Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Maslin-Ostrowski, Patricia
Abstract
There is increasing reliance on STEM higher education as a source of innovation, and on faculty as knowledge producers. Simultaneously, universities are systemically changing internal structures to increase equity and inclusivity to attract and retain more STEM women. Women remain underrepresented in specific STEM disciplines and are missing from upper faculty ranks. The research corpus on STEM women lacks studies on women on tenure tracks, and on the relationships among climate, fit, and job satisfaction, and the extent to which job satisfaction aids retention of STEM women. Also sparse is research on leadership’s roles in women’s advancement and retention at the departmental level. The purpose of this study was to understand how the climate within a STEM college contributed to the professional development and sense of belonging of women faculty at a research institution with a National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE grant. This study also explored leadership’s role in fostering a climate of support toward women’s advancement. NSF ADVANCE funds institutions working toward systemic change, but even with an ADVANCE grant, it can be difficult to make climate changes in academic departments where women are historically underrepresented. Thus, we don’t know, a priori, what we might find in such a setting. Gendering organization theory guided this study. Two overarching questions were formulated to address the problems associated with low numbers of women in STEM departments. The methodology utilized a qualitative single instrumental case. The sampling plan included leaders, faculty, and documents; and data sources included interviews and document review.
Extent
257 p.
Recommended Citation
Mahabir, Deorajhee, "CLIMATE AND EQUITY: WOMEN FACULTY IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS AT A RESEARCH UNIVERSITY WITH THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION’S ADVANCE GRANT" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present. 1379.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general/1379
Identifier
FA00014558
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2024.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.