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FOCUS: WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT EDUCATION the lack of equity in terms of predicting success. I also thought Kanter's early work about the isolates helped me understand what I was going through." She has since been determined to offer herself as a role Norrine Bailey Spencer Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Pamplin College of Business Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Sputnik may have defined Norrine Bailey Spencer's career. America's fear that the Russians would move ahead in the space race caused schools nationwide to encourage young students to take math and science courses, so Spencer joined a test group of kids who enrolled in advanced curricula in 6th and 7th grade. After finishing the program years later, she chose to study math in college. "It was a time when women were locked in their resi- Blacksburg, Virginia The launching of dence halls at night, and there weren't that many young women studying math. Just getting together to have study groups was impossible," she says. "I think that having been an only child and taking a major that was not traditional for women made me very comfortable in isolated situations." Some of Spencer's epiphanies came in the late '70s when she was reading landmark books such as The Managerial Woman by Margaret Hennig and Anne Jardim and Men and Women of the Corporation by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. "In Managerial Woman, the authors maintain that men and women have similar goals in the corporate world, but they experience things vastly differently in terms of life responsi- bilities, opportunities, and pressures. They also noted that women who were succeeding in the corporate world were of a mold—they had been educated in nontraditional areas and were often the oldest child or only child. Even though I fit some of those characteristics, it prompted me to think about model by taking visible positions in the academic world and in associations that benefit women. She is a member of AACSB International's affinity group for women in manage- ment education and has co-chaired the Virginia Executive Committee of the American Council on Ed u ca tion's National Identification Program. Nonetheless, she doesn't believe anyone has to choose a role model based solely on gender. "I say that because I didn't have that luxury—I did- n't have a female professor in my major until I was a senior. And so I think it behooves all of us to be sensitive to people who didn't have the same opportunities we had." While she takes personal responsibility for mentoring others, Spencer also believes colleges must do some of the work by reaching down to high school girls to make sure they develop an interest in math and science. That might mean sponsoring computer camps for girls; it might mean opening a dialogue with high school and junior high school teachers. It might mean following research by organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is looking at how people are attracted to technology fields, she says. Spencer believes business schools can attract more women, but first they must analyze "what the patterns are and where the work needs to be done," she says. "Are there curricula that seem to be disproportionately of this gender or this race? If your degree program doesn't reflect the pop- ulation of your students, why?" In addition, she says, busi- ness schools must "make sure they treat women fairly and create a climate that encourages them at a college level." Schools also must make a point of bringing in female role models to show students that women can be successful, par- ticularly at the corporate level. "A couple of years ago we had a dinner featuring 200 alumnae who had been nomi- nated as outstanding people," she says. "We had them sit down to dinner with 200 undergraduates, so that every other person was a successful businesswoman. That kind of informal networking has taken place quite naturally for men, but it has not been quite so prevalent for women." Spencer encourages women to find other opportunities to network, "through a national sorority or through the National Organization for Women, or a club, or a choir, or your circle of friends. Even if you take away the labels of net- working and mentoring, you need to find someone who shares your aspirations, who supports you and encourages BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2002 29