The Gender Equity Project's (GEP's) Sponsorship Program had as its
goal the professional development of women engaged in basic science
at Hunter College. The NSF, the GEP, and Hunter College recognize that
women scientists typically have fewer resources and opportunities
than do men. The sponsorship program took innovative, direct action
to benefit women's professional development and scientific work,
whether that work was their current research or a new research direction.
The program was flexible and tailored to an individual woman's strengths
and needs. It was part of Hunter College's commitment to its women
scientists.
The GEP Sponsorship Program benefited 8-12 associates per year. The
program was open to Hunter College women scientists of any age and at
any point in their career. Each GEP associate received the benefits
of working with a sponsor who was a senior and successful member of
the associate's field. The GEP associates committed themselves via contract
to a set of goals and activities, including but not limited to submission
of grant proposals and journal articles, attendance at colloquia and
workshops, and development of skills. Each associate received up to
$10,000 that was used for research.
The GEP sponsors served as intellectual sounding boards for the associates,
met bi-weekly with them to review their progress, discussed the intellectual
content of their work, helped set and modify goal deadlines, helped strategize
about professional development, and made specific and concrete proposals
for the associates' next steps. Sponsors signed a contract that committed
them to a set of activities and received up to $5,000 that was used for
research.
The colloquia and workshops
covered a broad range of topics. They were designed to provide a research-based
framework for the particular topics under discussion. The aim was to clarify
what leads to success in professional development, how institutions may
differentially foster development, and what social cognitive phenomena and
principles advantage men more than women.
