flexible and seize opportunities; (d) strength must be developed; (e) support and mentoring are crucial; (f) let your passion direct your path; and (g) work hard and persevere. Below, each theme is explained, and sample verbatim quotations from the attendees are provided to illustrate each theme.

Having to “do it all” is a myth

The overriding theme of the open ended comments was that the personal stories were encouraging, inspiring, and helped debunk the myth of the superwoman, that women in higher education have to “do it all,” that is, be outstanding researchers and teachers while still supporting their families (Spar, 2013). In particular, attendees were able to more easily identify with the guests and find them to be ordinary as well as extraordinary after learning about their personal and professional journeys. For example, one attendee wrote, “I tend to view people in positions like hers differently than myself. Although I don’t think a position like that is for me, I find her to be very grounded, sincere, and personal. Thank you!” Another participant shared, “I like hearing about facets of an individual’s life that helped bring her to the place she is today, in ways that are accomplishable by any of us.” Finally, another attendee noted that hearing personal stories “is helpful because it makes leadership a whole lot less scary for me.”

Many participants also commented that they were helped by the leaders’ openness, honesty, and willingness to share their struggles and insights. One attendee remarked, “[she] was wonderfully authentic in her presentation. I appreciate hearing her story and how she’s approached challenges throughout her career and with work/life balance.” Another participant stated, “When she talked about needing to relieve stress and went to a remote bathroom to cry—I’ve BEEN there.” Finally, another attendee reported, “I enjoyed the personal family stories because they dealt with real problems and solutions.”

Adversity is common

The women who participated in our program shared openly about numerous personal and professional challenges. Their struggles were often viewed as important opportunities or significant turning points in their careers that they ultimately framed in positive ways. Many of the women offered stories of resilience in the face of challenge, and many attendees made note of this on the program evaluations. For example, one participant noted that the most memorable aspect of the session was, “[Dr. X’s] discussion of her move [here] with her husband—i.e. didn’t have a job, made opportunities for herself. But [she] never felt sorry for herself.” Another attendee stated, “I appreciated hearing about taking an opportunity that did not work out and how she worked through that situation.” Attendees voiced feelings of reassurance that even these high achievers had struggled with issues common to many women: “It really helped me to see that [Dr. X] had encountered some obstacles in her career path. I appreciate how she dealt with them and how she views them now.” As illustrated by these comments, participants commented on how frequently our leaders faced challenges and the role of optimism in allowing the leaders to successfully deal with adversity.

Be flexible and seize opportunities

Often times, attendees’ perception of the take home message was around the importance of remaining flexible in one’s career and life and the willingness to take risks and seize opportunities when they arise. This included recognition that changing paths can be important for growth and success, particularly for women in science and medicine. One participant commented that her take away message was to “be open to recommendations about something you might not have thought about doing in your career.” Another wrote that she will remember that “even though things at the time don’t seem perfect, you should be grateful for the opportunity life has given and know that when one door closes, another opens.” Additional comments about the need to be flexible included: “keep my mind open to possibilities for leadership” and “non linear paths can lead to success! Being receptive to opportunities is a good way to go.” Finally, it was noted that, “it is okay to forge an alternate path and move away from what doesn’t work.” Developing the attitudes and skills necessary to become more adaptable emerged as a critical component of success, particularly when faced with very challenging circumstances.

Strength and resiliency must be developed

Many attendees commented that they appreciated hearing about the emotional challenges that women leaders often face. For example, one participant wrote that “talking honestly about disappointment [is] very powerful when a person is real.” Furthermore, some attendees observed that disappointments should be expected, and even these very successful women had to learn how to stand up for themselves. In noting this take home message, one attendee shared, “don’t take certain situations personally.” Another commented, “do not be marginalized and get credit for your work.” As reported in these responses, attendees discovered that learning how to develop a “thick skin” is a critical skill of highly effective women leaders and is a process that often involves the support of others.

