National Postdoctoral Association

Potential Interventions to Aid in Retaining Postdoc Women

A clearinghouse of promising practices

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A. POLICIES: POSTDOCTORAL OVERSIGHT

Many issues facing postdoc women may be mitigated through the establishment of structured postdoctoral oversight, which has been shown to correlate with increased satisfaction and success of all postdocs [1]. Thus while these changes should have significant benefit for women, they would also benefit postdoc men.

1. Encourage postdocs to develop research plans and individual development plans (IDPs). Some institutions require such things as a condition of re-appointment while others strongly encourage their use either by postdoctoral supervisors or by the individual postdoc. The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) has established postdoctoral Core Competencies that could be used as a basis for individual development plans.

Examples:

• FASEB developed a widely-used template for IDPs for postdocs
  http://www.faseb.org/Individual-Development-Plan.aspx
  
  
• University of Michigan Medical School has adopted an Annual Evaluation for Postdocs, which includes an IDP
  
  
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center has long mandated the use of an IDP for its postdocs. Along with FASEB's IDP template, Vanderbilt's IDP has been widely adapted.
  https://medschool.mc.vanderbilt.edu/mentor/Individual%20Development%20Plan.pdf

2. Letters of appointment, detailing the terms of the postdoctoral appointment, such as verification of funds for the duration of employment, conditions for re-appointment, detailed stipend information, and information on benefits.

Examples (although many institutions have these):

• University of California Berkeley offers a template for a postdoc letter of appointment https://vspa.berkeley.edu/letter.html

3. Establish an office of postdoctoral affairs (a postdoc office or PDO), which is an administrative entity within a research institution that has oversight and coordination responsibilities for postdoctoral training and research. The office provides a centralized source of information and support for postdoctoral scholars and their faculty supervisors.

Examples (although many institutions have these):

• University of Pennsylvania Medical School Biomedical Postdoc Program
  
  
• University of California Berkeley Office of Visiting Scholars and Postdoc Affairs
  
  
• Scripps Career and Postdoctoral Services Office

4. Establish other postdoc policies:

• Establish performance evaluations to provide regular feedback
  
  Examples:
  
  
  • University of Michigan Medical School has adopted an Annual Evaluation for Postdocs, which includes an IDP.
    
    
  • University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Annual Performance Evaluation
    
    
• Conduct exit interviews as a means to evaluate the postdoctoral experience provided by the institution and PI and to acquire contact information for tracking the postdoc (some institutions have established exiting postdocs as alumni).
  
  Examples:
  
  
  • Vanderbilt exit survey
    
    
  • See also the NPA's Postdoc Office Toolkit article on Conducting Exit Surveys/Interviews (member login required)
    
    
• Establish limits for total time as a postdoc, although, institutions should consider making special accommodations for postdocs who must take extended family leave.
  
  Examples:
  
  
  • University of California limits the total duration of postdoctoral service to five years, plus one additional year with special permission; see UC Postdoc Contract, Article 2
    
    
• Implement explicit postdoctoral leave policies (sick/vacation)
  
  Examples (although many institutions have these):
  
  
  • Stanford: postdoctoral scholars are eligible for both paid sick and vacation leave
    
    
  • University of Chicago: all postdocs are eligible for paid vacation and paid sick leave
    
    
• Establish parental leave policies for postdocs
  
  Examples:
  
  
  • Stanford: offers postdocs paid maternity leave, and unpaid leave for other family and medical concerns
    
    
  • Penn State: offers 6 weeks of paid accommodation for primary caregiver following the birth or adoption of a child
    
    
  • Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic: offers 6 wks paid maternity leave for postdocs
    
    
  • University of California, San Francisco: postdoc employees are eligible for paid leave via accrued sick leave and short-term disability (with partial pay) 
    
    
• Establish clear grievance policies for postdocs, since more women than men use formal procedures during conflicts.
  
  Examples:
  
  
  • UNC Chapel Hill: see UNC Postdoc Handbook
    
    
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham: Grievance Policy and Resolution Procedure
    
    
• Set a base salary for postdoctoral fellows so better salary can help with productivity and family and childcare costs
  
  Examples (although many institutions have these):
  
  
  • University of Chicago sets a minimum and maximum stipend for postdoctoral fellows (on fellowships) and scholars (employees on grants). The minimum is linked to the National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award (NRSA) stipend scale.
    
    
  • J. David Gladstone Institutes postdoc salary is based on national data and NIH stipend guidelines

5. Many additional examples can be found in the NPA's Postdoc Office Toolkit: http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/pdo-toolkit (NPA login required)

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[1] Davis, G. 2005. Doctors without orders. American Scientist 93(3, supplement). http://postdoc.sigmaxi.org/results/

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0819994. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.