While I was traveling in Australia — where most hotels do not seem to have heard of the internet — I missed this rather heartwarming press release from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The center is launching an effort to “recruit, retain, and develop women faculty”, led by Elizabeth Travis, the center’s first associate vice president for women faculty programs.

About half of medical school students and graduate students are women but a 2006 study by the American Association of Medical Colleges easily shows the “leaky pipeline”: women account for 15% of assistant professors, 6% of associate professors and only 4% of full professors. Women also make up just 10% of deans, department and division chairs.

The press release also cites research by Wayne State University linguists in 2003, which showed that the same resume gets a lower evaluation score when attached to a woman’s name than when attached to a man’s name.

The new program at Anderson aims to recognize those who support women faculty; help women build leadership skills and continue to collect data.

I must say it all sounds promising. I particularly like Travis’ comments that all past efforts focused on helping women navigate the system. Rather than “fixing the women,” she says, “we need to focus on fixing the academic environment instead.”

Hear, hear!