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Gender diversity in optical communications and the role of professional societies: an evaluation study

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Gender diversity in optical communications and the role of professional societies: an evaluation study

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Gender Diversity in Optical Communications and the Role of Professional Societies:
An Evaluation Study
by
Rebecca Mary Bosco

Rossier School of Education

University of Southern California

A dissertation submitted to the faculty

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Education

August 2021

© Copyright by Rebecca Mary Bosco 2021
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Rebecca Mary Bosco certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Dr. Kenneth Yates
Dr. Susanne Foulk
Dr. Adrian Donato, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2021

iv

Abstract
Using Clark and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis framework, this study examined factors related to
the alignment of a professional society’s organizational processes and procedures that influence
female attendance at a technology conference. The research questions included are the following:
First, what are BELL staff knowledge and motivation needs related to increasing the number of
gender diversity programs at the LAMARR conference in alignment with its conference diversity
goals? Second, what is the intersection between BELL’s organizational culture and context and
BELL staff’s knowledge and motivation? And finally, what are the recommended knowledge,
motivation, and organizational (KMO) solutions available to address the needs of BELL staff?
The study design included interviews and documents collection to understand the KMO
dynamics related to the problem. The stakeholder group in the study consisted of 18 survey
respondents and 10 interviews. The study validated three of the assumed knowledge influences
as organizational needs, but only one motivation influence and one organizational influence.
Most significantly, the BELL staff need to know how to align organizational processes and
procedures; they need to learn to attribute success and failure to their efforts rather than to other
factors; and they need time from daily job responsibilities to be able to implement solutions.
Based on the findings of the study, various training programs and alignment protocols are
recommended.
Keywords: Diversity, Inclusion, Women in Science, Optical Communications

v

Dedication
To my parents and children—Abby, Grace, and Nate. You have always been my inspiration to
work hard and dream big. COVID-19 brought us some unexpected challenges with
homeschooling and virtual summer camps, but I think we all have a greater appreciation for
online learning outcomes because of it. Your constant support means the world to me. Now, let’s
have some fun and go on a vacation to celebrate!

vi

Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Adrian Donato for his continual guidance
during my dissertation research. For all the many times he spent gently nudging me to a path of
clear alignment for my problem of practice. I would like to thank Dr. Kenneth Yates and Dr.
Susanne Foulk for their thoughtful input on my dissertation but also for genuinely understanding
and supporting my problem of practice. Finally, I would like to thank my former colleagues who
opened themselves up to me during the research process and placed their trust in the value of the
results for the optical communications industry.
I am tremendously grateful to have encountered wonderful friends in the OCL program
with Suzie and Stephanie and to push it forward with other amazing and dedicated women—
Kristina, Kiersten, and Gohar. What a clutch group! Because of you all, we persisted. And for
my coach Heathere, when the student is ready, a teacher will appear. So much of our work
together found its way into this research. I am so pleased it was part of the overall journey.

vii

Table of Contents

Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... xiv
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xv
Chapter One: Introduction of the Problem of Practice ................................................................... 1
Organizational Context and Mission of Supporting Professional Societies ....................... 2
Organizational Need ........................................................................................................... 3
Importance of the Organizational Innovation ..................................................................... 4
Organizational Performance Goal....................................................................................... 6
Stakeholders and Stakeholders’ Performance Goals .......................................................... 6
Stakeholder for the Study and Stakeholder Performance Gap............................................ 8
Purpose of the Project and Questions ................................................................................. 8
Methodological Framework ................................................................................................ 9
Definitions........................................................................................................................... 9
Organization of the Study ................................................................................................. 10
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ........................................................................................ 12
Influences on the Problem of Practice .............................................................................. 14
Early Career Progression for Women in the Physical Sciences ....................................... 16
Mid-Career Progression for Women in Physical Sciences ............................................... 17
Senior Career Highlights for Women in Physical Sciences.............................................. 18
Female Representation at Global Technology Conferences ............................................. 19

viii

Female Representation at the LAMARR Conference ...................................................... 21
Role of Stakeholder Group of Focus ................................................................................ 21
Clark and Estes’s Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences Framework .. 23
BELL KMO Influences..................................................................................................... 24
Knowledge and Skills Influences...................................................................................... 25
Knowledge Types ................................................................................................. 26
Types of Skills Required for Change in Gender Diversity ................................... 27
Motivation Influences ....................................................................................................... 32
BELL Staff Believe Gender Disparity Will Be Resolved by Their Own Efforts . 32
BELL Staff Attributions to Learn Optical Communications Technologies ......... 33
BELL Staff Need to Feel Competent in Their Ability to Address the Career
Barriers Facing Female LAMARR Attendees ...................................................... 34
BELL Staff Believe It Is Worthwhile to Promote Women in Optical
Communications ................................................................................................... 34
Self-Efficacy Theory of Women in Optical Networking. ................................................. 35
Organizational Influences ................................................................................................. 38
Cultural Models and Settings for Gender Equity at Technology Conferences ................. 39
Cultural Models and Settings with a Mastery Orientation................................................ 40
Conceptual Framework: Interaction of KMO ................................................................... 43
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 46
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 47
Methodological Approach and Rationale ......................................................................... 48
Participating Stakeholders ................................................................................................ 49

ix

Interview Criteria and Rationale ....................................................................................... 49
Criterion 1 ............................................................................................................. 50
Criterion 2 ............................................................................................................. 50
Criterion 3 ............................................................................................................. 50
Interview and Survey Sampling Strategy and Rationale .................................................. 50
Document Analysis Sampling Criteria and Rationale ...................................................... 52
Criterion 1 ............................................................................................................. 52
Criterion 2 ............................................................................................................. 52
Criterion 3 ............................................................................................................. 53
Document Analysis Sampling Strategy and Rationale ..................................................... 53
Explanation for Data Collection Choices ......................................................................... 53
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation ............................................................. 54
Interviews .............................................................................................................. 54
Documents and Artifacts....................................................................................... 55
Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 55
Credibility and Trustworthiness ............................................................................ 56
Quantitative Data Collection and Instrumentation ........................................................... 57
Surveys .................................................................................................................. 57
Reliability and Validity ......................................................................................... 58
Ethics................................................................................................................................. 58
Limitations and Delimitations........................................................................................... 60
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 61
Chapter Four: Results and Findings .............................................................................................. 62

x

Survey Participating Stakeholders ................................................................................................ 63
Surveyed Stakeholder Demographics ............................................................................... 63
Interviews of Participating Stakeholders .......................................................................... 67
Criteria for Determining Assets and Needs ...................................................................... 71
Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes.................................................................... 72
Factual Knowledge ........................................................................................................... 72
Influence 1: Knowledge of Skills ......................................................................... 72
Summary ............................................................................................................... 75
Influence 2: Knowledge of Disconnects ............................................................... 75
Summary ............................................................................................................... 78
Procedural Knowledge ...................................................................................................... 78
Influence 3: Knowledge of Audience ................................................................... 78
Summary ............................................................................................................... 81
Results and Findings for Motivation Causes .................................................................... 81
Attribution Theory ............................................................................................................ 81
Influence 4: Confidence in Making Change ......................................................... 81
Summary ............................................................................................................... 84
Self-Efficacy ..................................................................................................................... 84
Influence 5: Training Self-Efficacy ...................................................................... 85
Summary ............................................................................................................... 88
Expectancy Value ............................................................................................................. 88
Influence 6: Recognition of Task Value ............................................................... 88
Summary ............................................................................................................... 91

xi

Results and Findings for Organizational Causes .............................................................. 91
Cultural Models ................................................................................................................ 91
Influence 7: Shared Procedural Understanding .................................................... 91
Summary ............................................................................................................... 94
Cultural Settings................................................................................................................ 94
Influence 8: Time for Alignment .......................................................................... 94
Summary ............................................................................................................... 97
Summary of Validated Influences .................................................................................... 97
Knowledge ........................................................................................................................ 98
Motivation ......................................................................................................................... 98
Organization ...................................................................................................................... 99
Chapter Five: Recommendations and Evaluation ....................................................................... 100
Purpose of the Research and Questions .......................................................................... 100
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences ......................................... 100
Knowledge Recommendations ....................................................................................... 101
Factual Knowledge Solutions ............................................................................. 103
Procedural Knowledge Solutions ........................................................................ 104
Motivation Recommendations ........................................................................................ 105
Attribution ........................................................................................................... 106
Expectancy Value ............................................................................................... 107
Self-Efficacy ....................................................................................................... 108
Organizational Recommendations .................................................................................. 108
Cultural Models .............................................................................................................. 111

xii

Summary of KMO Recommendations............................................................................ 112
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan ............................................................. 113
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations ............................................... 113
Implementation and Evaluation Framework ....................................................... 114
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators ......................................................................... 115
Level 3: Behavior ............................................................................................................ 117
Critical Behaviors ............................................................................................... 118
Required Drivers ................................................................................................. 120
Organizational Support ....................................................................................... 122
Level 2: Learning ............................................................................................................ 122
Learning Goals .................................................................................................... 124
Program ............................................................................................................... 124
Evaluation of Components of Learning .............................................................. 126
Level 1: Reaction ............................................................................................................ 127
Evaluation Tools ............................................................................................................. 129
Immediately After the Program .......................................................................... 129
Shortly After the Program Is Implemented ......................................................... 130
Data Analysis and Reporting .......................................................................................... 130
Strengths and Weakness of the Approach ...................................................................... 132
Limitations and Delimitations......................................................................................... 134
Recommendations for Future Research .......................................................................... 134
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 135
References ................................................................................................................................... 137

xiii

Appendix A Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 162
Appendix B Survey Protocol ..................................................................................................... 165
Appendix C Informed Consent .................................................................................................. 168
Appendix D KMO Tables .......................................................................................................... 170
Appendix E Immediate Evaluation: Level 2 and Level 1 .......................................................... 178
Appendix F Delayed Blended Evaluation Instrument after X days ........................................... 181
Appendix G Gender Based Programs ........................................................................................ 183

xiv

List of Tables
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Global Goal, and Stakeholder Performance Goals .................. 7
Table 2: Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for Knowledge Gap Analysis........... 30
Table 3: Assumed Motivation Influence and Motivational Influence Assessments .................... 36
Table 4: Organizational Influences and Organizational Influence Assessments ......................... 41
Table 5: Validation of Knowledge Influences ............................................................................. 98
Table 6: Validation of Motivational Influences ........................................................................... 99
Table 7: Validation of Organizational Influences ........................................................................ 99
Table 8: Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations ....................................... 102
Table 9: Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations........................................ 106
Table 10: Summary of Cultural Setting Organizational Influence and Recommendations ....... 110
Table 11: Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes..................... 117
Table 12: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation ........................... 119
Table 13: Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors ........................................................ 120
Table 14: Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program..................................... 126
Table 15: Components to Measure Reactions to the Program ................................................... 128
Table 16: Dashboard With Kirkpatrick Level 1, 2, and 3 Drivers Evaluation Data .................. 132

xv

List of Figures

Figure 1:Conceptual Framework: Interaction of Stakeholder KMO Cultural Models and Settings
....................................................................................................................................................... 45
Figure 2: Age of Respondents ..................................................................................................... 63
Figure 3: Gender of Respondents ................................................................................................ 64
Figure 4: Respondents’ Ethnicity ................................................................................................ 65
Figure 5: Respondents’ Length of Service at BELL.................................................................... 66
Figure 6: Respondents’ Role at BELL ......................................................................................... 67
Figure 7: Age of Respondents ..................................................................................................... 68
Figure 8: Gender of Respondents ................................................................................................ 68
Figure 9: Respondents’ Ethnicity ................................................................................................ 69
Figure 10: Respondents’ Length of Service ................................................................................ 69
Figure 11: Respondents’ Role at BELL ....................................................................................... 70
Figure 12: Skills Needed to Enable Change ................................................................................ 73
Figure 13: Knowledge of Gender Disparity ................................................................................ 76
Figure 14: Knowledge of Career Milestones for Women in Optical Communications .............. 79
Figure 15: Confidence in Personal Effort to Effect Change ........................................................ 82
Figure 16: Confidence Levels of BELL Staff .............................................................................. 86
Figure 17: Task Value of Promoting Women in Optical Communications ................................ 89
Figure 18: BELL Staff Understanding of Gender Diversity Goals ............................................. 92
Figure 19: Time Availability for Process Alignment .................................................................. 95
1

Chapter One: Introduction of the Problem of Practice
Accounting for nearly half of the college-educated workforce, women number fewer than
one third of science and engineering professionals. Even less of the one third transition into
careers in the optical communications industry and remain there throughout their careers
(Williams & Emerson, 2019). In a survey conducted by the industry association, Global System
for Mobile Communications Association, 54 optical communications companies revealed
women account for less than 40% of the workforce; 26% of the companies surveyed reported
having less than 10% female employees, which further demonstrates the gender disparity in the
industry (Molina et al., 2015). The optical communications industry grew 11% in 2020 with
more employment opportunities for science and engineering skilled professionals (Kozlov,
2021). Gender diverse companies have shown a higher likelihood of success by as much as
144%, which creates tremendous opportunities for the optical components industry (Hewlett et
al., 2013).
The optical communications industry growth presents a significant problem from the
labor perspective because the optical communications industry in 2020 was poised to grow with
5G build-outs, voice-assisted devices, and the autonomous internet-of-things (IoT), which would
make it an attractive sector for young professionals in science, technology, engineering, and
math (STEM) fields. Optical technologies will only become more critical with internet-
connected devices, homes, automobiles, schools, and hospitals. The organizations that efficiently
use this vast amount of data will outperform peers, grow market share, and improve the bottom
line (Van Rijmenam, 2014). Consulting firm and industry research company McKinsey &
Company (2015) published a report entitled Why Diversity Matters and found companies in the
top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 15% more likely to experience
2

above-average profitability. In the updated 2018 report, this statistic grew to 21% and continued
to be statistically significant (Hunt et al., 2018). These findings suggest training in motivation
strategies can contribute to short-term and long-term outcomes typically associated with
individual and organizational financial success (Hunt et al., 2018).
The impact of the gender disparity in optical communications was the focus of this study
as related to the LAMARR (pseudonym) conference. The gender disparity has impacted the
professional society, BELL (pseudonym for the organization of study), and its goals for growth
as a society. Bell has worked toward its outlined 0% gender disparity target identified by the
Women in BELL Rapid Action Committee, which was established in 2016. Gender disparity
directly affects the membership base of the BELL professional society. If the society had more
female members, then there may be more women who attend the LAMARR conference. This
problem represents a more significant sector problem across multiple layers of the optical
communications industry.
Organizational Context and Mission of Supporting Professional Societies
BELL, a global physics and engineering based professional society of 25,000 members,
promotes the generation, dissemination, and application of optics and photonics knowledge.
BELL serves the global community through in-person and virtual events, scientific publishing,
education, advocacy, and outreach programs.
LAMARR is the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and
networking professionals. The conference program is comprehensive—from research to the
marketplace, from components to systems and networks, and from technical sessions to the
exhibition. LAMARR has drawn attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach,
learn, make connections, and move the industry forward. The LAMARR performance problem
3

of focus is on the gender disparity as shown by the low number of female conference attendees.
Of 15,000 attendees, only 11% were women.
Organizational Need
In post-COVID society, optical technologies will only become more critical with
internet-connected devices, virtual learning, remote working, autonomous vehicles, and
software-driven hospital systems. The future of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, blockchain,
and quantum computing have all been enabled by optical communications-related products. A
diverse workforce is needed to support more significant innovation in the optical
communications industry and the 11% growth rate in 2020 (Kozlov, 2021). A 2019 International
Data Corporation market research report entitled Women in Technology revealed 56% of women
felt women have been underrepresented in STEM fields in their organization compared to 26%
of men. The report revealed that 45% of the women surveyed felt their workplace was more
geared toward men (S. White, 2020). Thirty-three percent of the women reported a lack of
support for women in STEM, and 35% reported that they felt as though taking time off for
family would negatively impact their career opportunities (S. White, 2020).
Once a woman starts a career in the optical communications industry, she is unlikely to
stay in the field (Molina et al., 2015). Several reasons impact the decision to continue in this
field, including family demands, lack of mentors, and the challenge of work to life balance. In a
survey conducted by the industry news source LightReading (2017), 80% of women in optical
communications have felt they were treated differently because of their gender, and 80% have
seen incidents of unconscious bias occur in their company. When they do reach leadership
positions, they often face gender bias when working as part of a team and during negotiations
(LightReading, 2017). Industry recruiting firm Time Recruitment (2019) surveyed women in the
4

industry and found women left the optical communications industry because they felt bullied,
isolated in their positions, or given few advancement opportunities.
Importance of the Organizational Innovation
The number of women in leadership positions in STEM fields has been growing overall
(Canada-United States Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders
[The Council], 2018). From 2008 to 2018, job creation in technology-oriented industries was
expected to surge by 17% compared to 9.8% for other sectors (Downing, 2019). The Council
found women in STEM jobs earned 35% more than their counterparts in non-STEM employment
in 2015—and even 40% more than non-STEM men (The Council, 2018). The growth in the
technology industry provides an opportunity for a company to evolve to diverse organizations.
Boston Consulting Group suggested increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to
better innovation and improved financial performance (Lorenzo et al., 2018). Organizations with
above-average diversity on their leadership teams have reported a greater payoff from
innovation-based investments and higher after-tax profit margins (Lorenzo et al., 2018).
Additionally, organizations that are more “progressive” have revealed better performance with
more female directors in leadership (Adams & Ferreira, 2009). Chen et al. (2020) found senior,
tenured female faculty at the University of Leeds research have produced approximately 6%
more patents and 7% more publication citations than their male peers. In the corporate sector,
companies that reported above-average diversity on their management teams also reported
innovation revenue that was 19% higher than that of companies with below-average leadership
diversity (Chen et al., 2020). One peer-reviewed research journal switched to a double-blind
review process in 2001, women’s acceptance rate jumped 7.9% over the previous year (Callier,
5

2019). These statistics are an example of how small changes in the diversity makeup of
management have the ability to make a significant impact.
Unfortunately for BELL, this same path of growth of women who enter the optical
communications industry has not been followed. Even though there are opportunities for women
in the industry, women have not chosen to engage in a career in this industry. BELL needs to
implement more gender diversity programs at LAMARR to support industry growth.
Professional societies that serve a large membership population (e.g., BELL) should develop an
industry that supports diversity and inclusion at the research and industry level. The American
Institute for Physics revealed that compared to men, women in physics—which is one pathway
to a career in optical communications—reported their careers have progressed more slowly, and
they have received fewer career resources and opportunities in the field (Porter & Ivie, 2019).
In the 2019 telecommunications industry report, Walker (2019) detailed transformative
technologies and how the optical communications industry will be at its crux. He detailed how
partnerships between the various optical communications service providers have supported new
services through connected cars and connected home functionalities. From the report entitled
Increasing the Number of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, new
technologies offer more opportunities for women to get involved (The Council, 2018). Private
and public companies have been launching lower earth-orbiting satellites into space and will
bring additional connectivity to rural areas in the United States, Canada, and the United
Kingdom (Hull, 2021). Additionally, cryptocurrency blockchain will enable secure, error-free,
peer-to-peer connectivity for thousands of IoT devices with cost-efficient, self-managed
networks. Many new STEM skill sets will be needed to support this transformative growth
(Vince, 2018). Google’s senior product manager and telecommunications networking lead
6

Prajakta Joshi (2019) explained in an interview with industry publication, LightReading, “New
technology applications with the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and high-speed 5G-enabled networks
will bring more opportunity to the industry and for women to move into more senior leadership
roles” (para. 3). Given professional social networks appear to be an essential predictor of
personal and organizational performance, additional research will evaluate women’s professional
needs in various careers. Scientific conferences are an excellent venue for the emergence of
novel research and professional collaboration. To continue providing delegates with beneficial
experiences, societies must focus on promoting equity and diversity at their conferences. Without
an attendee base across multiple career levels, conferences will be stagnant and miss the
opportunity to include all perspectives (Sardelis et al. 2017).
Organizational Performance Goal
With the intent of making a near-term impact on gender diversity, I focused on the
world’s largest industry conference (i.e., LAMARR) and the professional society that manages
the conference (i.e., BELL). By 2025, the LAMARR conference will implement 15% of
professional development initiatives to meet the conference steering committee’s necessary
gender diversity goals. This goal will involve diversity and inclusion training of LAMARR
conference committee volunteers and BELL staff who manage the LAMARR conference. The
achievement of the conference’s diversity goal will measure the results of previous LAMARR
gender audits from 2015–2021. At the time of this research, the performance gap was
approximately 78% (i.e., 89% male to 11% female members).
Stakeholders and Stakeholders’ Performance Goals
Given the cyclical nature of conference planning, key stakeholder expectations are highly
dependent upon a time horizon. Over the short term, shareholders expect management to be
7

flexible and responsive to a cycle-dependent operating environment (Burchaman & Emanuel,
2015). Organizations need appropriate systems to measure and control their own processes to
assess whether they are responding to stakeholder concerns in an effective way and to
communicate the results achieved (Perrini & Tencati, 2006). Table 1 details the gender parity
goals of the LAMARR conference.

Table 1

Organizational Mission, Global Goal, and Stakeholder Performance Goals
LAMARR Conference Organizational Mission
LAMARR is the largest global, annual conference and exhibition for optical communications and
networking professionals. The conference program is comprehensive—from research to the
marketplace, and from components to systems and optical communications networks. LAMARR
attracts attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make
connections, and move the optical communications industry forward.
Organizational Performance Goals
Long-range goal: The BELL performance goal is to increase the gender diversity of conference
attendees to the LAMARR conference to 50% female attendees by 2023.

Short-range goal: The shorter-term goal of BELL is to evaluate current levels of self-efficacy of
staff that work to support the LAMARR conference on gender diversity issues and knowledge of
career issues facing women in the optical communications industry.
Stakeholder 1 Goal Stakeholder 2 Goal Stakeholder 3 Goal
Bell Staff:
By 2023, BELL staff will
increase the number of gender
diversity programs, in alignment
to its organizational
performance goal.

LAMARR Volunteer
Conference Committee:
By 2023, the volunteer
conference steering
committee will increase the
number of mid-career
professionals in attendance by
39%.
BELL Professional Society
Executive Leadership

By 2023, professional society
executive leadership will
increase the number of fellow
level career professionals in
attendance by 39%.
8

Stakeholder for the Study and Stakeholder Performance Gap
Although all BELL staff’s joint efforts contribute to the achievement of the
organizational goal of implementing diversity programs at LAMARR, it is essential to
understand the needs of BELL staff members as they work to implement gender diversity
programs that align with the stated conference expectations. Even though these diversity
programs are important for attendees at all career levels, BELL staff members are the ones who
develop the necessary diversity programs.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
In this project, a needs analysis determined the areas of knowledge and skill, motivation,
and organizational resources necessary to reach the organizational performance goal. An initial
analysis identified a list of possible needs and then I examined these systems to focus on actual
or validated needs. Although complete needs analysis would have focused broadly on all
stakeholders, I focused on the management staff from BELL for practical purposes. The
management staff from BELL work with the LAMARR volunteer committees and support
conference programming.
Even though the case has been made of the value of gender diverse industries, it has not
been a priority for the optical communications industry. Transformative and necessary action is
needed to impact the diversity levels of LAMARR attendees. Three research questions guided
this study:
1. What are the BELL staff knowledge and motivation needs related to increasing the
number of gender diversity programs at LAMARR in alignment with its conference
diversity goals?
9

2. What is the intersection between BELL’s organizational culture and context and BELL
staff’s knowledge and motivation?
3. What are the recommended KMO solutions available to address the needs of BELL staff?
Methodological Framework
As part of the LAMARR conference strategic plan, staffing plans have been created,
addressed, and restructured every 5 years with annual diagnostic benchmarking reviews. Clark
and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis (i.e., a systematic, analytical method that helps to clarify
organizational goals and identify the gap between the actual performance level and the preferred
performance level in an organization) was implemented as the conceptual framework. The
research analysis measured the gap between current achievement and desired performance goal
levels and determined the cost-benefit of closing each gap. Clark and Estes (2008) stated, “Gap
analysis diagnoses the human causes behind performance gaps,” (p. 118). The gap analysis
framework directly relates to the goal of increasing gender diversity programming and the
support female conference attendees need from the “system” of the BELL employees. Based on
the goal of increasing gender diversity programming, I assessed the BELL organization through
surveys, document analysis, interviews, literature review, and content analysis. I used research-
based solutions to recommend, evaluate, and report back to the LAMARR long-range planning
committee stakeholders.
Definitions of Terms
• 5G is the fifth generation of wireless communications technologies that supports cellular
data networks. Large-scale adoption began in 2019, and nearly every telecommunication
service provider in the developed world has been upgrading infrastructure to offer 5G
10

functionality. The improved upload and download speeds will enable future video
streaming, video conferencing, and virtual reality applications (Qualcomm, 2021).
• Gender Diversity most commonly refers to an equal ratio of men and women (Guerra,
2018). Gender diversity in a workplace means men and women are hired at a similar and
consistent rate, are paid equally, and are given the same working opportunities with the
same professional opportunities (Mendez, 2018)
• The LAMARR conference is a 5-day technical conference that features peer-reviewed
presentations and invited speakers; thought leaders in the industry present the highlights
of emerging technologies in optical communications. The conference averages between
10,000–15,000 conference attendees annually (BELL, 2021).
• Optical Communications Systems, first introduced in the late 1980s, long-distance optical
fiber transmission systems have advanced from transmission speeds of 140 megabytes for
the first optical transatlantic system to 10 petabytes in just 20 years (Winzer et al., 2018).
In those 20 years, the applications for optical communications systems have progressed
beyond human communication to enable the IoT and electrical devices that “talk” to each
other daily.
Organization of the Study
I have organized this study in five chapters. This chapter provided the reader with key
concepts and terminology commonly found in discussing gender diversity in optical
communications. Chapter 1 reviewed the LAMARR conference and the BELL goals,
stakeholders’ mission, and the initial concepts of the current gap analysis. Chapter 2 provides a
review of the current literature surrounding the scope of the study. I address topics of motivation,
attribution theory, and expectancy value of BELL’s conference management staff in the research.
11

Chapter 3 details the assumed causes for this study and methodology when related to the choice
of participants, data collection, and analysis. Chapter 4 presents the data and the results analyzed.
Chapter 5 provides solutions based on data and literature for addressing the needs and closing the
gender gap and recommendations for an implementation and evaluation plan of the solutions.

