The Women of Berkeley ITS
Berkeley transportation Ph.D. alumnae comment on their career paths in academia and what the future holds for the next generation of women in transportation. (Pictured at left: Kara Kockelman, Ph.D., 1998)
Last January, Harvard University President Lawrence Summers ignited a controversy with his remarks about whether women have what it takes to make it to the top academically in the sciences.
More recently, a study published in the August 19 issue of Science, found that more women are receiving doctorates in science and engineering, but few are rewarded with top-level faculty positions. The study’s authors suggested that “hostility from colleagues and a chilly campus climate” were partly to blame. Other reasons included the difficulty of balancing family and work, unconscious bias resulting in discrimination, and a lack of female role models.
And recent articles by Mary Ann Mason, Dean of the Graduate Division at UC Berkeley, conclude that having babies early in an academic career can derail women traveling along a tenure track. (See “Do Babies Matter?” and "Do Babies Matter?" Part II.)
Given the controversy swirling over women in academia in the sciences, it's interesting to note the relatively large share of women students who enroll in the UC Berkeley graduate transportation programs and who in turn participate as researchers in projects at the Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies (BITS). (Go to Graduate Students page.)
In recent years, women have comprised an average of roughly 40 percent of the new transportation graduate students, both master's and Ph.D. candidates. The effect of this high degree of women in the graduate program is amplified when it comes to their participation in academia because of the historically large share of Ph.D.s from BITS who go on to teach at universities. We have identified more than 80. (Go to Berkeley Transportation Alumni in Academia page.)
To get a better understanding of some of the issues affecting women in academia in transportation, roughly a dozen recent alumnae who received their doctorates between 1992 and 2005 were contacted and asked to respond to what they like and don’t like about working in academia, what is most rewarding and most frustrating, what trends they are seeing in terms of the numbers of women studying transportation, and their advice to younger women considering the field. Nine of them responded by press time.
The group’s transportation interests and expertise encompass a wide range: vehicle routing and scheduling in freight transportation, pedestrian access, energy use and air quality, transportation finance, policy and planning, and modeling complex logistics problems—to name a few. And although studies show that women in engineering fields traditionally have a harder time attaining top-level appointments and tend to be paid slightly less than their male counterparts, most of these respondents are optimistic about the future.
Others noted that the field of transportation has broadened substantially in recent years in ways that will continue to attract more women. “Transportation planning is often regarded as the most quantitative and least people-oriented of the planning fields, which I’m afraid sends some women in the other direction,” commented Jennifer Dill, an assistant professor at Portland State University who received her Ph.D. in 2001. “The field is evolving and really needs planners who are more adept at working with people in collaborative processes. All transportation planners do not do modeling! We do all sorts of things that draw upon a wide range of skills.”
“As (the field) becomes more welcoming of people working from a non-engineering perspective—i.e. more interest in the social impacts of transportation as well as urban design issues—I think that will encourage more women to enter the field,” noted Asha Weinstein, an assistant professor at San Jose State University who received her doctorate in 2002.
Flexibility, intellectual challenge and the joy of teaching
When asked why they chose careers in academia rather than industry, the women gave answers that reflected their love of intellectual challenges and intellectual freedom. “I value the opportunity to work on issues I’m interested in and believe are important, rather than having my work determined by clients,” noted Noreen McDonald, who received her Ph.D. earlier this year and is an assistant professor at the University of Virginia.
Some, like Weinstein, love teaching and a more collegial setting. “I…prefer an environment where people are less competitive and more collaborative, and I have found that …academia can be a good place to find that. The classroom, if designed right, can be a perfect example of a collaborative environment, since we are all there to learn,” she added.
Most enjoy the combination of research and teaching—what one alumna called “a great complement” and another described as “the best thing about being in academia.”
As Anne Goodchild, who will receive her doctorate this year and begin teaching at the University of Washington in Seattle, put it, “When I get tired of working quietly in my office, I can balance that with the enthusiasm of undergraduates.”
In some ways academia offers greater flexibility in terms of working hours and family life, although one alumna pointed out that academic institutions have often been slower to resolve maternity leave and child-care issues than the private sector.