Support and mentoring are crucial

Many comments asserted the importance of supportive partners and friends as well as the value of mentoring and networking. One attendee stated, “I learned the importance of mentors and a support system.” Another remarked, “I liked the way the presenter decided how she chose a mentor and also how she encouraged us not to be afraid to ask someone else to be a mentor.” Frequently, attendees noted that hearing the stories of successful women motivated them to actively seek out a mentor. In sharing next steps, one participant declared, “I need to find a new set of mentors (STAT!) and network with male colleagues more regarding advice they’ve been given from the chair and particular chiefs.” As with other themes, the role of support and mentoring were identified as critical in supporting women leaders’ success.

Let your passion direct your path

Many of the women leaders revealed a deep sense of commitment to personal values, and numerous attendees commented upon this aspect of the stories. For example, one wrote: “I think it reinforced the fact the people who love their work are more successful.” Another participant shared that she feels the need to “be passionate about what you do, every step of the way. Don’t concern yourself with the final position.” This passion seemed to be inspiring as one participant remarked, “if you know yourself and know what you love to do, the opportunity to excel will present itself.” The women interviewed indicated that, in their perception, identifying what mattered most in both their personal lives and their careers, were important aspects of their path to success.

Work hard and persevere

A large number of attendees specifically used the word “perseverance” in describing their take home messages. They also frequently mentioned hard work and turning obstacles into opportunities. For example, it was common to see comments like: (a) “Work hard, take chances”; (b) “Define what you love and give it your all; get deliberate, focused”; (c) “Aim high! Yet be flexible in terms of where you land”; and (d) “everything in life that is worth doing is hard.” In these comments, the audience seems to be identifying with the leaders’ perceived importance of the role of hard work in their paths to success.

In summary, our postevent surveys indicated that multiple themes resonated with our event attendees. Attendees indicated that these narratives were a powerful lens through which to examine the leadership paths of women faculty and staff in higher education, and these stories illuminated a number of strategies and tactics that seem to be consistent in women leaders’ careers. Our surveys also indicated that engagement in a program like this one can inspire and empower women in their careers. Given the challenges women face over time as they pursue their careers in higher education, we conducted a follow up survey of participants who attended more than one session to further examine the saliency of these messages for our attendees.

Follow Up Survey

Participants who attended two or more Stepping Stones events between 2008 and 2015 were invited to complete an online questionnaire reflecting on their perceptions since attending. After accounting for invalid email addresses, the survey response rate was 50% (N = 49). Similar to the program participants, the vast majority of respondents were female (92%). A notable difference, however, emerged between the program participants and survey respondents with regard to role; the proportion of faculty completing the survey was greater than anticipated (41% of participants, but 65% of survey respondents), with fewer staff (37% of participants, 12% of survey respondents) and learners (16% of participants, 5% of survey respondents) represented. This may be a function of time as learners who attended programs in 2008 would likely have left the institution when the follow up survey was administered.

The online follow up survey included 16 Likert type questions and 4 open ended questions. The survey asked participants to reflect on how much the Stepping Stones program increased their agreement with the seven themes that emerged from the postevent survey results: (a) not trying to “do it all,” (b) adversity, (c) the importance of flexibility, (d) resiliency, (e) mentoring, (f) passion, and (g) hard work. The results indicated that the majority of participants moderately or strongly agreed with the importance of all themes, and means ranged from 3.12 to 3.49 on a 4 point scale. The item “One does not have to ‘do it all’ in order to be successful,” had the lowest proportion of participants (86%) reporting that their level of agreement increased “some” or “a lot” (Table 1).

