Women in Medicine
The GRACE Project
The GRACE (Generating Respect for All in a Climate of academic Excellence) Project was initiated in 2000 to complement the university-wide Millennium Project by providing an in-depth analysis of gender disparities in one college. The aims of the GRACE Project were to document gender disparities, test hypotheses for why they exist, and suggest ways to eliminate them. Areas for exploration included compensation, academic rank and track, levels of productivity, attainment of leadership positions, access to institutional resources and support, and perceptions of campus climate.
The project quantified disparities between male and female faculty in rank and track, salaries, and leadership positions. It found that women in the College of Medicine were paid approximately $13,000 less than comparable males, after adjusting for all known predictors of salary including both clinical and research productivity (see Wright et al. Academic Medicine 78: 500-508, 2003 link).
With the support of department heads and administration the project has developed a sustainable process by which gender disparities in rank, salary and leadership can be identified on a biannual basis and rectified. The first year this process was undertaken, twenty one potential salary disparities were identified. Eight women received equity adjustments to their salaries, with the average increase being $17,323. Adjusted salaries for women as a percent of salary for men increased from 89.4% before the intervention to 93.5% after the intervention. Disparities in compensation were no longer significant in FY2004 in basic science departments, where women were paid 97.6% of what men were paid.
The GRACE Project was recognized with a national award, the Progress in Equity award from the Legal Advocacy Fund of the American Association of University Women. Representatives from AAUW's Legal Advocacy Fund and from the University and College administrations were present for the award ceremony on November 15, 2005. The award came with a stipend of $8,000 which is being used to recognize the department heads and administrators who have made progress in improving the climate for women. Each GRACE award comes with a plaque which specifies the achievement and $1000. To date, three individuals have been recognized with a GRACE award: Bill Dantzler, Robert McCuskey and Ken Ryan.
More information on the GRACE project can be found at: http://www.medicine.arizona.edu/grace.html. |