12

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
Chapter 2 presents a review of the research surrounding gender diversity at science and
technology conferences, particularly the impact of attendees’ gender disparity on the LAMARR
conference and exhibition. The first section reviews female attendance at technology conferences
and an introduction to Bandura’s (1977) research on social cognitive theory and self-efficacy.
The second section addresses the value of diverse teams and best practices for gender-inclusive
conferences. The chapter concludes with a review of possible knowledge-based, motivational,
and organizational influences on the gender disparity (Clark & Estes, 2008) addressed by the
conference management staff at the BELL professional society.
Women have been underrepresented in technology-based industries, and the numbers
have not been increasing. In 1995, the dynamic computer scientist Anita Borg challenged the
technology community to a moonshot goal: equal representation of women in technology by
2020 (Borg, 2007). Twenty-five years later, the technology industry is far from that goal. In
2018, fewer than 30% of the employees in technology’s largest companies are women (Berman,
2020). In the United States, the representation of women who have attended technology
conferences has remained nearly flat (Hunt et al., 2018). Technology conferences, where the
latest research and product innovations debut, are essential for those looking to move up in their
careers to attend and broaden their professional networks (Baron, 2019). For women who can
attend industry conferences, the conferences prove to be a crucial source of learning, networking,
and opportunities for collaboration with others in their field (Gale, 2019).
Yan Liu, director of the University of Southern California’s (USC) Machine Learning
Center and chair of the machine learning focused Special Interest Group on Knowledge
Discovery and Data Mining 2020 conference, has advocated for childcare services at conferences
13

and has begun to see more services offered at STEM-based conferences (Gale, 2019). In the
sciences, where more advanced degrees are often needed for career progression, the timing of
starting a family often coincides with critical stages in career development. There is a constant
struggle of choosing to go to a conference or staying home to care for children (Sardelis & Drew,
2016). Regardless of whether the woman has a career in industry or academic research, attending
a technical conference can strain a family (Greenhaus & Kossek, 2014). Women like Yan Liu
from USC are not alone; others have asked for conference organizers to recognize their needs as
women to attend technology conferences and create a safe space to network and learn,
opportunities to connect with other women, and ways of being present with their children
through on-site daycare (Etzkowitz et al., 2000). Researcher Jennifer Martin (2013) recommends
that scientific conferences should post gender breakdowns online to indicate the percentage of
women who were registrants, invited plenary and keynote speakers, session speakers, program
committee members, or session chairs. If there is a significant gap between the percentage of
women attending the conference and the overall percentage of women speakers or committee
members, then the conference should consider this as a red flag for policy change (Martin, 2013).
Herzberg’s (1968) two-factor theory of positive positioning further explained how
achieving organizational rewards can be individually motivating for employees. By providing
women the support they need to experience an enriching conference experience, the women are
potentially more motivated to encourage other women to attend (Sardelis & Drew, 2016).
Women’s on-site conference experience will be enhanced by giving them more flexibility in
their own conference schedules, one-to-one networking opportunities, and hiring professional
caregivers for conference attendees who choose to bring their children.
14

It is clear technology conferences still have work to do when it comes to providing an
inclusive environment for women. Two of the largest technology conferences in the United
States, SalesForce’s Dreamforce, and South by Southwest (SBSW), added attendee “codes of
conduct” with the intent of providing measurable and actionable behavior guidelines for
conference attendees (SalesForce Events, 2020; South by Southwest, 2018). PyCon UK, a
python coding conference in London, went even further to offer on-site daycare, to implement a
policy that children can attend the technical sessions, and to give women the opportunity to
breastfeed throughout the conference center if preferred (PyCon UK, 2019). Conference
organizers provided the opportunity through the codes of conduct which created a welcoming
environment for female attendees and staff (Favaro et al., 2016).
Influences on the Problem of Practice
The importance of bringing women up through the leadership ranks of the optical
communications industry needs to move forward with a drastic industry commitment. Women
need to see other women leaders model the behavior to achieve leadership positions and acquire
speaking engagements and publishing opportunities. There are, however, many ways to address
gender parity in organizations; two gender quota approaches have risen to the top. In the United
States, the National Football League’s Rooney rule requires teams to interview at least one
person of color for head coaching positions (Baron, 2019). Although there is no “commissioner”
to enforce such a rule on “Corporate America,” academic institutions and individual
organizations have an opportunity to vow to implement a requirement that at least one racial
minority candidate be considered and interviewed when executive positions in their organization
become open (Proxmire, 2009). This approach worked to show more role models in executive
level positions without an opportunity for tokenism to take place in the process (Kanter, 2008).
15

In Europe, some countries (e.g., Norway, France, and Italy) have enacted binding gender
quotas, whereas others (e.g., United Kingdom and Spain) have taken a “soft” approach to
regulation, which provides recommendations that encourage, rather than require, greater female
board representation (Smith, 2018). The most extreme promotion of gender diversity occurred in
Norway; since 2006, all listed companies must abide by a 40% gender quota for female directors
or face operations being ceased (Adams & Ferreira, 2009). Although they may be selected
because of tokenism, female directors in these countries have a substantial and valuable impact
on board structure; thus, having demography appears to be an important element of governance
(Adams & Ferreira, 2009).
Diversity in the U.S. workplace has steadily increased over the past 50 years, and this
increase is expected to continue in the future, albeit slowly (Toossi, 2015). The most common
response by organizations to this substantial change has been to institute diversity training
programs in the workplace (Anand & Winters, 2008). Approximately two thirds of human
resource managers have reported using diversity training in their organizations (Esen, 2007).
Anand and Winters (2008) revealed in their respective research organizations that are willing to
incorporate ongoing diversity training in the name of continuous improvement have emerged on
solid footing with effective curricula that make a distinct link to business outcomes.
Positioning diversity as a priority has created another major paradigm shift as the
assumption is no longer only certain groups need training, but rather all employees need to be
more cross-culturally competent in an increasingly global world (Rynes & Rosen, 1995). In a
holistic approach, Kraiger et al.’s (1993) conceptualization of training learning outcomes
includes attitudes, behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and motivations experienced due to the
training. The developmental model of intercultural sensitivity was created in several iteratives by
16

Dr. Milton Bennett to explain how people experience and engage cultural differences. The
developmental model of intercultural sensitivity is based on observations Bennett made in
academic and corporate settings about how people become more competent intercultural
communicators (Intercultural Development Research Institute, 2014). Bennett (2014) wrote “as
cultural differences of an organization become more complex, one’s experience of culture
becomes more sophisticated, and the potential for exercising competence in intercultural
relations increases” (para. 2). By recognizing how cultural difference is experienced, predictions
about intercultural communication effectiveness can be made, and educational interventions can
be tailored to facilitate development along the continuum (Intercultural Development Research
Institute, 2014). The value of this approach is it provides a systematic framework for evaluating
diversity training efforts (Kraiger et al., 1993).
The growth of STEM jobs has outpaced the country’s job growth by growing 79% since
1990, while overall employment has grown 34% (Kochhar, 2020). Despite national
conversations about the lack of diversity in technology-related industries, women are
disproportionately missing out on this boom (S. White, 2020). Huang et al. (2020) stated, “men
continue to outnumber women two-to-one in the scientific workforce and, on average, have more
productive careers and accumulate more impact” (p. 4610). The leaky pipeline phenomenon
refers to the disproportionate decline of female scientists at higher academic career levels and is
a major problem in the physical sciences (Popp et al., 2019). The poor retention of women does
not only impede a large and diverse talent pool, but also it is an ethical issue contrary to the
principle of granting equal opportunities in the workplace (Nature Geoscience Editorial, 2018).
Early Career Progression for Women in the Physical Sciences
In many cases, women’s early careers in the physical sciences vary internationally by
17

country and culture (Etzkowitz et al., 2000). The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) compared eight countries (i.e., United States, United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Brazil, Denmark, and Portugal) in terms of gender
diversity in peer-reviewed scientific publishing, which was a considerable measure of success in
the physical sciences. The country with the largest number of published female researchers was
Portugal with 40% (Huang et al., 2020). The number of papers published directly relates to the
individual scientist’s career progression with citations, downloads, and personal, professional
brands (Elsevier Research, 2015). Women who are not supported in their home country with
opportunities to submit papers and attend conferences are limited in their professional
advancement (Huang et al., 2020).
Mid-Career Progression for Women in Physical Sciences
Diversity efforts should be a constant and continual priority within organizations and
work to foster an inclusive environment. When women have a supportive network, they become
the best versions of themselves (Shillcutt, 2020). Mentoring and support are essential for all
scientists in the physical sciences, especially for those who have been marginalized by academic
or company culture (Nature Geoscience Editorial, 2018). For women who move into mid-level
careers in the physical sciences, this transition often comes at the time when they are considering
starting a family. Most workers become parents (Cech & Blair-Loy, 2019). A 2013 Gallup poll
revealed 90% of Americans have or adopt at least one child during their working-age lives
(Newport & Wilke, 2013). However, parenthood affects the lives of men and women differently.
In a report from the National Academy of Sciences (2019), the physical sciences are some of the
most male-dominated professions in the United States. Cultural expectations of intensive hours
and the rapid pace of technology-based industries and research institutions may be particularly
18

difficult to meet for new parents with family responsibilities (Fox, 2010). Shauman (2017) noted
women with children are less likely to be employed full time in science and engineering fields
than similar men with children and are often viewed as less valuable professionals than their
colleagues without children.
At the same time, professional conferences are an integral part of a career in the physical
sciences, and it is important to explore their climates as they relate to gender (Biggs et al., 2018).
An organization’s climate is defined by Settles and O’Connor (2014) as the collective of
individuals’ subjective perceptions of the values of the organization as derived through
interactions with others in the environment and aspects of the physical space. Prospective
presenters compete for limited slots to give talks, some of which are more desirable than others.
Conferences also allow for networking opportunities especially with high-status leaders in the
industry (Biggs et al., 2018). Acceptance to speak at a conference may have implications for a
future career that extends far beyond the single 30-minute presentation slot; it provides female
attendees an opportunity to highlight their skill sets well beyond the constructs of their current
organization (Jones et al., 2014).
Senior Career Highlights for Women in Physical Sciences
Women who work to rise into leadership positions in the physical sciences face hurdles
throughout their careers. Pipeline and leaky pipeline issues are rarely the root cause of gender
disparity (Nowak & Bugbee, 2019). In 1993, social scientist Margaret Rossiter introduced the
term “Matilda effect” for a systematic under-recognition of female scientists. Rossiter (1993)
showed the Matilda effect of a bias against women when their performance is evaluated in a
scientific context. Specifically, among scholars, this negative evaluation bias should
subsequently reduce interest in connecting or working with the evaluated individual (Knobloch-
19

Westerwick et al., 2013). This recognition is taken to the highest levels when it comes to
scientific awards and achievements. Women are indeed winning more prizes in the senior years
of their careers, but they still lag significantly on prize quality. They win fewer prestigious prizes
and less money than men despite comparable quality of work (Etzkowitz et al., 2000). Female
prize winners earned an average of about 64 cents for every dollar won by men (Uzzi, 2019b).
Women received 50% of the service prizes but only 27% of the research prizes, which are more
prestigious, come with more money and are considered more important for career advancement
(Callier, 2019).
Year 2020 was a notable year for women in STEM. The 2020 Nobel Prize in physics was
awarded to Andrea Ghez, University of California Los Angeles, for her research of black holes
(Nobel Prize, 2020). The 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry was jointly awarded to Emmanuelle
Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for their 2012 work on Crispr-Cas9, which is a method to
edit DNA and rewrite the code of life. The announcement marked the first time the award has
gone to two women. The two scientists met at an international conference in 2012 and began
their collaboration after that chance encounter (Nobel Prize, 2020).
In 2018, Donna Strickland (physics) and Frances Arnold (chemistry) won the awards in
their fields but shared the award with other male collaborators (Fine, 2019). Additionally, the
2019 Abel Prize winner was Karen Ulhenbeck, who is the first-ever and continues to be the only
female award winner in this prestigious math award (Abel Prize, 2019). This recognition is
wonderful progress for female leaders in STEM-related fields to be highlighted for their
achievements.
Female Representation at Global Technology Conferences
For working women in STEM, the workplace is often more difficult to navigate than the
20

workplace their male coworkers experience. In the United States, Americans are mostly
supportive of gender diversity in the workplace with about half of U.S. adults (52%)
characterizing it as extremely or very important and 26% saying it is somewhat important (Funk
& Parker, 2018). Despite this, women who work in technology-related companies are more
likely to report in surveys of female underrepresentation and gender discrimination (Funk &
Parker, 2018). California’s Silicon Valley is headquarters to multinational companies that report
13% to 24% of the workforce are women (Molla & Lightner, 2016). The attendance at the
LAMARR conference and exhibition varies with attendees being from both industry and
academia. Often with several thousand members worldwide, professional societies that manage
technical conferences represent an opportunity to provide career advancement for female
members in attendance (Sardelis & Drew, 2016). As recently as 2018, the technology industry’s
premier conference, Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, had no female keynote
speakers in the program (Rodriguez & Dave, 2018). The professional society that manages the
conference, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), suggested the following explanation for
the lack of diversity:
To keynote at CES, the speaker must head (president/CEO level) a large entity who has
name recognition in the industry. As upsetting as it is, there is a limited pool when it
comes to women in these positions. We feel your pain. It bothers us, too. The tech
industry and every industry must do better. (Captain, 2019, para. 5)
For the 2021 virtual event—which is a first for CES—it has been announced 2 of 3 keynote
presentations given at the conference will be from female CEOs (CTA, 2021).
As STEM conferences have been moved online due to COVID-19, women continue to be
challenged to participate because of the unequal division of household labor and family care
21

between men and women. Women are then vulnerable to inequities that may develop in the
workplace as they strive to maintain work productivity and professional development without
adequate assistance with work, domestic tasks, and family care (Woitowich et al., 2020). In
Germany, researchers revealed women spend more time homeschooling and have more of the
childcare responsibilities due to the pandemic (Adams-Prassl et al., 2020). The challenge of
educating children and working during the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult
for single-parent households, the majority of which are female-headed (Woitowich et al., 2020).
As COVID-19 has persisted, any progress that has been made toward closing the gender gap in
STEM fields was anticipated only to stall but may ultimately regress at a time when it is perhaps
needed the most (Woitowich et al., 2020). These inequalities will persist despite well-intended
systemic policies to improve gender inequity (Jones et al., 2014).
Female Representation at the LAMARR Conference
Attendees to the LAMARR conference come from research backgrounds in physics,
engineering, and computer science. U.S. Census Bureau data revealed jobs in STEM have grown
substantially, particularly in computer science occupations. The share of women who work in
STEM jobs has remained about half over time (Funk & Parker, 2018). Since 2015, BELL has
monitored gender inequity at the LAMARR conference and has started to allocate resources to
develop programs to support women in the industry. At the conference, technical registrations
have risen from 10% to 11% in 4 years. In 43 years of the conference, only 1 plenary speaker out
of 125 has been female.
Role of Stakeholder Group of Focus
BELL promotes and delivers scientific and technical information on optics and photonics
worldwide that is authoritative, accessible, and archived. For over 100 years, BELL has been the
22

world’s leading champion for optics and photonics by uniting and educating scientists, engineers,
educators, technicians, and business leaders worldwide (Organization website, 2021). The
employees of BELL are responsible for meeting society’s goals in the evolving industry of
professional societies.
In the post-COVID era, professional societies will work to bring more member benefits
online. This move to virtual conferences and events will likely allow for more opportunities for
members to participate virtually in events around the world. Seamless connectivity flourishes as
students and junior professionals gain access to senior members from academia and industry who
act as mentors to inspire and support professional development.
Event project managers from BELL who manage the LAMARR conference oversee all
logistics of the event. Their position responsibilities include hiring caterers, decorators,
entertainers, and staff; managing everyone on the team; and ensuring all furniture, decorations,
and designs are set with signs adequately displayed. The LAMARR project managers also work
with conference committee volunteers on technical programming and poster sessions. Other staff
also communicate with hotels or other accommodations and transportation services to drive
keynote speakers to and from the event. They also manage the budget, keep financial records,
documents, receipts, and invoices of all purchases, and adhere to all local ordinances, codes,
statutes, rules, and regulations.
Holding a college degree is not a requirement to become an event project manager in
many industries. It is preferred at BELL, although the specific degree is not defined and varies
from event management, marketing, project management, or even finance. Relevant experience
in the technology industry is also not required. Staff who work at the LAMARR conference work
23

long hours and weekends leading up to the event. The job demands overtime work primarily as
the conference draws near.
Clark and Estes’s Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences Framework
Organizational change has become a way of life in many industries. Organizations that
successfully navigate changes in industry direction take a long-range point of view (Ries et al.,
2001). These industries invest more and more resources in knowledge workers. Knowledge,
motivation, and organizational (KMO) factors influence organizational performance and goal
achievement (Clark & Estes, 2008). Organizational goals affect performance by directing
attention and effort toward goal-relevant activities and away from non-relevant activities (Locke
& Latham, 2002). This effect occurs both cognitively and behaviorally. Clark and Estes further
defined knowledge workers as those employees who can solve new problems and adapting to
changing conditions. The first step to improving performance means setting business goals and
determining the distance between those goals and current performance (i.e., what can change
versus what cannot). It is essential to set organizational and individual goals that work to support
the business objectives identified.
The BELL staff identified current gender diversity levels at the LAMARR conference as
problematic and set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based (SMART) goals
to work toward its outlined 0% gender disparity target at the LAMARR conference as identified
by the Women in BELL’s Rapid Action Committee, which was established in 2016. The change
component theory works to identify the desired long-term goals, such as female attendees to the
LAMARR conference. It then works back from these goals to identify all the conditions that
must be in place (and how these relate to one another causally) for the goals to occur (Clark &
Estes, 2008). The goal of more female attendees to the LAMARR conference is the first step,
24

and the goal of providing a positive experience while they attend the conference is the second
step. BELL had no established gender-based professional development education for its
employees who support the LAMARR conference.
Today’s interconnected global economy requires employees to have the knowledge,
skills, and abilities necessary to maintain a consistent competitive advantage (Aguinis & Kraiger,
2009). Employees are increasingly required to develop a comprehensive, mutable set of skills
that are essential to organizational success (Salas & Stagl, 2009). Organizational change is more
likely to occur if a piece of new knowledge and skill is acquired (Clark & Estes, 2008). The
KMO model is the appropriate framework because it validates two factors: human (i.e., female
attendees to the LAMARR conference) and the system organization (i.e., BELL). The
combination of a system- and human-oriented approach in organizational change leads to a more
robust performance metric (Choi & Lee, 2003). This change will only be successful with a
commitment from the stakeholders as commitment is most important and relevant when goals
are challenging (Klein et al., 1999). Effective training programs allow employees to gain
knowledge of a new skill, use the new skill efficiently, and support their efforts to successfully
perform their jobs (Grossman & Salas, 2011). Influences were assessed through a survey and
interviews with BELL staff. Research-based solutions were evaluated and recommended for
stakeholders at BELL.
BELL KMO Influences
Technology conferences around the globe promise crowds of attendees a first look at the
latest product versions, the chance to hear from elite CEOs, and ample learning opportunities like
workshops, panels, and poster sessions. These conferences are opportunities for companies and
academia to highlight their research advancements and push industry agendas at a global level
25

(Ensono, 2019). Despite the benefits of attending and speaking at industry conferences, the
LAMARR conference has failed to attract female attendees and plenary-level speakers to the
conference. The Clark and Estes (2008) framework was ideal for the evaluation of the
performance goal. The BELL conference management staff are responsible for meeting the goal
of gender equity. In this research, the KMO influences of the gender disparity of the LAMARR
conference were identified.
Knowledge and Skills Influences
Research in learning and teaching has claimed a central role in the concept of knowledge
(de Jong & Ferguson-Hessler, 1996). Knowledge has been categorized as factual, conceptual,
procedural, and metacognitive (Krathwohl, 2002). de Jong and Ferguson-Hessler further
depicted the concepts by comparing type and quality of knowledge in learning and instructional
design as integrated learning dimensions. Bloom et al.’s (as cited in Heick, 2020; Krathwohl,
2002) taxonomy provided further guidance with a six-level approach to cognitive behavior in
multiple learning environments from personal learning, project-based learning, and group
discussions.
Research on social learning theory was made famous by Sears and Bandura in the 1960s
and 1970s (Grusec, 1994). From there, Bandura’s (2005) research presented the influence of
cognition, abstraction, and integration of learning. Social cognitive theory, as developed by
Bandura (2003), suggested the interplay of influences, individual learning, and achievement.
Grant (2013) further explained power and influence in organizations are increased when
employees believe the organization genuinely believes in their potential and takes action to
reinforce this belief. The problem of the gender disparity at the LAMARR conference is
consistent with Bandura’s (1989) triadic model. The triadic model explains the relationship
26

between the BELL staff knowledge and skills on gender diversity (cognition) and the knowledge
of conference attendees on the gender goals (environment), which lead to the decisions and
motivation of the BELL staff to work toward the gender goal (behavior; DiBenedetto &
Bembenutty, 2013).
Knowledge Types
Learning is a process that leads to change (Grossman & Salas, 2011). Einstein (as cited in
Hulnick & Hulnick, 2013) famously wrote “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of
thinking that created them,” (p. 119). Learning requires a change in knowledge, beliefs,
behaviors, or attitudes (Ambrose et al., 2010). Today’s organizations continue to invest in
training because it serves as a powerful tool for producing the targeted cognitive, behavioral, and
affective learning outcomes essential for their survival (Salas & Stagl, 2009). Krathwohl (2002)
explained knowledge as four distinct areas: (a) declarative factual, (b) declarative conceptual, (c)
procedural, and (d) metacognitive knowledge.
The main difference between factual and conceptual knowledge is the interpretation of
the information. Conceptual knowledge refers to a deeper and more complex understanding of
the knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002). Procedural knowledge refers to how to do something or the
steps one must take in a process. Finally, metacognitive knowledge relates to self-awareness,
knowledge about one’s thinking processes, approaches to thinking, and thinking about how one
might carry out a task. Flavell (1979) described metacognition as consisting of “knowledge or
beliefs about what factors or variables act and interact in what ways to affect the course and
outcome of cognitive enterprises” (p. 907).
de Jong and Ferguson-Hessler (1996) took an applications-based approach with the idea
of knowledge-in-use, which means task performance forms the basis for identifying relevant
27

knowledge aspects. In-depth knowledge is anchored in a person’s knowledge base, and external
information translates into fundamental concepts and procedures in question. For this research, I
focused on understanding the specific knowledge influences that affect BELL staff to achieve
gender parity.
Types of Skills Required for Change in Gender Diversity
Students tend to make connections between pieces of knowledge and work to apply it
appropriately (Ambrose et al., 2010). Dai and Sternberg (2004) explained levels for learning to
become a core competency in the following way: metacognitive skills, learning skills, thinking
skills, knowledge, and motivation. These skills are interconnected and influence each other
directly and indirectly (A. J. Elliot & Dweck, 2013). It is important to openly acknowledge
individual limitations of knowledge to learn something new (Hulnick & Hulnick, 2013).
However, when training is viewed positively by students, the training experience transfers to the
job and leads to meaningful work performance (Goldstein & Ford, 2002). The training activity
must guide participants in the steps to achieve performance goals by detailing both what to do
and how to do it in various situations (Clark & Estes, 2008; Clear, 2018). Improvement requires
a delicate balance (Clear, 2018).
BELL Staff Know Facts About Gender Disparity at the LAMARR Conference
Professional networking, whether in-person or on-line, is a necessity. Professional
networks lead to more job and business opportunities, broader and deeper knowledge, improved
capacity to innovate, faster advancement, and greater status and authority (Casciaro et al., 2016).
When a person builds and nurtures professional relationships through networking, they improve
the quality of their work. They should view the relationships as an opportunity for discovery and
learning, rather than a chore (Casciaro et al., 2016; Dweck, 2016). Uzzi and Dunlap (2005)
28

ascertained the “shared activities principle” to which strong professional networks are forged
through relatively high-stakes activities that connect a diverse group of people. Scientific and
technology-based conferences offer this opportunity.
Scientific and technology-based conferences organized by professional societies provide
the venue for those in the community to highlight their latest work, to network, and to connect
with collaborators outside of their usual networks. However, in STEM-related fields, these
opportunities are rarely distributed equally between women and men (Addessi et al., 2012). Even
today, STEM conferences have struggled with gender biases, which have equated to fewer
technical presentations, speaker panels, less funding to participate, and lack of family-friendly
resources (Yentsch & Sindermann, 2013). These inequalities have persisted despite well-
intended policies to improve gender inequity (Jones et al., 2014).
The BELL staff who support the LAMARR conference come from several different parts
of the organization and have various skill sets (e.g., event management, project management,
information technology, and finance). There is no certainty they have an awareness of the gender
disparity of the conference or of the gender equity goal. As it pertained to this research, the
BELL staff are knowledge workers who can adapt to changing conditions and solve problems
(Clark & Estes, 2008). To better understand this baseline level of awareness of the gender goals,
Clark and Estes (2008) guided that training is critical. Organizations that invest in performance
improvement through training foster a growth mindset (Dweck, 2016). The training is seen as a
long-term investment in human capital with the results paying out over a number of years (Levin
et al., 2017). With long-term goals in perspective, employees feel far more empowered and
committed to strive toward the organizational goal through collaboration (Dweck, 2016). The
29