Those who have worked in both types of institutions find that academia requires more self-direction than industry. Rachel Weinberger, who received her Ph.D. in 2001 and recently left a consulting firm to join the faculty as an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, put it this way: “It’s hard to make a comparison in just a few short paragraphs. But if pressed, I would say academia is both more fun and more stressful than industry.”
“I wanted the intellectual freedom that academia provides, as well as the access it offers to a variety of people and problems. The ability to set my own research agenda is priceless,” notes Kara Kockelman.
The importance of being mentored
As an undergraduate and graduate student, Ruth Steiner, who received her Ph.D. in 1996 and is an associate professor at the University of Florida, felt she was “fortunate to work with exceptional women…I likely would not be in transportation today were it not for [Professor] Betty Deakin [Director of the University of California Transportation Center], who was my advisor during my master’s and Ph.D. program.”
When Steiner was applying for her first academic position, a friend asked her why she wanted to stay in academia. She replied that she wanted to teach “because there are not enough women in the classroom.” Throughout her career she has found support from women classmates and colleagues, as well as women’s book groups, dinner groups and academic groups.
Other women also mentioned Deakin as a beacon of support and inspiration, as well as male faculty, including Professors Marty Wachs and Carlos Daganzo at UC Berkeley, and Professors Dan Sperling and Bob Johnston at UC Davis.
Susan Handy, an associate professor at UC Davis who received her Ph.D. in 1992, notes that she didn’t know any women in transportation before she got into the field, but “found plenty once I got there, particularly at Berkeley and in transportation agencies in the Bay Area, mostly populated with Berkeley graduates…Having women like Betty Deakin, Gen Giuliano [Professor, University of Southern California], and Sandy Rosenbloom [Professor, University of Arizona] in academic positions in transportation certainly helped.”
More women in transportation, or fewer?
Although women have comprised nearly half of the new classes of graduate students at Berkeley in recent years, our alumnae see their numbers dropping at other universities. Karen Smilowitz, an assistamt professor at Northwestern University who received her Ph.D. in 2001, finds enrollment of women is dropping at her institution, as does the University of Florida’s Ruth Steiner.
At Portland State University, Jennifer Dill reports that the percentage of women varies from year to year so she can’t say for sure if more women are entering transportation planning. “I can say that the women transportation planning students that I have had have been outstanding, usually among the top of all the planning students. They are strong, outgoing, intelligent and giving people who go on to contribute to the profession …I wish I could clone them!”
San Jose State University has also seen an uptick in the number of women in the transportation engineering master's program—but for an unusual reason. As Asha Weinstein describes it, "many southeast Asian women, who have married men working in Silicon Valley, move here to follow their husbands, and then, unable to work, look around for university programs.” She believes that the number of these women who end up writing their master's theses on transportation topics do so in part because they are more comfortable working with her because she is a woman. “Had I been male, they might have ended up with another advisor and another topic.”
Advice to younger women
“Go for it,” say the Berkeley ITS women in academia. Although the difficulties of successfully negotiating the sometimes treacherous waters of academia have been well publicized, the Berkeley ITS alumnae believe it’s possible to have both a family life and a rewarding career.
“We need more women in both planning and engineering; we need more role models for younger women,” notes Jennifer Dill. “There is a wide range of places out there with a wide range of demands…You should be able to find an environment that suits your needs and interests.”
One of the greatest hurdles women face is their lack of self-confidence—what UC Davis’ Susan Handy refers to as the "imposter syndrome," which “will surface on a regular basis. Remember that many of your male colleagues feel it, too.”
Anne Goodchild agrees. “I think there are many women who opt out of a career in academia because they think they aren’t good enough, or they don’t want to work so hard. But these choices are based on biased perceptions. In the same situations, I think men have more confidence and just keep plodding along. You are smart enough!”
Finally, Northwestern’s Karen Smilowitz suggests, “Go to Berkeley! Even though ITS isn’t overflowing with women faculty, ITS is incredibly supportive of women…The transportation group (faculty, staff, and students) is very collegial, and I think this atmosphere makes it easier to succeed. I miss Friday afternoon cookie hours, ITS picnics, and the operations group spring hikes.”
For a complete transcript of remarks by the ITS Berkeley alumnae who responded to our queries, go here.
—Christine Cosgrove
Related links:
Women's Transportation Seminar International
American Association of University Professors
© 2005 UC Regents
Last Updated June 12, 2006