Wonderful Women Who Write: The Development of a Peer Mentoring Mechanism for Early Women Scholars Researching Gender-Based Violence

Background: As junior faculty begin to grow their scholarship and grantsmanship on gender-based violence (GBV), they are encouraged to connect with other scholars for mentorship, support, and scholarly collaboration. However, given the range of tenure-track research, teaching, service, and advising requirements across institutions of higher learning, a ready-made space to discuss and plan areas of research is rarely available. Although many institutions connect junior faculty with a research mentor in the unit, the specific challenges inherent to the GBV specialization area include navigating the transition from student/practitioner to faculty, accessing timely feedback on research trajectories/plans, manuscript development, areas for exploration, time management, and how to balance scholarship with other demands, which often cannot be comprehensively addressed in a formal one-on-one mentoring relationship.

The creation of sustainable mentoring mechanisms for junior faculty in social work is integral to the growth of the individual scholar as well as for the quality of scholarship produced in the area of gender-based, family, and community violence. Additionally, as gender-based, family, and community violence is not a homogenous or static area of specialization, increased dialogue on the myriad intersecting social issues ensures that scholars are considering a range of voices, perspectives, and identities in their work. Aims: The purpose of the roundtable is to share one model of peer mentoring that has been successful called Wonderful Women Who Write. Participants will hear stories of what works and what does not work for writing accountability and mentoring. By attending this session, participants will learn about the multifaceted benefits of this peer mentoring program, which include 1) GBV researchers coming together to further our professional development in service of meeting the grand challenge of ending GBV; 2) providing a structured, but flexible place to explore challenges experienced by women in the academy; 3) share how those challenges impact our professional development; 4) and offer peer support and mentorship to one another around breaking through these barriers.

Content: This roundtable session will describe a writing accountability group created in the Spring of 2017. The group is comprised of five, female early-career GBV scholars who participate in bi-weekly conference calls to focus writing and scholarship goals, gain support, and foster collaboration. In this process, a novel, sustainable, and replicable model of peer mentoring support has been created. During the roundtable, the five core scholars will share their perspective on the strengths and limitations of this mechanism and the connection between the accountability group and achieving writing goals in the GBV content area. Additionally, presenters will share examples of how participation in the group has facilitated professional development, instructional delivery, and successfully navigating service requirements. Audience members will share their own stories, creating a space where faculty at all phases of their careers can feel inspired and prepared to seek support, increase their scholarship, and amplify their voice as GBV researchers.