BELL staff need to know of the gender goal and feel supported to try new initiatives to meet the
organizational goal.
BELL Staff Need to Know the Steps of Women’s Career Progression in the Optical
Communications Industry
The retention of women in optical communications is a multifaceted problem. Creswell
and Plano Clark (2004) described a pragmatic worldview as one that evolves from several
situations and consequences rather than conditions. Bandura (1982) added to the pragmatic
worldview by describing how chance encounters can affect individual life paths both personally
and professionally throughout a lifespan. At conferences or otherwise, conversations between
women have massive benefits for the individual and the organization (Turban et al., 2019). For
women who attend the LAMARR conference, it is an opportunity to set new research goals,
meet with others with similar professional goals, and learn best practices (Carboni, 2019).
Whether they attend the conference as an early career professional or a fellow-status
researcher, the conference offers professional networking opportunities. The BELL staff who
manage these programs are knowledgeable on the career goals of the women who attend the
conference, but the entire staff does not have this same level of knowledge. This knowledge gap
has caused a performance gap in meeting the gender goal. Like other technical conferences, the
BELL staff have the opportunity to highlight women as keynote speakers, editorial board
members, and planning committee members. However, the staff need to know how to create
change-driving programs (Abbate, 2012).
Table 2 explains influences that affect the knowledge gap of the BELL staff on gender
diversity goals of the conference. The table also reflects levels of knowledgeability of the staff
and the career goals of women conference attendees.
30

Table 2

Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for Knowledge Gap Analysis

Organizational Mission
BELL, a global physics and engineering-based professional society of 25,000 members, works to
promote the generation, dissemination, and application of knowledge in optics and photonics.
BELL serves the global community through content and events that are authoritative, accessible,
and archived, and through its education, advocacy, and outreach programs.

LAMARR is the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and
networking professionals. The professional society staff of BELL, located in Washington, DC,
manages the conference. The program is comprehensive—from research to marketplace, from
components to systems and networks, and from technical sessions to the exhibition. LAMARR
draws attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections,
and move the industry forward. The LAMARR performance problem identified is the gender
disparity of female conference attendees.

Organizational Goal
Long-Range Goal: The BELL performance goal is to increase the gender diversity of conference
attendees to the LAMARR conference to 50% female by 2023.

Supportive Shorter-Term Goal: The shorter-term goal of BELL is to evaluate current levels of self-
efficacy of staff that work to support the LAMARR conference on gender diversity issues and
knowledge of career issues facing women in the optical communications industry.

Stakeholder Goal
For professional society management staff:

By 2023, BELL staff will increase the number of gender diversity programs in alignment to its
organizational performance goal.

Knowledge Influence

Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence Assessment
31

BELL staff need to identify the
types of skills required to align
for a change in gender diversity.
Factual

Survey items to be used in this study:
● “From the list below, what
short-term skills do you feel
you need to enable change
in gender diversity at the
LAMARR conference?”
● “From the list below, what
long-term skills do you feel
you need to enable change
in gender diversity at the
LAMARR conference?”

Interview questions used in this study:
● “Describe what types of
skills you believe are needed
for aligning gender diversity
change?”

BELL staff know facts about the
gender disparity at the
LAMARR Conference.

Factual

Survey items to be used in this study:
● “Were you made aware of the
gender diversity goals of the
conference when you were
asked to support it?”

Interview questions used in this study:
● “Can you describe to me the
LAMARR gender diversity
goals? To what extent would
you say BELL is meeting
those gender diversity
goals?”

BELL staff need to know the steps
of women’s career progression
in the optical communications
industry.

Procedural Survey items used in this study:
● “Please list the career
milestones a woman in
optical communications
would take to progress in
the industry?”

Interview questions used in this study:
● “Describe the career
milestones a woman in
optical communications
would take to progress in
the industry?”

32

Motivation Influences
Although both men and women benefit from having a network of well-connected peers,
researchers (Uzzi, 2019) have identified women who have an inner circle of close female
contacts are more likely to land higher-level positions. Zalis (2019) stated, “There is a special
place in heaven for women who support women” (para. 19). What motivates and works to make
women feel supported in the workforce often leads to more feeling of support from the
professional networks around them (Uzzi, 2019a). An individual’s motivations can evolve based
on their enthusiasm for doing something (Clark & Estes, 2008). Elliot et al. (2017) detailed how
different motivation factors can affect achievement in academia and industry. Motivation is the
product of interaction at the workplace; Clark and Estes (2008) explained the way to increase
motivation includes (a) personal and team confidence, (b) beliefs about organizational and
environmental barriers to achieving goals, (c) the emotional climate people experience while at
work, and (d) personal and team performance goals. Achievement motivation is a mindset
described as “strivers” who continually try to better themselves and their accomplishments (Frey,
2018). Motivation directly relates to the more general conceptualization of goals (Dweck &
Elliot, 1983). Chen et al. (2020) detailed two classifications of goals in intellectual achievement:
(a) performance goals (i.e., individuals are concerned with gaining favorable judgments of their
competence) and (b) learning goals (i.e., individuals are concerned with increasing their
competence).
BELL Staff Believe Gender Disparity Will Be Resolved by Their Own Efforts
Research on the consequences of diverse individuals who work together to accomplish a
task has become increasingly prominent as organizations have grown more diverse.
Collaborative teams in the workplace have become more popular (van Dijk et al., 2018).
33

Attribution theories attempt to explain how human beings evaluate and determine the cause of
personal (i.e., intrapersonal) and others’ (i.e., interpersonal) life events (A. J. Elliot & Dweck,
2013). R. W. White’s (1959) seminal research Motivation Reconsidered “began the thought of
competence relating to an individual’s (or animal’s) capacity to influence the environment
around them” (p. 297). As R. W. White (1959) conveyed, if a person is interested in the
environment, they may have some satisfactory interaction with that environment. Weiner (2005)
moved this forward by focusing on how causal properties relate to positive competence in
particular educational settings. Clark and Estes (2008) looked at educational investment and the
foundation for initiating and maintaining organizational change.
BELL Staff Attributions to Learn Optical Communications Technologies
Women’s reasons and objectives for attending industry conferences vary by career stage.
The Center for Exhibition Industry (CEIR, 2018) conveyed that women’s absence is common
across age groups. An industry conference is a setting to grow as new researchers, to progress in
a current career path, or to enter a leadership role (Sardelis & Drew, 2016). Team confidence is
more than the individual members; members must also believe in the intentionality of
collaboration among them (Clark & Estes, 2008). Each team member must also feel that with
cooperation, they will meet the stated goal (Vancouver et al., 2001).
In a professional development experience, learners need to believe they are in a
supportive environment where they can learn; they can then apply what they have learned to
their current positions (Hansen, 1989). The challenge is to identify findings informative at a level
that can guide change processes (Kezar & Eckel, 2002). Ambrose et al. (2010) suggested one
way to improve the interest level in learning a new skill is to share a personal passion for the
topic. The act of sharing and relating at a personal level may raise the employees’ curiosity on
34

the topic and how they can influence the results. Therefore, it was important to me to understand
if the BELL staff believed they can create change through professional development
opportunities focused on topics of gender diversity and inclusion.
BELL Staff Need to Feel Competent in Their Ability to Address the Career Barriers
Facing Female LAMARR Attendees
Ambrose et al. (2010) stated, “Success in learning correlates to the motivation the
learning generates and if success is attainable” (p. 69). Carver and Scheier (1998) explained
modern expectancy theory research as the expectancy-value model that links achievement
performance, persistence, and choice directly with an individual’s expectancy-related and task-
value beliefs. Dweck and Elliott (1988) expounded on this writing that one of the essential
motivation sources is the individual’s “motivation to enhance their intellectual skills” (p. 6). In
the expectancy-value model developed by Eccles (1987), ability beliefs are personally accepted
first as widespread beliefs about competence and then narrowed down. Ability beliefs are
broader than expectancies for success on a specific individual task. Individual performance-
based evaluation of success can vary in levels of confidence by specific tasks (Aklon, 2018).
With this knowledge, the BELL staff need to be confident in their skills to address gender
diversity at the LAMARR conference and feel motivated to work toward the broader
organizational goal.
BELL Staff Believe It Is Worthwhile to Promote Women in Optical Communications
Influential leaders develop a sense of purpose by pursuing goals that align with their
personal values and advance the collective good (Ibarra, 2015). Such leaders are seen as
authentic and trustworthy because they are willing to take a collective risk by connecting others
to a larger purpose (Holden, 2011). In their work, leaders inspire commitment, boost resolve, and
35

help colleagues find deeper meaning professionally (C. Elliot, 2007). Goal orientations are “a set
of behavioral intentions that determine how learners’ approach and engage in learning activities”
(Meece et al., 1988, p. 514). Goal orientations can explain and put into context the “why” of
individual behaviors (A. J. Elliot & Dweck, 2013). Meaning systems, such as goal orientation,
promote active and direct mindsets that work to bring individuals to feel genuinely motivated (C.
Elliot, 2007). Professional networks often keep employees informed of industry advancements,
pique curiosity to new skills, and provide support when needed (Ibarra, 2015). These
professional networks are grown at industry conferences. CEIR research has revealed women
regardless of their career stage are inspired at female conferences from the research presented,
other female collaborators, or speakers on a plenary stage (McMillin, 2018). Positive experiences
networking at conferences would not be as fulfilling without a growth mindset orientation of
both the attendee and management system (Ibarra, 2015). BELL staff need gender diversity
training, and training on careers in optical networking will help build motivation to work to meet
the gender diversity goals (Ambrose et al., 2010).
Self-Efficacy Theory of Women in Optical Networking.
Northouse (2018) revealed “women are obtaining undergraduate degrees at a far higher
rate than men, and women are earning professional and doctoral degrees at a rate greater or
nearly equal to men. Nevertheless, women are still vastly underrepresented in top leadership
positions” (p. 15). Research conducted by a global professional society has indicated once a
woman starts a career in the optical networking industry, she is unlikely to stay in the optical
networking industry (SPIE, 2017). Several reasons impact the decision to continue in this field,
including family demands, lack of mentors, and work-to-life balance (SPIE, 2017). Time
Recruitment (2019) surveyed women in the industry and found many women left because they
36

felt bullied or isolated in their positions and experienced a lack of role models or limited career
advancement.
Where positive expectancy values are essential for motivation and industry retention,
they are deficient as Bandura (as cited in Films Media Group, 2003) described in his seminal
research on efficacy expectancies. Self-efficacy is concerned with people’s beliefs in their
capabilities to produce given attainments (Bandura, 1997). Perceived efficacy is a major
determinant of intention (Bandura, 2006). Bandura (as cited in Films Media Group, 2003)
defined efficacy expectancies as “the belief that one can identify, organize, initiate, and execute a
course of action that will bring about the desired outcome” (2:40). For women in the industry,
they must feel confident they can reach measured success in the industry. Both beliefs build upon
each other and work to drive women to continue in the industry for the long term.
Table 3 looks at the motivational influences of the BELL staff to take the time to
understand why gender diversity is important to the conference attendees and to learn more about
gender diversity and feel confident in their ability to make organizational change.

Table 3
Assumed Motivation Influence and Motivational Influence Assessments
Organizational Mission

BELL, a global physics, and engineering-based professional society of 25,000 members, works to
promote the generation, dissemination, and application of knowledge in optics and photonics.
BELL serves the global community through content and events that are authoritative, accessible,
and archived, and through its education, advocacy, and outreach programs.

LAMARR is the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking
professionals. The professional society staff of BELL, located in Washington, DC, manages the
conference. The program is comprehensive—from research to marketplace, from components to
systems and networks, and from technical sessions to the exhibition. LAMARR draws attendees from
all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections, and move the industry
37

forward. The LAMARR performance problem I focused on with this problem of practice was
the gender disparity with relation to the low number of female conference attendees.
Organizational Goal
Long-range goal: The BELL performance goal is to increase the gender diversity of conference
attendees to the LAMARR conference to 50% female by 2023.

Supportive shorter-term goal: The shorter-term goal of BELL is to evaluate current levels of self-
efficacy of staff that work to support the LAMARR conference on gender diversity issues and
knowledge of career issues facing women in the optical communications industry.

Stakeholder Goal
Stakeholder Goal (for professional society management staff):

By 2023, BELL staff will increase the number of gender diversity programs in alignment to its
organizational performance goal.

Assumed Motivation Influences

Motivational Influence Assessment

Attribution Theory—The BELL staff believe gender
disparity will be resolved by their own efforts.
Survey item used in this study:
● “If we resolve the gender gap at the
LAMARR conference, it will be
because of my own effort.”

Interview question used in this study:
● “Describe what you attribute your
success or failure of LAMARR’s
gender diversity goal up to this point
in your history? How so?”

Self-Efficacy—BELL staff need to feel competent
in their ability to address the career barriers
facing female LAMARR attendees.

Survey items used in this study:
● “How confident are you about your
ability to address the career issues
facing female LAMARR attendees?”
(Likert scale)

Interview questions to be used:
38

● “Describe how confident you are about
your ability to address the career issues
facing female LAMARR conference
attendees.”

Expectancy-Value—The BELL staff believe it is
worthwhile to promote women in optical
communications, even though they may fail to
meet their female promotion target goal.
Survey items used in this study:
● “Which statement best represents your
expectations?
1) Because of my professional
experience, I strongly believe it is
worthwhile to take on the various
challenges at every career stage.
2) I somewhat believe my efforts will
influence the gender disparity.
3) I do not believe it is worthwhile to
promote a positive experience at the
conference for women.”

Interview question used in this study:
● “Please explain your beliefs about
promoting women in the optical
communications industry. Would you
have an example to share?”

Organizational Influences
The final barrier to solving performance problems in an organization is for the
organization itself to have individuals do activities together to support a common purpose (Clark
& Estes, 2008; Schein, 2010). Costanza et al. (2016) explained how culture is a critical resource
for organizations to adapt, survive, and thrive in dynamic environments. Clark and Estes (2008)
took this one step further to explain that to make a performance change in work culture, the
unconscious aspects of the cultural patterns should be considered. Schein (1992) notably
described organizational culture as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that groups learn as the
organization solves its problems of external adaptation and internal integration. The assumptions
39

are considered valid and, therefore, be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive,
think, and feel concerning the problem. Employee character at the individual level can change,
and at the institutional level is vulnerable to organizational influences (Solomon, 2003). Hawkins
(2014) introduced the law of sensitive dependence on initial conditions, which looked at how
slight variations over a course of time can have the potential to produce profound change.
Cultural Models and Settings for Gender Equity at Technology Conferences
Technology conferences like LAMARR have become more inclusive of women but have
not yet reached gender parity. The ideal scene is a wholly representative, comfortable conference
atmosphere that accommodates women as it does for men (Ensonos, 2019). Although it is clear
the organizers of these events have the opportunity to make a difference in the way they curate
keynote speakers, populate panels, and promote equality, there is another equally important
element in achieving better representation for women at technology conferences. As Leavens
(2020) noted, women in the industry are not the ones who need to do the work; the system does.
Without a cultural upheaval, women do not stand a chance of gender equity in the technology
industry and the STEM fields powered by it (Leavens, 2020).
If the BELL staff had knowledge of the gender targets, then it would be important to
understand their motivation to address the goals in their own scope of work. In that case, they
would be more likely to act in the organization’s best interest by responding appropriately and
improving an organization’s momentum of change (Ostroff et al., 2013; Sørensen, 2002).
Organizational culture guides how to respond when environmental changes occur through a
shared understanding of processes and procedures (Chatman et al., 2014; Schein 2010). For key
stakeholders in an organization, making culture changes can be a long and painful process, but it
can produce sustainable, lasting benefits (Robbins, 2018). Because culture change takes time in
40

organizations, sharing the gender diversity goals with the BELL staff at the start of conference
planning could work to thoughtfully set gender diversity metrics to move the needle forward.
Cultural Models and Settings with a Mastery Orientation
BELL staff need a shared understanding of processes and procedures with conference
committee organizers around gender diversity and work toward shared mastery goals. When
there is a diverse workforce, organizations have more creativity, productivity, and financial
gains. Industry research company McKinsey & Company (2019) published a report entitled Why
Diversity Matters and found companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive
teams were 15% more likely to experience above-average profitability than companies in the
fourth quartile. These findings suggest training in the use of motivation strategies, especially
mastery goals, can contribute to short-term and long-term outcomes typically associated with
individual and organizational success. Mastery goals involve the aim of improving one’s
performance and lead to perceptions of positive interdependence in teams (Dweck, 1986;
Poortvliet & Darnon, 2010).
Tied to behavioral modeling in training, self-efficacy is the foundation of human
motivation and accomplishments. Unless people believe they can work to produce the desired
effects through their actions, they have little incentive to work toward the end goal (Bandura,
2003; Taylor et al., 2005). There are four major ways of developing a strong sense of efficacy:
(a) mastery experiences, (b) social modeling, (c) social persuasion, and (d) evaluating their own
physical and emotional states (Bandura, 2003). Adding to this, Burke and Hutchins (2007)
explained self-efficacy has consistently shown positive relationships with the transfer of training.
The organization needs to provide more time for new BELL staff to develop mentoring
relationships with female members in the LAMARR community and other professional
41

scientists. Efficacy beliefs can also affect the choices people make at turning points in their lives,
which in turn affects the courses their lives take. Bandura (1982) explained there are
opportunities in daily lives that may put employees on a path to encounter professional role
models in the office. One path-setting event can evolve into a fortuitous symbolic encounter
mediated through another’s actions (Bandura, 1982). These “life altering” encounters at
conferences, business meetings, or international scientific collaboration projects have the
potential to bring together partnerships, to grow professional networks, and to collaborate to
achieve shared goals. Table 4 provides information on the organizational mission, organizational
and stakeholder goals, and the influences of the organization’s cultural setting. The table presents
both cultural models, cultural settings, and highlights samples of assessments about BELL’s
organizational culture.

Table 4

Organizational Influences and Organizational Influence Assessments

Organizational Mission

BELL, a global physics, and engineering-based professional society of 25,000 members, works to
promote the generation, dissemination, and application of knowledge in optics and photonics.
BELL serves the global community through content and events that are authoritative, accessible,
and archived, and through its education, advocacy, and outreach programs.

LAMARR is the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking
professionals. The professional society staff of BELL, located in Washington, DC, manages the
conference. The program is comprehensive—from research to marketplace, from components to
systems and networks, and from technical sessions to the exhibition. LAMARR draws attendees from
all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach, and learn, make connections, and move the industry
forward. The LAMARR performance problem I focused on with this problem of practice was
the gender disparity with relation to the low number of female conference attendees.
42

Organizational Goal
Long-Range Goal: The BELL performance goal is to increase the gender diversity of conference
attendees to the LAMARR conference to 50% female by 2023.

Supportive Shorter-Term Goal: The shorter-term goal of BELL is to evaluate current levels of self-
efficacy of staff that work to support the LAMARR conference on gender diversity issues and
knowledge of career issues facing women in the optical communications industry.

Stakeholder Goal

By 2023, BELL staff will increase the number of gender diversity programs in alignment to its
organizational performance goal.

Assumed Organizational Influences Organization Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence: BELL staff need a
shared understanding of processes and
procedures with conference committee
organizers around gender diversity.

Survey item used in this study:
● “Do you believe that you have a shared
understanding of processes and
procedures with the conference
committee volunteers around gender
diversity?” (Likert scale: Agree,
Somewhat agree, No opinion, Somewhat
disagree, Disagree)

Interview questions used in this study:
● “Explain the similarities and differences
of the processes and procedures with
conference committee volunteers around
gender diversity?”
● “How much do you think BELL plans for
diversity in its planning for the
LAMARR conference? Why or why
not?”

Cultural Setting Influence 1: The organization
needs to provide more time for new BELL
staff to develop mentoring relationships with
female members in the LAMARR
community and other professional scientists.

Survey item used in this study:
● “Compared to other conferences I’ve
managed; I have adequate time
available to me to develop an
understanding of the professional goals
of women who attend the conference.”

Interview questions used in this study:
● “How often are you able to interact
with female conference volunteers in
planning for the conference?”
43

● “In your interaction and time with
them, were you encouraged to continue
to develop gender-based programming
for the conference?”

