First Task Force on the Status of NIH Intramural Women

The first Task Force on the Status of NIH Intramural Women Scientists, established by Dr. Bernadine Healy, met from 1991–1992, identified several areas of concern and made seven specific recommendations that were adopted by the Deputy Director for Intramural Research and the Scientific Directors at their meeting on Nov. 4, 1992. The issues identified and the solutions developed were:

Communication: Women Scientist Advisors (WSAs) are elected in each institute, meet regularly with their scientific director, attend lab/branch chief meetings, and keep women scientists informed. They also organize meetings for women scientists and meet as a committee to address NIH-wide issues for women scientists
Visibility: The Margaret Pittman NIH lecture was established. All lecture series, NIH conferences, and NIH committees are screened for the presence of women.
Pay equity: The WSAs analyzed pay data for their ICs and a one-time mechanism allowed corrections for:
– 45 tenured women/-200 total
– 4 tenured men/-900 total
Salaries have been monitored yearly since then to prevent further disparities from developing.
Flexible leave plan: Passage of the Family Leave Act provided relief for those in FTE positions, and a comparable leave policy was established for postdoctoral fellows. Stop-the-clock (up to 1 year) and part-time mechanisms were built into the tenure-track appointment.
Tenure-track plan: Established in 1994, it requires advertised national searches, with a search committee that screens & recommends candidates. There are WSA & minority representatives on every search committee.
Tenure: An NIH-wide Central Tenure Committee was established in 1994 with women and minorities well-represented. Women receive tenure at the same rate as men. WSA & minority representatives are appointed to all tenure search committees.
Woman Scientist Coordinator Position: Dr. Joan P. Schwartz, Assistant Director to the DDIR, serves as the woman scientist coordinator in the Office of Intramural Research, to monitor the status of women scientists in the NIH intramural program.

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