Recruiting and Retaining Female Scientists and Engineers

Last year, a study led by economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett found that in many companies the atmosphere for women in the sciences has not changed much since the seventies. As a result, more than half of women scientists and engineers are dropping out by the time they reach their late thirties. Long hours, old boys’ networks, and a macho, “lab coat” culture are blamed. Members of ORC’s Human Resources in R&D Network have been taking action to ensure that their laboratories are comfortable and inclusive places for women to work and contribute.

HRRD members shared strategies for attracting and retaining female technologists, especially those who have been away from the workforce for a few years, at last month’s meeting hosted by SAS Institute. BBN Technologies has taken a comprehensive approach to reaching out to women who are at home with children, making part-time work more attractive, focusing on employee development, and highlighting the aspects of BBN culture that make it a good place for female scientists to work.

High-level BBN managers keep in touch on a regular basis with scientists who have left to raise children and let them know that the company would like to have them back when they’re ready. Benefits have been redesigned to make part-time work more doable. Women who do return are provided with coaches to help them develop their careers. The company also plans to offer skills update training to returnees who may need to catch up on advancements in their fields since they left the labs.

Other companies are also addressing the needs of professional women. One finding of the Hewlett study was that female technologists are often isolated from one another. Each may be the only woman in her department or lab. Networks and online communities can help increase the visibility of women to one another and to the organization. So can training technical managers to understand the specific issues women face in a technical environment and ensure that they are not overlooked for challenging assignments.

A number of HRRD members have also revised part-time working policies and practices to help overcome resistance from managers. Some provide for a trial period and require that the employee and manager come to written agreement about how communications will work, the frequency of performance reviews, and when the arrangement will be considered for renewal.

For more information about the Human Resources in R&D Network or about talent management practices in R&D organizations, contact Michal Fineman, +1 212 8520354