Conceptual Framework: Interaction of KMO
Researchers from diverse fields and research traditions have agreed the conceptual
framework is a critically important design component of a research study (Antonenko, 2015).
Clark and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis identified KMO influences, which I used to explore the
gender disparity at the LAMARR conference. Antonenko (2015) further explained how
conceptual frameworks instruments are for organizing inquiry and creating a compelling theory-
based, data-driven mixed-methods research approach. J. A. Maxwell (2018) reflected on
conceptual frameworks as the framework affects how researchers approach mixed-methods
research: (a) with a clear identification of the problem, (b) with rigor and triangulation of the
research design, and (c) with further implications for developing theory and enhancing practice.
The previous sections of this chapter explained how the BELL professional society staff
influence the gender disparity of the LAMARR conference. The knowledge and motivation
influences explored attribution theory, self-efficacy, and expectancy-value theory. From there,
cultural models and settings explained the context of BELL as a professional society. The value
of cultural models is that they work to “explain how diversity, dialogue, and complementarity,
and not just shared premises and values, can be a basis for the community” (J. A. Maxwell, 2012,
ch. 4).
The concept of shared values applies to the members of the professional society (i.e.,
BELL). The BELL staff has the opportunity to influence behavioral changes around gender
diversity with its membership. The professional society can take a bottom-up approach at shared
44

behavioral norms and values, which modify the culture of a macrolevel entity and lead to
achieving the gender diversity goal (Erez & Gati, 2004).
For the BELL staff to learn about diversity programming and women’s career goals in
optical communications, their organization of knowledge must be supported through expert
instruction and meaningful content, which leads to learning and performance (Ambrose et al.,
2010). As it relates to formal problem-based learning settings, the significance of motivation
cannot be overstated (Ames, 1990; Belland et al., 2013). If the BELL staff do not understand
their relationship with the gender disparity, they may see little or no value in mastering how to
develop gender-based programming (Ambrose et al., 2010). Motivational factors (e.g., personal
growth, achievement goals, recognition, and responsibility) can influence how learners frame a
transfer task and an appropriate response to it (Nokes-Malach & Mestre, 2013). Perkins and
Salomon (2012) explained how motivation plays a significant role in learners’ ability to transfer
knowledge, especially to different contexts and act in real-life settings.
Clark and Estes (2008) showed how the interconnectedness of KMO factors influence
organizational change’s potential success and failure. Emotional stability and agreeableness are
predictors of performance in jobs that involve extensive interpersonal interaction, such as
customer-focused jobs or jobs involving teamwork (Hough, 1992; Mount & Muchinsky, 1978).
Emotional stability and agreeableness are highly coveted individual attributes of employees at
the BELL organization. In the larger team setting, “culture change will occur if the change is
perceived to make the organization better for all” (Schein, 2010, p. 332). This conceptual
framework (see Figure 1) offered the tentative theory for the BELL staff to have the knowledge
and motivation to work toward the gender goals of the LAMARR conference. The efforts will
support the organization’s cultural setting. Additionally, this research explored how cultivating a
45

mastery goal orientation with the BELL staff could improve their expectancy-value and,
ultimately, their self-efficacy for interactions with attendees to the LAMARR conference.

Figure 1

Conceptual Framework: Interaction of Stakeholder KMO Cultural Models and Settings

46

Conclusion
Chapter 2 explored the expectancy-value and self-efficacy directly related to the BELL
staff’s future performance and motivation to positively meet the gender goals of the LAMARR
conference. The literature review process informed the identification of the tacit KMO influences
specifically related to the stakeholder goal of gender parity at the LAMARR conference.
Bandura’s (1977) motivational construct of self-efficacy was, and expectancy values were,
presented in terms of the factors known. A conceptual framework for this dissertation was then
established by highlighting the interrelationships between the KMO influences. More knowledge
of the current expectancy-values and self-efficacy levels of BELL staff needed to be acquired to
draw general conclusions about the effect. The motivation influences include individual and
collective self-efficacy, attribution theory, and expectancy-value theory about creating gender-
diverse environments. Finally, organizational influences include measures of trust of the BELL
organization to provide the staff with skills to meet the goal of gender parity. While self-efficacy
is situated in the motivation category, its connections to other influences on the gender disparity
at the LAMARR conference was clarified in the conceptual framework. Chapter 3 describes the
validation process that determined the findings for these influences.

47

Chapter Three: Methodology
Women are underrepresented in technology-based industries, and the numbers have not
been increasing. In the United States, the representation of women who attend technology
conferences has remained almost flat from 2016–2018 (McKinsey, 2019). Technology
conferences, where the latest research and product innovations are debuted, are important to
attend for those looking to move up in their careers and broaden their professional network
(Baron, 2019). For women who can attend industry conferences, the conferences prove to be a
crucial source of learning, networking, and filled with opportunities for collaboration with others
in their field (Gale, 2019). In addition, COVID-19 has moved many conferences to virtual
formats, but women continue to take on more of the responsibility of homeschooling and
housework during unprecedented times (Krentz et al., 2020).
This research looked at the impact of gender disparity in optical communications. Clark
and Estes (2008) defined knowledge workers by their ability to solve new problems and adapt to
changing conditions. The first step to improving performance is setting business goals and
determining the gap between those goals and current performance. It is essential to set
organizational and individual goals that work to support the business objectives identified. The
staff of BELL (pseudonym), a professional society, identified the current gender diversity levels
at the optical communications conference, LAMARR. The staff also set SMART goals to work
toward its outlined 0% gender disparity target at the LAMARR conference, which was identified
by the Women in BELL Rapid Action Committee established in 2016.
This study was oriented toward the following research questions:
48

1. What are the BELL staff knowledge and motivation needs related to increasing the
number of gender diversity programs at LAMARR in alignment with its conference
diversity goals?
2. What is the intersection between BELL’s organizational culture and context and BELL
staff’s knowledge and motivation?
3. What are the recommended knowledge, motivation and organizational (KMO) solutions
available to address the needs of BELL staff?
Methodological Approach and Rationale
This study used a mixed-methods approach with a focus on qualitative data retrieval and
analysis. Mixed-methods research is a distinct research approach that involves collecting
qualitative and quantitative data with both open- and closed-ended questions (Creswell, 2014).
Mixed-method approaches can be synergistic; one method enables the other to be more effective
and provide a fuller understanding of the problem (Greene & Caracelli, 1997). A mixed-methods
approach will work toward nuanced and complex credible evidence from the stakeholders’
perspective and experience (Mertens & Hesse-Biber, 2013).
This study used a Likert scale, which is a descriptive survey instrument, to understand the
BELL staff’s knowledge and motivations to address the gender goals of the LAMARR
conference. Video interviews with several the staff to understand the staff’s self-efficacy in
working toward the goal. Organizational documents from BELL, LAMARR, and other similar
professional societies. A mixed-methods research method was ideal because qualitative research
design aligns with the postpositivist paradigm in conducting quantitative data and the
constructivist paradigm in qualitative data collection (Greene & Hall, 2010). The data facilitated
deeper understanding of organizational influences at BELL based on the convergence and
49

divergence in the resulting data (Greene & Hall, 2010). The sample design influences
consistency between the sampling design, conclusion, and transfer of findings, which enhances
the research utilization (Wachsmann & Onwuegbuzie, 2019). In this research design, the
quantitative data were collected first and then the qualitative data were collected to explain the
results in greater depth and detail (Creswell, 2015). This deeper understanding was necessary to
support the BELL staff’s needs to meet gender diversity goals.
Participating Stakeholders
Even though all BELL staff’s joint efforts contribute to the achievement of the
organizational goal of implementing diversity programs at LAMARR, it is essential to
understand the needs of BELL staff members as they work to implement the gender diversity
programs that align with the stated conference expectations. The participating stakeholders in the
survey were 22 BELL staff who supported the LAMARR conference. From there, 10
stakeholders participated in one-on-one interviews. Creswell (2014) guided four to five
interviews may be sufficient to address the research questions thoughtfully at a practical level.
Collins and Onwuegbuzie (2007) suggested a continual evaluation of the sampling design and
procedures throughout the research process for ethical and scientific appropriateness.
Interview Criteria and Rationale
Qualitative research provides researchers with the opportunity to understand and make
sense of their shared experiences (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Clandinin and Connelly (1998)
described experience as “the stories people live. People live stories, and in the telling of them
reaffirm them, modify them, and create new ones” (p. 152). In qualitative research, it is
important to acknowledge researcher bias and avoid altering the narrative of those being
interviewed (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
50

Criterion 1
The first criterion was to only include BELL staff who previously worked at the
LAMARR conference. This criterion provided the right selection criteria for later program
evaluation (Onwuegbuzie, 2003). Creswell (2014) explained how qualitative research is valuable
in understanding influences into the research problem. Unless a staff member of BELL had
previously worked for the LAMARR conference, they did not have a reference point for the
interview.
Criterion 2
The second criterion was previous gender diversity training opportunities for the BELL
staff who support the LAMARR conference. Stakeholders who previously received professional
development training on diversity and inclusion were more likely to be interviewed due to their
comfort level with the content.
Criterion 3
Staff who met the third criterion of attending the LAMARR conference as both a staff
member and a BELL member had priority. Among the BELL staff, these employees had the
most knowledge of the gender disparity of the LAMARR conference and had a better sense of
the research influencers.
Interview and Survey Sampling Strategy and Rationale
I previously worked for BELL, am a senior member of the professional society, and
attended the LAMARR conference for over 20 years. In the position at BELL, I supervised a
team who directly supported the media relations efforts of the LAMARR conference. Since then,
I have changed positions to another company in the optical communications industry and
attended the LAMARR conference. Creswell (2014) guided it is best to avoid having rank in the
51

organization to help alleviate researcher bias. As the survey and interviewing data collection
methods were entirely online, Merriam and Tisdell (2015) noted strengths and weaknesses in
noticing nonverbal cues among participants and technology challenges or breakdowns.
All 22 staff members of the BELL staff who support the LAMARR conference were
asked to complete a survey. With this purposeful sampling of staff members, the results allowed
me to identify information-rich cases (Schensul & LeCompte, 2013). Surveys provided an audit
of organizational specific behaviors and the basis for evaluation of organizational change and
motivation programs (Clark & Estes, 2008). This approach allowed me to identify unexpected
gaps in KMO influences before conducting the more focused interview portion of the mixed-
methods research approach (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Stakeholder interviews were limited to the 10 staff ranked as having the highest insight
and influence into the gender disparity at the LAMARR conference. Of these staff members, all
have attended the LAMARR conference for 3–5 years. They have been involved in working with
the volunteer technical committees or supported a gender diversity initiative at the conference.
Staff received email notifications with a request to participate. Depending on staff
availability, staff were contacted based on the criterion presented until 10 staff members were
interviewed (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). This strategy of purposive interviewing ensured
interviews provided insightful information to guide toward gap analysis (Chein, 1981). Due to
COVID-19, interviews occurred via video conferencing platform Zoom. Interviews were
generally semi-structured with a variety of open-ended questions intended to provide thoughtful
opinions from interviewees (Creswell, 2015). Interviews continued until data saturation
occurred, which meant no new information could be gathered (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
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Document Analysis Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Merriam and Tisdell (2015) instructed document analysis should follow a similar
approach to interviews or observations. Documents to be studied were authentically identified
and verified. Future research should include the document’s source, its author, and context
(Mcculloch, 2004). Once the document was verified, content analysis occurred. Krippendorff
(2018) explained content analysis as “an unobtrusive technique that allows researchers to
analyze relatively unstructured data in the view of the meanings, symbolic qualities, and the
communicative roles they play in the lives of the data sources” (p. 403). Merriam and Tisdell
(2015) taught researchers to keep an open mind when considering useful documents for tidbits of
information.
Criterion 1
The first criterion under consideration was the source of the document. Several
professional societies support the physical sciences personnel with similar resources and
practices as BELL. The documents were sourced from other professional societies similar to
BELL, such as the American Physical Society, American Institute of Physics, American
Geophysical Union, or American Association for the Advancement of Science. Documentation
from other conferences with a similar gender breakdown were also relevant. Finally, research
funded by national science organizations (e.g., National Science Foundation and the National
Academies of Science) were reviewed. Documents not produced by BELL provided insights into
new organizational practices.
Criterion 2
The second criterion was the subject matter and level of depth. The documentation
included relevant information about gender studies, gender disparities by industry, gender
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disparities in STEM, and gender breakdowns at technical conferences. Examples of
organizational policies or training on gender diverse programs were relevant.
Criterion 3
The last criterion was the publication date of the document. Fortunately, gender studies in
the physical sciences have become more significant since 2015. At the same time, many
technical conferences have updated their policies to support gender diversity at conferences. For
this research, the conference gender breakdowns were reviewed from 2015 to 2020.
Document Analysis Sampling Strategy and Rationale
The researcher had frequent interactions with BELL staff during this study. The CEO of
BELL supported this research and asked staff to provide the data to date. Internal approvals were
a valuable step in the data collection process that led to the institutional review board process
(Marshall & Rossman, 2014). The participant’s anonymity occurred through the use of
pseudonyms in this research including BELL and LAMARR. The BELL staff provided no
personal information.
Explanation for Data Collection Choices
A mixed-method approach was used in the data collection. Data collection included
instruments of a survey, interviews, and document analysis. The survey and interview guided the
study of the stakeholder’s internal beliefs, understanding, and experiences with gender diversity
initiatives. The KMO model was the appropriate framework because it looked to validate two
factors: the human (i.e., female attendees to the LAMARR conference) and the system
organization (i.e., BELL; Clark & Estes, 2008). The document analysis provided evidence to
validate the data results while the researcher worked to identify gaps in the LAMARR
conference policies, which inhibited the goal of gender equity.
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Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation
The research approach included two methods of qualitative data collection—interviews
and document analysis. The document analysis highlighted common trends and new policy
initiatives at similar technology-focused conferences and professional societies in the physical
sciences. The interviews identified all the conditions that must be in place and how these relate
to one another casually for the gender diversity goal to be achieved (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Interviews and documentation review supported research results that are consistent, dependable,
and reliable based on a triangulated approach (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
Interviews
Ten interviews of current staff were conducted to support this research, with each
interview 20–25 minutes in length. Data saturation had an impact on qualitative research results
and enhanced content validity (Fusch & Ness, 2015). A saturation point occurred when new
information was not available, and further coding was no longer feasible (Guest, 2000). There is
no one-size-fits-all method to reach data saturation (Fusch & Ness, 2015). The interviews were
conducted via Zoom during work hours both in the Eastern Standard Time and Pacific Time
zones.
I took a semi-structured interview approach. This structure provided the opportunity for a
mix of more or less structured interview questions. Prewritten questions that guided the
interviews were determined ahead of time and written purposefully to facilitate more extensive
opportunities for deeper issue exploration (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Follow-up questions were
used until I felt the data were “thick” in usefulness and saturation (Dibley, 2011).
The interview protocol consisted of both open-ended and closed-ended questions. Clark
and Estes (2008) explained this approach allows the researcher to test questions, gauge
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responses, spot sensitive points, and then readjust quickly. The interview questions were
reviewed in advance by the doctoral program professors and peer-reviewed by other researchers
in the program. I crafted the research questions to focus on understanding the gender disparity at
the LAMARR conference by the BELL staff as it compares to the KMO model. The design
approach was flexible and achievable given the research timeline and KMO influences under
review.
Documents and Artifacts
External and internal documents from BELL were collected and analyzed during the
research process. I reviewed the LAMARR female attendance data from 2015–2019. Other
unpublished gender data from BELL related to the conference gender goal were reviewed in
context to the gap analysis conceptual framework. Data collection included both printed reports
and electronic files. I gathered more published data through discussions highlighted during the
interview process.
Data Analysis
The research data collected from the survey instrument were analyzed using Qualtrics
online research tool. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The survey data were
collected from 18 individuals out of 22 stakeholders. Ten interviews were conducted from those
22 stakeholders using a semi-structured interview approach. The interview line of questioning
followed the approach of Merriam and Tisdell (2016) with a common set of questions to be
explored, but the order of questions and exact order are not rigidly determined. Patton (2015)
guided that neutrality and rapport with the interviewee is important to maximize the time in the
interview. The transcribed interview data were coded by influences of KMO. Coding enables
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researchers to organize similarly coded data into categories because they share patterns and
themes (Russell Bernard, 2006).
Document analysis was conducted from August 2020 to May 2021. The surveys were
completed by the stakeholders in March 2021. An overview of the survey data was completed
before interviews were conducted. Interviews were conducted in March 2021 and coded in April
2021. The interview protocol was open and designed to probe deeper into the beliefs and
organizational perspectives of the stakeholders. The interviewees represented a variety of
experience levels and tenure at BELL. Interview data were analyzed following the KMO
influences, and transcripts were coded accordingly. Triangulation of the survey data, interview
data, and documents were conducted for each KMO influence.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
The research approach included interviews, surveys, and document analysis, which led to
triangulation (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). J. A. Maxwell (2013) explained triangulation occurs
when multiple data sources are cross-referenced through observations and then followed up with
in-depth interviews. All interviews were conducted via Zoom, recorded, and transcribed. I
presented my understanding of the broader industry problem of gender disparity at technology
conferences.
Replicability in qualitative research studies is a known challenge as “we cannot expect
others to replicate our account” (Odell, 1997, p. 98). Richards (2014) explained it is up to the
researcher to show validity. He candidly explained, “good qualitative research gets much of its
claim to validity from the researcher’s ability to show convincingly how they got there, and how
they built confidence that this was the best account possible” (Richards, 2014, p. 214). An
informal member check with 30% of interview respondents was conducted to further clarify
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points brought up during the interviews. This is also known as member validation and can be
described as a research phase during which the provisional research is taken back to the site and
reviewed by the person conducting the research (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 236) An audit trail or
project history log met this function (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The important part of
replicability in qualitative research is to be able to explain with transparency the decisions made
throughout the research process (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
Quantitative Data Collection and Instrumentation
Popularized by Likert in 1961, the use of surveys in gap analysis for organizations paved
the way for organizational improvement (Bolman & Deal, 2017). In this research, a survey
instrument was used to understand the BELL staff’s current knowledge and skills on gender
diversity goals. The questions focused on the staff members’ on-the-job application of current
knowledge and skills on the gender goals of the LAMARR conference (Clark & Estes, 2008).
The survey questions were primarily ordinal and nominal, which provided a general overview of
the staff’s knowledge base and knowledge needs related to the conceptual research framework.
Surveys
Twenty-two BELL staff members were asked to complete the descriptive survey. This
number included employees who worked in the headquarters and remotely for the organization.
The survey items were reviewed by professors and peers in my doctoral program and based on
seminal authors’ works. Organizational data collected as part of the research process needed to
account for the speed, accuracy, and quality of data collected to ensure a positive performance
improvement (Clark & Estes, 2008). All questions in the survey captured the BELL staff’s
opinions on the KMO influences related to the gender goals of the LAMARR conference.
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Reliability and Validity
Evaluation is an essential part of detailing performance success in organizations (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Reliability in research looks at the reproducibility of results each time through
standardized processes and procedures (Clark & Estes, 2008). With this research study, I held no
rank of authority over the stakeholders from a professional perspective and should not have
affected how the BELL staff responded to the inquiry process.
Validity requires all evaluation measures as intended and defined during the research
planning process (Clark & Estes, 2008). Validity also allows the researcher to review findings
with the stakeholders from whom they are derived to work through the findings (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2015). J. A. Maxwell (2012) wrote it is necessary for validation to occur in the research
circumstances. The CEO of BELL approved of this research and provided support. It was my
expectation and the organization’s expectation that most of the BELL staff who support the
LAMARR conference would participate in the research.
Ethics
There are at least five ways in which the ethics of consent take on a distinctive form and
character in qualitative research: (a) respondents reveal more than they intended, (b) covert
evaluation occurs with the intent to influence or change society under research, (c) the influence
implies the researcher knows what happens in the context of the results, (d) a pseudo intimacy
with the “friendly” researcher causes the interviewee to reveal too much information, and (e) the
use of public information rules regarding internet-based research (Shaw, 2008).
The priority during research is to limit influencing opinion to the research participants (S.
E. Maxwell & Kelley, 2011). It is crucial in human subject research to protect the anonymity of
participants (Glesne, 2011). Iphofen and Tolich (2018) explained protecting participants is
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crucial, given the emergent, dynamic, and interactional nature of most qualitative research. This
research study used a confidential information sheet and elective withdrawal of participants to
protect the participants. Before the interview, the BELL staff received a human subject form,
which explained the researcher’s intent. The participants were informed that the data collected
would be used in a dissertation. Survey data and online Zoom interviews were saved locally to a
password-protected, cloud-based filing system.
The survey and interview protocol chosen for this research dove into the understanding of
gender diversity goals deeply. The researcher of this study was provided with data and access to
the BELL staff to guide research reliability. Although Merriam and Tisdell (2015) explained
reliability can be challenging to achieve in qualitative research due to individual experiences and
intended prework of explaining the purpose of the research addressed this uncertainty.
The interview questions provided the BELL staff KMO influences and the relationship
between performance and gender-diverse industries. This approach was purposeful in identifying
the BELL staff’s knowledge through “thick” rich dialogue (Dibley, 2011). This study was
reviewed and approved by the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board.
The final part of the research process is to look to the researcher as the filter of the
information collected and the researcher’s relationship with the participants (Merriam & Tisdell,
2015). Merriam and Tisdell (2015) detailed that both the interviewer and interviewee’s parties
bring biases and predispositions to the table during the interview process. The researcher of this
study is a White woman and acknowledges this positionality may come with gender bias in
approach and passion for addressing the gender disparity. Simultaneously, the researcher has
extensive practical training in unbiased information collection and reporting on the optical
communications industry.
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Limitations and Delimitations
The research looked at the internal and external influences on the research, procedures
followed in the protocol, and strategies for validating the data (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2004).
Every research study, no matter how thoughtfully it is conducted and constructed, has
limitations. These limitations detail the research methodology and design and force the
researcher into tradeoffs (Simon & Goes, 2013). Qualitative research occurs in the natural setting
of an organization, which makes it difficult to replicate. When researchers select a qualitative or
mixed-methods research approach, they must accept the inherent limitations over control
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). This mixed-methods research study involved both a human
researcher and research subjects, which allowed multiple human error opportunities from the
data collection and analysis perspectives. Reason (2000) described the human error in research
from both the person approach and the system approach. Each has its error causation model, and
each model gives rise to different philosophies of error management.
Limitations also acknowledged in this research included the knowledge and experience of
the BELL staff members in gender-based programming and experience working at the
LAMARR conference. This research focused directly on the staff of BELL as agents of change.
It should be noted that all stakeholders of the LAMARR conference, from the leadership,
technical volunteers and conference participants are stakeholder as well, as such have a stake in
the desired outcome of gender parity. Other limitations included the age of participants
interviewed as the respondents ranged in age from 20 years old to over 60 years old, with the
largest percentage of staff in their 40s. The race of respondents was also a limitation as 73% of
those interviewed self-identified as White.
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Delimitations occur in every research study. They result from specific choices made by
the researcher during the planning process. Choices included, but were not limited to, objectives
and questions, variables of interest, theoretical perspectives adopted, the paradigm approach, the
theoretical framework, and the choice of participants (Simon & Goes, 2013). This study’s key
delimitation factor was the focus on the BELL professional society and its staff. The survey data,
interview feedback, and document analysis results were specific to the BELL staff and not
intended to influence other professional societies in the physical sciences.
Summary
This chapter utilized quantitative results and qualitative findings to provide answers to
the first two study questions, reporting first on the progress towards organizational and
stakeholder goals and then validating KMO influences or identifying KMO assets in the pilot
course. The survey and interview protocol chosen for this research dove into the understanding
of gender diversity goals deeply. At the opening of this chapter, it was clarified that when
making assertions from the data, 50% agreement on survey items was the threshold for asserting
agreement, and interview data used as evidence generally relied upon code typicality of at least
50% among interview subjects. Similarly, the degree to which an influence was validated
depended upon the overall percent agreement on the survey and/or the typicality in the interview
data. Given this metric, this is a delimitation to the research, and it will be considered in future
research.

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Chapter Four: Results and Findings
The purpose of this research was to determine factors that influence the LAMARR
conference goal to reach gender parity at the conference by 2025. The gap analysis framework,
developed by Clark and Estes (2008), was used to examine the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational (KMO) influences of the BELL staff, who manage the conference.
The study used semi-structured interviews with 10 staff members of BELL with an
interview protocol based on the KMO framework (Clark & Estes, 2008). Twenty-two members
of the BELL staff were also asked to complete a brief survey on gender goals of the conference.
The study also used an analysis of documents provided by the BELL organization to identify the
presence or absence of KMO influences required to meet gender parity goals.
The questions that guided this study were the following:
1. What are BELL staff knowledge and motivation needs related to increasing the
number of gender diversity programs at LAMARR in alignment with its
conference diversity goals?
2. What is the intersection between BELL’s organizational culture and context and
BELL staff’s knowledge and motivation?
3. What are recommended KMO solutions available to address the needs of BELL
staff?
The chapter presents data collected from a KMO needs perspective. Analysis of the data
revealed key findings and this chapter concludes with a summary of the findings., laying out a
solutions framework that is further developed in Chapter 5.
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Survey Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholders of focus for this study were the staff of the professional society, BELL,
who are responsible for the management of the LAMARR conference. Twenty-two members of
BELL staff were invited to participate in a survey for the data collection. Eighteen respondents
completed the survey. This stakeholder group was important to the research because through the
assessment of KMO influences on the BELL staff, the LAMARR leadership gained a better
understanding of the current awareness level of the gender disparity at the conference.
Surveyed Stakeholder Demographics
Figure 2 details the age of the BELL staff who support the LAMARR conference. The
respondents ranged in age from 20 years old to over 60 years old, with the largest percentage of
staff in their 40s.

