Rice Program Puts Women at an Advantage

Rice Program Puts Women at an Advantage
BY DANA DURBIN
Rice News Staff
April 9, 1998

Weekly lunches, social outings and a few rounds of golf–that’s the recipe
for success for a group of Rice women involved in the Schlumberger Initiative
for Women.

About 30 Rice undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering
fields are involved in the program funded by Schlumberger, an international
oil field services company. It is designed to introduce them to issues women
face in the workplace, provide a support group of other women, assist in career
development, and help establish leadership skills.

Now in its second year, the program includes weekly lunches where the women
hear speakers talk about professional issues and network with women from the
professional world and with one another. They also attend social functions and
golf outings.

"What these women get in the classroom at Rice is amazing," said
Mona Hicks, coordinator of the initiative and assistant director of programs
at the Women’s Resource Center. "With this program, we’re trying to complement
that and take them to the next level."

One of the primary concerns of the program is equipping women to function and
succeed in the male-dominated science and engineering environment. Many of the
speakers deal with topics specific to women, like how to dress in the workplace,
how to balance a career and family life, and how to be assertive without being
misperceived by men.

"There are details that many women may not be aware of, like how women
act and how men perceive that," said Renee Alsandor, a graduate student
in mechanical engineering. "For instance, when a woman sees someone she
knows and says ‘Hi, how’s it going?’ in that high, shrill voice, men look at
that as a sign of incompetence.

"Women do face different issues in the workplace," she continued.
" Those stereotypes about women, like that we’re more emotional, won’t
ever go away. This program prepares you to deal with that kind of environment."

Being introduced to those issues and to nongender-related issues, like analyzing
benefits, negotiating a job offer and time management, gives the women an advantage
over other women–and men.

"The benefits are being introduced to things that you don’t find elsewhere
in the university that prepare you for what’s to come," said Elle Marie
Schollnberger, a geology graduate student.

Through the Schlumberger Initiative, the women are even prepared for a day
on the golf course, a place where business is likely to occur, most often among
men.

"We want women to be able to show up where business takes place,"
said Paula McCann Cage, manager for recruiting coordination and university relations
for North America at Schlumberger. "Golf is a big activity in corporate
America. When women aren’t participating, that means they’re out of the loop
already."

Cage, an adviser to the program, understands about working in a male-dominated
environment. She spent five years working offshore and was generally the only
woman on the rig. But with efforts being made by companies like Schlum-berger,
which has set a goal that 20 percent of new hires be female, the makeup of the
workplace is changing.

Will Rice College senior Jill Nelson, an electrical engineering/economics major,
said the fields that she and others in the initiative are entering may not be
male-dominated much longer. In the meantime, she’s not concerned about working
in such a setting.

"I think the new generation of male engineers is much more open to women
in engineering and that with effective preparation and determination women can
be fully successful and satisfied in male-dominated fields," she said.

Nelson and other undergraduates in the program get the double advantage of
networking with professional women and with Rice graduate students.

"I’ve been able to develop friendships with several Rice grad students
through the program, and they’ve been a great support structure through the
grad school application process," she said.

Networking is every bit as important as learning about the issues women face
in the workplace. Some students have landed internships at Schlumberger. The
company benefits, too; Schlumberger has an "in" on female Rice students
entering the work force.

The company, which provides about $15,000 per year for the program, will continue
to fund the Schlumberger Initiative as long as it’s successful and the women
are benefiting from it, Cage said.