An Inside Look at the History of The Women’s Networking Group
In 2010, during a departmental retreat, Dianne Cox, Ph.D., professor of anatomy & structural biology and Ph.D. class of ‘95, set up a workshop on “Career Development, Mentoring, and Juggling Responsibility.” She recalled, “It drew many women, and later, one said, ‘Why don’t we do this more often?’”
Women faculty, administrators, and technicians who were interested in meeting informally each month established an affinity group and held events on topics of interest. “Each meeting was a career-oriented event,” said Dr. Cox.
For example, one topic explored why women weren’t promoted to higher ranks, and “the data suggested it was because women don’t ask to be promoted,” she explained. In response, the WNG held sessions on asking for a promotion and developing negotiation skills. The group later expanded to include students and postdocs.
In 2013, a collective of graduate students, postdocs, and faculty established the Women’s Networking Group (WNG) as an Einstein club within the office of student activities (OSA). With club status, the WNG received yearly funding and scheduled more formal meetings where members—now mainly students and postdocs-- discussed aspects of career development for women in science. For a number of years, the group was among several at Einstein that organized these kinds of programs specifically for students and postdocs.
The WNG Today
Over time, Drs. Victoria Freedman and Anne Bresnick—associate deans for graduate programs and postdoctoral affairs, respectively—determined that a dedicated office providing skills-based programming in career and professional development for students and postdocs was needed as well. They advocated for establishing such an office at Einstein.
In 2018, Einstein hired Diane Safer, Ph.D., to head up its new office of career and professional development for graduate students and postdocs (CPD). Dr. Safer regularly meets with WNG leadership to encourage the group's work and discuss collaborations.
With Dr. Safer’s insights and guidance, and support from various faculty leadership WNG hosts a mix of monthly programs, including journal clubs, movie screenings, networking sessions, and skills-based workshops that again focus on issues and interests relevant to women in science at all levels. These offerings increased WNG’s visibility, garnering broader discussions among students, postdocs, and faculty members.
“It’s amazing to see how much WNG has grown to be a force within Einstein,” said Dr. Safer. “Their institution-wide involvement is reflected in the broad scope of events and topics that WNG hosted during 2020 and they incorporate and welcome scientists from across the entire institution.”
Celebrating Women in Science
In February 2020, WNG introduced its inaugural Women in Science Day, which attracted more than 150 members of the Einstein community. Organized by board members Elise Ishida, Maryl Lambros, and Erica Moore, fifth-year Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students, respectively, the event was held on February 11 to honor the United Nation’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
It included several skills-based workshops, a panel of women in various science careers, and a keynote presentation by Dr. Sandra Masur, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “It was a positive, proactive celebration,” said Elise. It also was the last big event before COVID-19 forced all future offerings to be hosted on Zoom.
This February 11, Women in Science Day 2021 was held virtually. Even so, it offered the same opportunities for dialogue and skill development featured in 2020.
“Because it was virtual, the event could involve workshop facilitators from throughout the nation—from Einstein to the NIH, to UC Davis,” said Erica, who co-chaired the organizing committee with Maryl. “We also could open it to the greater Einstein community beyond our physical campus.” Attendance surpassed all expectations, with 438 attendees made up of students, postdocs, and faculty at all levels of seniority.
This year’s panel discussion addressed “Reimagining Resiliency,” while Dr. Sharon Milgram, director of the office of intramural training and education (OITE) at the NIH, delivered a keynote on “Becoming a Resilient Scientist.”
“Our goal was to promote productive conversations and to provide a platform for expanding one’s network of advocates,” said Rabia Khawaja, another WNG board and research fellow.
Research Amid the Pandemic
In May 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic heightened, opinion articles discussed challenges faced by women in the workplace. During a journal club meeting, WNG decided to gauge the pandemic’s effects on productivity in Einstein labs. Elise and Maryl spearheaded development of a COVID-impact survey, which was sent to all involved in research. Approximately 265 individuals of all genders responded. While the survey found that self-reported research productivity generally declined in both women and men, it did not find a significant discrepancy between them, though it did for those who are parents and caregivers versus those who are not, irrespective of gender.
Maryl and Elise continue to analyze the WNG data at subgroup levels in collaboration with Ariel Fishman, Ph.D., senior director of Einstein’s institutional research, assessment, and reporting office. “We found that the COVID-19 experience is a very personal one, individual to each person, and more difficult to decipher than simply through how or why productivity is affected,” observed Maryl. “We also learned a lot from our work analyzing the study data with Dr. Fishman.”
Re-envision a Scientist
In September 2020, the WNG streamed the documentary “Picture a Scientist” through Vimeo, followed by faculty-led discussion groups via Zoom, spearheaded by fourth-year Ph.D. student and board member Mericka McCabe. Approximately 100 students, postdocs, and faculty members tuned in to watch the film, with 30 joining the post-film discussion.
“Past films largely focused on how to get women into science; this movie asked, 'how do we keep women in science?’” said Mericka. “Having a community that we can turn to, it’s possible to identify and dismantle inequities so that the leaky pipeline can begin to be patched."
Toward Building the Future
Beyond Women in Science Day, WNG seeks to keep the conversations going on campus and elsewhere. A new outreach committee led by fifth-year M.D./Ph.D. student and board member Reanna Doña, encourages collaboration with neighboring institutions. “We’re working with Bronx Community College to further develop the scientific community in our borough,” said Reanna. “We hope to have events once a semester where our graduate students share their diverse pathways leading to graduate school and highlight their respective scientific fields.”
The group plans to keep things moving forward, continuing their existing events and welcoming suggestions for new offerings from the campus community. To contact WNG, visit their website or Linkedin page, or email wng.einstein@ gmail.com.
Posted on: Wednesday, March 31, 2021