Figure 2

Age of Respondents

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Figure 3 shows the breakdown by gender of the BELL staff who were assigned to support
the LAMARR conference. The figure shows the number of female respondents doubled male
respondents.
Figure 3

Gender of Respondents

Figure 4 shows the ethnicity of the BELL staff who support the LAMARR conference.
The largest percentage are Caucasian, then Black/African American and Hispanic/LatinX, and
Asian.

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Figure 4

Respondents’ Ethnicity

The LAMARR conference is the largest conference the BELL staff supports annually.
Figure 5 shows the number of years the staff have worked at BELL, with the largest percentage
of staff at fewer than 5 years at the organization.

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Figure 5

Respondents’ Length of Service at BELL

The BELL staff who support the LAMARR have a varied skill set from event
management, finance, information technology, volunteer coordination, and physics. Figure 6
shows the event is staffed with higher level employees who are senior executives and the director
level. Respondents surveyed were largely inexperienced in the BELL organization, with a tenure
of fewer than 5 years of experience.

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Figure 6

Respondents’ Role at BELL

Interviews of Participating Stakeholders
Ten BELL staff members who support the LAMARR conference were interviewed for
this research. This stakeholder group varied in terms of seniority, age, and job function at BELL.
Figure 7 shows that the staff interviewed were largely in the 40–49 age range.

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Figure 7

Age of Respondents

Of the 10 staff interviewed, seven identified as female and three as male. Figure 8 shows
the gender breakdown.

Figure 8

Gender of Respondents

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Of the BELL staff interviewed, nine identified as Caucasian and one as Asian. Figure 9
shows the breakdown by ethnicity.

Figure 9

Respondents’ Ethnicity

The BELL staff interviewed varied in length of service to the organization. Figure 10
shows the length of service breakdown from fewer than 5 years to 14 years of service.

Figure 10

Respondents’ Length of Service

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Figure 11 details the role the BELL staff member has at the organization. While expertise
varied between the respondents, the largest percentage of those interviewed self-identified as
senior executives and director level employees.

Figure 11

Respondents’ Role at BELL

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Respondents who were interviewed were from a variety of employee professional levels
at BELL. The largest percentage of those interviewed had worked at BELL for fewer than 5
years. The length of service was important as they provided insight into what it is like to be a
new employee at BELL and be assigned to support the LAMARR conference.
Criteria for Determining Assets and Needs
This study used three data sources: (a) a survey instrument, (b) interviews, and (c)
document analysis. These three data sources were used for determining assets and needs of the
BELL staff according to the assumed causes of gender disparity. The assumed causes and the
description of the research approach were discussed in depth in Chapter 3. The survey, interview,
and document analysis results provided data for determining assets and needs of assumed KMO
influences. All survey results and interview transcripts were coded upon completion to reveal
which influences were addressed. Documents were analyzed to either verify statements made
during the interviews or to validate assumed influences not mentioned during the interview
process.
The criteria used for determining any gaps from the interview data on assumed KMO
influences to move toward gender parity at the LAMARR conference through the alignment of
processes and procedures in the planning process of the conference were as follows:
● Results with less than 50% agreement by survey respondents indicated a gap in all
KMO domains.
● Results with less than 50% of agreement among the 10 BELL staff members
interviewed indicated a gap in all KMO domains.
● Review of BELL publicly available documentation noted a gap in agreement of the
gender diversity goals against all KMO domains.
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The thresholds were on the higher end because the sample population was small in
relation to the number of attendees to the LAMARR conference. Document analysis was used to
confirm or challenge interview results through agreements among participants and feedback
responses. In the case where there was a difference in agreement between the survey, interview,
and document analysis finding, the interview findings weighted more due to the larger narrative
that supported the discussion.
Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes
The BELL staff knowledge causes were assessed through a survey, interviews, and
document analysis. Results are presented in the following section for each assumed influence in
the areas of factual and procedural knowledge. Each assumed influence was determined to be an
asset (i.e., validated) or determined to be a need (i.e., not validated) based on research findings.
Knowledge and skill enhancement are an important part of learning and education in
organizations (Clark & Estes, 2008). Clark and Estes (2008) suggested employees “need to know
how to succeed on their own” (p. 58) to achieve a performance goal. Influence 1 looked at the
knowledge of skills of the BELL staff as it related to the LAMARR conference.
Influence 1: Knowledge of Skills
BELL staff needed to identify types of skills required to align for a change in gender
diversity.
Survey Results
The survey question asked respondents to identify the skills required to align for change. More
than 50% of the BELL staff identified open communication and strategic planning as primary
skills needed to align for change in gender diversity at the conference. Figure 12 details the
selected skills as identified by the BELL staff.
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Figure 12

Skills Needed to Enable Change

Interview Findings
All BELL staff interviewed were able to identify several primary skills needed for
organizational change. This ability was consistent notwithstanding the length of time of
employment at BELL or familiarity with the LAMARR conference.
When asked to name skills needed for organizational change, Respondent A indicated
communication during all levels of the planning process. The respondent also noted the need for
patience in the change process:
I would say good communication skills are important. We need to show a valid reason
why this is important. I also think sharing a larger perspective of the situation. I think a
lot of committee members see the same speakers repeatedly and don’t think of it. Women
in the industry have every right to be there as these long-standing male speakers. I think
patience is a virtue because it’s not going to happen overnight, and it can get frustrating
from a staff point of view.
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Respondent G also felt the skill of communication was particularly important in terms of
“outside looking in” goal setting. The respondent noted feedback when asked for a female
speaker to be added:
I think communication is first and foremost—communication. Because, again, I think that
it’s easy from the outside to say, “Yeah, we want to have X number of women.” We all
agree there. The problem is that we get pushback from the conference committee that the
female speakers have been heard before.
Respondent J noted planning skills are also important for organizational change and explained
how taking a broader approach would be guiding:
Planning skills are important so that you know you can see what the problem is and be
able to identify it. It is important to do some research to see you know what other
organizations are doing and how other conferences are dealing with the same issue. That
information can then be presented to your committee of volunteers for the conference.
Combined, the respondents detailed that communications and planning skills are both needed to
address organizational changes at the LAMARR conference.
Observation
No observation was conducted for this influence due to limitations of in-person gatherings from
the COVID-19 pandemic. The general framework of the data collection of a survey instrument
and interviews broadly supported research objectives.
Document Analysis
The BELL staff worked individually for most aspects of the conference based on their
subject matter expertise. There was no specific guideline filed to support a successful
conference. Scientific meetings are important events in the professional life of technology
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industries because they provide an invaluable opportunity for learning, networking, and
exploring new ideas. “Ten Simple Rules for Organizing a Scientific Meeting” by Corpas et al.
(2008) offered a “playbook” for hosting successful scientific conferences.
A key takeaway for the LAMARR conference related to the balance of speaker level and
experience in the industry. Corpas et al. (2008) guided having many well-known speakers will
raise the demand for the event (and the cost), but that must be balanced with enough time for
presentation of submitted materials. A mix of senior scientists and junior scientists is the best
mix of attendees. Young researchers may be more enthusiastic and inspiring for students, while
top senior scientists may be able to present a more complete perspective of the field (Corpas et
al., 2008). This observation is guiding for the BELL staff as current travel grants are focused on
young career professionals and perhaps more should be offered specifically for women.
Summary
Surveys, interviews, and document analysis conducted showed this influence of knowing the
skills needed to create organizational change was considered an asset as the 50% threshold in
each category was exceeded. BELL staff were able to identify types of skills required to align for
a change in gender diversity. Therefore, the knowledge base and understanding of key concepts
of organizational change were present even without formal training, which made the influence an
asset.
Influence 2: Knowledge of Disconnects
BELL staff knew facts about the gender disparity at the LAMARR conference (see
Figure 13).

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Figure 13

Knowledge of Gender Disparity

Survey Results.
Of the BELL staff who completed the survey, 77% of them reported they were made aware of
the gender diversity goals of the LAMARR conference before working on the conference.
Interview Findings.
Even though BELL staff seemingly understood the importance of gender parity at the LAMARR
conference, they all had differing viewpoints when striving to address the gender disparity. Only
25% were confident in naming a specific numerical goal. Furthermore, various parts of the
organization (e.g., meeting management, technical volunteer management, exhibition sales) were
run independently and as organizational silos. Due to the silos effect, BELL staff seemed to
imply they were aware of the intent to reach gender parity, but it was not a main focus for their
team.
Respondent E was the most direct of those interviewed in commenting on gender goals:
There hasn’t been any specific or strict goals or metrics put in place; however, there is an
underlying goal. I guess the goal for us is to at least increase awareness that there is a
gender disparity and to have the committee members and the chairs to really start
thinking about that when planning for the conference.
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Respondent B, who had been at BELL for over 10 years, described her impressions: “I
don’t know of a specific number tied to a gender goal for the conference. The team tries to
highlight women throughout the conference when possible.” The interview responses indicated
there was no clearly defined goal of gender parity established by the conference leadership team.

Observation
No observation was conducted for this influence due to limitations of in-person
gatherings from the COVID-19 pandemic. The general framework of the data collection of a
survey instrument and interviews broadly supported research objectives.
Document Analysis
There was no specific training available to BELL staff who supported the LAMARR conference.
What was shared with them was the conference’s Code of Conduct, which spoke to overall
civility and climate at the conference. As it stated,
LAMARR is committed to providing an environment that is conducive to the free and
robust exchange of scientific ideas. This environment requires all participants to be
treated with equal consideration and respect. Even though the conference co-sponsors
encouraged vigorous debate of ideas, personal attacks created an environment in which
people felt threatened or intimidated. This is not productive and does not advance the
cause of science. All participants in LAMARR events and activities are therefore
expected to conduct themselves professionally and respectfully. This policy applies to
every individual at the event, whether attendee, speaker, exhibitor, award recipient, staff,
contractor or other.
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This all-encompassing Code of Conduct promoted a conference climate of professionalism and
inclusion.
Summary
The BELL staff understood the importance of the 50% gender parity at the conference; thus, the
influence was an asset. Many respondents explained the financial benefits of diverse
organizations and knew if more women were in attendance that the revenue for the conference
would increase. Many had worked at other larger conferences with gender parity and noted the
difference in experience on-site for all attendees.
Procedural Knowledge
Procedural knowledge involves knowing how and when to apply specific procedures,
methods, theories, or approaches to a given situation (Ambrose et al., 2010). This knowledge is
important in professional organizations when employees need to know what skills should be
applied and in what circumstances (Ambrose et al., 2010). Best practices can be developed and
shared.
Influence 3: Knowledge of Audience
BELL staff needed to know steps in women’s career progression in the optical
communications industry.
Survey Results
The survey question asked if the BELL staff knew the steps in a women’s career
progression in the optical communications industry, and the results indicated that they did.
“Presenting at an industry conference,” “publishing in a peer-reviewed journal,” “being head of a
research group,” and “professional society leadership involvement” were fields most commonly
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indicated. The survey instrument clearly showed BELL staff were familiar with various career
paths for women in optical communications.
Figure 14 shows BELL staff largely knew of the various career milestones for women in
optical communication. The milestones identified supported careers in academia and in the
corporate industry.

Figure 14

Knowledge of Career Milestones for Women in Optical Communications

Interview Findings.
All BELL staff interviewed knew of various career opportunities available to women in
optical communications, and the influence was considered an asset. Even though others had a
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greater sense of technical knowledge at each career stage, all were consistently able to speak to
career milestones.
Respondent J was the most precise in his description of the various career paths women
in optical communications can take at the conference:
The women would have to submit a paper and be the presenter of that paper. That’d be a
first step, and then you go from there to presenting more papers or being an invited
speaker or then serving on a committee and then becoming maybe the chair of the
committee and then the steering committee, and so on.
Respondent A was hesitant to share her thoughts to this question, despite working for
BELL for over 10 years, having direct interaction with female members of BELL, and having
attended LAMARR for several years:
The women used the conference to continue with education, to network and meet more
people, and to expand their networking circles. People get jobs by meeting people at
conferences like LAMARR.
Observation
No observation was conducted for this influence due to limitations of in-person
gatherings from the COVID-19 pandemic. The general framework of the data collection of a
survey instrument and interviews broadly supported research objectives.
Document Analysis
The 2020 BELL Annual Report detailed diversity as a major thrust for the organization by
noting a corporate member had endowed several grants to women in optical communication. In
2020, a company in the optical communications industry created a grant series for women who
wished to attend the LAMARR conference for the first time. These early career professional
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women were selected based on merit and conference travel, and participation was paid by the
corporate grant. The BELL staff managed this grant process as it was detailed in the annual
report.
Summary
The assumed influence—BELL staff knew of career steps in optical communications for
women—was clear and was considered an asset. Either through formal or informal training
channels, more than 50% were aware of how women in optical communications progressed in
their careers. This knowledge was important to know as a professional society developed
programs to support professional advancement.
Results and Findings for Motivation Causes
BELL staff motivation causes were assessed by using survey results, interviews, and
document analysis. Results are presented in the following section for each assumed influence in
the areas of attribution, self-efficacy, and expectancy-value theory. Each assumed influence was
determined to be an asset (i.e., validated) or determined to be a need (i.e., not validated) based on
findings.
Attribution Theory
Weiner (2005) explained attribution theory in organizations occurs when life experiences
can cause employees to question processes in an organization. The perception of past events can
influence future events (A. J. Elliot et al., 2017). Weiner (2005) contended employees view
competence as an enduring quality in an employee. Influence 4 explained this in context of the
interviews with the BELL staff.
Influence 4: Confidence in Making Change
BELL staff believed gender disparity was resolved by their own efforts.
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Survey Results
The survey question asked BELL staff if they believed gender disparity would be achieved
through their own efforts. The survey responses indicated BELL staff were largely not confident
in their personal influence on gender diversity at the LAMARR conference. Twenty-five percent
of survey respondents believed their efforts would influence gender goal attainment. Thirty-three
percent of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed that the gender disparity of the conference
would be resolved by their own efforts. Another 26% somewhat disagreed with the statement.
Figure 15 reviews the findings of the influence.

Figure 15

Confidence in Personal Effort to Effect Change

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Interview Findings
Although all employees understood the importance of gender diversity, less than 50% felt
confident they could influence gender goals of the conference. Some felt limited to push for
change without a formal organizational metric to highlight with technical volunteers. Others felt
procedures put in place for selecting speakers or selecting invited presenters should be adjusted
for greater diversity. Several mentioned that without a formal policy in place, they could only
make suggestions and reminders to technical volunteer committee members.
Respondent D felt passionately about this question and was clearly able to articulate why
gender diversity at the LAMARR conference was worth her effort professionally to support:
I would say it’s gotten a lot better just in my, this is my third time being involved in that
planning of one, so it’s gotten a lot better, and I don't think we have more confidence as
the staff to bring it up even since I’ve started. I even have a column when I’m running
two committees for this conference, and I have a gender column, so I basically want
people to see the gender breakdown. We bring it up every time, to the point where you
could tell people may be getting annoyed, but we don’t care. I decided I’m going to be a
voice for this, a louder voice and it’s important to do so.
Respondent J spoke specifically to her scope of work influence:
I certainly think that we do a good job reminding committees of the importance of gender
diversity. But without a specific policy to back us up, these reminders lose their
influence. We do get pushback in certain areas of the conference where there are a
limited number of female subject matter experts such as with the plenary presentations.
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The respondents shared their personal efforts to influence the gender disparity at the conference
but felt unsupported to strongly push for that change when working with technical committee
members.
Observation
No observation was conducted for this influence due to limitations of in-person
gatherings from the COVID-19 pandemic. The general framework of the data collection of a
survey instrument and interviews broadly supported research objectives.
Document Analysis
Document analysis was not conducted for this influence.
Summary
The influence assumed BELL staff needed to believe gender parity will be resolved
through their own efforts. There was a clear indication of indecisiveness and inaction in all
interviews. They understood gender diversity was an essential aspect of the growth of the
conference, yet they felt they had little support to suggest and make change in the community to
technical volunteers. This asset was not validated as it did not meet the 50% threshold. It is a
need for process improvement.
Self-Efficacy
Perceived self-efficacy is concerned with people’s beliefs in their capabilities to produce
given attainments (Bandura, 1997). Pajares (2006) further explained self-efficacy measures an
individual’s feelings of self-worth and competence. Self-efficacy levels are based on a goal
mastery standard of achievement (Pajares, 2006). Due to the emphasis on goal setting, self-
efficacy measures can be dependent on the set achievement goals (Bandura, 2006).
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Influence 5: Training Self-Efficacy
BELL staff needed to have confidence in their ability to address career barriers female
LAMARR attendees face.
Survey Results
The survey question asked if the BELL staff have the confidence to address the career
barriers faced by female LAMARR conference attendees. Less than 50% of survey respondents
indicated they have that confidence. Survey results were split quite evenly on this influence as
33% of respondents selected were somewhat comfortable with their ability to address the career
challenges of women at the LAMARR conference. At the same time, 33% of respondents
disagreed with the question that stated they would not be confident in their ability to create
organizational change.
Figure 16 shows the confidence levels of the BELL staff to create organizational change
and meet the gender diversity goals of the LAMARR conference. Few could strongly agree on
their level of comfort and self-efficacy in the task.

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Figure 16

Confidence Levels of BELL Staff

Interview Findings
Seventy percent of interviewees indicated they were able to confidently articulate various
career paths for women in optical communications. Few individuals who were deeply involved
in various levels of conference programming were more comfortable than the others. Conference
programming was important, but so were other functions to run a successful conference (e.g.,
logistics, marketing, hospitality).
Respondent H, a senior leader in the BELL organization, provided additional context to the
worldview of the senior leadership team:
Internally among the key volunteers and constituents, I get to be somewhat of a
spokesperson or a torch bearer. Whenever I think I have the opportunity to continue to
advocate for gender diversity, I do so. As the conference management team, we have the
ability to at least raise awareness of the desire. So, whether that moves the needle or not, I
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would certainly hope that to be the case, but at least it’s something that I can continue to
put on the forefront, as we have those discussions with key volunteer leadership.
Respondent D, a team leader and experienced with the conference, was not able to explain the
career paths for women in optical communications but commented: “No, but I could imagine
they’re pretty extensive.” The comments noted the inconsistency in the organization of
knowledge of conference attendee career goals.
Observation
No observation was conducted for this influence due to limitations of in-person
gatherings from the COVID-19 pandemic. The general framework of the data collection of a
survey instrument and interviews broadly supported research objectives.
Document Analysis
Women’s nonlinear careers continued to be depicted as deviating from the ideal worker
norm. The nonlinear career path is particularly true in STEM professions where women have
been, and continue to be, underrepresented (Herman, 2015). The nonlinear career progress of
these women is daunting for women in STEM careers (Acker, 1990). Professional career
pathways in STEM organizations generally follow a linear hierarchical model with the ideal
worker being male; being continuously available for full-time employment (Acker, 1990); and
being internationally mobile, especially if they work in global companies or as scientific
researchers in academia (Ackers, 2004). Women with careers in STEM often face “frayed
careers” by making choices along the way in terms of family, work life norms, and opting out of
a career entirely (Herman, 2015). Knowing the frayed careers of women in STEM is important
information for BELL staff to understand. Without training documents or procedures to create
gender-neutral environments, the BELL staff appeared to be internally conflicted.
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Summary
The influence is a need as less than 50% of BELL staff have confidence in their ability to address
career barriers female LAMARR attendees face. The interviews revealed how silos in the
organization have been hindering this organizational change. There seemed to be finger pointing
in terms of who was responsible for achieving this goal of gender parity. The BELL staff were in
agreement in working toward it, but they have still been facing situations with technical
volunteers who value the importance of a diverse conference. BELL staff believed they were
capable of effectively working toward the shared goal regardless of their role in the organization.
Expectancy Value
Competence expectancy in expectancy value theory was developed by Atkinson (1964),
who found motivation is a function of expectations of success in each situation, and a value was
placed on an outcome accordingly. He further explained when expectancy of a result interacts
with value for the result, both are maximized (Atkinson, 1964).
Influence 6: Recognition of Task Value
BELL staff believed it was worthwhile to promote women in optical communications,
even though they may have failed to meet their female promotion target goal.
Survey Results
BELL staff strongly believed it was important to promote women in optical
communications, with 94% of respondents agreeing with the statement. The BELL staff largely
reported they felt it was important to promote women’s careers in optical communications.
Figure 17 details the staff inputs.

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Figure 17

Task Value of Promoting Women in Optical Communications

Interview Findings
One hundred percent of respondents felt it was important to promote women in optical
communications. Seventy percent of respondents felt BELL’s recent efforts in the past 2 years
had begun to make changes in the right direction with female targeted presentations, open
question-and-answer sessions, and the availability of childcare. All noted systemic organizational
change will take time. None, however, could commit to knowing specific, numerical, gender
diversity goals for the conference.
Respondent C offered a unique perspective as his position early on at BELL was to
support early career professionals who attended the LAMARR conference. In his role, he was
able to recognize the value of supporting women moving through their careers in optical
communications:
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So, it’s kind of a pipeline issue as well. When I started at BELL, I ran the student and
early career professional programming, and we can easily have 50% gender parity at
those events. But those people go on to master’s programs, PhD programs, and then go
into the field; that’s where we kind of lose it a little bit. Overall, I’d say we’re moving in
the right direction. I feel like we’re at a place where we’re plateauing a little bit, so we
need to figure out the next step.
Respondent H noted,
Gender diversity is a shared responsibility of women and men, not just to be women advocating
for women but men as well. There’s not enough ally training for men to talk about how to
promote gender diversity at conferences or in the workplace.
Both respondents offered opportunities to look at areas of improvement for staff in connecting
with mid-career professionals and ally training for staff on women in the optical communications
industry.
Observation
No observation was conducted for this influence due to limitations of in-person
gatherings from the COVID-19 pandemic. The general framework of the data collection of a
survey instrument and interviews broadly supported research objectives.
Document Analysis
Addressing gender inequity should be a primary consideration for all societies that host
conferences. Yet, many STEM conferences like LAMARR have been struggling with gender
biases and social identities (Sardelis et al., 2017). Though BELL employees agree that gender
parity is important, there is no document to guide them to achieve it. BELL staff looked to other
STEM conferences that had developed specific practices to support diversity programming at
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their conferences. Other professional societies have developed female-only conferences where
women can interact authentically with other women in the industry. This type of conference
modeling approach should be considered.
Summary
The assumed influence—BELL staff members needed to see the value of promoting women in
optical communications—was validated; therefore, it was considered an asset. According to
survey results, 94% of respondents clearly articulated the importance of this effort at the
conference.
Results and Findings for Organizational Causes
BELL organizational causes were assessed through a survey, interviews, and document
analysis. Results are presented in the following section for each assumed influence in the areas of
cultural models and cultural settings. Each assumed influence was determined to be an asset (i.e.,
validated) or determined to be a need (i.e., not validated) based on findings.
Cultural Models
Organizational culture affects all efforts to improve performance (Clark & Estes, 2008).
All performance improvement plans should account for the organization’s unique culture (Clark
& Estes, 2008). Influence 7 looked at cultural influences on organizational change efforts of
BELL staff to meet gender goals of the LAMARR conference.
Influence 7: Shared Procedural Understanding
BELL staff needed a shared understanding of processes and procedures with conference
committee organizers around gender diversity.
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Survey Results
Survey results revealed 57% of survey respondents believed BELL staff need a shared
understanding of processes and procedures with conference committee organizers around gender
diversity (see Figure 18). The other 43% did not know or strongly disagreed there was a shared
understanding of the goal.