Table 1. Attendee Reaction to Themes from Postevent Survey Analysis
How Much Did Stepping Stones Increase Your Level of Agreement With the Following Statements?
A Lot (%)Some (%)A Little (%)Not at All (%)MeanSD
(1) One does not have to “do it all” in order to be successful40.838.812.28.23.120.927
(2) When trying to advance in your career, encountering adversity is common49.038.810.22.03.350.751
(3) To achieve career advancement you must be flexible and seize opportunities63.324.510.22.03.490.767
(4) To advance in your career, you must develop resiliency51.042.96.10.03.450.614
(5) When pursuing career advancement, mentoring is crucial57.134.74.14.13.450.765
(6) As you advance in your career, it is important to remember that passion should direct your path57.136.74.12.03.490.681
(7) If you intend to advance your career successfully, you must work hard and persevere61.224.510.24.13.430.842
Note: N = 49 for all items in this table.

Participants were also asked to reflect on how much attending Stepping Stones increased a variety of perceptions of women and abilities emphasized in the series. Again, responses were overwhelmingly positive, with 93% or more responses indicating an increase on every item. The item indicating the lowest reported increase with a mean of 2.80, and 67.3% of responses agreeing “some” or “a lot,” was “capacity to not take things too personally” (Table 2).

Table 2. Attendees’ Perceived Increase in Abilities at Time of Follow Up Survey
How Much Did Attending Stepping Stones Increase Your…
A Lot (%)Some (%)A Little (%)Not at All (%)MeanSD
 Ability to identify with the speaker?51.036.710.22.03.370.755
 Level of resiliency in the face of challenge?20.461.214.34.12.980.721
 Self assurance regarding your own career journey?a29.256.310.44.23.100.751
 Willingness to take risks and seize opportunities when they arise?34.746.916.32.03.140.764
 Capacity to remain flexible in your career and personal life?a25.054.218.82.13.020.729
 Capability to not take things too personally?18.449.026.56.12.800.816
 Recognition of the importance of supportive partners and friends?b46.844.76.42.13.360.705
 Awareness of the importance of mentoring?b51.131.912.84.33.300.858
Note: N = 49, except
aN = 48 and
bN = 47.

General satisfaction with the program was measured using the final Likert type question asking attendees to agree or disagree with the statement that the format of the programs was interesting and effective, to which all respondents either agreed (25%) or strongly agreed (75%). These positive findings are supported by the 87% of respondents who reported recommending the program to others.

In addition to the previous quantitative questions, participants completed three open ended questions in the follow up survey, which mirrored those of the postevent survey. The questions were (a) What was the “take home” message for you from the Stepping Stones programs? (b) Please describe, in some detail, a memorable moment or portion of a Stepping Stones program you attended? and (c) Why did you attend more than one Stepping Stones program? Responses were analyzed by the research team using the same theme categories and process detailed in the postevent survey analysis. Although all themes were present again, two previous themes emerged as predominant.

First, the assertion that tone does not have to “do it all” emerged as a central theme with many of our attendees in the follow up survey. Both in the memorable moment and the take home message, many participants remarked how important it was to see successful women share honest stories about the struggle and guilt associated with trying to balance family and work. One attendee commented, “You don’t have to choose between professional and personal fulfillment, but it’s okay to not do everything yourself.” Another attendee echoed the importance of seeing how the featured women sought out support, “Hearing women say that they hired someone to take care of their children so they could focus on their career. We get so much guilt for doing that, it was refreshing to hear women say they are good mothers even though they aren’t at every event.”

The second prevalent theme that persisted from the postevent survey was be flexible and seize opportunities. Two attendees put it quite elegantly, with one commenting, “Careers can take you for a trip that you may have not intended” and another imploring, “Be purposeful with your journey. Take advantage of serendipity. Be open to opportunities.” Many attendees made mention of the various journeys to be taken, using phrases such as “lots of different trajectories,” “you can get to your goals through different routes,” “the randomness of a successful career,” and “multiple pathways to success.”

