Focusing primarily on the climate for women and minority faculty members at UW-Madison, Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute Research Director Jennifer Sheridan discussed the results of the WISELI Campus Climate Survey Friday.
The survey was distributed twice, once in 2003 and again in 2006, which provided a baseline for data comparison. The results presented focused only on faculty in the physical and biological sciences.
Survey questions covered topics such as comfort level among colleagues, ""good fit"" in the department and respect felt by teachers and students.
The questions inquired on personal levels of comfort as well as perception of how others felt regarding these areas.
""Men faculty significantly overestimate what the climate is for women in their department,"" Sheridan said.
Sheridan said men tend to believe campus climate is more positive than what female faculty are reporting.
When female faculty members were asked about the climate for minority faculty members, they tended to look at that climate differently than men, according to Sheridan.
""Women faculty seem to be more willing to say that things for faculty members of color are bad than they are for themselves,"" Sheridan said.
The results for the 2006 survey showed majority faculty members were more likely to report negative conditions for minority faculty members than in the 2003 survey results.
""It is exciting that other majority groups are starting to see the difficulties minorities face,"" Sheridan said.
Sheridan also reported that the results of the 2006 survey showed conditions improving slightly for women as well.
""It's good to know what it is like to check our own views,"" said UW-Madison graduate student Adam Crewziger. ""Having this data for us to see is very powerful.""
Another graduate student who attended this presentation, Alexa Romberg, also said she believes this information is not only valuable, but has potential to have a significant impact on the treatment of faculty members in the future.
""It is interesting to learn about the climate over time and to see the role these [survey] workshops have,"" Romberg said.
""It is interesting to see how they are helpful—psychologically—to faculty members and the role that they can play in the future.""