Figure 18

BELL Staff Understanding of Gender Diversity Goals

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Interview Finding
All participants interviewed accepted planning processes of the LAMARR conference
needed to evolve to make on-site improvements of the diversity at the conference. They all stated
the BELL organization was supportive and had recently been providing necessary resources to
them to ensure initial steps to make the conference a more inclusive environment. Though BELL
staff were supportive of the efforts, 60% acknowledged they had worked with technical
volunteers who may not support their efforts or guidance toward a more inclusive conference.
Respondent C offered unique insights into how others in the organization felt about
pushing for gender parity:
The committee chairs and volunteers really struggle with having a woman who may not
be as acclaimed as their male colleagues. For example, if they haven’t published as many
papers as a peer because they took 5 years off to have a child, pursue an MBA, or
whatever might be. But why wouldn’t we want to promote this woman to speak, to help
elevate her career? Why don’t we use this meeting to elevate them? Diversity within the
plenary speakers is very visible. I think that that’s something we could be doing better. I
do think it’s a balancing act because it’s the volunteer driven kind of thing. As
organizers, we could be pushing a little bit more as well as having the partners say we
must have a woman as a plenary speaker every year.
Respondent J was candid about the difficulty to enforce gender parity in the planning process
from the BELL staff perspective:
If the strategic planning committee says, “sorry we’re not enforcing that,” then I can’t. If
the gender targets aren’t followed by the committee, I have no punishment. And if they
do meet it, I have no reward to honor their efforts
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Observation
No observation was conducted for this influence due to limitations of in-person
gatherings from the COVID-19 pandemic. The general framework of the data collection of a
survey instrument and interviews broadly supported research objectives.
Document Analysis
Document analysis was not conducted for this influence.
Summary
The assumed influence of BELL staff believed their goals of gender diversity were
aligned with conference technical committee members made this influence a validated asset.
Though they admitted there was room for process improvement, they believed early career
professionals were more open to pushing for conference diversity and inclusion. There were
several respondents who did not understand their direct influence on supporting change, which
indicated a gap in this motivation domain.
Cultural Settings
A. J. Elliot and Dweck (2005) explained the importance of taking organizational culture
into consideration with their definition of competence as “a fundamental motivation that serves
the evolutionary role of helping people develop and adapt to their environment” (p. 6). The
culture of the organization plays an important part of achieving stated goals (A. J. Elliot et al.,
2017).
Influence 8: Time for Alignment
The organization needed to provide more time for new BELL staff to develop mentoring
relationships with female members in the LAMARR community and other professional
scientists.
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Survey Results
Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents indicated the organization needs to provide
more time for new BELL staff to develop mentoring relationships with female members in the
LAMARR community and other professional scientists. Forty-four percent agreed they had the
time to develop mentoring relationships with female members of the LAMARR community.
Forty-four percent of respondents indicated they did not have sufficient time or strongly
disagreed they had the time available.
Time is a resource within organizations (Clark & Estes, 2008). This influence looked at
the BELL staff time as it related to having more available time to connect with female
conference attendees. This relationship is important to understand because the more women the
staff knew personally, the more likely the staff were to have a stronger level of self-efficacy in
supporting the gender diversity goals. Figure 19 indicates the staff felt they had adequate time to
connect.
Figure 19

Time Availability for Process Alignment

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Interview Findings
For this influence, respondents’ answers varied greatly. Three of 10 respondents
mentioned there was no time to push for new, different gender-based programming because they
did not have internal support and resources. Another commented the planning cycle was short
due to their other responsibilities in the organization, and they did not have time to “reinvent the
wheel.” Seven of 10 respondents explained COVID-19 had altered their responsibilities during
the workday; consequently, they could only focus on daily activities. Customer demands to
deliver global content with diversity were measured against various country representation and
not gender.
Respondent B, a team director, talked about resources and available time while working
from home during COVID-19:
I feel like we're on the right track. I think we just need more resources and time to focus
on diversity programming. I am working from home now due to COVID and there is no
time in my day to focus on anything but my daily deliverables. It will take time and
energy spent towards this if it is really something that we want to fix or be better.
Respondent G, a frontline manager, offered a unique perspective as she was the lead of
the conference programming in the exhibit hall:
It is part of the discussion. I don’t think that it’s a main priority, and if I’m being
completely frank, I think that it should be. We’ve gotten burned in the past in the media
for the lack of gender diversity. I don’t know if it’s top of mind because we don’t want
negative attention, or if it’s genuinely what we’re after in terms of goal. This year we
have three male general chairs or three male program chairs, and the first thing that staff
realized was the optics of this from the gender perspective. In my view, the approach is
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reactive as opposed to proactive, and we don’t take the time earlier on to plan for gender
diversity. We should have been able to see several years out that this year would
highlight all men in leadership positions and adjust for it. No one took the time early in
the planning process.
Observation
No observation was conducted for this influence due to limitations of in-person
gatherings from the COVID-19 pandemic. The general framework of the data collection of a
survey instrument and interviews broadly supported research objectives.
Document Analysis
Document analysis was not conducted for this influence.
Summary
The assumed influence is a validated need as the 50% threshold was not met. BELL staff
need more time from regular daily responsibilities to have time to align general processes and
procedures to meet the gender goal. There was not alignment among the staff as they all
provided different reasons for the lack of alignment. The organization also did not have time-
bound, measurable goals for gender diversity, but rather general policies that were not properly
enforceable in this context.
Summary of Validated Influences
Lewin (1951) believed organizational change to be “a transition between a current and
future desired state,” (p. 231). Organizational change can occur due to a variety of influences
such as mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, labor shortages, and technological improvements
(Clark & Estes, 2008). The following influences have been validated during the research process.
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Knowledge
As shown in Table 5, 3 of 3 assumed knowledge influences were validated as assets
through the survey, interviews, and document analysis. Recommendations to improve the
knowledge influences determined to be needs will be discussed in Chapter 5.

Table 5

Validation of Knowledge Influences
Assumed Knowledge Influences Validated (Asset) or Not Validated (Need)
Factual:
BELL staff need to identify the types of skills required
to align for a change in gender diversity.

BELL staff know facts about the gender disparity at the
LAMARR conference.
Validated (asset)

Validated (asset)

Procedural:
BELL staff need to know the steps of women’s career
progression in the optical communications industry.
Validated (asset)

Motivation
As shown in Table 6, 2 of 3 assumed motivation influences were validated as assets
through interviews and document analysis. Recommendations to improve the motivation
influence determined to be a need will be discussed in Chapter 5.

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Table 6

Validation of Motivational Influences
Assumed Motivation Influences Validated (Asset) or Not Validated (Need)
Attribution theory:
The BELL staff believe gender disparity will be
resolved by their own efforts.
Not validated (need)
Self-efficacy:
BELL staff need to have confidence in their ability
to address the career barriers facing female
LAMARR attendees.
Not validated (need)
Expectancy value theory:
The BELL staff believe it is worthwhile to promote
women in optical communications, even though they
may fail to meet their female promotion target goal.
Validated (asset)

Organization
As shown in Table 7, 1 of 2 assumed organizational influences was validated as an asset
through a survey, interviews, and document analysis. Chapter 5 includes recommendations for
how to improve assumed influences that were not validated in findings of this study. Theory
based recommendations are shared with BELL’s management team and the LAMARR
conference leadership team.

Table 7

Validation of Organizational Influences
Assumed Organizational Influences Validated (Asset) or Not Validated (Need)
Cultural model influence:
BELL staff need a shared understanding of processes
and procedures with conference committee
organizers around gender diversity.
Validated (asset)
Cultural setting influence:
The organization needs to provide more time for new
BELL staff to develop mentoring relationships with
female members in the LAMARR community and
other professional scientists.
Not validated (need)
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Chapter Five: Recommendations and Evaluation
Purpose of the Research and Questions
The intent of this study was to determine factors that influence the gender disparity at the
LAMARR (pseudonym) conference and the goal of gender parity by 2023 by conducting a gap
analysis that examined the knowledge and motivation of the BELL (pseudonym) professional
society staff. The analysis began by generating a list of possible or assumed interfering
influences that were examined systematically to focus on actual or validated interfering
influences. Although a complete gap analysis would have focused on all the stakeholders, the
only stakeholders I focused on in this study were BELL staff. Research questions that guided the
study were the following:
1. What are the BELL staff knowledge and motivation needs related to increasing the
number of gender diversity programs at LAMARR in alignment with its conference
diversity goals?
2. What is the intersection between BELL’s organizational culture and context and BELL
staff’s knowledge and motivation?
3. What are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) solutions
available to address needs of BELL staff?
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
For this evaluation, the Clark and Estes’s (2008) KMO influence model was used to
assess reasons for the gender disparity of the LAMARR conference. Clark and Estes explained
these “influences represent what organizational stakeholders understand and their intrinsic ability
to reach both their personal stakeholder and organizational goals,” (p. 17). When an organization
lacks specific performance goals, employees tend to focus on tasks that help them advance in
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their own careers as opposed to tasks that help the organization achieve its goals. Clark and Estes
(2008) conveyed that to understand the stakeholder knowledge, a person should use inquiry to
identify a baseline of current understanding. Clark and Estes (2008) recommended identifying
the shared goal and explained that all team members contribute individually and significantly to
the goal achievement. For this research, I used a gap analysis through the process of inquiry to
increase the specific stakeholder understanding of the knowledge gap.
Clark and Estes’s (2008) KMO model was used to identify influences behind the
stakeholder knowledge gap and was integral in the development of both results and findings for
the inquiry. Additionally, the new world Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016)
served as a means for evaluating recommendations based on findings. This model provided the
baseline for integrating this change into the inquiry so stakeholders and the organization could
move forward to use recommendations to close the gender gap and reach the goal of gender
parity at the LAMARR conference.
The assumed KMO influences in the following tables demonstrate gaps through survey
results, interviews, and document analysis. As detailed in the tables, each influence has been
designated high priority to achieve the organization’s goal. An evidence-based approach was
used to identify and guide context-based recommendations to move forward performance goals
in these areas. Additionally, a detailed analysis and discussion are provided for each influence.
Knowledge Recommendations
As shown in Table 8, 3 of 6 knowledge influences were determined to be actual needs
during data collection. BELL staff need to identify the types of skills required to align for a
change in gender diversity. A recommendation rooted in Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) has
been selected guided on four functional levels – reaction, learning, behavior, and results (pg. xii).
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How individuals personalize and conceptualize knowledge influences how they learn and
confidently apply what they know (Ambrose et al., 2010). Therefore, the recommendation is to
provide staff with an informational pamphlet on topics of diversity and inclusion—diversity
program planning. More specifically, one procedural knowledge influence and one conceptual
knowledge influence were determined to be needed for the organization. Three knowledge
influences that remained classified as needs; evidence-based principles were identified to guide
context-based recommendations for improving performance in these areas.

Table 8

Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Priority Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendation
Factual:
BELL staff need to
identify the types of
skills required to align
for a change in gender
diversity.
High How individuals organize
knowledge influences
affects how they learn
and confidently apply
what they know
(Ambrose et al., 2010).
Provide staff with an
informational pamphlet
on topics of diversity
and inclusion, and
diversity program
planning.

Factual:
BELL staff know facts
about the gender
disparity at the
LAMARR Conference.

High Inaccurate prior
knowledge or flawed
beliefs or theories can
distort new knowledge
causing individuals to
discount evidence they
believe to be true
(Ambrose et al., 2010).
Provide staff with a
glossary of terms on
diversity-related topics
through meetings or
round table discussions.
Procedural:
BELL staff need to know
the steps for women's
career progression in
the optical
communications
industry.

High To activate prior
knowledge and develop
mastery, individuals
must acquire
component skills,
practice integrating
them, and know how to
apply what they have
learned (Ambrose et
al., 2010).
Provide opportunities for
staff to visit different
workplace
environments of
women in the optical
communications
industry to gain
insights on available
career paths.
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Factual Knowledge Solutions
Three of 3 knowledge influences demonstrated need in the factual area. BELL staff knew
facts about the gender disparity at the LAMARR conference. Conceptual knowledge is the ability
to refer to known knowledge and apply it to other situations and contexts (Ambrose et al., 2010).
This knowledge base is organized into two subcategories: (a) conceptual knowledge, which
focuses on making connections in patterns; and (b) factual knowledge, which focuses on the
awareness of what is known (Clark & Estes, 2008). The recommendation is to develop a
resource library of information on diverse organizations and change management.
Ambrose et al. (2010) recommended learning information in a meaningful way that
connects it with prior knowledge so the information is remembered more accurately because it
relates to prior knowledge. Knowledge organizations that are collaborative and interconnected
are more effective in supporting learning and performance (Ambrose et al., 2010). BELL is at its
core a knowledge organization as a professional society, and knowledge organizations are
helpful (Ambrose et al., 2010). The organization has an opportunity to continue to add to the
knowledge of staff and become another resource for scientific professional societies and
members they support.
Clark and Estes (2008) described information as new knowledge that reduces people’s
uncertainty about how to achieve a performance goal. Once knowledge is attained, learning skills
are essential to distinguish irrelevant information and relate relevant information to stored
memory (Sternberg, 1985). One-way learners can organize their new knowledge is by creating
their own concept map (Ambrose et al., 2010). For visual learners, a concept mapping acidity
can reveal a learner’s prior knowledge and assess for knowledge acquisition.
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Procedural Knowledge Solutions
Three of 3 knowledge influences demonstrated needs in the procedural area. BELL staff
need to know the steps for women's career progression in the optical communications industry.
Without this knowledge, it is difficult to align processes and procedures for organizational
change. Elliot et al. (2017) instructed procedural knowledge in the workplace does “build upon
itself from managing oneself, managing others, and managing a task” (p. 14). Ambrose et al.
(2010) explained how learning can be more successful when the organizational leadership
believes the content is important, and individuals are allowed the time to practice the skill.
Instructional scaffolding, coaching, and modeling are active learning strategies.
Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development defines the optimal level of learning for an
individual that can be accomplished with assistance from another person or group (Ambrose et
al., 2010). Namely that individuals learn best when working together with others during joint
collaboration, it is through such collaborative endeavors with more skilled persons that learners
learn and internalize new concepts, psychological tools, and skills (Vygotsky, 1962). The idea is
after completing the task jointly, the learner will likely be able to complete the same task
individually next time, and through that process, the learner’s level of competence of the task
will have increased. This process is then repeated at the higher level of task difficulty that the
learner’s new zone of proximal development requires (Campbell, 2008).
The recommendation is to provide a job aide on the steps women need to follow to
progress in the optical communications industry. Ericsson (1996) wrote, “The novice works
competence, and then expertise, through deliberate practice” (p. 363). Practice will guide
employees to overcome context dependence and better prepare them to transfer their skills across
multiple settings and in the broader portfolio of scientific conferences managed by BELL staff
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(A. J. Elliot et al., 2017). At the same time, models of other conferences where gender parity has
been reached will be shared.
Motivation Recommendations
Clark and Estes (2008) postulated motivation consists of three essential factors: “(a)
choice, (b) persistence, and (c) mental effort” (p. 81). First, active choice is the decision to
actively work toward a set goal. Second, persistence is the consistent work toward achieving a
goal, despite distraction or barriers. Third, mental effort is the determined effort to learn the new
skill or task in an innovative way (Clark & Estes, 2008). Competence and performance are
enhanced when these motivational factors combine with knowledge and work to shape a
learner’s self-concept (Conroy et al., 2009). The learner’s self-concept also ties to the individual
emotion and investment in learning the skill. Emotions are transient states that vary over time
and across situations (Fleeson, 2001). Research in individual anticipatory levels of pride have
revealed individual differences in achievement motivation (Elliot et al., 2017).
As shown in Table 9, 1 of 3 assumed motivation influences were determined to be actual
needs during data collection. More specifically, the motivational influences of attribution and
expectancy value theory were determined to be an area where improvement was needed.
However, the motivational influence of self-efficacy was determined to be an asset in which
improvement was not needed. Table 9 lists the priority, principal, and recommendations.
Following the table, there is a detailed description for the high priority cause, recommendations
moving forward, and the literature that supports the recommendation.

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Table 9

Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Motivation
Influence
Priority Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendation
Attribution:
The BELL staff believe
gender disparity will be
resolved by their own
efforts.

Self-efficacy:
BELL staff need to have
confidence in their
ability to address the
career barriers facing
female LAMARR
attendees.
High

Low

Achievement motive, the incentive is
doing something better or
improving on a task; in the case of
the power motive, it is having an
impact on other people or the
world at large (Schultheiss, 2001).

N/A
Provide BELL staff with
attributional retraining
in current planning
processes observed for
gender parity, then
determined to be
deliberate, and the
impact shown as the
staff members direct
efforts.

N/A

Expectancy value:
The BELL staff believe it
is worthwhile to
promote women in
optical
communications, even
though they may fail to
meet their female
promotion target goal.

High

Learning and motivation have the
potential to be enhanced when
individuals attribute success or
failure to effort rather than ability
(Meece et al., 2006).

Provide BELL staff
opportunities to choose
to work with others in
support of a variety of
gender diversity efforts
commensurate with
collective skill sets.

Attribution
The BELL staff need to believe gender disparity will be resolved by their own efforts. A
recommendation rooted in attribution theory has been selected. With relation to achievement
motive, the incentive is doing something better or improving on a task for the impact of the
world at large (Schultheiss, 2001). The recommendation then is to provide BELL staff with
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training in current planning processes observed for gender parity, with the intent to highlight
staff members' direct efforts.
Motivation in the workplace results from shared experience and beliefs about oneself,
coworkers, and prospects for being successful (Clark & Estes, 2008). Clark and Estes (2008)
revealed the root motivation of “influencing all human behavior is a desire to be effective in our
lives” (p. 83). Further, they explained that individuals choose, persist, and expend mental effort
on activities that appear to have the most impact. Pajares (2006) took the concept of mental
effort one step further to explain the reciprocal nature of human functioning in social cognitive
theory, which works to create intrinsic motivation when a previous success has been achieved by
creating a perceived value for attribution. Employees who feel confident in their abilities to make
organizational change will positively anticipate the expected outcome (Pajares, 2006). Positive
emotions (e.g., happiness and joy in the office) will support work commitments (Clark & Estes,
2008).
Positive attribution levels of BELL staff in working toward the gender diversity goal will
continue to increase with collaborative support from the LAMARR volunteer committees,
aligned procedures, and positive support from BELL senior leadership. The recommendation is
to provide BELL staff with attributional retraining in current planning processes observed for
gender parity, with the intent to highlight staff members direct efforts.
Expectancy Value
The BELL staff need to believe it is worthwhile to promote women in optical
communications, even though they may fail to meet their female promotion target goal. A
recommendation from expectancy value theory has been selected. Learning and motivation have
the potential to be enhanced when individuals attribute success or failure to effort rather than
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ability (Meece et al., 2006). The recommendation is to provide BELL staff opportunities to
choose to work with others in support of a variety of gender diversity efforts commensurate with
collective skill sets.
Belief that it is worthwhile to promote women in optical communications, even though
they may fail to meet their female promotion target goal, will lead staff toward a positive
expectation for success (Ambrose et al., 2010). The belief in personal agency is an important
influence and drives motivation at the individual level (Ambrose et al., 2010). The “doing
orientation,” as Kluckhon and Strodtbeck (1961) explained, describes a “We can do it” business
orientation for organizations. Organizations driven by this assumption seem to grow in the
markets in which they invest for the long term (Schein, 2010).
Self-Efficacy
All self-efficacy influences were determined to be assets in which improvement was not
needed at this time.
Organizational Recommendations
Clark and Estes (2008) guided that organizational culture inescapably affects attempts to
improve organizational performance. To successfully implement a performance improvement
plan, specific organizational culture needs to be taken into consideration (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Leadership in organizations is the management of the culture (Schein, 2010). For an organization
to be successful in meeting its stated goals, workers must feel invested in meeting normative
performance standards (Elliot et al., 2017). Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) offered
organizational culture that consists of two components: (a) cultural models and (b) cultural
settings. Both cultural models and cultural settings are constrained and enabled by the ecological
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niche in which they reside (Weisner, 1984). When addressed together with knowledge and
motivation, positive organizational change is possible (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Culture represents the personality of an organization, which has a major influence on
both employee satisfaction and organizational success (Kane-Urrabazo, 2006). Cultural setting is
a social construct of an organization and a place where individuals come together to carry out
joint tasks that work to accomplish something they value (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001).
There is no one omnipotent culture that proves successful year after year without change (Kane-
Urrabazo, 2006). Culture in an organization is very important because it plays a large role in
whether the organization is a happy, healthy place in which to work. Though many managers
acknowledged the significance of culture, few realized roles and responsibilities they have in its
development (Schein, 2010). In this research, open-ended interview questions were asked to
assess whether BELL staff felt the organizational cultural setting created a structure that
facilitated the creation of collaboration and support of the goal of gender parity at the LAMARR
conference.
Cultural models as described by Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) are normative
understandings of how the world works or ought to work. The concept incorporates behavioral
(i.e., activity) as well as cognitive and affective components. Cultural models can be described as
“tools for the mind” (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Cole (1985) suggested that a cultural
model may share ways of perceiving, thinking, and storing possible responses to adaptive
challenges and changing conditions. Cultural models are so familiar they are often invisible and
unnoticed by those who hold them (Cole, 1985). Cultural models define for individuals the way
things are and should be, those taken-for-granted assumptions are only noticed when visiting a
society with markedly different models. According to Shore (1998), models develop gradually
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from collectively transmitted information and unique and shared experiences. Table 9 lists the
cause, priority, principle, and recommendations. Table 10 is a detailed description about the
cause with recommendations for future action and literature to support the recommendation
provided.

Table 10

Summary of Cultural Setting Organizational Influence and Recommendations
Assumed Organizational
Influence
Priority Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendation
Cultural model:
BELL staff need a shared
understanding of
processes and
procedures with
conference committee
organizers around
gender diversity.

High It is possible to use cultures to
align organizations together for
important policies, procedures,
and communication in an
organization to inform
decisions and achieve shared
goals (Clark & Estes, 2008).