In response to the question, “Why did you decide to attend more than one session?” three themes emerged: the speakers, diverse experiences, and the intimate storytelling format of the series. Participants often reported returning due to personal connections with the speakers or interest in learning more about the specific individual’s path. One comment noted, “I usually knew the person being interviewed or knew of the person being interviewed and wanted to know how the path they had taken to where they were.” Many noted that the diverse experiences of the speakers drew them to return to more sessions, as displayed in the following comment: “I attended more than one session because I was interested in hearing from a variety of speakers with different backgrounds. This allows me to gain specific knowledge from their personal experiences, but also identify overarching themes that apply to successful women in a broad spectrum of career paths.” Finally, the intimate, conversational format was frequently identified as a reason for returning: “It was a very safe space to ask questions and to reflect” and “I found the format of these sessions particularly engaging, and the lineup of speakers was diverse and particularly impressive.”

Discussion and Implications for Educational Development

Given the result of our program evaluation, we propose that programs designed to encourage inspiration and reflection, like the Stepping Stones of Successful Women, are an important part of developing future women leaders. Throughout Madsen’s (2008) study, based on interviews with women presidents, the author asserts the powerful role of self reflection in these women’s lives, a skill that they developed early and practiced routinely throughout their development. Participants in her study affirm: “‘reflection has been an absolute lifesaver’ and ‘reflection can be the most enriching experience if you are willing to deeply acknowledge your own frailties…’” (p. 11). Likewise, the women we interviewed have demonstrated and affirmed the role of self reflection as a component of their professional development. This is similar to other work on the power of narratives (see Cohler, 1982; McAdams, 2008; Personal Narratives Group, 1989). They can be used as tools to illuminate complicated or hidden pathways and demystify organizational norms that may not be accessible to those in positions of power, such as women in the higher education field. By uncovering themes around myths and flexibility, the Stepping Stones of Successful Women program brings the power of narrative and self reflection to a large audience, making these important leadership development tools more widely available. As our findings suggest, discussing life lessons of successful women can stimulate self reflection among attendees and empower women to create and embrace their own career paths.

In Seidman’s (2006) book on interviewing as a qualitative research method, the author writes, “stories are a way of knowing” (p. 7). By interviewing a number of women about their personal and professional career milestones and hearing those narratives, our goals were to generate tangible lessons and demystify career success for current and future generations of women in the academy. Ultimately, the women leaders in our program had strikingly similar lessons to share. The results of our program suggest that attendees gained a deeper understanding of the career paths of successful women, which we hope will encourage more women to aim higher in their own careers.

References

  • Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). (2010). U.S. medical school applicants and students 1982–1983 to 2010–2011. Retrieved from https://www.aamc.org/download/153708/data/charts1982to2011.pdf/
  • Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). (2014). Women in U.S. academic medicine: Statistics and benchmarking report 2013–2014. Retrieved from https://www.aamc.org/members/gwims/statistics/
  • Bickel, J. (2012). Facilitating the career and leadership development of women: A potent new research tool. Journal of Women’s Health, 21(12), 1230–1231.
  • Bickel, J., Atkinson, B. F., Cohen, L. S., Dunn, M., Hostler, S., Johnson, T. R. B., & Stokes, E. (2002). Increasing women’s leadership in academic medicine: Report of the AAMC project implementation committee. Academic Medicine, 77(10), 1043–1061.
  • Cohler, B. J. (1982). Personal narratives and life course. Life Span Development and Behavior, 4, 205–241.
  • Dankoski, M. E., Welch, J., Palmer, M.M., Hoffmann Longtin, K., & Walvoord, E. (2014). Professional development through story and reflection: The stepping stones of women in leadership program. MedEdPORTAL. Retrieved from https://www.mededportal.org/publication/9858
  • Danzig, A. (1999). How might leadership be taught? The use of story and narrative to teach leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 2(2), 117–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/136031299293147
  • Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (2007). Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.
  • Ebbers, L. H., Gallisath, G., Rockel, V., & Coyan, N. M. (2000). The leadership institute for a new century: Linking women and minorities into tomorrow’s community college leadership roles. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 24(5), 375–382.
  • Ely, R.J., & Meyerson, D.E. (2000). Advancing gender equity in organizations: The challenge and importance of maintaining a gender narrative. Organization, 7(4), 589–608. https://doi.org/10.1177/135050840074005
  • Gonzalez, L. M., Allum, J. R., & Sowell, R. S. (2013). Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 2002 to 2012. Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools. Retrieved from http://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/GEDReport_2012.pdf
  • Isaac, C., Lee, B., & Carnes, M. (2009). Interventions that affect gender bias in hiring: A systematic review. Academic Medicine, 84(10), 1440–1446.
  • Johnson, H. L. (2016). Pipelines, Pathways, and Institutional Leadership: An Update on the Status of Women in Higher Education. Washington, DC: American Council on Education. Retrieved from http://www.acenet.edu/news room/Documents/Higher Ed Spotlight Pipelines Pathways and Institutional Leadership Status of Women.pdf
  • Johnson, C., Flood, C., Ross, C., & Wilder,J. (2010). Bridging the Gap: 16 Years of Academic Leadership Development for Women. NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education, 3(1), 163–181. https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-7890.1049
  • Kaminski, M. (2005). Telling their own stories: Using narratives to teach women’s leadership. Perspectives on Work, 9(1), 16–17.
  • Kirkpatrick, D.L. (1994). Evaluating training programs: The four levels. San Francisco, CA: Berrett Koehler.
  • Kumagai, A. K. (2012). Acts of interpretation: A philosophical approach to using creative arts in medical education. Academic Medicine, 87(8), 1138–1144. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e31825d0fd7
  • Madsen, S. R. (2008). On Becoming a Woman Leader: Learning from the Experiences of University Presidents. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
  • Martinez, E. D., Botos, J., Dohoney, K. M., Geiman, T. M., Kolla, S. S., Olivera, A., & Cohen Fix, O. (2007). Falling off the academic bandwagon: Women are more likely to quit at the postdoc to principal investigator transition. EMBO Reports, 8, 977–981.
  • McAdams, D. (2008). Personal narratives and the life story. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (3rd ed., pp. 242–262). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
  • Myerhoff, B., & Ruby, J. (1982). Introduction. In J. Ruby (Ed.), A Crack in the Mirror: Reflexive Perspectives in Anthropology (pp. 1–35). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • National Research Council (2009). Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Math Faculty. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
  • Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Sage.
  • Personal Narratives Group (1989). Interpreting women’s Lives: Feminist Theory and Personal Narratives. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
  • Rosser, S. V. (2004). Using POWRE to ADVANCE: Institutional barriers identified by women scientists and engineers. NWSA Journal, 16(1), 50–78.
  • Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as Qualitative Research (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
  • Spar, D.L. (2013, September 6). Shedding the superwoman myth. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 60(1), B6–B9.
  • Steinert, Y., Naismith, L., & Mann, K. (2012). Faculty development initiatives designed to promote leadership in medical education. Medical Teacher, 34, 483–503.
  • Stewart, A.J., Malley, J., & LaVaque-Manty, D. (Eds.) (2007). Transforming science and engineering: advancing academic women. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
  • Thompson, M., & Sekaquaptewa, D. (2002). When being different is detrimental: Solo status and the performance of women and racial minorities. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 2, 183–203.
  • Trix, F., & Psenka, C. (2003). Exploring the color of glass: Letters of recommendation for female and male medical faculty. Discourse & Society, 14(2), 191–220.
  • Valian, V. (1999). Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
  • Welch, J. L., Wiehe, S. E., Palmer Smith, V., & Dankoski, M. E. (2011). Flexibility in faculty work life policies at medical schools in the big ten conference. Journal of Women’s Health, 20(5), 725–732.
  • Wenneras, C., & Wold, A. (1997). Nepotism and sexism in peer review. Science, 387, 341–343.
  • White House Project (2009). The White House Project report: Benchmarking women’s leadership. Retrieved from http://txwsw.com/pdf/white_house_project_2009.pdf