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An empirical analysis of factors influencing underrepresented geoscientists' decisions to accept or decline faculty job offers
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An empirical analysis of factors influencing underrepresented geoscientists' decisions to accept or decline faculty job offers

Liza Yasemin Barnes, Margaret L. Duffy, Christopher D. Wirz, Meghana Ranganathan, Mara A. Freilich, Lyssa M. Freese, Ellen Lalk, Julia Wilcots and Rohini Shivamogi
ESS Open Archive
24 Jan 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.170612426.63684810/v1
url
https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.170612426.63684810/v1View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Atmospheric Sciences Geology Higher Education Oceanography
There is a lack of diversity amongst geoscience faculty. Therefore, many geoscience departments are taking steps to recruit and retain faculty from underrepresented groups. Here, we interview 19 geoscientists who identify as a member of an underrepresented race or gender who declined a tenure-track faculty job offer to investigate the factors influencing their decision. We find a range of key factors that influenced their decisions to accept or decline a position, including fit and resources, experiences during job interviews, negotiations and offers, family, geographic preferences, attention to DEI, personal identities, mentorship, hiring process, and teaching responsibilities. Despite existing recommendations for interventions to improve faculty diversity, many of the participants experienced hiring processes that did not follow these suggested best practices, suggesting that departments are not all aware of best hiring practices. Therefore, we leverage our results to provide actionable recommendations for improving the equity and effectiveness of faculty recruitment efforts. We find that institutions may doubly benefit from improving their culture: in addition to benefiting current members of the institution, it may also help with recruitment.

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