Effective change efforts allocate
resources and adapt them when
necessary, to support the
organization’s intended culture
(Clark & Estes, 2008).
The BELL staff who
support the LAMARR
conference, together
with leadership and
cosponsoring
professional societies,
evaluate the shared
gender diversity goals
of the conference to
ensure the resources are
available to achieve
strategic organizational
goals.
Cultural setting:
The organization needs to
provide more time for
new BELL staff to
develop mentoring
relationships with
female members in the
LAMARR community
and other professional
scientists.
Low N/A N/A

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Cultural Models
BELL staff need a shared understanding of processes and procedures with conference
committee organizers around gender diversity. The recommendation has been selected from
organizational change theory of cultural models, specifically Charles Handy’s “task culture”
(Handy, 1993, as cited in Cacciattolo, 2014). In this culture, employees are job oriented by task.
This culture is present in organizations where individuals work as a team, and power is derived
only from expertise and only when required (Handy, 1993). It is possible to use cultures to align
organizations together for important policies, procedures, and communication in an organization
to inform decisions and achieve shared goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). Furthermore, effective
change efforts allocate resources and adapt them when necessary to support the organization’s
intended culture (Clark & Estes, 2008). The recommendation is then for the BELL staff who
support the LAMARR conference, together with cosponsoring professional societies, to evaluate
the shared gender diversity goals of the conference to ensure resources are available to achieve
strategic organizational goals.
Clark and Estes (2008) wrote effective change efforts, allocated proper resources, and
adapted them where necessary to the organization’s culture, and “the performance improves
when the organizational goals, policies and procedures are aligned to the organizational culture”
(p. 122). The most outwardly visible parts of an organization are the daily, weekly, and monthly
cycles of planning, procedures, reports, and other tasks completed to achieve the organizational
goal (Schein, 2010). At the same time, planning and procedures in organizations lend structural
support, which is organically grown in an ambiguous environment. Collaboration across levels of
an organization is essential to reach intended goals. Meinert (2019) wrote leaders are conductors
who help a group of talented individuals work in harmony so they can reach new levels.
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Additional support of the recommendation indicates that effective change management
efforts are necessary to implement change and align goals, policies, and new procedures in the
organizational structure. If organizational leaders fail to design procedures as reinforcement
mechanisms for shared goals, they keep the door open for inconsistencies in the culture that
conflict with the initial shared goals (Schein, 2010.) Conversely, when management decisions
are supported and aligned with the organizational culture, results can be extraordinary (Clark &
Estes, 2008). BELL staff, the BELL leadership team, and LAMARR technical volunteers must
move forward with a clear understanding and transparency of the organization’s gender diversity
goals and collaborate on the improvement path together.
Summary of KMO Recommendations
The knowledge influences identified in this research should be implemented in a
purposeful way moving forward. BELL staff should be provided with professional development
and learning opportunities through internal and external resources. This cross-functional
approach will work to facilitate new processes and procedures, while ensuring the knowledge
transfer spans all levels of the organization. Training opportunities should work toward mastery
and skill development based on gender inclusion in the workplace. At the same time, new
employees who support the LAMARR conference should be trained on conference technologies,
attendees, and culture of the conference. The BELL staff should have the opportunity to practice
and receive meaningful feedback to lead them to procedural knowledge development.
BELL staff should assess and implement motivation recommendations to improve
feelings of connectedness and attribution when they review successes and failures. BELL senior
leadership and the LAMARR volunteers should evaluate gender diversity goals, especially the
organizational goal for gender parity by 2023, and make necessary adjustments to reach the
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stated goal. Key performance indicators BELL staff should be measured against for conference
attendance should be directly correlated with conference attendance growth goals. In turn,
growth targets should be tied to the overall profit to BELL as the managing organization.
Based on this research, organizational recommendations include establishing policies for
gender diversity at the LAMARR conference and creating a supportive work environment in
terms of resources and culture. The BELL organization should work to establish practices that
promote the broader LAMARR conference goal of reaching gender parity at the conference.
Current time resource allocation should be collected and analyzed to better understand the actual
resources available for gender inclusion tactics to support the conference. Finally, BELL senior
leadership and technical volunteers who support the conference should be encouraged to
frequently collaborate and review attendance goals to methodically address BELL staff support
needs.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
BELL, a global physics, and engineering-based professional society of 25,000 members,
promotes the generation, dissemination, and application of optics and photonics knowledge.
BELL serves the global community through in-person and virtual events, scientific publishing,
education, advocacy, and outreach programs. This mission reflects the emphasis of customer
satisfaction at all career levels and the intrinsic motivation to continuously increase service
offerings to achieve the organizational goal of supporting the optical sciences industry. Prior to
the COVID-19 pandemic and taking the conference to a virtual format, the LAMARR
conference averaged 10% –11% female conference attendees. This number remained stable
despite more intentional opportunities for new career professional women to attend. Immediate
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internal stakeholders who were the most affected by this problem included BELL senior
leadership and marketing teams who are responsible for growing conference attendance. While
joint efforts of all BELL staff will contribute to the overall goal of reaching gender parity, it is
important to evaluate how the internal organization at BELL is set up to reach the performance
goal. The stakeholder goal of gender parity at the conference through marketing and grant
opportunities will contribute to reaching the gender parity goal. Through process and procedures
realignment, BELL staff will feel more supported to strive for success in their positions.
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
This implementation and evaluation plan was guided by the Kirkpatrick model
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The Kirkpatrick model was developed by Dr. Donald
Kirkpatrick early in his career to monitor the impact training has on an organization. It has stood
the test of time in the training industry, and since then has been enhanced by Kirkpatrick’s son
and daughter-in-law (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Kirkpatrick developed the model with
the intent of “the end is the beginning,” which guides the notion that effective organizational
training must keep the end goal in mind. The training should work backwards toward the
participants’ reaction, learning, behavior, and results.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) indicated, “Well-received training provides relevant
knowledge and skills to the participants and the confidence to apply them on the job” (p. 5). The
four levels of the Kirkpatrick model include (a) Level 4: Results, or the degree to which targeted
outcomes occur as a result of training and support; (b) Level 3: Behavior, or the degree to which
participants apply what they learned through training at work; (c) Level 2: Learning, or the
degree to which participants acquire intended knowledge and skills to confidently move forward
in their positions; and (d) Level 1: Reaction, or the degree to which participants find the training
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to be useful and relevant to their jobs (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The four levels are
planned in reverse order to put emphasis on implementation outcomes during the planning phase.
The value of the Kirkpatrick model is to design the implementation and evaluation plan through
the four levels by creating the connection between solutions along the way (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Kirkpatrick developed the original model in 1954 as an outcome-focused model. His
original intent was to explain training success or lack of success. The model, however
thoughtful, did not account for influences that may impede or facilitate achievement of the
organization’s goals (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The Kirkpatrick model broadened the
original model and added in the inclusion of processes that work to promote or hinder the
application of learned knowledge or skills. The new model also built upon elements of
participants’ confidence levels, commitment to the training, and engagement in the training
process (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) described Level 4 as: Results being the primary
reason why organizational training is performed. The work of Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick that
connects contributions of the training to outcomes brings greater value to the organization. Every
organization has one Level 4 result. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s Level 4 evaluations seem to
measure the degree by which targeted outcomes and changes in performance are attributed to the
application of knowledge and skills gained because of the training. Leading indicators, both at
the organizational and individual levels, each contribute to organizational achievement.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick defined leading indicators as “short term observations and
measurements that provide a metric to determine whether or not critical behaviors will positively
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influence the organization’s desired results” (p. 12). Identifying and measuring results can be
challenging. Therefore, this results piece must directly tie back to the organization’s mission and
goals.
At Level 4, an organization focuses on internal and external indicators, which work to
keep organizational goals or initiatives on track. For the BELL team at a Level 4, individuals will
work to align shared conference planning processes in the organization and provide a cross
connection of training, goal orientation, and result performance. For this research study, internal
indicators were defined as individual, departmental, and organizational outcomes. External
indicators included members, conference attendees, and market and industry responses. For
nonprofit organizations, such as BELL, Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) advised the focus of
training procedures should be on achieving a goal while responsibly using the resources
available. The proposed leading external and internal indicators, metrics, and methods are shown
in Table 11.

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Table 11

Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
Achieve gender parity at the
LAMARR Conference
Gender goal set and achieved Gender data of an industry survey
reports gender parity in the
industry.
All genders feel supported and
empowered to work in optical
communications
Number of programs in place to
achieve this
Workgroup teaming with different
companies and organizations
within the industry.
Increase in number of women
employed in optical
communications
Number of women pursuing
degrees in optical
communications and related
subjects
Annual graduation data
Increase in revenue of the optical
communications industry
Monitor of Profit & Loss Statement
and/or Balance Sheets of relevant
organizations
Monthly Financial Report
Internal Outcomes
Support gender-based programming
earlier in the conference planning
process
Existence of gender and diversity
goals at every planning
checkpoint
Weekly check-in of planning team;
reporting on diversity initiatives
Increase interactions and
collaborations between
departments in the organization
supporting the conference
Number of interactions and
collaborations between
departments in the organization
supporting the conference

Report on number of interactions to
BELL leadership weekly
Increase in awareness of gender and
diversity efforts and importance
Number of gender supportive
programs annually
Quarterly reporting of key
performance indicators

Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors in leadership can include such acts as inspiring change or productivity,
getting others focused on solutions, and motivating others without formal authority (Georgia
Institute of Technology, 2020). Marsick (1987) summarized characteristics of behavior in the
workplace learning as: (a) performance outcomes, which can be observed and quantified; (b)
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training is designed with clear lines of authority, delegation, and control; (c) training is
developed to meet individual needs; (d) training measures individuals against standard, expert-
derived norms; (e) problem solving emphasizes rationality and step-by-step procedures; (f)
training occurs as classroom-based, formal group activities; and (g) trainers focus on learning
environments, which will sustain outcomes.
Critical Behaviors
Level 3 of the Kirkpatrick model can be described as the most important level because
training alone will not lead to successful organizational change; Level 3 is the point of
disruption. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) defined it as the point “to which participants
apply what they learned during training when they are back on the job” (p. 50). Properly defining
Level 3 is imperative to measurable training success.
The Kirkpatrick model Level 3 consists of critical drivers, required drivers of change, and
real-time learning. Critical behaviors need to follow a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,
and time-bound direction (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Too many behaviors can hinder an
organization as employees become confused as to what will have a positive impact on the
organization and their careers. The most critical behaviors are those that have been identified as
most important to achieving organizational success.
In this research study, the stakeholder of focus was the BELL staff who worked to
support the planning and execution of the LAMARR conference. BELL staff identified three
critical behaviors they must demonstrate to achieve the performance goal of gender parity at the
conference. The first step is for BELL staff to define observable and measurable departmental
goals and align results for process improvements. Second, BELL staff must create processes that
reinforce the importance of the goal, monitor for improvements to the goal, and encourage
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employees to strive to achieve the goal. Third, BELL staff must create processes to partner with
technical volunteers who support the conference to align processes to achieve set goals. The
critical behaviors, metrics, methods, and timing are shown in Table 12.

Table 12

Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
BELL staff define
measurable
departmental goals and
targeted results for
process alignment and
improvement
Number of departmental
goals developed to
measure the
effectiveness of
focused efforts on
gender parity
The BELL leadership
team actively reviews
the overall planning
process of the
LAMARR conference
Weekly status reports on
departmental goals,
reported to the BELL
leadership team
BELL staff create
planning processes that
reinforce and monitor
employees who
collaborate and strive
to meet the gender
diversity goals.
Number of departmental
processes created
linked directly to
achieving gender goals
and achieving gender
parity at the LAMARR
conference
The BELL leadership
team will review a
summary of the
processes the BELL
staff created that
contribute directly to
the improvement of the
gender disparity at the
conference
Annual status report by
BELL to the LAMARR
steering committee
following each
conference event
Create opportunities for
BELL staff to partner
with conference
technical volunteers to
work toward shared
gender goals.
Number of times BELL
staff meet with
LAMARR conference
leadership specifically
on gender-based goals
for the conference
The BELL leadership
team and the
LAMARR steering
committee will review
the progress BELL
achieved on gender
parity in a specific time
period
Monthly status report to
technical volunteers
and the LAMARR
leadership team

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Required Drivers
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) defined required drivers as “processes and systems
that reinforce, monitor, encourage, and reward performance of critical behaviors on the job” (p.
14). Common examples include coaching, job aides, work reviews, and pay-for-performance
systems in recognition of positive performance. The use of required drivers supports the
development of real-time application of what is learned during training. They work to decrease
the likelihood of employees falling behind or deliberately roadblocking their own performance.
Organizations that work to reinforce knowledge and skills learned during training with
accountability measures in place can expect higher levels of performance, as much as 85%
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Most importantly, organizations must identify required
drivers by tactic, support learners’ needs, and hold them accountable for executing what they
learned following the training (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Table 13 lists the
recommended drivers that support achieving gender parity at the LAMARR conference.

Table 13

Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3
Reinforcing:
Review BELL staff roles and
responsibilities in planning the
LAMARR conference
Monthly 2 and 3
Departmental meetings at the same
time to promote collaboration
among team members
Weekly 2 and 3
Provide BELL staff with job aides
and training on customer
satisfaction and process
Ongoing 1, 2, and 3
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Method(s) Timing Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3
alignment
Encouraging:
Provide BELL staff with
attributional retraining in current
planning processes observed for
gender parity, then determined to
be deliberate, and the impact
shown as the staff members
direct efforts.
Monthly 2
Provide BELL staff with
opportunities to meet with the
technical volunteers to foster
collaboration efforts
Monthly 2
Create opportunities for peer review
and informal mentoring from
BELL staff with each other
Monthly 3
Rewarding:
Motivational solutions are focused
on demonstrating high ability and
competition can increase the
performance and motivation for
some individuals. The BELL
staff have the option to choose to
support the gender diversity
efforts. The achievement motive
of BELL staff must be reviewed
in this context.
Monthly 2
Gender parity success correlated to
a bonus system
Ongoing 2 and 3
Recognition of BELL staff positive
work results to the LAMARR
leadership
Ongoing 2 and 3
Monitoring:
BELL staff report their progress to
achieve departmental goals to the
BELL leadership team
Monthly 2 and 3
BELL staff report their progress to
achieve gender parity to the
BELL leadership and the
LAMARR conference leadership
Weekly 2 and 3
The BELL staff who support the
LAMARR conference, together
Weekly 2 and 3
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Method(s) Timing Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3
with cosponsoring professional
societies, together evaluate the
shared gender diversity goals of
the conference to ensure the
resources are available to achieve
strategic organizational goals.

Organizational Support
Internal organizational support methods must be planned to ensure required drivers are
implemented in BELL. The BELL leadership team and the entire LAMARR conference
organization play an important role in supporting BELL staff and holding them accountable to
execute on gender parity goals. The leadership team should actively participate and guide BELL
staff’s progress and to provide proper support with resources when needed. Resources may
include monetary resources for training and collaboration across departments. The BELL
leadership team should also facilitate an internal culture and setting for BELL staff to feel
comfortable to review departmental policies that are either out of alignment with their
departmental goals or not synchronized with larger organizational goals. Finally, an agreement to
develop a proper review and action plan for providing ongoing information to all stakeholders
should be developed leading to continuous improvement of the LAMARR conference disparity.
Level 2: Learning
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) defined learning as “the degree to which individuals
acquire the intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence and commitment based on their
participation in training” (p. 42). Training works to bridge the gap between learning and behavior
and prevent a cycle of waste when employees are repeatedly trained for underperforming on
what they were taught.
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Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) shared that knowledge is the degree to which
participants know certain information and acknowledge it with the phrase “I know it.” Skill is
demonstrated by participants who stated they knew how to perform a certain task, as
communicated with the phrase, “I can do it now.” Unfortunately, organizations can make the
common and pricey misstep of inaccurately diagnosing poor performance as a lack of knowledge
or skill. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick explained how underperforming employees are continually
offered training opportunities with the belief they do not know what to do in the position, when
in reality the performance issues align more closely with lack of motivation or other
environmental factors. A motivated employees’ attitude is characterized by the phrase, “I believe
it will be worthwhile” to act in their current position. Confidence is exhibited through the phrase
“I think I can do it on the job,” and participants believe they can execute what they learned
during the training on the job. Addressing confidence issues during training brings learners
closer to the desired performance metric.
The BELL staff need to understand potential application barriers so they can be resolved
before they hinder performance. To further train the BELL staff on gender inequalities in optical
communications, informational concept maps and job aides will be used to support the learning
goals. Concept mapping presents knowledge about organizations visually (Ambrose et al., 2010).
Concept maps will be used to explain career paths of women in optical communications. Once
the broader career path is clear, job aides will be developed as reference documents for the
BELL staff to help implement what they have learned. Job aides can guide decision making to
achieve the stated gender goals of the LAMARR conference (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Finally, commitment is defined as “the degree to which learners intend to apply the
knowledge and skills learned during training” (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 47). It is
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characterized by the phrase, “I will do it on the job.” Commitment refers to the learner’s
motivation to master skills and knowledge and use the information while performing daily tasks
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016.) In summary, learning as described by Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2016) should bring together attributes of shared learning goals, implementation, and
evaluation.
Learning Goals
Objectives are recommended solutions based on KMO needs identified in Chapter 4.
Upon completion of the staff training program, BELL staff will be able to execute the following:
1. Apply steps to align processes and procedures to achieve goals (K-P).
2. Explain influence and outcomes of disconnects on the LAMARR goal of
improving the gender disparity (K-C).
3. Reflect on their progress of aligning their respective planning procedures (K-P).
4. Attribute their successes and failures to the effort put forth in the work rather than
personal abilities or external factors (i.e., attribution).
5. Demonstrate confidence in creating gender-based programs which support female
attendees to the LAMARR conference (Self-Efficacy).
Program
The following professional program has been developed to achieve the four learning
objectives listed and to address knowledge and motivation needs and organizational
improvements identified in a previous section of the paper. Learning goals will be achieved
through training and development programs for BELL staff to successfully align organizational
processes and procedures that support LAMARR conference gender goals.
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To develop the skills of BELL staff on diversity and inclusion topics, BELL should
provide the staff with training on cultural awareness and differences; steps for process alignment;
and self-reflection on one’s own goals, abilities, and accomplishments. Self-reflection by the
employee should be part of the program as well. A third-party coach should guide the facilitation
of each training session. They should offer real-time scenario practice, guidelines, and
demonstrations tied to the performance goal of gender parity at the conference.
To better understand success and failure attributions, BELL staff should be asked for
their measured insights. Level 2 is part of the evaluation process to determine if the program was
effective at addressing previously determined needs. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) outlined
Level 2 as the time for pre- and post-surveys/assessments. The survey instrument will use a pre-
assessment before the program starts to identify a baseline that will ask them questions directly
tied to their personal attributions. BELL staff will be asked to complete a short survey to rank
their personal attributions in terms of which most contributed to their success or failure in
alignment of the improvement procedures needed to achieve gender parity at the LAMARR
conference. Following the completion of the program, participants will be asked to complete
another survey to evaluate their personal success with the training. BELL staff will have an
opportunity to reflect on their performance either positively or negatively. The assessment will
detail particular outcomes and reasons for events. If the program is effective for the staff, the pre-
and post-assessments would show a difference in results.
It is suggested that a training take place weekly for the first quarter of the LAMARR
conference planning process and then move to a monthly cadence throughout the 9-month
planning period. The meetings should be used for BELL staff to provide peer-to-peer feedback to
each other, to compare best practices of other conferences with gender parity, and to move to
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more efficient processes. After a lengthy evaluation period, the BELL leadership team should
allocate financial resources toward a training program on gender and inclusivity at conferences.
To determine the effectiveness of the learning programs developed for the BELL staff,
checks must be added to assess declarative and procedural knowledge. Beyond knowledge,
assessment of confidence will be crucial to ensure that this motivational influence is not
inhibiting their learning and action. Attitude and commitment are also important to methodically
evaluate as the competency-based framework requires self-directed learning of key concepts. If
there are gaps in BELL staff perceptions of the value of this model and a lack of commitment on
their part to set challenging goals and analyze progress, the cultivation of critical change is less
likely to occur. As such, the training program described in this section represents suggestions for
the next iteration of staff professional development, which incorporates the KMO needs analysis
from this dissertation study.
Evaluation of Components of Learning
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) recommended the use of two forms of evaluation
methods—formative and summative. Examples of these evaluation methods include knowledge
checks, role plays, group demonstrations, surveys, and action plans. Formative and summative
assessments will be used to evaluate BELL staff’s knowledge and motivation. Table 14 lists
methods and activities that will be used to evaluate components of learning: declarative
knowledge, procedural skills, attitude, confidences, and commitment to the recommended
training program.

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Table 14

Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge - “I know it.”
Knowledge checks using multiple choice items and collaborative scenario playing
related to global alignment of processes and procedures training sessions.
During the program
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
Collaborative activities and discussion with BELL staff During the program
Feedback BELL staff, the BELL leadership team, and an outside facilitator on
process alignment
During the program
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Survey to be completed by participants upon completion of the program After the program
Discussion about the value and relevance of the training in meeting organizational
goals
During the program
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Targeted discussions in small groups about fears, obstacles, and concerns with
creation and implementation of proper alignment plans
During the program; at
each training session
Likert scale survey completed by participants at the end of the program After the program
Commitment “I will do it on the job”
Self-reporting on progress of training in regard to alignment of processes Weekly reporting; during
the program
Create an action plan with input from all BELL staff to develop a measurement and
communication plan for program evaluation at the conclusion
During the program

Level 1: Reaction
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) defined Level 1 as: “Reaction as the degree to which
participants find the training favorable, engaging, and relevant to their job” (p. 17). The goal of
Level 1 is to quickly assess and determine the success of the training program (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). Table 15 identifies methods used to determine whether BELL staff find the
training program to be a positive experience, engaging, and relevant to their responsibilities.
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Table 15

Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Attendance rate of staff Before each training session
Active interaction and meaningful participation during group activities During each training session
Asking meaningful questions During each training session
Relevance
Pulse check using a group discussion During each training session
Anonymous survey distributed to BELL staff Monthly after each training session
Customer Satisfaction
Pulse check during group discussions During each training session
Anonymous survey sent to BELL staff and LAMARR technical
volunteers
Ongoing

Relevance is the degree to which training participants will have the opportunity to use or
apply what they have learned in training on the job. Relevance is important to the overall training
value because even the best training is a waste of resources if participants have no application for
the content in their daily work deliverables (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Engagement, in this context, refers to the degree to which participants are actively
involved and contribute to the learning experience. Engagement levels directly correlate to the
level of learning that is attained. Personal responsibility and program interest are both factors in
the measurement of engagement. Personal responsibility relates to how present and attentive
participants are during the training program, which includes the facilitator involved and an
engaged audience (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
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Customer satisfaction is considered the least important program component as it “tends to
be overly emphasized in current evaluation practice” (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016, p. 113).
Customer satisfaction does have a positive impact on learning, so some degree of it is beneficial
to outcomes. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) noted customer satisfaction is difficult to
measure; thus, it is difficult to provide evaluation resources to measurably improve it.
Evaluation Tools
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) recommended using a blended evaluation
methodology approach to gather valuable information about training programs’ overall
effectiveness. This blended approach includes using immediate and delayed evaluations to assess
program effectiveness (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The purpose of the blended evaluation
methodology is to assess Levels 1 and 2 to measure anticipated outcomes. The value of delayed
evaluation tools is to focus on behaviors and results of the training experience, while also
assessing levels of learning. BELL staff who participate in the program will be asked to engage
in the evaluation of the program’s impact on their knowledge, motivation, and skills in the
organization.
Immediately After the Program
For the recommended training program in this study, an immediate evaluation tool has
been created to assess the experience of the employee at both Level 1 (i.e., engagement,
relevance, and customer satisfaction) and Level 2 (i.e., declarative knowledge, procedural skills,
attitude, confidence, commitment). The survey instrument will ask questions by using a rating
scale and open-ended questions.
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Shortly After the Program Is Implemented
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) recommended delayed evaluations after the program
to give participants the opportunity to apply what they have learned on the job. The application
of skills attained includes the Level 3 support they received, and the results accomplished.
Delayed evaluations can also work to measure the reaction of the training, which means Level 1
and level of learning is evaluated (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). For this program, the
evaluation should occur approximately 1 month after the launch of the program. The 1-month
evaluation time would allow time for assessment of what is working smoothly and adjust
accordingly. The evaluation tool will be a survey instrument that uses a rating scale and open-
ended questions.
Data Analysis and Reporting
Clark and Estes (2008) stated it is reasonable to assume if reactions to a performance
improvement program are positive and it achieves the stated goals when it is implemented,
positive results are likely to continue. They also concluded increases in stakeholder knowledge
would likely work to close performance gaps. Positive results of an improvement program would
increase the probability of stakeholder and organizational goal attainment. Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2016) warned about being selective about sharing data that are used to communicate
progress toward program goals to stakeholders. Clearly determining, in advance, the relative
appropriateness of tone in the communication as well as source, context, message, and the
receiver characteristics are important (Lewis, 2011).
For this program, it is recommended BELL staff continuously share and communicate
data in a way that emphasizes progress toward proper alignment of processes toward the gender
parity goal (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Lewis (2011) advised a “gain frame” approach in
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which the communicator emphasizes advantages of cooperation in a training program.
Participants are encouraged to work together to make the change program successful, then
stakeholders help position the organization in a way that will provide greater market share or
achieve larger goals.
For the program for BELL staff, it is recommended that BELL leadership communicates
data that continue to emphasize progress toward the proper alignment of processes toward
gender parity. This data should be collected by BELL staff to be tracked by a central tracking
system for internal meetings with the LAMARR conference volunteer leadership. Results should
be communicated first to all internal stakeholders during the monthly status meetings and then to
the entire organization LAMARR leadership on a quarterly basis. Having a purposeful
communications channel to share data points would demonstrate to all stakeholders the
organization is serious about encouraging, reinforcing, and rewarding behaviors to support the
alignment of processes on a global level and underscore the commitment to reach gender parity
at the LAMARR conference.
The BELL staff could benefit from a visual display of results from the measures for
Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 effort drivers of organizational change. The BELL staff may even
find that they will prefer to collect Level 3 driver data more frequently if they sense the efforts
are making change. Table 16 highlights the information that would be shared with the BELL
staff. The guiding concept would be for all results to display in aggregate and for survey
responses to be kept confidential with no identifying information collected from the staff.

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Table 16

Dashboard With Kirkpatrick Level 1, 2, and 3 Drivers Evaluation Data
Kirkpatrick Model Data Included on the
Dashboard
Visual Presentation of Data
Level 1 Reactions Five-point Likert scale data
from
survey items evaluating
engagement,
confidence, and motivation.
A bar chart to illustrate the
percentage of respondents
that strongly disagree,
disagree, agree, and strongly
agree for each metric.
Level 2 Learning Pre- and post- responses on a
five-point scale for items
aligned to declarative and
procedural knowledge,
commitment, confidence, and
attitude.
Bar charts that illustrate the
means of pre- and post-
responses on each metric.
Level 3 Drivers Five-point Likert scale data
from survey items evaluating
BELL staff perceptions of
their diversity efforts.
A bar chart that illustrates the
percentage of respondents
that strongly disagree,
disagree, agree, and strongly
agree from the most recent
metric.

Strengths and Weakness of the Approach
The Clark and Estes’s (2008) KMO framework was used as a guide of solid performance-
based research, which can in turn be used for a cost-beneficial and practical performance change
in the BELL organization. The Kirkpatrick model built on the KMO framework by establishing
an evaluation construct which could be used to identify stakeholder perceptions of recommended
tactics to move toward the LAMARR conference gender parity goal. In the Kirkpatrick model
framework, the four levels of evaluation were identified and their possible impact on the
evaluation of BELL staff learning. Levels of evaluation started in reverse order with Level 4 and
concluded with Level 1. This evaluation framework exposed results of stakeholder learning in
BELL’s support model. Four levels of training and evaluation are used to certify BELL staff
133

have the KMO support to align all global processes and procedures to reach the gender parity
goal at the LAMARR conference.
Kirkpatrick’s (1954) four levels of training and evaluation model was used to maximize
transfer of learning to behavior, which should subsequently lead to organizational results.
Through the guidance of this model, the training program would begin with identifying research
outcomes, metrics, and methods to measure results of the targeted outcomes of the organization’s
goal. The model provides a framework for identifying measurable outcomes of the program.
Additionally, critical behaviors are identified and established to assess if BELL staff are using
the new training lessons they received in their daily organizational setting. Assessment methods
will be developed to determine BELL staff’s satisfaction, engagement, and relevance of the
training program. Data will be collected, organized, evaluated, and analyzed during program
implementation to maximize program effectiveness and facilitate change in the department to
promote organizational goals.
The model was used to plan the alignment of the training program for BELL staff, so
outcomes were identified from the beginning of the planning process. Each level in the 4-level
Kirkpatrick model was used to determine if the training was doing what it intended to do. Level
1 evaluated if BELL staff found the training to be favorable, engaging, and relevant to their daily
responsibilities. Level 2 looked at the acquisition of the intended knowledge, skills, attitude,
confidence, and commitment based on their participation in the training. Level 3 evaluated if
BELL staff used what they learned while in the program on the job. Finally, Level 4 evaluated
targeted outcomes that occurred as a result of the training program. Evaluation is an important
part of the learning process and encourages BELL and its staff to adopt recommendations
outlined in this research. Through this proactive learning support program, BELL should
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promote a culture of learning that should reduce gaps in alignment between staff and
organizational goals.
Limitations and Delimitations
This research study focused on KMO needs and assets that contribute to BELL’s success
to align processes and procedures with the goal to improve the gender disparity at the LAMARR
conference. A delimitation to the study was to focus only on BELL staff who support the
LAMARR conference. Other stakeholders such as the BELL leadership team, technical
volunteer committee members, and conference attendees, were omitted from the study.
One limitation to this study was it focused only on BELL staff who manage the
conference. The conference is broadly owned by three professional societies. Ideally, all staff
members from three professional societies would have been interviewed as they all have
opportunities to encourage more female members to attend the LAMARR conference. Therefore,
a more complete study would benefit from the inclusion of additional stakeholders from other
professional societies with the intent to analyze their current processes in conference
management procedures on knowledge transfer, motivation and organizational needs, and assets
that support gender parity at all scientific conferences.
Recommendations for Future Research
Future research should work to address limitations of the current research. The research
was limited to interviewing only BELL staff. A future researcher could look broader and
interview technical committee leaders and other key stakeholders of the LAMARR conference,
which would widen the scope of research to include input from key stakeholders such as
volunteer technical committee members. The research also revealed a multilevel model culture in
terms of the BELL staff developing mentoring relationships with female members in the
135

LAMARR community and other professional scientists. The dynamic nature of culture of
scientific meetings and the LAMARR community conveys the top-down and bottom-up
processes where one cultural level affects changes in other levels of culture. This is a cultural
shift as BELL staff have not been asked or advised to network with women in the LAMARR
community. The behavior changes at the individual level through bottom-up processes, becomes
shared behavioral norms and values, and modifies the culture of a macro level entity (Erez &
Gati, 2004).
Increasing the scope of this research would provide beneficial evaluative input on the
path forward to gender parity at several scientific conferences beyond the LAMARR conference.
A wider scope of research would allow for a broader impact of gender-based programming at
more than one conference managed by BELL staff. If the staff felt confident in developing
gender-based programs, then they would have the ability to bring the procedural knowledge to
other conferences managed by the BELL staff. With the intent of bringing more gender diversity
into other optical sciences technology segments (e.g., biophotonics, sensing, laser science, and
quantum optics). Finally, BELL employees’ knowledge, motivation and practice in
organizational structures should be studied both before and after process alignment to better
understand the impact of the proposed training, to resolve knowledge gaps and motivation needs.
The training would provide more opportunities for additional interviews, documentation review,
and data analysis.
Conclusion
This research was based on the desire to examine the association between assets and
needs for BELL to support, motivate, and align procedures to achieve gender parity at the
LAMARR conference. This research focused on KMO aspects that impact the gender parity goal
136

of the LAMARR conference. Needs in areas of KMO processes were identified through a
survey, interviews, and document analysis. Training components were subsequently developed
by following the Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Recommendations were
provided based on needs discussed in the data. Evaluation activities were developed that tied
back to organizational performance outcomes.
Finally, BELL needs to ensure engagement, monitoring, and evaluation continue based
on proposed recommendations. Document analysis and interview data found BELL staff
understand the value of the process alignment and see it as a benefit to the entire organization.
As a result of being established, BELL should plan to execute the discussed recommendations
and benefit from training programs as presented in this research.

137

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162

Appendix A
Interview Protocol
Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview on the gender disparity at LAMARR. This
study will be solely conducted by myself for research and educational purposes. The intent of
this research is to evaluate the current gender disparity at LAMARR and assess the reasons for it.
My name is Becky, and I am a current student at the University of Southern California
(USC). Everything mentioned during this interview will be kept confidential. Your responses
will be used for research purposes only. Your name (and those of your direct reports) will not
appear online in a transcript, observation notes or another version of this publication. The
dissertation prepared based on the interviews will never be associated with a specific individual.
Today’s interview will take approximately 30 minutes. The interview will be recorded for
note-taking purposes and accuracy. The video will be reviewed only by me and all identifying
information will be removed from the audio before the file is archived.
I realize that your participation today is voluntary, and I greatly appreciate your time.
Your time can be coded back to the LAMARR conference code as the conference co-sponsors
are in support of this research. Before we begin, do you have any questions for me? If not, let’s
begin. With your permission, I will start the recording now.
1. First, a few questions on your background here at BELL:
a. How long have you been working at BELL?
b. How many LAMARR conferences have you attended?
c. How would you describe your position at BELL? Top Executive/Director,
Manager of a team/Work group, Technical/Subject matter expert, Support
professional
163

2. I have a few questions about your experiences related to the LAMARR conference
Knowledge Assessment
Factual
a. Can you describe to me the LAMARR gender diversity goals?
b. To what extent would you say BELL is meeting those gender diversity goals?
c. Describe what types of skills you believe are needed for aligning gender diversity
change?
d. (Probing question: Would you describe the gender goals of the conference being aligned
between the conference planning committees and BELL staff?)
Procedural
e. Are you able to describe the career milestones a woman in optical communications would
take to progress in the industry?
f. Walk me through the individual steps the conference could take to align to these career
milestones?
g. What type of training would be needed at the conference to support their career
professional development? (Learning modules, panel discussions, demonstrations,
question, and answer sessions)
Motivation Assessment
Attribution
a. Describe what you attribute your success or failure of LAMARR’s gender diversity goal
up to this point in your history? How so?
Self-Efficacy
164

b. Describe how confident you are about your ability to address the career issues facing
female LAMARR conference attendees.
Expectancy Value
c. Please explain your beliefs about promoting women in the optical communications
industry? Would you have an example to share?
Organizational Assessment
Cultural Model (assess willingness to change)
d. Explain the similarities and differences of processes and procedures with conference
committee volunteers around gender diversity?
e. How much do you think BELL plans for diversity in its planning for the LAMARR
conference? Why or why not?
Cultural Setting (assess availability of time/resources)
f. How often are you able to interact with female conference volunteers in planning for the
conference?
g. In your interaction and time with them, were you encouraged to continue to develop
gender-based programming for the conference?
h. What suggestions do you have for improving the gender disparity at the conference?
This is the end of the prepared questions. Is there anything else you would be willing to share
with me about your experience with the gender disparity at the conference and your role in
achieving greater gender parity? Thank you for your participation today. My email at USC is
xxxxxx@USC.EDU with further questions.

165

Appendix B
Survey Protocol
Survey Protocol Introduction:
Thank you for choosing to participate in this survey. The intent of this research is to evaluate the
current gender disparity at LAMARR and assess the reasons for it. Your responses will be used
for research purposes only. Your name will not appear online in a transcript, observation notes or
another version of this publication. The dissertation prepared based on the interviews will never
be associated with a specific individual. Your participation today is voluntary, and your time and
input are greatly appreciated.
Survey Questions:
Baseline Questions
a. Which of the following best describes the role you have at work? Senior
Executive/Director, Manager of a team/Work group, Technical/Subject matter expert,
Support professional
b. How long have you worked at this professional society? <5 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years,
15-19 years, 20+ years, Prefer not to answer
c. What is your age group? 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, Prefer not to answer
d. Gender: Female, Male, Non-binary, Prefer not to answer
e. I identify my ethnicity as (select all that apply):
Asian, Black/African American, Caucasian, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American, Pacific
Islander, Prefer not to answer
Knowledge Assessment
Factual
166

a. From the list, what short term skills do you feel you need to enable change in gender
diversity at the LAMARR conference? Strategic Analysis and Planning, Open
Communication, Coaching from technical planning committee, Mentoring by others at
LAMARR employee
b. From the list below, what long term skills do you feel you need to enable change in
gender diversity at the LAMARR conference? Communication, Emotional Intelligence,
Personal Resilience, Mentoring, Strategic Planning, Financial Literacy, Digital Literacy
c. Were you made aware of the gender diversity goals of the conference when you were
asked to support it? Yes or No.
Procedural
d. From your experience with the conference, please identify some of the career milestones
a woman in optical communications would take to progress in the industry. Publish in a
peer-reviewed journal, Present at an industry conference, Conference planning
committee, Professional society leadership involvement, Head a research group or
laboratory, Journal editor
Motivation Assessment
Attribution
a. If we resolve the gender gap at the LAMARR conference, it is due to your own effort.
Extremely likely, somewhat likely, neither likely nor unlikely, somewhat unlikely,
extremely unlikely
Self Efficacy
167

b. How confident are you about your ability to address the career challenges facing female
LAMARR attendees? Extremely likely, somewhat likely, neither likely or unlikely,
somewhat unlikely, extremely unlikely
Expectancy Value
a. Which statement best represents your expectations?
i. Because of my professional experience, I strongly believe it is worthwhile to
develop programming to support the various challenges at every career level.
ii. I somewhat believe my efforts will influence the gender disparity.
iii. I do not believe it is worthwhile to promote a positive experience at the
conference for women.
Organizational Assessment
Cultural Model (assess willingness to change)
a. Do you believe that you have a shared understanding of processes and procedures with
the conference committee volunteers around gender diversity? Strongly agree, Somewhat
agree, Neither agree or disagree, Somewhat disagree, Strongly disagree
Cultural Setting (assess availability of time/resources)
b. Compared to other conferences I’ve supported; I have adequate time available to me to
develop an understanding of the professional goals of women who attend the conference.
Agree, Somewhat agree, No opinion, Somewhat disagree, Disagree
c. What suggestions do you have for improving the gender disparity at the conference?

168

Appendix C
Informed Consent
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA, 90089

GENDER DIVERSITY IN OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ROLE OF
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES: AN EVALUATION STUDY
You are invited to participate in an education research study concerning the gender disparity at
the LAMARR conference. Participation is voluntary with further information below. Please
pause with any questions you may have along the way.
Purpose of the Study
This study aims to understand some of the causes of the gender disparity at the LAMARR
conference and determine pathways to gender parity.
Participant Involvement
If you agree to be in this study, you will agree to participate in a video conversation with the
researcher. The general topic will look at the gender disparity at the LAMARR conference. It
will take no more than 30 minutes of discussion.
Confidentiality
Information gathered during this research study will only be used for this study. It will not be
shared with other researchers. Any identifying information obtained in connection with this
research will remain confidential. Your responses will be coded with a pseudonym and
169

maintained separately from the published research. Only two people will have direct access to
the completed video transcript.
Authorized representatives from the following organizations may review the data for the purpose
of monitoring or managing the conduct of this study:
● USC Rossier School of Education, Faculty
● USC Rossier School of Education, Doctoral Student
Investigator Contact Information
Principal Investigator, Rebecca Bosco, via email at xxxxxx@USC.EDU or Faculty Advisor, Dr.
Adrian Donato at xxxxxx@USC.EDU.
IRB Contact Information
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board 1640 Marengo Street, Suite 700,
Los Angeles, CA 90033-9269. Phone (323) 442-0114 or email IRB@USC.EDU.

170

Appendix D
KMO Tables

Knowledge Influence, Knowledge Types, and Knowledge Assessment
Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for Knowledge Gap Analysis

Organizational mission
BELL, a global physics and engineering-based professional society of 25,000 members, works
to promote the generation, dissemination, and application of knowledge in optics and
photonics. BELL serves the global community through content and events that are
authoritative, accessible, and archived, and through its education, advocacy, and outreach
programs.

LAMARR (pseudonym for the conference of study) is the largest global conference and
exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. The professional society
staff of BELL, located in Washington, DC, manages the conference. The program is
comprehensive -- from research to marketplace, from components to systems and networks
and from technical sessions to the exhibition. LAMARR draws attendees from all corners of
the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections, and move the industry
forward. The LAMARR performance problem identified is the gender disparity of female
conference attendees.

Organizational goal
Long Range-Goal: The BELL performance goal is to increase the gender diversity of
conference attendees to the LAMARR conference to 50% female by 2023.

Supportive Shorter-Term Goal: The shorter-term goal of BELL is to evaluate current levels of
self-efficacy of staff that work to support the LAMARR conference on gender diversity
issues and knowledge of career issues facing women in the optical communications industry.

Stakeholder goal
For professional society management staff:

By 2023, BELL staff will increase the number of gender diversity programs in alignment to its
organizational performance goal.

171

Knowledge influence

Survey & interview items Document checklist
Factual: BELL staff need
to identify the types of
skills required to align
for a change in gender
diversity.
Survey items to be used in
this study:
● “From the list
below, what short
term skills do you
feel you need to
enable change in
gender diversity at
the LAMARR
conference?”
● “From the list
below, what long
term skills do you
feel you need to
enable change in
gender diversity at
the LAMARR
conference?”

Interview questions used
in this study:

● Describe what
types of skills you
believe are needed
for aligning
gender diversity
change?

Physics-based Professional
Societies Outlined Gender
Goals

Factual: BELL staff know
facts about the gender
disparity at the
LAMARR Conference.

Survey items to be used in
this study:
● “Were you made
aware of the
gender diversity
goals of the
conference when
you were asked to
support it?”

Interview questions used
in this study:
Gender Guidelines for
Scientific Conferences

172

● “Can you describe
to me the
LAMARR gender
diversity goals?
To what extent
would you say
BELL is meeting
those gender
diversity goals?”

Procedural: BELL
staff need to know the
steps women’s career
progression in the
optical communications
industry.

Survey items to be used in
this study:
● “Please list the
career milestones
a woman in
optical
communications
would take to
progress in the
industry?”

Interview questions used
in this study:
● “Describe the
career milestones
a woman in
optical
communications
would take to
progress in the
industry?”
Career Guide Books Specific
to Careers in Optical
Communications

Assumed Motivation Influence and Motivational Influence Assessments

Organizational mission

BELL, a global physics and engineering-based professional society of 25,000 members, works
to promote the generation, dissemination, and application of knowledge in optics and
photonics. BELL serves the global community through content and events that are
authoritative, accessible, and archived, and through its education, advocacy and outreach
programs.

173

LAMARR (pseudonym for the conference of study) is the largest global conference and
exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. The professional society
staff of BELL, located in Washington, D.C, manages the conference. The program is
comprehensive -- from research to marketplace, from components to systems and networks
and from technical sessions to the exhibition. LAMARR draws attendees from all corners of
the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections and move the industry
forward. The LAMARR performance problem I will focus on with this problem of practice is
the gender disparity with relation to the low number of female conference attendees.

Organizational goal
Long Range Goal: The BELL performance goal is to increase the gender diversity of
conference attendees to the LAMARR conference to 50% female by 2023.

Supportive Shorter Term Goal: The shorter-term goal of BELL is to evaluate current levels of
self-efficacy of staff that work to support the LAMARR conference on gender diversity
issues and knowledge of career issues facing women in the optical communications industry.

Stakeholder goal
Stakeholder Goal (for professional society management staff):
By 2023, BELL staff will increase the number of gender diversity programs, in alignment to its
organizational performance goal.

Assumed motivation
influences

Survey & interview items Document checklist
Attribution Theory: The
BELL staff believe gender
disparity will be resolved by
their own efforts.
Survey items used in this
study:

● “If we resolve the
gender gap at the
LAMARR conference,
it will be because of my
own effort.”

Interview questions to be used:

● Gender Diversity
Issues Reports

174

● “Describe what you
attribute your success
or failure of
LAMARR’s gender
diversity goal up to this
point in your history?
How so?”

Self-Efficacy: BELL staff
need to have confidence in
their ability to address the
career barriers facing female
LAMARR attendees.

Survey items used in this
study:
● “How confident are you
about your ability to
address the career
issues facing female
LAMARR attendees?”
Likert Scale

Interview questions to be used:
● “Describe how
confident you are about
your ability to address
the career issues facing
female LAMARR
conference attendees.”

● United Nations
Gender Equity in
STEM Report

Expectancy-Value: The BELL
staff believe it is worthwhile
to promote women in optical
communications, even
though they may fail to meet
their female promotion target
goal.
Survey items used in this
study:
● “Which statement best
represents your
expectations?”
1) “Because of my
professional
experience, I strongly
believe it is worth the
various challenges at
every career stage.”
2) “I somewhat believe
my efforts will
influence the gender
disparity.”
3) “I do not believe it is
worthwhile to promote
● Ask for documents
of gender Rapid
Action Committee
(RAC): meeting
minutes, initiative
descriptions, internal
and external
communications

175

a positive experience at
the conference for
women.”

Interview questions to be used:
● “Please explain your
beliefs about promoting
women in the optical
communications
industry? Would you
have an example to
share?”

Organizational Influences and Organizational Influence Assessments

Organizational mission

BELL, a global physics and engineering-based professional society of 25,000 members, works
to promote the generation, dissemination, and application of knowledge in optics and
photonics. BELL serves the global community through content and events that are
authoritative, accessible, and archived, and through its education, advocacy, and outreach
programs.

LAMARR (pseudonym for the conference of study) is the largest global conference and
exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. The professional society
staff of BELL, located in Washington, D.C, manages the conference. The program is
comprehensive -- from research to marketplace, from components to systems and networks and
from technical sessions to the exhibition. LAMARR draws attendees from all corners of the
globe to meet and greet, teach, and learn, make connections, and move the industry forward.
The LAMARR performance problem of focus on with this problem of practice is the gender
disparity with relation to the low number of female conference attendees.

Organizational goal
Long Range Goal: The BELL performance goal is to increase the gender diversity of
conference attendees to the LAMARR conference to 50% female by 2023.

Supportive Shorter Term Goal: The shorter-term goal of BELL is to evaluate current levels of
self-efficacy of staff that work to support the LAMARR conference on gender diversity issues
and knowledge of career issues facing women in the optical communications industry.

176

Stakeholder goal

By 2023, BELL staff will increase the number of gender diversity programs, in alignment to its
organizational performance goal.

Assumed organizational
influences
Survey & interview items Document checklist
Cultural Model Influence:
BELL staff need a shared
understanding of processes
and procedures with
conference committee
organizers around gender
diversity.

Survey items used in this
study:
● “Do you believe that
you have a shared
understanding of
processes and
procedures with the
conference committee
volunteers around
gender diversity?”
Agree, Somewhat
agree, No opinion,
Somewhat disagree,
Disagree

Interview questions to be
used:
● “Explain the
similarities and
differences of the
processes and
procedures with
conference committee
volunteers around
gender diversity?”

● “How much do you
think BELL plans for
diversity in its
planning for the
LAMARR
conference? Why or
why not?”
World Economic Forum
Research on Gender
Parity
177

Cultural Setting Influence:
The organization needs to
provide more time and
opportunity for new BELL
staff to develop mentoring
relationships with female
members in the LAMARR
community and other
professional scientists.

Survey items used in this
study:
● “Compared to other
conferences I’ve
managed; I have
adequate time
available to me to
develop an
understanding of the
professional goals of
women who attend the
conference.”

Interview questions to be
used:
● “How often are you
able to interact with
female conference
volunteers in planning
for the conference?”

● “In your interaction
and time with them,
were you encouraged
to continue to develop
gender-based
programming for the
conference?”

Mission Statement; Core
Values; Marketing Materials;
Attendee Communications

178

Appendix E
Immediate Evaluation: Level 2 and Level 1
Gender Parity at the LAMARR Conference, a BELL Stakeholder Post-Training Evaluation
Instructions:
● For the following questions, please use the following scale and circle accordingly.
● List responses to the prompt in the survey item.
Rating
(Please Circle One)
Survey item
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
1. I know the importance of gender equity at
technology conferences.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
2. I know the short-term skills needed for
diversity change at the LAMARR conference.

Please list skills:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

3. I know the long-term skills needed to enable
change in gender diversity at the LAMARR
conference.

Please list skills:

179

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

4. I am aware of the gender diversity goals of
the conference.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
5. I know career milestones a woman in optical
communications achieves to progress in the
industry.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
6. I know if gender diversity will be increased at
the LAMARR conference, and it will be due
to my personal efforts.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
7. I know of my ability to address the career
challenges facing female LAMARR
conference attendees.

Please explain from your perspective:

180

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
8. I believe there is a shared understanding of
processes and procedures with the conference
committee volunteers around gender
diversity.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
9. I felt I had adequate time available to me to
develop an understanding of the professional
goals of women who attend the conference.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
10. Skills learned from the gender training that I
found useful for me as a BELL staff member.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
11. I will recommend this training to other BELL
staff.

Please explain why or why not:

181

Appendix F
Delayed Blended Evaluation Instrument after X days
Levels 4, 3, 2, and 1
Gender Parity at the LAMARR Conference, a BELL Stakeholder Post-Training 90-Day
Evaluation
Rating
(Please Circle One)
Survey item
References 1. The gender diversity training improved my
ability to create gender-based conference
programming.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
2. The training improved my understanding of the
value of a gender inclusive conference
environment.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
3. I am making knowledgeable gender-based
suggestions to the volunteer conference
committee.

Please explain from your perspective:

182

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
4. I regularly use my training job aids to educate
myself and the volunteer committee on creating
a gender inclusive conference environment.

Which job aid(s) do you use most frequently? Please
list:

a. I conducted _________ training interactions in
the past month.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
5. I know the effort I am putting forth to create
gender parity at the conference is working.

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
6. Since my training, I have developed more
gender-based conference programs.?

Please explain from your perspective:

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

183

Appendix G
Gender Based Programs
Increased Number of Gender-Based Programs by 2023

# of Gender-Based Programs 11% 10% 12% 15% 16% 20%
Year in Review 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Using Clark and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis framework, this study examined factors related to the alignment of a professional society’s organizational processes and procedures that influence female attendance at a technology conference. The research questions included are the following: First, what are BELL staff knowledge and motivation needs related to increasing the number of gender diversity programs at the LAMARR conference in alignment with its conference diversity goals? Second, what is the intersection between BELL’s organizational culture and context and BELL staff’s knowledge and motivation? And finally, what are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) solutions available to address the needs of BELL staff? The study design included interviews and documents collection to understand the KMO dynamics related to the problem. The stakeholder group in the study consisted of 18 survey respondents and 10 interviews. The study validated three of the assumed knowledge influences as organizational needs, but only one motivation influence and one organizational influence. Most significantly, the BELL staff need to know how to align organizational processes and procedures; they need to learn to attribute success and failure to their efforts rather than to other factors; and they need time from daily job responsibilities to be able to implement solutions. Based on the findings of the study, various training programs and alignment protocols are recommended.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Bosco, Rebecca Mary (author)

Core Title Gender diversity in optical communications and the role of professional societies: an evaluation study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2021-08

Publication Date 08/10/2021

Defense Date 08/10/2021

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag diversity,inclusion,OAI-PMH Harvest,optical communications,women in science

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Donato, Adrian (committee chair), Foulk, Susanne (committee member), Yates, Kenneth (committee member)

Creator Email rba78548@usc.edu,rebeccambosco@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC15723562

Unique identifier UC15723562

Legacy Identifier etd-BoscoRebec-10034

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Bosco, Rebecca Mary

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu