Women in science and engineering
"All Things Equal." Nature 437 (2005): 296.
Available online
Notes: Editorial on need for availablity of affordable childcare to encourage women to pursue careers in science.
Abstract: The problem of under-representation of women in science, particularly at the most senior levels, is not going to go away. Public discussion of the issue often focuses on the extent to which girls are encouraged to pursue scientific interests at school, or to which they are discriminated against at work. Details on the issue of the lack of affordable child care, which is a major impediment to women's careers in science, are discussed.
"Women, Minorities Rare on Science, Engineering Faculties." Black Issues in Higher Education (Feb. 2004): 19.
Available online
Notes: Donna Nelson's report on faculty demographics in STEM departments that rank among the top 50 in the nation.
Abstract: This is a summary of Donna Nelson's report on faculty demographics in STEM departments that rank among the top 50 in the nation. Nelson shows that in these top-ranked departments there are few minority or women faculty and those that do exist are typically found at the lowest professorial ranking.
Abdul-Majid, Khairul-Bariah. "Postdoc Talk: Unlock the Box." The Scientist 7, no. 61 (Apr. 2003).
Available online
Notes: Gendered assumption about names
Abstract: Author's account of her experience hosting a poster session. Despite the fact that the author stood right beside her poster, conference attendees failed to associate her with her work because they assumed the name listed as author of the poster belonged to a Middle Eastern male. The author expresses a sense of pride in her name and diversity, and acknowledges that she will continue to face this lack of recognition.
Abir-Am, Pnina G and Dorinda Outram. Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives: Women in Science, 1789-1979. The Douglass Series on Women's Lives and the Meaning of Gender. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). "Making Strides Newsletter Archives by Volume, Number, and Date." [http://ehrweb.aaas.org/mge/Archives/archindex.html].
Abstract: Lists past issues of the AAAS "Making Strides" newsletter and the articles published in each.
Anderson, Maria W. "Report Details Glass Ceiling in Academia." The Scientist 17, no. 23 (Dec. 2003): 49.
Available online
Notes: General report about institutional transformation efforts and the issue of women in STEM.
Anderson, Maria W., Alexander Grimwade, and Theresa Tamkins. "Best Places to Work: The Best Places to Work in Academia, 2004." The Scientist 18, no. 21 (Nov. 2004).
Available online
Notes: Survey of academic workplaces and discussion of factors that make a great workplace.
Abstract: Survey of academic scientists suggests that good equipment and great peers are key factors for job satisfaction. The survey, conducted cross-nationally, found broad agreement on other important factors including clear tenure guidelines and availability of funding.
Angier, Natalie. "No Parity Yet, but Science Academy Gains More Women." New York Times (New York), 6 May 2003, F, 2, 2.
Available online
Notes: Review of new women members in the National Academy of Sciences and improving conditions for women in science, short review of reasons behind gender disparity in sciences.
Angier, Natalie and Kenneth Chang. "Gray Matter and Sexes: A Grey Area Scientifically." The New York Times (New York ), 24 Jan. 2005, A, 1, 1.
Available online
Notes: Response to Larry Summers
Abstract: This response to Larry Summers' remarks about women scientists reviews the scientific evidence on sex differences in intelligence and cognitive functioning.
Anonymous. "Encouraging Science Teaching Innovation." Academic Leader 20, no. 6 (June 2004): 1, 3.
Available online
Notes: Article discusses HHMI's and Prof. Jo Handelsman's efforts to encourage innovative teaching methods in science.
Abstract: "There is a common view in many science disciplines that professors can be good at either teaching or research, but not both. And some faculty are concerned that being viewed publicly as being involved in improving science teaching will harm their research reputations. Although progress has been slow, published pedagogical research by Nobel Prize winners and National Academy of Science members and support from prestigious science organizations is helping to reform science education."
________. "Is the US Producing Enough Scientists?" Nature Genetics 34, no. 3 (July 2003): 233-34.
Available online
Notes: Editorial discusses pipeline issues and argues for encouraging women and minorities to become scientists through attention to improving education and the science labor market.
________. "Supporting Women in the Sciences." Academic Leader (June 2004): 5, 7.
Available online
Notes: Article describes University of Washington's ADVANCE program and emphasizes its Transitional Support Program.
Ash, Arlene S. and et al. "Compensation and Advancement of Women in Academic Medicine: Is There Equity?" Annals of Internal Medicine 141, no. 3 (Aug. 2004): 205-12.
Available online
Notes: Examines gender inequities in promotion and compensation in academic medicine
Abstract: "Women have been entering academic medicine in numbers at least equal to their male colleagues for several decades. Most studies have found that women do not advance in academic rank as fast as men and that their salaries are not as great. These studies, however, have typically not had the data to examine equity, that is, do women receive similar rewards for similar achievement?" Using data from questionnaires mailed to 24 randomly selected U.S. medical schools this study finds that among the 1814 faculty respondents, "female medical school faculty neither advance as rapidly nor are compensated as well as professionally similar male colleagues [and that] women's deficits are greater for faculty with more seniority."
Associated Press. "Campus Bias Complaint Settled: UW-Milwaukee Professor Who Claimed Gender Discrimination Gets More Than $400,000." Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), 29 Mar. 2003, B, 6.
Notes: Reports on settlement won by UW-Milwaukee Engineering Professor, Carolyn Aitsa
Abstract: Carolyn Aitsa, in materials engineering at UW-Milwaukee, won a gender discrimination lawsuit based on her being asked to take a lower rank and salary after her grant fell through, while male professors who were similarly lacking funds were not asked to reduce their salary/rank.
________. "Gender Suit Nets Prof $4000." The Capital Times (Madison, WI), 28 Mar. 2003, C, 4.
Available online
Notes: Reports on settlement won by UW-Milwaukee Engineering Professor, Carolyn Aitsa
Abstract: "Carolyn Aita, a professor in the materials engineering department, alleged she was given less support for her research than two male professors in the College of Engineering and Applied Science . . . All three were Wisconsin Distinguished Professors, which recognized that their research could have an impact on the state's economy.
AWIS, Surveys for Faculty, Graduate Students, (unpublished).
Available online
Notes: Climate Surveys
Abstract: AWIS provides Climate Surveys for Undergraduates, Graduates, Post-doctoral students, and Faculty. Institutions may register with AWIS in order to examine survey results for their institution.
Bakken, Lori L. "Who Are Physician-Scientists' Role Models? Gender Makes a Difference." Academic Medicine 80, no. 5 (May 2005): 502-6.
Notes: Interpretation of survey data points to the importance of the gender of role models for "physician-scientists-in-training" (i.e. medical students training for clinical research).
Abstract: "Purpose: To determine for educational purposes whether differences exist in the role models physician-scientists-in-training or in their early years of career development envision when they self-assess their abilities to perform clinical research.
Method: A 35-item clinical research self-efficacy questionnaire was administered to 251 health care professionals who attended programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2002-2004. Three questions were included to determine the sex, role, and qualities of the expert envisioned by participants. Frequency distributions were computed for each response and variables were compared by gender using chi-square analysis and Fisher exact test.
Results: Ninety-five physicians-in-training and junior faculty physicians responded to the questionnaire. Seventy-one percent of female and 95% of male respondents reported their envisioned experts to be male. The most frequently reported role of the envisioned expert was that of a mentor who was a faculty member in the respondent's own department (72% women, 60% men). The three most frequently reported qualities of the envisioned expert were "multiple publications," "scientific knowledge," and "supportiveness." However, women more frequently reported "communication skills" and "problem-solving abilities" than did men. This difference was statistically significant and largely due to the frequency of qualities selected by women whose envisioned expert was female.
Conclusions: The results of this study emphasized the importance of a role model's gender in the career development of physician-scientists."
Bakken, Lori L., Jennifer Sheridan, and Molly Carnes. "Gender Differences Among Physician-Scientists in Self-Assessed Abilities to Perform Clinical Research." Academic Medicine 78, no. 12 (Dec. 2003): 1281-86.
Abstract: PURPOSE: To examine gender differences in physicians' self-assessed abilities to apply knowledge and skills in six core competencies for success as a clinical investigator. METHOD: A written questionnaire containing 35 learning objectives was administered to physicians involved in a clinical-research training program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Between 2000 and 2002, 57 postgraduate trainees (49% women) completed the questionnaire; 40 of the 57 completed the questionnaire a second time after a four-day intensive workshop in clinical research. The main outcome measure was gender differences in ratings for each question answered. RESULTS: Before the workshop, women physicians rated their abilities lower than men rated their own abilities on 22 of 35 learning objectives and women were significantly lower in rating their ability to spend sufficient time developing and advancing their own area of scientific knowledge and research. After the workshop, women rated themselves lower than men rated themselves on 33 of 35 objectives, with significant differences in seven. Women did not rate themselves significantly higher than men rated themselves on any of the 35 objectives assessed. CONCLUSION: Women physicians consistently rated their abilities to perform or apply knowledge and skills related to clinical research lower than men rated themselves, and a traditional training venue exacerbated these gender differences. This previously unexplored gender difference in self-perceived competency may indicate an additional barrier women face in academic career development and suggests that educational programs incorporate learning activities that address gender differences when training physicians for careers in clinical research.
Bar-Haim, Gabriel and John M. Wilkes. "A Cognitive Interpretation of the Marginality and Underrepresentation of Women in Science." Journal of Higher Education 60, no. 4 (July 1989-Aug. 1989): 371-87.
Available online
Notes: Cognitive differences and gender-roles result in women's underrepresentation in science.
Abstract: "Interaction between a cognitive typology of scientists, stages of paradigm-disciplinary development, and cultural stereotypes on gender could explain underrepresentation and marginality of women in science. Because male scientists' cognitive styles have been found to be related to career choice, evaluation behavior, research success, and productivity, it is argued that they are also related to the position of women in science."
Barber, Leslie A. "U.S. Women in Science and Engineering, 1960-1990: Progress Toward Equity?" Journal of Higher Education 66, no. 2 (Mar. 1995-Apr. 1995): 213-34.
Available online
Notes: "Transforming the [masculine] culture of science is the key to narrowing the science and engineering gender gap" (232).
Abstract: This article "reviews thirty years of statistics on women's participation in science and engineering training and explores the reasons why, although the pool of potential women scientists has steadily increased with time, there has been no increase in the percentage of women from this pool who elect to pursue scientific careers."
Barres, Ben. "Does Gender Matter?" Nature 442 (July 2006): 133-36.
Available online
Abstract: Ben Barres, a transgendered scientist, disputes the notion,propounded by Lawrence Summers, Steven Pinker, and Peter Lawrence, that innate gender differences explain gender inequities in the sciences.
Barres, Ben A. "Does Gender Matter?" Nature 442, no. 7099 (July 2006): 133-36.
Available online
Notes: As a transgendered person, Barres relies on his personal experiences as a women and as a man to provide evidence of discrimination against women scientists.
Abstract: "The suggestion that women are not advancing in science because of innate inability is being taken seriously by some high-profile academics. Barres explores the reasons why gender, racial and sexual orientation discrimination continues to be ignored or pseudo-scientifically "explained" by so-called experts."
Bayer. "Bayer Facts of Science Education Survey." May 2005. [http://www.bayerus.com/msms/news/facts.cfm?mode=detail&id=survey05].
Notes: A survey of parents reveals most believe STEM careers are desirable for both their sons and daughters but also reveals parental gender biases. The survey also reveals that parents believe their children need to be educated about STEM opportunities.
Abstract: "Despite the fact that women, African-Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic Americans have long been under-represented in science and engineering (S&E) in the United States, a new survey shows parents of these students are overwhelmingly confident that their children - both boys and girls - have what it takes to succeed in these subjects in school and afterward in the workplace. Yet the survey also reveals parental gender biases that favor science careers for boys.
Bayer, Alan E. and Helen E. Astin. "Sex Differences in Academic Rank and Salary Among Science Doctorates in Teaching." The Journal of Human Resources 3, no. 2 (Spring 1968): 191-200.
Available online
Notes: Women academics in the natural and social sciences are promoted about as quickly as men but their salaries are persistently lower.
Abstract: "Employment information, reported by approximately 2,700 recent science doctorates to the 1964 National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel, indicates that the beginning academic rank of new scientists in college and university teaching positions is unrelated to sex. Over time, women in the natural sciences continue to receive promotions comparable to those of their male cohorts. However, women in the social sciences tend to be promoted less rapidly than men. Salary differentials, on the other hand, exist in both beginning and later academic positions, regardless of major field specialty, work setting, or academic rank. These data support the contentions of women doctorates that salary discrimination is practiced more severely than is discrimination regarding tenure or promotions."
Beck, M. M. and J. C. Swanson. "Value-Added Animal Agriculture: Inclusion of Race and Gender in the Professional Formula1." Journal of Animal Science 81, no. 11 (2003): 2895-903.
Available online
Abstract: The Morrill Act establishing the land grant university system created public higher education institutions and paved the way for women and racial minorities to access them. Today women are ~50% of the undergraduate population in animal science (AS) departments at the original land grant state universities, but racial minorities lag far behind, in part because the schools created under the 1890 legislation provided a diversion away from the state universities. Demographic trends from the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate increasing positive growth in nonwhite workforce participation, with concurrent decreases in non-Hispanic male participation; men and women will be nearly equally represented by early in the 21st Century. In the faculties of AS departments, both women and minorities are seriously underrepresented; causative factors underlying this phenomenon are similar. Although, historically, adherence to role stereotypes and divisions of labor explain some of the under-representation, these assumptions do not hold across all economic classes. Other factors contributing to the scarcity of women and faculty of color in AS include assumptions and mechanisms of scientific research itself; the very neutrality and disinterestedness of researchers, inherent in the scientific method, prevent recognition that values and personal biases affect decisions of hiring selections and mentoring effectiveness. We explore the cultural factors that underlie these values and biases that are common not only to agriculture but also to science more broadly.
Bell, Robin E. et al. "Righting the Balance: Gender Diversity in the Geosciences." Eos 84, no. 31 (Aug. 2003): 292-93.
Notes: Short article on encouraging women to pursue academic careers in the geosciences and suggestions on how to make academic systems and recruitments more equitable.
Benditt, John et al. "Women in Science: The Response." Science 256, no. 5064 (June 1992): 1610-1615.
Available online
Notes: Collection of responses to the special issue of Science, "Women in Science."
Abstract: Article contains a collection of letters-to-the-editor responding to the special issue of Science, "Women in Science." These include critical reappraisals of the issue's perspective and general comments on the status of women in science.
Beoku-Betts, Josephine. "African Women Pursuing Graduate Studies in the Sciences: Racism, Gender Bias, and Third World Marginality." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 116-35.
Available online
Notes: Experiences of women scientists marginalized by race, gender, and third world origin.
Abstract: "This paper illuminates some of the factors that shape the educational goals and outcomes of African women who pursued graduate studies in scientific disciplines at western universities between the 1960s and 1990s. Based on a qualitative study of 15 African women scientists, almost all of whom are employed in academic institutions in their respective countries, I examine how racism, Third World location, and gender bias affected their graduate education experiences in scientific disciplines. The study also addresses the extent to which the women were aware of how these factors affected how they were perceived and mentored by professors, interacted with peer groups, as well as managed the demands of graduate school along with marriage and family relations. The study demonstrates why issues of diversity are salient to the discourse on ways to address the recruitment and retention of women in science.
Berliner, Martha D. "The Tenure Process Viewed From the Top." The American Society for Cell Biology Newsletter 21, no. 11 (Dec. 1998): 16-18.
Notes: Ten action points provide advice on obtaining tenure.
Abstract: "Previous WICB columns have confronted the issue of tenure from the junior faculty member's perspective. Clearly, the department chairperson is instrumental in shaping the outcome of tenure applications. However, the tenure process looks quite different from the other side. This view includes additional considerations not directly related to the junior faculty member's qualifications. The suggestions included in this article are made from the viewpoint of a former Biology Department chairperson and professor, who was awarded tenure twice, denied once, and participated in the tenure decisions of many junior faculty members." The advice provides ten action points for obtaining tenure in a science department. Advice is general and not specific to women.
Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit. "Family Matters: Stopping Tenure Clock May Not Be Enough." Science 306, no. 5704 (Dec. 2004): 2031, 2033.
Available online
Notes: Discusses fears and obstacles to taking advantage of university policies to stop or extend the tenure clock and other family-friendly policies
Abstract: Discusses the need for university policies such as stopping the tenure clock and various obstacles to their effective use including the pressure to publish and fears that using such policies will have an adverse impact on career progress, evaluation, respect, etc.
________. "The Price of Family." Science 305, no. 5680 (July 2004): 38.
Available online
Notes: Childbearing decreases career success odds for women in academic science and engineering.
Abstract: "A new report for the National Science Foundation confirms what many had long suspected - being married and having children hurts a woman's chances of success in academic science and engineering. The report, a statistical analysis of data from a nationwide sample of doctoral recipients in the U.S. workforce, also suggests that women academic scientists who delay having children are more successful than those who start their families early. The report, from a team led by Jerome Bentley, a labor economist at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, found a widening gap between women and men at successive milestones on the academic career path."
Bickel, Janet. "Whose Mission Are You Living?: The Whys and Wherefores of Goal-Setting." Academic Physician & Scientist (Mar. 2004): 3-5.
Available online
Notes: Advice on goal-setting and self-awareness strategies for long-term career success, emphasis on academic medicine.
Abstract: "Many, if not most, physicians and scientists consider their profession a vocation -- a calling that will never be just a 'job.' Career building starts with 'know-how' (i.e., technical skills), but that is only the beginning. Successful careers also depend on 'knowing why,' that is [on developing] continuing insights into the sources of your motivation and energy. It is never too early or too late to work at expanding this understanding of yourself, but this work is especially critical for early-career professionals."
Biernat, Monica and Jennifer E. Ma. "Stereotypes and the Confirmability of Trait Concepts." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31, no. 4 (2005): 483-95.
Available online
Notes: Evaluators require less evidence is required to confirm traits that are stereotypical of a group and more evidence to disconfirm such traits when they are judging members of that group -- but only if the evaluators are not also members of the same group.
Abstract: This study examines the process of how we assign traits or dispositions to individuals. The authors argue that "perceivers require that certain standards of evidence must be met before they decide that a target individual posseses a given trait." They hypothesize "that evidentiary standards differ depending on the stereotypicality of the attributes in question and on the social group membership(s) of the target person being evaluated." Specifically, traits that are stereotypic of a group were expected to require lower evidentiary standards when assessing members of that group. Similarly the authors hypotheses that more evidence will be required to disconform stereotypical traits. Two studies one focussing on race and one on sex were conducted to test these hypotheses. Both showed that "trait stereotypicality was associated with fewer behaviors required to confirm and more to disconfirm" but only when judgements were made on outgroup targets (ie. when Black evaluators judged White behaviors/traits or when White evaluators judged Black behaviors/traits).
Bird, Sharon, Jacquelyn Litt, and Yong Wang. "Creating Status of Women Reports: Institutional Housekeeping As "Women's Work"." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 194-206.
Available online
Notes: Examines the process of creating a status of women report and its implications for the career's of women who produce such reports.
Abstract: Growing awareness of the underrepresentation of women in male-dominated fields like science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), has inspired universities across the United States to examine more carefully their strategies for recruiting, retaining, and promoting women students and faculty. To do so has required assembling personnel to organize and execute data collection, analyses, and interpretation. Not surprisingly, women faculty are the primary participants in this type of work. We examine the process of creating a status of women report at Iowa State University, including what this process means for institutional responsibility for gender issues and for the careers of women who produce such reports. We also recommend ways to address the problems associated with women's unrecognized service work. We refer to such work as "institutional housekeeping" because it involves the invisible and supportive work of women to improve women's status within the institution.
Bix, Amy Sue. "From "Engineeresses" to "Girl Engineers" to "Good Engineers": A History of Women's U.S. Engineering Education." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (2004): 27-49.
Available online
Notes: History of engineering education for women in the US.
Abstract: "Throughout the first half of the 20th century and into the second, women studying or working in engineering were popularly perceived as oddities at best, outcasts at worst, defying traditional gender norms. During the last half of the 20th century, activists fought to change that situation, to win acknowledgment of women's ability to become good engineers. To gain public recognition for women engineers, advocates celebrated their successes in the field. To improve the climate for women in education and employment, activists organized to call attention to problems and demanded change. To aid women directly, female engineers created systems of social, psychological, and financial mutual support. Through such strategies, conditions for female engineers changed noticeably over just a few decades, although many challenges remain."
Black, Harvey. "Financing Female Scientist Advancement." The Scientist 16, no. 3: 9.
Available online
Notes: News on creation of NSF women in science ADVANCE grants.
Abstract: Brief announcement of the creation of NSF women in science ADVANCE grants.
Bornmann, Lutz and Hans-Dieter Daniel. "Reliability, Fairness and Predictive Validity of Committee Peer Review." B.I.F. Futura 13, no. 1 (2004): 7-19.
Available online
Notes: Article investigates fairness and validity of a foundation's funding application review process; finds some evidence of gender bias.
Abstract: "In science, peer review is the oldest and best established method of assessing manuscripts, applications for research fellowships and research grants. However, the fairness of peer review, its reliability and whether it achieves its aim to select the best science and scientists has often been questioned. Here we present the first comprehensive study on committee peer review for the selection of doctoral (Ph.D.) and post-doctoral research fellowships. We analysed the selection process of the Boehringer Ingelheim Funds, a foundation for the promotion of basic research in biomedicine, with regard to its reliability, fairness and predictive validity -- the three quality criteria for professional evaluations. We analysed a total of 2,697 applications, 1,954 for doctoral and 743 for post-doctoral fellowships. In 76% of the cases, the decision whether to award a scholarship or not was characterized by agreement between reviewers. Similar figures for reliability were reported for the grant selection processes of other major funding agencies. With regard to fairness, we analysed whether potential sources of bias, i.e. gender, nationality, discipline and institutional affiliation could have influenced the decisions. For post-doctoral fellowships, no statistically significant influence of any of these variables could be observed. In applications for a doctoral fellowship, evidence of a gender, discipline and institutional bias, but not of a nationality bias, was found. We therefore present some proposals for optimizing committee peer review."
Brainard, Jeffrey. "Elitism, Excellence, or Both at the National Academy of Sciences?" Chronicle of Higher Education 47, no. 35 (May 2001): A24, 3p, 3c.
Available online
Notes: Women and minorities in the National Academies
Abstract: Deals with the issue that few female and minority scholars are elected in the National Academy of Science. Background information on the science academy, standards used as basis for membership.
Braselmann, Sylvia. "Reluctant Rebels: Women Scientists Organizing." Bulletin of Science, Technology, and Society 23, no. 1 (2003): 6-9.
Available online
Notes: Discusses the history of organizations of women scientists and their roles in promoting and fostering women scientists
Abstract: "The history of U.S. Women scientists' organizations from the 19th century until the 1960s reflects both women's relative powerlessness within the science community and their reluctance to challenge discrimination against them. Since the 1960s, feminist activism, together with the increase in the number of women trained in science, have made discrimination against women in science more obvious and less tolerable. The founding of the first explicitly equity-seeking organization, the Association of Women in Science (AWIS), in 1971 is a watershed. Today, women scientists are willing to band together so long as the promises of meritocracy remain unfulfilled."
Brescoll, Victoria and Marianne LaFrance. "The Correlates and Consequences of Newspaper Reports of Research on Sex Differences." Psychological Science 15, no. 8 (Aug. 2004): 515-20.
Available online
Notes: Study shows that the political orientation of a newspaper is correlated with its reporting on sex differences (conservative, biological vs. liberal, social) and that reading differently oriented reports effects a person's geneder-sterotyping.
Abstract: "Correlates and consequences of newspaper accounts of research on sex differences were examined. In Study 1, articles from high-circulation newspapers were coded for the degree to which biological factors were used to explain sex differences. Results showed that political conservatism and traditional attitudes toward gender roles coded from other newspaper sections predicted greater use of biological explanations than did political liberalism and less traditional attitudes toward gender roles. In Studies 2 and 3, participants read a fictional newspaper article reporting research on a gender difference that cited either biological or sociocultural factors as explaining the difference. Results showed that exposure to biological explanations significantly increased participants' endorsement of gender stereotypes. Moreover, exposure to social explanations significantly increased participants' belief in the mutability of human behavior. Together, these studies show that political ideology influences how the popular press reports research findings and that such reporting in turn affects readers' beliefs and attitudes."
Brickhouse, Nancy W. and Pamela S. Lottero-Perdue. "Athena Unbound: The Advancement of Women in Science and Technology, by Henry Etzkowitz, Carol Kemelgor, and Brian Uzzi; Women, Science, and Society: The Crucial Union, by Sue V. Rosser; Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating a Professional Identity in Post-World War II America, by Margaret A. M. Murray (Book Review)." Signs 28, no. 3 (Spring 2003): 987-91.
Available online
Notes: Book Review
Abstract: Generally positive review of all three books. Criticizes the authors of Athena Unbound for not being "careful in documenting the evidence on which their claims are based. Huge amounts of data were collected for this book, but no description of how these qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed to form the substance of this book is provided."
Brouns, Margo. "The Gendered Nature of Assessment Procedures in Scientific Research Funding: The Dutch Case." Higher Education in Europe 25, no. 2 (2000): 193-99.
Notes: Study of gender bias in assessment procedures used by two major institutions for scientific grants in the Netherlands: The Organization for Scientific Research and the Royal Dutch Academy for the Sciences.
Abstract: Inspired in part by the Wenneras and Wold study of gender bias in the assessment of applicants for the Swedish Medical Research Council's fellowships, "this article discussed the results of a study on gender bias in assessment procedures in the two major institutions for scientific grants in the Netherlands: the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NOW) and the Royal Dutch Academy for the Sciences (KNOW). The study concentrated on a qualitative sample of one of the prestigious grants. A total of 128 files were analyzed on the basis of a correlation of characteristics of the applicant (sex, age, and scientific productivity), assessment by the external advisors (peer review), and the decision of NOW. The analysis indicated that women applicants were evaluated differently from male applicants. However, women were not discriminated against in all disciplines. On the contrary, is some disciplines they received a bonus. On of the major conclusions is that gender matters, but in different ways within the different disciplines." Ironically, women were favored in fields with a low proportion of women (eg. physics) and were discriminated against in fields with a better representation of women (eg. humanities and biology).
Brown, Kathryn. "Accomplished Women." Howard Huges Medical Institute Bulletin (June 2002): 19-25.
Available online
Notes: Article highlights challenges women in science and engineering face in the contemporary academy, celebrates women's sucess stories, and suggests strategies to help women suceed.
Abstract: Profiles several leading women in science. Addresses the challenges they faced, celebrates their successes, and suggests strategies that contribute to success. Encourages "young faculty to aim high [but to] brace for the inevitable obstacles."
Brown, Ryan P and Elizabeth C Pinel. "Stigma on My Mind: Individual Differences in the Experience of Stereotype Threat." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 39, no. 6 (2003): 626-33.
Available online
Abstract: Stereotyped individuals vary in how chronically self-conscious they are of their stigmatized status, which [Pinel, 1999] has dubbed stigma consciousness. The current study investigated whether individual differences in stigma consciousness moderate the impact of gender stereotypes on the math performance of women. Results indicated that, under conditions designed to evoke stereotype threat ([Steele, 1997]), women high in stigma consciousness scored worse than women low in stigma consciousness on a math test. In the control (low threat) condition, stigma consciousness was unrelated to test performance. Possible mechanisms underlying this moderation are discussed. -
Bruce, Peggy, ed. AWIS Magazine. Washington, D.C.: Association for Women in Science.
Brunner, C. Cryss, W. Nick G. Hitchon, and Rachel Brown. "Advancing Social Justice As a Part of Educational Leadership Development: the Potential of Imaging Technologies." On the Horizon 10, no. 3 (2002): 12-15.
Available online
Notes: Suggests the use of virtual imaging technologies to promote diversity in science by providing a means for learning about biases/assumptions.
Abstract: "We discuss beneficial uses of imaging technologies in higher education that advance social justice. Misuse and ineffectiveness of shared decision making, specifically as related to power relationships and the redistribution of descion making authority, are addressed through the development of technologically delivered experimental simulations (ES). We outline ways in which ES can change higher education preparation programs to meet and adapt to the challenges of the future. ES entails using computer technology to modify a person's appearance and thereby evoking an atypical response from an audience. The key to our proposal, however, is having the person with the modified persona learn lessons pertinent to democratic cultures and social justice from their experience of immersion in that response."
Bugliarello, George, ed. The Bridge. Vol. 29, no. 2. Washington, DC: National Academy of Engineering, 1999.
Available online
Notes: Entire issue is dedicated to discussing facets of attracting and retaining women in the field of engineering.
________. "Women in Engineering Update." 29, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 29.
Notes: News item on events that are part of the NAE project, Celebration of Women in Engineering.
Abstract: News item describes the NAE's first on-line dicussion; a discussion of on engineering careers for women, and announces a summit on Women in Engineering to be held May 17-18, 1999.
Burack, Cynthia and Suzanne E. Franks. "Telling Stories About Engineering: Group Dynamics and Resistance to Diversity." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (2004): 79-95.
Available online
Notes: Provides practical suggestions for fostering diversity in engineering and for countering resistance to such efforts.
Abstract: "Feminists and other proponents of engineering diversity often encounter resistance to initiatives and programs intended to increase diversity in engineering. Supporters of diversity often suggest both strategies for attracting underrepresented group members and changes to engineering itself. It is less common for proponents of diversity to directly address the stubborn resistance to diversity that frequently prevails in the discipline. This paper addresses resistance to diversity in engineering education using a psychodynamic approach to group social identity. From a group-psychodynamic perspective, resistance to diversity as threatening to the group and to its identity is predictable, although the particular circumstances and culture of the group remain to be analyzed. We give particular attention to the role of engineering "leaders" in influencing group responses to the perceived diversity threat, suggesting a number of practical changes in engineering culture that are likely to mitigate the sense of threat associated with increasing diversification.
Burger, Carol J., ed. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering. Vol. 9; 10, no. 1-4; 1-3. New York: Begell House, 2004.
Burroughs Wellcome Fund and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty. Chevy Chase, MD: Howard Huges Medical Institute // Burroughs Wellcome Fund, 2004.
Notes: Guide to managing a lab for new or prospective tenure-track science faculty.
Abstract: "Beginning academic scientists face a variety of challenges in setting up this laboratories. Good research skills are only one part of the formula for sucess. They have to hire and lead a research team, find grant support, publish, teach, mentor -- and all the while work toward tenure." Based on presentations and discussions from a course developed by HHMI and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, this book is a collection of practical advice, experiences, and opinions from seasoned biomedical investigators and other professionals. It "helps new investigators think strategically and 'make the right moves."
Bystydzienski, Jill M. "(Re)Gendering Science Fields: Transforming Academic Science and Engineering." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (Spring 2004): viii-xii.
Available online
Notes: Introduction to a special issue on retaining women in STEM fields, complied from a 2002 conference.
Abstract: Article introduces and reviews contributions to a special issue that focuses on the barriers to retaining women in STEM fields. The issue emphasizes that "(re)gendering" of STEM fields is the fundamental solution to making participation in STEM fields equal.
Camp, Tracy, ed. SIGSE Bulletin, Special Issue, Women and Computing. Vol. 34, no. 22002.
Canes, Brandice J. and Harvey S. Rosen. "Following in Her Footsteps? Faculty Gender Composition and Women's Choices of College Majors." Industrial and Labor Relations Review 48, no. 3 (Apr. 1995): 486-504.
Available online
Notes: Paper examines the common hypothesis that increasing the number of female faculty in science and engineering would help to increase the number of women students in those fields. Econometric evidence finds no support for this hypothesis
Abstract: "Although it is widely supposed that a college's female undergraduate enrollment in the sciences and engineering can be increased by raising female representation on the faculties in those fields, that proposition has not been subjected to serious statistical analysis. The authors of this paper analyze panel data from three quite different educational institutions-Princeton University, the University of Michigan, and Whittier College-to examine the relationship between the gender composition of the students in an academic department and the gender composition of its faculty at the time the students were choosing their majors. They find no evidence that an increase in the share of women on a department's faculty led to an increase in its share of female majors."
Carnes, Molly. "Balancing Family and Career: Advice From the Trenches." Annals of Internal Medicine 125, no. 7 (Oct. 1996): 618-20.
Available online
Notes: Carnes provides advice based on her personal experience
Carnes, Molly. "Just This Side of the Glass Ceiling." Journal of Women's Health 5, no. 4 (1996): 283-86.
Abstract: Based on her own experience as of only a very few tenured women physicians in her department, Carnes shares her observations from "looking through the glass ceiling at the largely male power structure controlling the department of medicine and the medical school' and from her occassional forays "to the other side of the glass ceiling." She shares her thoughts on the following topics: "why I do not want to be chairman, why I believe so many men do want to be charman, and why even if I did want to be chairman, I probably could not."
Carnes, Molly et al. "NIH Director's Pioneer Awards: Could the Selection Process Be Biased Against Women." Journal of Women's Health 14, no. 8 (2005): 684-91.
Available online
Notes: Several aspects of the process of nomination, evaluation, and selections disadvantaged women candidates for the NIH Pioneer Award and explain why no women received this award.
Abstract: The authors question why no women were among the scientists who received the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pioneer Award. Using "research on the impact of gender-based assumptions on evaluation of men and women in traditionally male fields, such as science" they conclude that several aspects of the process of nomination, evaluation, and selection inadvertently favored men. They "encourage the NIH to embark on self-study and to educate all reviewers regarding an evidence-based approach to gender and evaluation."
Carnes, Molly, Jo Handelsman, and Jennifer Sheridan. "Diversity in Academic Medicine: The Stages of Change Model." Journal of Women's Health 14, no. 6 (2005): 471-75.
Available online
Notes: Applies stages of change model to institutional diversity.
Abstract: Argues that the "stages of change" model of behaviorial change that has been applied to describe intentional change in health risk behaviors, particularly smoking, can also be applied to diversifying academic science and medicine. The fives stages are: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
Carnes, Molly, Jo Handelsman, Jennifer Sheridan, and Douglas Jorenby, Diversifying Academic Medicine: Lessons From Smoking Cessation - Draft, (unpublished).2003.
Abstract: Argues that the "Transtheoretical Model" of behavior change that has been applied to describe stages of change in intentional health risk behaviors, particularly smoking, can also be applied to diversifying academic science and medicine. The fives stages are: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
Carr/Phyllis L. et al. "Faculty Perceptions of Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in Academic Medicine." Annals of Internal Medicine 132, no. 11 (June 2000): 889-96.
Available online
Abstract: Results of a self-administered mailed questionnaire of U.S. medical school faculty in 24 randomly selected medical schools in the U.S. showed that female faculty were more than 2.5 times more likely than male faculty to perceive gender-based discrimination in the academic environment (P < 0.001). Among women, rates of reported discrimination ranged from 47% for the youngest faculty to 70% for the oldest faculty. Women who reported experiencing negative gender bias had similar productivity but lower career satisfaction scores than did other women (P < 0.001). About half of female faculty but few male faculty experienced some form of sexual harassment. These experiences were similarly prevalent across the institutions in the sample and in all regions of the United States. Female faculty who reported being sexually harassed perceived gender-specific bias in the academic environment more often than did other women (80% compared with 61%) and more often reported experiencing gender bias in professional advancement (72% compared with 47%). Publications, career satisfaction, and professional confidence were not affected by sexual harassment, and self-assessed career advancement was only marginally lower for female faculty who had experienced sexual harassment (P = 0.06).
Carr, Phyllis L. and et al. "Relation of Family Responsibilities and Gender to the Productivity and Career Satisfaction of Medical Faculty." Annals of Internal Medicine 129, no. 7 (Oct. 1998): 532-38.
Available online
Notes: Dependent care responsibilities are linked to the lower aspirations and career achievements of women medical faculty versus men.
Abstract: "Studies have found that female faculty publish less, have slower career progress, and generally have a more difficult time in academic careers than male faculty. The relation of family (dependent) responsibilities to gender and academic productivity is unclear." A 177-item survey was administered to full time faculty at 24 randomly selected medical schools in the U.S. Results from 1979 respondents show that "for both male and female faculty, more than 90% of time devoted to family responsibilities was spent on child care. Among faculty with children, women had greater obstacles to academic careers and less institutional support, including research funding from their institutions (46% compared with 57%; P < 0.001) and secretarial support (0.68 full-time equivalents compared with 0.83 full-time equivalents; P = 0.003), than men. Compared with men with children, women with children had fewer publications (18.3 compared with 29.3; P < 0.001), slower self-perceived career progress (2.6 compared with 3.1; P < 0.001), and lower career satisfaction (5.9 compared with 6.6; P < 0.001). However, no significant differences between the sexes were seen for faculty without children." The study concludes that "compared with female faculty without children and compared with men, female faculty with children face major obstacles in academic careers. Some of these obstacles can be easily modified (for example, by eliminating after-hours meetings and creating part-time career tracks). Medical schools should address these obstacles and provide support for faculty with children."
Carr, Phyllis L. et al. "A "Ton of Feathers": Gender Discrimination in Academic Medical Careers and How to Manage It." Journal of Women's Health 12, no. 10 (Nov. 2003): 1009-18.
Available online
Notes: Telephone interviews with a limited sample of women in academic medicine show 40% felt hindered by gender discrimination
Abstract: "In-depth, semistructured telephonic individual interviews of 18 women faculty who experienced or may have experienced discrimination in the course of their professional academic medical careers from 13 of the 24 institutions of the National Faculty Survey [revealed that] forty percent of respondents ranked gender discrimination first out of 11 possible choices for hindering their career in academic medicine. Thirty-five percent ranked gender discrimination second to either 'limited time for professional work' or 'lack of mentoring.' Respondents rated themselves as poorly prepared to deal with gender discrimination and noted effects on professional self-confidence, self-esteem, collegiality, isolation, and career satisfaction. The hierarchical structure in academe is perceived to work against women, as there are few women at the top. Women faculty who have experienced gender discrimination perceive that little can be done to directly address this issue. Institutions need to be proactive and recurrently evaluate the gender climate, as well as provide transparent information and fair scrutiny of promotion and salary decisions." The authors conclude that "according to this subset of women who perceive that they have been discriminated against based on gender, sexual bias and discrimination are subtly pervasive and powerful. Such environments may have consequences for both women faculty and academic medicine, affecting morale and dissuading younger trainees from entering academic careers. Medical schools need to evaluate and may need to improve the environment for women in academe."
Channel 9. Women in Technology. Charles Torre and Jennifer Ritzinger.
Available online
Notes: Interviews of women working at Microsoft
Abstract: From interns to vice presidents there are some amazing women who work at Microsoft, and we want to feature them on Channel 9. Charles Torre and Jennifer Ritzinger have started a new series featuring women at Microsoft who work in development, marketing, research, and evangelism who have interesting stories to share about their success in the industry and ideas on how to grow diversity in IT. Meet these women at Microsoft, what makes them tick, and hear more about women and technology.
Chesler, Naomi C. and Mark A. Chesler. "Gender-Informed Mentoring Strategies for Women Engineering Scholars: On Establishing a Caring Community." Journal of Engineering Education 91, no. 1 (Jan. 2002): 49-55.
Available online
Notes: Authors use sociological approaches to identify alternative, gender-informed models for mentoring women in engineering.
Abstract: "Improved mentoring of women graduate students and young faculty is one strategy for increasing the presence, retention and advancement of women scholars in engineering. We explore the sociological literature on interpersonally - and institutionally - generated gender roles and dynamics that make the construction and maintenance of mentoring especially difficult for women in male-dominated fields. In addition, we review non-traditional strategies including peer-, multiple- and collective mentorships that are likely to be more successful for most women (and men). Finally, organizational change strategies designed to provide a more egalitarian and cooperative atmosphere in engineering programs and departments are presented. These ideas represent a social contract for a caring community more supportive of all members' personal and professional growth and success."
________. "Theater As a Community-Building Strategy for Women in Engineering: Theory and Practice." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 11, no. 1 (2005): 83-95.
Notes: Authors use sociological approaches to identify alternative, gender-informed models for mentoring women in engineering.
Abstract: "Previously, the authors have suggested that peer mentoring through a caring community would improve the quality of life for female faculty members in engineering and could have a positive effect on retention and career advancement. Here, the authors present the background psychosocial literature for choosing participatory theater as a strategy to develop a caring community and report on a pilot study in which participatory theater activities were used within a workshop format for untenured female faculty members in engineering. The authors identify the key differences between participatory theater and other strategies for community building that may enhance participants' sense of commonality and the strength and utility of their community as a mentorin and support mechanism and discuss the ways in which these efforts could have a broader, longer term impact."
Chesler, Naomi C., Peg Boyle Single, and Borjana Mikic. "On Belay: Peer-Mentoring and Adventure Education for Women Faculty in Engineering." Journal of Engineering Education (July 2003): 257-62.
Available online
Notes: Paper provides an evaluation of an outdoor program intended to build ties for effective mentoring among women faculty in engineering; authors suggest that the program was effective in accomplishing its goals.
Abstract: "This paper reports on an intervention program designed to cultivate effective peer mentoring among a small group of women engineering faculty members from different academic institutions. Adventure education, comprised of linked intellectual and physical challenges in an outdoor setting, was chosen as the vehicle to transform the group into a highly functioning team. Based on qualitative analysis of post-workshop essays, the intervention resulted in informational, psychosocial, and instrumental mentoring benefits that could serve to support and enhance the participants' academic careers. This paper provides a blueprint for the design of similar workshops for groups that could benefit from additional peer-mentoring and network opportunities in the engineering academy."
Chinn, Pauline W. U. "Asian and Pacific Islander Women Scientists and Engineers: A Narrative Exploration of Model Minority, Gender, and Racial Stereotypes." Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39, no. 4 (2002): 302-23.
Available online
Notes: Gender expectations for Asian and Pacific Islander Women Scientists and Engineers.
Abstract: "This qualitative study uses narrative methodology to understand what becoming a scientist or engineer entails for women stereotyped as "model minorities." Interviews with four Chinese and Japanese women focused on the social contexts in which science is encountered in classrooms, families, and community. Interpretation was guided by theories that individuals construct personal narratives mediated by cultural symbolic systems to make meaning of experiences. Narratives revealed that Confucian cultural scripts shaped gender expectations even in families several generations in America. Regardless of parents' level of education, country of birth, and number of children, educational expectations, and resources were lower for daughters. Parents expected daughters to be compliant, feminine, and educated enough to be marriageable. Findings suggest K-12 gender equity science practices encouraged development of the women's interests and abilities but did not affect parental beliefs. The author's 1999 study of Hawaiians/Pacific Islander and Filipina female engineers is included in implications for teacher education programs sensitive to gender, culture, ethnicity, and language."
Choi, Charles Q. "Women Scientists Face Problems." The Scientist 18, no. 3 (Feb. 2004).
Available online
Notes: NSF survey shows that few women are moving into academic science, that women have more difficulty finding collaborators, and more trouble balancing work and career.
Clewell, Beatriz Chu and Carol J. Burger. "At the Crossroads: Women, Science, and Engineering." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 8 , no. 3/4 (2002): 249.
Abstract: Introduces the articles featured in the August 2002 issue of the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering. Discusses the gap between boys' and girls' achievement in mathematics and the sciences; efforts to increase the representation of women in science, engineering and technology; and the progress of academic female scientists and engineers in the U.S. and Great Britain.
Clewell, Beatriz Chu and Patricia B. Campbell. "Taking Stock: Where We'Ve Been, Where We Are, Where We'Re Going." Journal of Women & Minorities in Science & Engineering 8, no. 3/4 (2002): 255-84.
Notes: Overview of women' progress in STEM fields
Abstract: Examines minority women's and White women's progress in science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET) in the 1990s. "Starting from an eploration of participation and achievement data, the authors move on to cover the theories behind SMET gender differences, including those based on testing, biology, social-psychology, and cognitive sciences. Looking at practice as well as theory, the authors explore the impacts that interventions and contextual influences, such as social change and education reform, have had on efforts to achieve gender parity in SMET. The article concludes with the recommendation of logical next steps to preserve and expand the gains made by women in these fields." The authors concentrate on pre-college participation and achievements.
Cobb, Jewel Plummer. "Planning Strategies for Women in Scientific Professions."Women in Scientific and Engineering Professions Editors, Violet B. Hass and Carolyn C. Perrucci. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1984.
Abstract: This chapter is part of a book which is compiled from papers presented at a national "Conference on Women in the Professions: Science, Social Science, Engineering" held at Purdue University on March 20-21, 1981. The ten strategies presented in this article not only provide professional advice to women scientists, but also suggest ways to change social views that impede women's progress in science, and sensitize male academics to think about how they can encourage women's progress in science.
Colbeck, Carol L. and Robert Drago. "Accept, Avoid, Resist: Faculty Members' Responses to Bias Against Caregiving . . . And How Departments Can Help." Change Magazine 37, no. 6 (Nov. 2005-Dec. 2005): 10-17.
Available online
Notes: Bias against caregiving in the academy
Abstract: Reports on three interrelated studies that explore the extent to which faculty perceive a bias against caregiving and how they respond to it. Also discusses what institutions and departments can do to alleviate this bias.
Cole, Jonathan R. and Burton Singer. "A Theory of Limited Difference: Explaining the Productivity Puzzle in Science."The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community Harriet Zuckerman, Jonathan R. Cole, and John T. Bruer, 277-310, 319-23, 338-40. New York: Norton, 1991.
Notes: Explains different publication rates for men and women scientists.
Abstract: Uses Theory of Limited Difference to explain why men published twice as many scientific papers as women and why this difference increases over the course of careers.
Commission of the European Communities. Women and Science: Excellence and Innovation - Gender Equity in Science, SEC(2005) 370. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities, 2005.
Available online
Notes: European Union report on EU initiatives to increase the particiaption of women in science and engineering and progress towards benchmark goals.
Abstract: "This report, sumbitted at the request of the Research Council of June 2001, gives an overview of women and science actions implemented at the European level since the Council Resolution and the results achieved. In particular: 1) Activities of the European Commission to promote gender equality in science through the Research Framework Programmes and in the context of the Science and Society Action plant, and 2) Progress made in increasing the participation of women in science in the EU Member States since 1999, taking into account EU enlargment also.
At the Council's request, attention is paid to the progress made by the Commission in reaching the target of "40% participation of women at all levels in implementing and managing research programmes." The report also includes data on the progress of the Women in Industrial Research (WIR) initiative, as requested by the European Council in its Resolution of November 2003."
Conefrey, Theresa. "Laboratory Talk and Women's Retention Rates in Science." Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 6, no. 3 (2000): 251-64.
Notes: Ethnographic study points to communication styles as a factor in creating a "chilly climate" for women in a particular university research laboratory.
Abstract: Despite initiatives designed to increase women's participation in science, their attrition rates remain high. To improve women's retention rates, this article proposes a closer examination of the culture of science to discover what it is about it that women might find uncomfortable, that could create a "chilly climate" for them. A 2-year ethnographic study of a university research laboratory group was conducted that identified the group's communication style as problematic for some female members. A weekly meeting was selected that exemplifies several of the dynamics of the communication style that women at this laboratory had found problematic. An analysis of this meeting identified specific features of the talk and examined research findings from the fields of language and gender research and laboratory studies to explain why women might find these features problematic.
Conley, Frances K. Walking Out on the Boys. New York: Farrer, Straus, and Giroux, 1998.
Notes: Autobiographical account
Abstract: Conley made headlines when she resigned from Stanford University as the first women in the country named full professor of neurosurgery. Here she tells the story of her training and career in a profession that is dominated by white males and systematically treats women as inferior, and how she came to the realization that nothing she could do would ever admit her to the club. She ponders the implications for the future of the medical profession. (abstract by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. )
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and The Albert Nerken School of Engineering. The Cooper Union 1989 National Survey of Women EngineersNew York: 1989.
Notes: Survey of 4,000 members of the Society of Women Engineers taken in 1989.
Abstract: Report summarizes the findings of the Cooper Union's 1989 survey of working women engineers. Topics covered include: demographic issues, career profiles, gender issues in the work place, personal profiles, and marriage & the family. Concluding remarks highlight the prevalence of gender discrimination in the work place, problems women engineers experience balancing work & family, and the importance of increasing the numbers of female engineering role models in factilitating the education & sucess of more women engineers.
Correll, Shelley J. "Constraints into Preferences: Gender, Status, and Emerging Career Aspirations." American Sociological Review 69, no. 1 (2004): 93-113.
Available online
Abstract: This study presents an experimental evaluation of a model that describes the constraining effect of cultural beliefs about gender on the emerging career-relevant aspirations of men and women. The model specifies the conditions under which gender status beliefs evoke a gender-differentiated double standard for attributing performance to ability, which differentially biases the way men and women assess their own competence at tasks that are career relevant, controlling for actual ability. The model implies that, if men and women make different assessments of their own competence at career-relevant tasks, they will also form different aspirations for career paths and activities believed to require competence at these tasks. Data from the experiment support this model. In one condition, male and female undergraduate participants completed an experimental task after being exposed to a belief that men are better at this task. In this condition, male participants assessed their task ability higher than female participants did even though all were given the same scores. Males in this condition also had higher aspirations for career-relevant activities described as requiring competence at the task. No gender differences were found in either assessments or aspirations in a second condition where participants were instead exposed to a belief that men and women have equal task ability. To illustrate the utility of the model in a "real world" (i.e., nonlaboratory) setting, results are compared to a previous survey study that showed men make higher assessments of their own mathematical ability than women, which contributes to their higher rates of persistence on paths to careers in science, math, and engineering. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
________. "Gender and the Career Choice Process: The Role of Biased Self-Assessments." The American Journal of Sociology 106, no. 6 (2001): 1691-730.
Available online
Notes: Cultural beliefs about gender and mathematical ability influence individuals' assessments of their own mathematical competence and leads to gender differences in decisions to pursue careers in STEM fields.
Abstract: This article develops a supply-side mechanism about how cultural beliefs about gender differentially influence the early career-relevant decisions of men and women. Cultural beliefs about gender are argued to bias individuals' perceptions of their competence at various career-relevant tasks, controlling for actual ability. To the extent that individuals then act on gender-differentiated perceptions when making career decisions, cultural beliefs about gender channel men and women in substantially different career directions. The hypotheses are evaluated by considering how gendered beliefs about mathematics impact individuals' assessments of their own mathematical competence, which, in turn, leads to gender differences in decisions to persist on a path toward a career in science, math, or engineering.
Cox, Ana Marie and Robin Wilson. "Leaders of 9 Universities Pledge to Improve Conditions for Female Scientists." Chronicle of Higher Education 47, no. 22 (Feb. 2001): A12.
Available online
Abstract: Three faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology--Nancy Hopkins, Lotte Bailyn, and Lorna Gibson -- recently organized a meeting of presidents and provosts from nine top research universities. At the meeting these leaders signed a pledge to promote the more equitable treatment of female faculty members in science and engineering, and to consider "potentially significant" changes in university policies to accomplish that goal. Some reactions of female faculty members are included.
Dar-Nimrod, Ilan and Steven J. Heine. "Exposure to Scientific Theories Affects Women's Math Performance." Science 314 (Oct. 2006): 435.
Available online
Notes: Stereotype threat can be invoked by arguments that genetics causes sex differences in performance in math and cause experimental subjects to perform worse on math tests.
Abstract: Extending the research showing that "stereotype threat occurs when stereotyped groups perform worse as their group membership is highlighted," the authors studied "whether stereotype threat is affected by accounts for the origins of stereotypes." The showed that "women who read of genetic causes of sex differences performed worse on math tests than those who read of experiential causes."
Dietz, J. S. et al. "Women and the Crossroads of Science: Thoughts on Policy Research, and Evaluation." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science & Engineering 8 (2002): 395-408.
Abstract: In this essay, the authors examine the crosscutting themes of this special issue as they pertain to policy, research, and evaluation on women and science. Past and current research, theory, framework, and programs are discussed in the context of challenges and innovations for methods and policy. The authors assert that the crossroads for gender equity studies lies at the intersection of science and society and argue for the need to build a base of cumulative knowledge for policy and practice.
Ding, Waverly W., Fiona Murray, and Toby E. Stuart. "Gender Differences in Patenting in the Academic Life Sciences." Science 313, no. 5787 (Aug. 2005): 665-67.
Available online
Notes: Gender gap in obtaining patents has improved over time but remains large
Abstract: Authors "analyzed longitudinal data on academic careers and conducted interviews with faculty members to determine the scope and causes of the gender gap in patenting among life scientists." Their regression analyses "on a random sample of 4227 life scientists over a 30-year period show that women faculty members patent at about 40% of the rate of men." They conclude "that the gender gap has improved over time but remains large."
Dreifus, Claudia. "Bringing Feminine Mystique to Engineering." The New York Times (New York), 22 June 1999, Science, D3.
Available online
Notes: Converstation with Eleanor Baum - part of national debate on gender in the university.
Abstract: "In a time when the words affirmative action are unmentionable in some corners of academia, Dr. Eleanor Baum, electrical engineer, dean of engineering at Cooper Union in New York and the first woman to head an engineering college anywhere, is running a one-woman affirmative action campaign that is transforming engineering."
________. "Solving a Mystery of Life, Then Tackling a Real-Life Problem: A Conversation With Christiane Nusslein-Volhard." New York Times, 4 July 2006, F, 2.
Available online
Notes: Nobel Prize Winner Christiane Nusslein-Volhard talks about her science and obstacles for women in science.
Abstract: In the 1980's, she and Eric F. Wieschaus solved one of the central mysteries of life: how the genes in a fertilized egg direct the formation of an embryo. For their discovery, Dr. [Christiane Nusslein-Volhard], Dr. Wieschaus and Edward B. Lewis received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Nusslein-Volhard was just the 10th woman to win a Nobel Prize in one of the sciences. In this interview, Nusslein-Volhard, talks aboutobstacles for women in science and her grant program that provides funds for childcare and household help to women scientists.
Dresselhaus, Mildred. "Personal Views on Careers of Women in Science and Engineering." Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 23, no. 1 (Feb. 2003): 44-45.
Available online
Abstract: Author's personal experience as a female physics faculty member, noting that while matters have improved for women in the sciences, inequalities still remain. Recommendations for improving the situation, with examples of programs that have successfully done so - "The Climate for Women in Physics" Program of the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics of the American Physical Society, and the Report on the Women Faculty in the School of Science at MIT.
Dresselhaus, Mildred S., Judy R. Franz, and Bunny C. Clark. "Interventions to Increase the Participation of Women in Physics." Science 263 (Mar. 1994): 1392-93.
Available online
Notes: Discusses the perceived lack of women in US physics departments and describes a program of physics department site visits. Results of site visits indicate that a welcoming atmosphere is needed to retain female physics students.
Dyke, Patricia. "WABio Starts Up." I-Street (Nov. 2002).
Notes: Reports on start-up events of WABio (Women Advancing Bioscience).
Abstract: The founding of the WABio group presents women in science an opportunity to network with a diverse group of women scientists outside of their companies.
Edwards, Christopher G. "Get a Life!: New Options for Balancing Work and Home." HMS Beagle: The BioMedNet Magazine 54 (May 1999).
Notes: Life science companies and university see benefits of helping employees lead balanced lives.
Abstract: Scientists are trained to believe that research should come first in their lives, and the research community supports this expectation. However, if you want to build your personal relationships, care for children or elders, or nurture an important nonwork interest, you need time, attention, and precious energy. Fortunately, life science companies and universities are beginning to discover that it's good business to help employees have better, more rewarding personal lives. Let's look at this trend, and examine how it might affect your next job or promotion.
Eisenhart, Margaret A and Elizabeth Finkel. Women's Science Learning and Succeeding From the Margins. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
Ellis, Patricia. "Women in Science-Based Employment: What Makes the Difference?" Bulletin of Science Technology Society 23, no. 1 (Feb. 2003): 10-16.
Available online
Abstract: Despite 20 years of official concern, women scientists in the United Kingdom are still unrepresented in the higher echelons of U.K. science, engineering, and technology and limited in their opportunities for advancement. The author attributes this to the organization and structure of scientific work, together with male "ownership" of science (even where women are a sizeable minority), rather than to the choices women make. Conflict with childbearing and child raising is significant in science more than in law and medicine because external funding sources and large, rigid laboratory organizations disparage and hence disadvantage part-time scientists. Perception is another factor. Women scientists are not seen as equally committed to their work or as eager for advancement. Industrial employment, which should be freer of some of the problems in academic or research science, nevertheless shows restrictions on women's advancement, too.
Erbe, Bonnie. PBS' To The Contrary: Women in Engineering. Persephone Productions Inc. 2003.
Notes:
Erwin, Lorna. "Gender Equity and Science: An Annotated Bibliography, 1990-2002." Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 23, no. 1 (Feb. 2003): 32-42.
Available online
Notes: Bibliography of English language books published since 1990, "considered relevant to the North American situation" of the unequal status of men and women in the sciences. The emphasis is on history of women in science, career issues, education, and feminist critiques.
Erwin, Lorna et al. "Introduction: Careers of Women in Science: Issues of Power and Control." Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 23, no. 1 (Feb. 2003): 3-5.
Available online
Notes: Tracks the status of women's gains in the sciences, focusing on women's need for power to control their environments. Acts as introduction to journal.
Etzkowitz, Henry et al. "The Paradox of Critical Mass for Women in Science." Science 266, no. 5182 (1994): 51-54.
Available online
Notes: Critical mass alone is not sufficient to solve issues confronting women in science.
Abstract: Academic science departments in five disciplines were studied to evaluate the dynamics and effects of transitions for the problem of increasing participation of women in science. Results indicate that, as the number of women faculty members in a department increased, they divided into distinct subgroups that could be at odds with each other.
Etzkowitz, Henry, Carol Kemelgor, and Brian Uzzi. Athena Unbound the Advancement of Women in Science and Technology. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
EurActive. "Report Argues Business Case for Women in Science." (May 2006).
Available online
Abstract: "A report on women in dustrial research provides companies with hard economic evidence on why they should aim at gender balance in R&D and in senior positions to improve their economic performance.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Research. She Figures 2006: Women in Science, Statistics and IndicatorsBelgium: European Communities, 2006.
Available online
Abstract: "She Figures 2006 shows that women remain a minority among researchers in the EU (29% in 2003, a slight increase from 27% in 1999), but that the number of women in research is increasing (plus 4%, compared to 2.4% for men). This represents an increase of some 140,000 researchers in the period, of which 39% were women. While this indicates a continued positive trend overall, we should not forget that women remain underrepresented in science, especially in leading positions. . . . [The data] demonstrate that women's intellectual potential, and their contribution to society are not being fully capitalised upon. In particular, their participation is dramatically low in certain branches of the natural sciences and in engineering and technology, which are key R&D areas. Women are seriously under-represented in the business enterprise sector where the EU's R&D is most highly intensive; and in senior academic grades and influential positions where strategies are set, policies are developed, and the agenda for the future is determined."
European Commission Directorate-General for Research: Science and Society. "She Figures": Women and Science Statistics and Indicators, EUR 20733. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Commission, 2003.
Available online
Notes: At its inaugural meeting in 1999, the Helsinki Group on Women and Science identified the lack of internationally comparable statistics on women and science as a major obstacle to full and informed debate. As a result, a sub-group of statistical correspondents was formed which, in co-operation with the Research DG and Eurostat, has stimulated the mainstreaming of the sex variable into the European R&D surveys. It is clear from the ensuing data that women are not only under-represented in scientific research, but that they are distributed differently across disciplines and are less likely to be concentrated at the top of academic and research hierarchies. These phenomena are common to every participating European country. This publication explores the data to find other common patterns in the education, recruitment, promotion and participation of women as researchers and scientists.
Evon, Darcy. "New Intiatives to Help Female Entrepeneurs." Chicago Sun-Times (Chicago), 21 Oct. 2002, 58.
Available online
Notes: Report announces the creation of WABio.
Abstract: The Advancing Women in Bioscience organization was formed to help promote women biotech entrepeunurs by providing a forum for networking. (To find this article -- follow the link above to Nexis-Lexis. Step 1: select "general news." Step 2: select "major papers." Step 3: Enter "Evon" as Author AND "female entrepreneurs" as Headline. Step 4: select "all available dates". Step 5: enter "Chicago Sun-Times.")
Ferreira, Maria M. "The Research Lab: A Chilly Place for Women." 8, no. 1 (2002): 85-98.
Notes: Presents a case study of two graduate women that examines key factors of the work environment that influence the high attrition rate of graduate women in a chemistry department at a research university.
Abstract: "Ph.D.'s in most graduate science programs require that graduate students spend large amounts of time conducting research in science laboratories. As a result, the environment in the research lab is key to the success or failure of graduate students, particularly women. This article is a case study of two graduate women in a chemistry department at a large research university. In-depth interviews, field notes from a support group for graduate women in science, and departmental records were used to examine the relationship between key factors of their work environment and the high attrition rate of graduate women in the department. Analyses of the data indicated that the social climate in the research lab, shaped by the attitudes and behaviors of the women's male colleagues and/or research advisors, created a 'chilly place' for the female graduate students."
Fidell, L. S. "Empirical Verification of Sex Discrimination in Hiring Practices in Psychology."Woman: Dependent or Independent Variable? editors, R. K Denmark F. L. Unger, 774-82. New York: Psychological Dimensions, 1975.
Notes: Shows influence of gender on evaluation of credentials. Based on a study that switched names on C.V.s.
Abstract:
Fink, Ira. "Research Space: Who Needs It, Who Gets It, Who Pays for It?" Planning for Higher Education 33, no. 1 (Sept. 2004-Nov. 2004): 5-17.
Available online
Notes: Discusses institutional planning issues as they relate to the allocation of research space; does not address gender.
Abstract: "The writer provides an overview of research space management across the U.S. on general campuses and in health science centers. The overview indicates that the many people and groups involved in the research space allocation and management process are faced with important campus issues related to documenting how research space is used, projecting what needs exist, acquiring the space, managing it, and maintaining a research space equilibrium by keeping demand and supply in balance."
Fiorentine, Robert. "Men, Women, and the Premed Persistence Gap: A Normative Alternatives Approach." American Journal of Sociology 92, no. 5 (Mar. 1987): 1118-39.
Available online
Notes: Far fewer women premedical students apply to medical school than male premedical students, this difference is accounted for by that relatively fewer women than men with moderate and low academic performances choose to apply. The Author suggests that these women's failure to persist in medicine can be explained by the normative alternatives approach that suggests that women have a variety of normatively appropriate alternatives from which to choose.
Abstract: "Recent data indicate that, while almost the same proportion of male and female college freshmen enter undergraduate premedical programs, substantially fewer females eventually apply to medical school. College transcripts from a large eastern university were examined to determine whether the lower persistence rate of females is a consequence of a generally lower level of academic performance. The evidence indicates that the differential rate of application is only slightly determined by sex differences in academic performance. Most of the variance is the consequence of a unique pattern of persistence. Females with moderate and low levels of academic performance are substantially less likely than males with similar levels of performance to apply to medical school, but those with a high level of performance are equally likely to apply. Existing "normative" and "structural barriers" approaches in explaining the persistence gap are assessed in terms of logic and evidence. A "normative alternatives" approach that may provide a more adequate explanation of these findings is offered."
________. "Sex Differences in Success Expectances and Causal Attributions: Is This Why Fewer Women Become Physicians?" Social Psychology Quarterly 51, no. 3 (1988): 236-49.
Available online
Notes: Women drop out of "male" subject areas when they perform poorly; men who perform equally poorly do not drop out.
Abstract: "Toward the larger goal of understanding why women are underrepresented among physicians, this investigation assesses the contribution of the cognitive approach in explaining the lower rate of female persistence in undergraduate premed programs. In examining high school students about to embark on a premed course, the author found that females do not attribute their high school performance to a different configuration of ability, effort, or task difficulty. Females are slightly more likely than males to attribute their high school grades to luck, but this tendency seems to have no effect on the expectancy of success in the premed program. Nor are there significant sex differences in the use of attributions to ability, effort, task difficulty, or luck among male and female premed students, even though females earn lower grades in the required premed courses. The slight differences that do exist suggest that female premed students are more likely to internalize their successes and to externalize their failures, an attributional pattern that should result in higher, not lower, levels of persistence. A logistic regression analysis, however, indicates that none of the causal attributions have any effect on persistence for either males or females. Yet female premed students rate themselves lower on a variety of academic and social skills and have less confidence in their ability to perform the role of physician. This lower level of confidence explains some of the premed persistence gap. The implications of these findings are discussed."
Fister, Emily et al., Workbook Coordinators. Beyond Parity Workbook for Action
Notes: "The Beyond Parity Conference was the beginning of a long dialogue to support coordinated activism on the part of women and men who wish to promote institutional change through women's leader ship in academic medicine. The Beyond Parity Workbook for Action was developed to assist in this transformation." Contains conference synopsis, models of success, steps for transformation.
Foschi, Martha, Larissa Lai, and Kirsten Sigerson. "Gender and Double Standards in the Assessment of Job Applicants." Social Psychology Quarterly 57, no. 4 (Dec. 1994): 326-39.
Available online
Notes: Examines gender-based double standards for applicants for an engineering job
Abstract: This study tests hypotheses on the use of gender-based double standards in the assessment of task competence. The design involves the examination of files of applicants for engineering jobs, and recreates several features of a hiring decision. The critical choice to be made by each subject was between a male and a female applicant with average but slightly different academic records. In one experimental condition the man held the better record; in the other, the situation was reversed. Results for male subjects show that when the male candidate was the better performer, he was chosen more often, and was considered more competent and more suitable, than when the female candidate was in that position. Female subjects, on the other hand, did not show any differences regarding sex of applicant. This sex of subject effect is examined in detail. A discussion of the paper's theoretical and methodological contributions to the study of ability evaluation is also included.
Foster, Sharon W. et al. "Results of a Gender-Climate and Work-Environment Survey at a Midwestern Academic Health Center." Academic Medicine 75, no. 6 (June 2000): 653-60.
Notes: Women faculty at UW Medical school perceive that gender climate impedes their advancement.
Abstract: Presents results of a 115 item questionnaire distributed to all UW Medical School faculty to assess their perceptions of mentoring, networking, professional environment, obstacles to a successful academic career, and reasons for considering leaving academic medicine. Based on a response rate of 61%, the authors conclude that women faculty perceived that gender climate created specific, serious obstacles to their professional development. The authors further conclude that many of these obstacles are remediable and that medical school can improve the climate and retain and promote women by more inclusive networking, attention to meeting times and child care, and improved professional interactions between men and women faculty.
Fox, Mary Frank. "Gender, Faculty, and Doctoral Education in Science and Engineering."Equal Rites, Unequal Outcomes: Women in American Research Universities editor, Lilli S. Hornig. New York: Kluwer Academic, 2003.
Notes: Women faculty play an important role in fostering the education and success of women graduate students.
Abstract: Examines "the cultures and climates of graduate science departments [and how they influence] women's participation and position in these fields." The chapter investigates whether men and women faculty in science and engineering "have comparatively different or similar patterns in (1) the gender composition of advisees and research team (student) members; (2) the nature/character of their interactions with advisees; and (3) their beliefs about what is important in doctoral education for female compared to male students. Fox is interested primarily in determining "the consequences of having women faculty" and in how and why it matters "to have women as well as men faculty." Her essay is based on results of a national mail survey she conducted in 1993-94 of 1215 faculty (sampled from known populations) in doctoral-granting departments of computer science, chemistry, electrical engineering, microbiology, and physics. Fox finds that women faculty "act as primary research advisors for a larger number of female students;" that for faculty doing "team research" "women faculty have more female students on their research teams" than do men faculty and the same amount of male students as do men faculty -- thus they have larger groups; that women faculty interact with their students in a more planned or "deliberate" manner, that women faculty put "more emphasis upon giving help to advisees across a broader range of areas of help and for their female students, "they place greater emphasis on a range of skills/competencies, not only publication of papers, but also a span of interactional capacities" such as, participating in laboratory meetings, making presentations, interacting with faculty. Women faculty, Fox argues, seem to "believe that success of female students . . . is governed not only by 'ambition' and 'hard work' but also by factors more external to students, such as 'alignment with successful faculty." They recognize "the role of social and organizational opportunities/constraints, as well as personal characteristics . . . " perhaps because of their own experiences. Her findings make an argument for the importance of women faculty members for the successful training of women graduate students.
________. "Gender, Family Charracteristics, and Publication Productivity Among Scientists." Social Studies of Science 35, no. 1 (Feb. 2005): 131-50.
Available online
Notes: Statistical analysis reveals that differences in family structure and characteristics matter for the productivity of women faculty in the sciences.
Abstract: This paper concentrates upon the relationship between marriage, parental status, and publication productivity for women in academic science, with comparisons to men. Findings indicate that gender, family charateristics, and productivity are complex considerations that go beyond being married or not married, and the presnce or absence of children. For women particularly, the relationship between marriage and productivity varies by type of marriage: first compared with subsequent marriage, and occupation of spouse (in scientific compared with non-scientific occupation). Further, type of family composition is important: women with preschool children have higher productivity than women without children or with school-age children. Women with preschool children are found to be a socially selective group in their charracteristics, particularly in their allocations of time.
Fox, Mary Frank, Deborah G. Johnson, and Sue V. Rosser. Women, Gender, and Technology. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
Notes: Examines the interactions of gender and technology.
Abstract: Relies upon the "co-creation thesis" -- the idea that "gender and technology co-create one another" -- to explore how gender influences the development of technologies, is expressed in the products of technology, and shapes the use of technology and to examine women in the technology workforce, women and technology design, and women as users of technology. In Chapter One, Sue Rosser explores "how different feminist theories can be used to illuminate different aspects of gender and technology. She includes sections on "African American/Womanist and Racial/Ethnic Feminism" that show how "race and technology seem to be as inextricably intertwined as gender and technology." In Chapter Two, "Mary Frank Fox looks at the educational and career paths of men and women with PhDs in engineering," and in Chapter Three, "Mara Washburn and Susan Miller provide a case study of a program aimed at retaining women enrolled in a school of technology at a major engineering university." Judy Wajcman, in Chapter Four, examines "changes in work brought about by information and communication technologies and their meaning for women." In Chapter Five, Cheryl Leggon "considers how African American and Hispanic women will be broadly affected by information technology." Chapters Six and Seven explore developments in genetic science and reproductive technology and their use "to address problems that afflict women." Barbara Rothman "provides a deep analysis of the cultural mean of genetic science." She argues that "gender divisions shape the science and technology and then reinforce the divisions [and contends] that while the rhetoric around new genetic technologies suggests empowerment for women, the results . . . have been far from empowering." In Chapter Seven, Linda Layne "presents the results of her ethnographic studies of the effects of new reporductive and information technologies on women's experience of miscarriage, stillbirth and early infant death. Chapter Eight examines the connections between gender and technology in two film narratives that "explore what happens when women are involved in developing robots." Chapter Nine examines how "multimedia technologies are entering the domain of religion"and explores the gender associations that accompany these new technologies.
Franz, Judy R. Interviewee and Robin Moderator Wilson. "Colloquy Live: The Physics of Gender Bias - Transcript." Chronicle of Higher Education (Jan. 1921).
Available online
Abstract: "Why do so many women in physics departments feel alienated from the discipline -- and from their male colleagues? And what can faculty members and administrators do to deal with the problem?" Moderated interview with Judy Franz.
Freeman, Richard et al. "Competition and Careers in Biosciences." 294 (Dec. 2001): 2293-94.
Available online
Abstract: There is a disconnect between the scientific promise of bioscience research and the career prospects facing young bioscientists. Bioscientists work longer hours for less pay, spend many years as lowly paid postdocs, and have greater career uncertainty than most highly educated professionals. We apply the economists' tournament job market model to explain career patterns in bioscience research, which is structured so that the chance of winning a prize--an independent academic position, tenure, scientific renown--motivates researchers. This model intensifies competition by offering large rewards for small differences in productivity. It consequently demands that investigators work extremely long hours to publish frequently, and it encourages them to exploit the cheap labor provided by post-doctoral and graduate students whose own entry into independent research is delayed and whose lifetime earnings are consequently reduced. We argue for policy interventions to make careers more economically rewarding and productive.
Frehill, Lisa M. "Measuring Occupational Sex Segregation of Academic Science and Engineering." Journal of Technology Transfer 31, no. 3 (May 2006): 345.
Abstract: "This paper presents three indicators of vertical and horizontal occupational segregation to describe trends in women’s participation in eight disciplines and five academic levels in 1973, 1987, and 2001. The most common index, the index of occupational dissimilarity (D), the new Charles and Grusky [1995, American Journal of Sociology 100, 931-971] Index of Association (A), and the representation ratio are computed and compared. Although there are limits associated with D, the sparseness of women’s participation in academic science and engineering in 1973 posed computational problems with A. Key findings are: (1) levels of vertical segregation were higher than horizontal segregation and (2) levels of segregation (horizontal and vertical) have not declined substantially over the past 28 years. The same procedures are applied to data available for six of the nine "first round" ADVANCE institutions in an exploratory analysis for data from 2001 to 2003/04. Policy implications of these findings are discussed."
Frehill, Lisa M., Jammie Benton-Speyer, and Pamela Hunt. "2002 Survey of Literature on Women in Engineering." SWE: Magazine of the Society of Women Engineers (Summer 2003).
Available online
Notes: Article reviews year 2002 institutional activities and research findings on issues facing women in science and engineering.
Abstract: "In the past year, there has been much interest in understanding the movement of women and girls into and through the engineering pipeline and their experiences in that pipeline. At least 22 dissertations explored a range of issues about gender and engineering and more than 40 articles appeared in peer-reviewed publications. Large conferences - like the 12th International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists ... and large-scale reports - like the Helsinki Report on National Policies on Women and Science in Europe - made women's experiences in science and engineering more visible to a larger audience. Such conferences and reports receed wide coverage in engineering society magazines and the mainstream press, calling more attention to the international engineering pipeline and the experiences of women in engineering."
Frehill, Lisa M., Lauren N. Ketcham, and Cecily Jeser-Cannavale. "Women in Engineering: A Review of the 2004 Literature." SWE Magazine 51, no. 4 (Summer 2005): 22-46.
Available online
Notes: Review of annual developments in the women in science & engineering liturature by the New Mexico State University ADVANCE center.
Abstract: This literature review traces major developments in the literature on women in STEM fields published in 2004. The authors emphasize substantive, peer-reviewed research findings. Includes an extensive bibliography.
Fried, LP et al. "Career Development for Women in Academic Medicine: Multiple Interventions in a Department of Medicine." JAMA 276, no. 11 (Sept. 1996): 898-905.
Notes: Interventions that led to improved climate for women at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Abstract: Reports on multi-faceted interventions at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1990-1995 to correct gender-based career obstacles faced by women faculty, including problem identification, leadership, and education of faculty, and interventions to improve faculty development, mentoring, and rewards amd tp reduce isolation and structural career impediments. Outcomes of interventions were measured by retention and promotion of deserving women faculty, salary equity, quality of mentoring, decreased isolation from information and colleagues, integration of women faculty into the scientific community, and decreased manifestations of gender bias.
Galloway, Pat and Deirdre van Dyk. "Bad Idea. You'Ll Flunk Out." 165, no. 10 (Mar. 2005-): 58-59.
Available online
Notes: Personal story of struggles faced by a leading women civil engineer employed in industry.
Abstract: Presents the personal story of Pat Galloway as she struggled to become a top-tier engineer. Discrimination faced from an early age when she made the choice to go into the field; Professional bias against her; Companies who refused to deal with her on a job; Belief that there is still a long way for women to go to gain acceptance in what are considered men's fields.
Gamble, Vanessa N. "Subcutaneous Scars." Health Affairs 19, no. 1 (2000): 164-69.
Available online
Abstract: Gamble relates her experiences as a tenured African-American women in a major midwestern medical school and her experiences as an intern in Philadelphia
Gannon, Frank, Sara Quirk, and Sebastian Guest. "Searching for Discrimination." EMBO Reports 2, no. 8 (2001): 655-57.
Available online
Notes: Investigates whether women are treated fairly for the EMBO postdoctoral fellowship
Abstract: Stimulated by the Wenneras and Wold study of the Swedish Medical Research Council, this report investigates potential gender bias in the applicant review process of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) postdoctoral fellowship. Though women were less successful than men in winning fellowships, the authors report that the reasons for inequity are not clear. Their analysis illustrates that sucessful women applicants had a higher average number of publications than sucessful men applicants but that the impact value of sucessful mens' publications and number of first authorships was slightly higher than for women. They suggest that their findings are inconclusive but stress the need to examine and uncover potential gender bias in review processes.
Gaughan, Monica. "Institutional Assessment of Women in Science: Introduction to the Symposium." Journal of Technology Transfer 31, no. 3 (May 2006): 307.
Gewin, Virginia. "Small Steps Towards Campus Child Care." Nature 437 (2005): 446-47.
Available online
Abstract: For women researchers, child care can be a major obstacle to getting back to the lab. Gewin takes a look at the the options for working mothers.
Gibbons, Ann. "Key Issue: Tenure." Science 255, no. 5050 (Mar. 1992): 1386-88.
Available online
Notes: "Does the old-boy network keep women from leaping over this [tenure] crucial career hurdle?"
Abstract: This article, part of a special issue on Women in Science, highlights the low numbers of tenured female faculty in science and engineering as a major problem. The author suggests that barriers, including lower female productivity, must be overcome in order for women in science and engineering to have an impact.
Gilbey, Elizabeth. "A Trailing Spouse Finds Her Way." Chronicle of Higher Education: Career Network (Dec. 2002).
Notes: Lack of respect or recognition for trailing spouse
Abstract: Gibley discusses her husband's excitement at being offered a tenure-track appointed at a well-respected medical school, her efforts to acquire an appointment in the same school, the lack of respect and recognition she faced, and her subsequent realization of how much she wanted to pursue teaching and her own research interests.
Gilman, Victoria. "On Equal Ground." Chemical and Engineering News 82, no. 26 (2004): 43.
Notes: By-line: New York's Hunter College serves as a model for diversity in the sciences.
Abstract: "Some colleges and universities, however, seem to have found the magic mix of hiring practices and working environment that promotes strong faculty diversity. The chemistry department at Hunter College, the largest college of the City University of New York (CUNY), is part of one such institution. Hunter doesn't just attract women and minorities; it also supports them through a long and rewarding career in the sciences."
Ginther, Donna K. "Is MIT an Exception? Gender Pay Differences in Academic Science." Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 23, no. 1 (2003): 21-26.
Available online
Abstract: This study uses data from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients to evaluate gender differences in salaries for academic scientists. Over time gender salary differences can partly be explained by differences in observable characteristics for faculty at the assistant and associate ranks. Substantial gender salary differences for full professors are not explained by observable characteristics. Between 1973 and 1997, very little has changed in terms of gender salary and promotion differences for academics in science. After evaluating potential explanations, the author concludes that gender discrimination similar to that observed at MIT accounts for unexplained gender disparities.
Girves, Jean E., Yolanda Zepeda, and Judith K. Gwathmey. "Mentoring in a Post-Affirmative Action World." Journal of Social Issues 61, no. 3 (2005): 449-79.
Available online
Notes: Article presents and briefly evaluates a variety of mentoring programs undertaken to support under-represented groups in a variety of academic fields.
Abstract: Mentoring can be an effective strategy in improving retention of college students and faculty from fields where historical underrepresentation has occurred. This article reviews the benefits of mentoring in higher education, and identifies components of effective mentoring strategies that promote educational and career advancement. It illustrates how effective programs can be institutionalized and scaled through consortial and national collaborations. Traditional and alternative mentoring models are described through four successful programs designed to increase the academic and professional success of undergraduates, graduate students, and junior faculty. The article concludes with a set of general recommendations and caveats gleaned from the literature and programs reviewed. [Authors]
Glover, Judith. "Lab Cultures Put Females Off." The Times Higher Education Supplement, no. 1606 (Sept. 2003): 16.
Available online
Abstract: "The institutions of science that cause women to avoid the field must change"
Gonzales, Patricia M, Hart Blanton, and Kevin J Williams. "The Effects of Stereotype Threat and Double-Minority Status on the Test Performance of Latino Women." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28, no. 5 (2002): 659-70.
Available online
Abstract: Gonzales et al. investigated the interactive influences of diagnosticity instructions, gender and ethnicity as they related to task performance. In a laboratory experiment of 120 male and female, Latino and White college students, both a gender-based and an ethnicity-based stereotype-threat effect were found to influence performance on a test of mathematical and spatial ability.
Gornick, Vivian. Women in Science: Portraits Form a World in Transition. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983.
Notes: Profiles women in several different positions in the scientific workforce.
Abstract: "Selections" include "The Research Associate" pp. 74-86. Profiles several women "Research Associate" and supplements these profiles with historical and contemporary analysis of the pitfalls of becoming and research associate and the reasons women become "stuck" at this level in the scientific hierarchy; and "Feminism and Science" pp. 144-162. Briefly addresses the question of whether women do science differently than men and answers it in the negative. Concentrates on arguing that feminism has/is influencing science by forcing the scientific workforce to redefine what is necessary to do good science and to recognize that total devotion to scientific research at the expense of a personal/family life is not essential to doing good science.
Gould, Paula. The 3Rs: Recruitment Retention ReturningLondon: The Institute of Physics, 2004.
Available online
Abstract: The report stems from a debate held in September 2003 with panellists prominent in science based industry, academia and politics from the UK, Europe and the USA. It targets science, engineering and technology businesses and industries who could and should be making their work environments more flexible and 'gender neutral' to suit modern society. The report gives four key recommendations:
1. Hard facts get results: gender data from UK industry are needed to provoke industry into addressing imbalance in the system.
2. Industry and business leaders - men as well as women - need to be committed to developing measures to tackle gender imbalances for action to be effective.
3. Plugging the leaky pipeline: action is needed at all points where people can opt in or out of science, engineering and technology careers.
4. Children should know more about the range of science and technology based careers, so that they do not rule them out unknowingly.
Griffith, Victoria. "Women Still Face Bias in Science." The Financial Times (London, England), 19 Aug. 2005, Technology, 5.
Available online
Notes: Reports on publication of Science article, "More Women in Science," by Jo Handelsman et al.
Gunter, Ramona and Amy Stambach. "As Balancing Act and As Game: How Women and Men Science Faculty Experience the Promotion Process." Gender Issues 21, no. 1 (Winter 2003): 24-42.
Available online
Notes: Women science facutly see promotion as a balancing act that should be changed; men facutly see the process as an acceptable game.
Abstract: "Studies on the division of domestic labor find that women take on a greater proportion of domestic responsibilities; this had implications for both women and men who work in demanding jobs. In this study of women and men science facutly at a major research university, the authors find that women tend to relate their experiences of the promotion process to both their domestic and faculty roles, whereas men tend not to consider that their domestic roles have any bearing on their experiences of the promotion process. Women view the promotion process in terms of the components that make demands on their time, and they suggest ways that the process could (and should) be changed. Men view the process as a challenging game, and they describe the promotion process, as it currently exists, as necessary and acceptable. The authors find taht there are compelling reasons to reconsider the structure of the promotion process and to strengthen and expand the programmatic supports that address the needs of women."
________. "Differences in Men and Women Scientist's Perceptions of Workplace Climate." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 11, no. 1 (2005): 97-116.
Notes: Presents evidences for gender differences in perceptions of workplace climate
Abstract: "The climate of science is often described as 'chilly' toward women and is blamed for women's underrepresentation and slow advancement within science fields. However, evidence of a chilly climate is often indirect. In this study of male and female science faculty members at a major research university, the authors found direct evidence for a chilly climate: A smaller percentage of women than men described their workplace environments in positive terms, and a larger percentage of women than men described uncomfortable, tense, or hostile interactions. Some men and many women said that gender bias might explain women's negative experiences; at the same time, these men and women stated that they could not say for certain that gender bias existed in their departments. Reasons for interviewees' difficulties in identifying and labeling gender bias are discussed.
Gunter, Ramona and Amy Stambach, DRAFT - As Balancing Act and As Game: How Women and Men Science Faculty Experience the Promotion Process, (unpublished).2003.
Notes: Male and female faculty recognize difficulty of balancing a faculty position with motherhood; few raise similar issues for fathers.
Abstract: Results of interviews w/ 21 women and 22 men faculty in the sciences at a majory midwestern research university. The authors found that most women and many men described the difficulty of balancing dual roles of being a mother and a faculty member, though few interviewees raised similar issues regarding role conflicts of fathers. Half of the men described the promotion process as a game or competition and few said that playing this game produced tension in their lives. Women did not use game-oriented terms and most talked about the difficulty and stresses of balancing work and non-work lives. Though about half of the men discussed negative consequences of the promotion process, few suggested the process should be changed and most saw it as a necessary and acceptable process. Slighly more than half of the women suggested the process could be more flexible.
Gwynne, Peter. "European Careers: Women in European Science." Science 300 (Apr. 2003): 165-70.
Available online
Notes: A survey of different European policies encouraging/discouraging women to participate in the field of science, with interviews of individual high-ranking female scientists.
Hamilton, Kendra. "Faculty Science Positions Continue to Elude Women of Color." Black Issues in Higher Education 21, no. 3 (Mar. 2004): 36-39.
Available online
Notes: Reaction to Donna Nelson report on employment status of women and minorities at top 25 institutions
Abstract: Discusses the results of a study on the employment opportunities for women of color in the science and engineering departments in universities, conducted by Oklahoma University professor Donna Nelson in March 2004. Percentage of minorities awarded with doctoral degrees in the U.S. in 2000; Remarks from other women professors and scientists; Recommendations on how to explain the situation to women and minorities
Hammonds, Evelynn and Banu Subramaniam. "A Conversation on Feminist Science Studies." Signs 28, no. 3 (Spring 2003): 923-44.
Abstract: Hammonds discusses central questions addressed within feminist science studies, most specifically, the role and status of discussions about race/ethnicity within this field. In an interview, Subramaniam discusses the problematic space they occupy in feminist science studies as women of color from diverse origins and perspectives.
Handelsman, Jo and et al. "More Women in Science." Science 309, no. 5738 (2005): 1190-1191.
Available online
Notes: Describes barriers women scientists face and provides recommendations for overcoming them.
Abstract: This Policy Forum is intended to inform members of the academic science community about the systemic, institutional barriers women scientists face and recommend policies, programs, and action of individuals that will enhance the participation of women in academic science.
Hanson, S. L. et al. "Attitudes Toward Gender, Work and Family Among Female and Male Scientists in Germany and the United States." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science & Engineering 10 (2004): 99-129.
Abstract: This research used a comparative approach and an elite framework to look at attitudes toward gender, work, and family among male and female scientists. The data came from the 1994 International Social Survey Program module measuring family and changing gender roles in (the former) East Germany, West Germany, and the United States. Research questions focused on the variation between the three samples in make scientists' attitudes regarding gender, work, and family; women's representation in science occupations; and the relation between the two. Another major concern was the extent to which female scientists express attitudes regarding gender, work, and family that resemble those of male scientist and the implication of these processes for increasing women's access to science. As predicted, male scientists in East Germany tended to have the most progressive attitudes (especially those regarding gender and work), East German women had the greatest access to science occupations, and there were virtually no sex differences in attitudes of East German scientists. West German male scientists were the most traditional on attitudes regarding gender and work, and U.S. male scientists tended to be the most traditional on attitudes regarding family. The attitudes of female scientists in West Germany and the United States reflected this larger trend, but there were sex differences within countries, with female scientists being more progressive than male scientists. Thus, the findings suggest that women's representation in science is related to the attitudes of male scientists regarding gender, work, and family. And although female scientists often hold quite similar attitudes as male scientists, there is considerable cross-country variation in how progressive the attitudes are and how similar men's and women's attitudes are. Implications for women's access to elite science occupations are discussed.
Hanson, Sandra L., Maryellen Schaub, and David P. Baker. "Gender Stratification in the Science Pipeline: A Comparative Analysis of Seven Countries." Gender and Society 10, no. 3 (June 1996): 271-90.
Available online
Notes: Gender stratification in science careers begins with stratification in secondary math and science education but the relationship between education and careers in science is complex.
Abstract: "This study uses a "science pipeline" model and cross-national data to examine women's participation in science education and occupations in seven countries. Gender stratification in later science education and in science occupations is found in every country examined. Young women's participation in science education decreases with each stage in the science pipeline, but there is considerable cross-national variation in the extent of gender stratification in science. Findings show greater gender stratification in science occupations than in science education, suggesting factors other than training help maintain inequality in high-status science occupations."
Hartline, Beverly Karplus and Dongqi Li, Editors. Women in Physics: The IUPAP International Conference on Women in PhysicsAmerican Institute of Physics, 2002.
Available online
Notes: Conference proceedings
Abstract: Proceedings include Conference Resolutions and the following articles: Attracting Girls into Physics; Launching a Successful Physics Career; Getting Women Into Positions of Leadership Nationally and Internationally; Improving the Institutional Structure and Climate for Women in Physics; Learning From Regional Differences; Balancing Family and Career; Conference Recommendations; Women Physicists Speak: The 2001 Internaltional Study of Women in Physics; Reports on Women Physicists in various countries including the U.S.; and more.
Harvard University Task Force on Women in Science and Engineering. Report from the Task Force on Women in Science and EngineeringCambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2005.
Available online
Abstract: This task force, convened in February 2005 was charged with analyzing and making recommendations "concerning effective ways to build and sustain the 'pipeline' of women pursuing academic careers in science, from undergraduate studies to graduate and postdoctoral work to advancement through faculty ranks." Recommendations are organized across the following topics: "sustaining commitment, mentoring and advising, enabling academic careers in the context of family obligations, and faculty development and diversity." For the topic of "sustaining committment," recommendations include creating study centers in pivotal science courses, require pedagogical training for doctoral students that includes a gender bias component, develop undergraduate summer research programs; improve the environment in science departments, create, enhance, and sustain programs/activities that promote success of all doctoral students and appoint a coordinators to oversee such programs; create an office for postdoctoral affairs. For Mentoring and advising, in addition to required pedagogical training for doctoral students that includes a gender bias component, recommendations include: improve freshman advising, track progress of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, provide mentorin and professional development, provide mentors for junior faculty. Recommendations for balancing academic science careers with family obligations included exploring options for paid maternity leave and childcare scholarships for doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, expanding dependent care funds for short-term professional travel, establish research enabling grants for primary caregivers. For faculty development and diversity, recommendations included designing program on diversity, revising search process in increase recruitment of women and underrepresented minority faculty, establishing programs to provide funding and relief for key transition points in academic careers. Other Miscalleneous recommendations to improve the environment include limiting the lenth of appointment and setting a base salary for postdoctoral fellows and improving safety at night for lab scientists.
Home-Douglas, Pierre. "Painting Everyone Into the Picture." ASEE Prism 13, no. 5 (Jan. 2004).
Available online
Notes: Profile of Maria Klawe, Princeton's female engineering dean, and her strategic goals to broaden the reach of engineering in the University.
Abstract: "Princeton's new engineering dean Maria Klawe wants to broaden engineering so that all the school's undergraduates learn about the impact of technology on society."
Hornig, Lilli S. Equal Rites, Unequal Outcomes: Women in American Research Universities. Innovations in Science Education and Technology. New York: Kluwer Academic, 2003.
Notes: Papers present at conference on Women in Research Universities: The Next Quarter Century. Authors include Mary Frank Fox, Charlotte Kuh, J.Scott Long, Kimberlee A. Shauman and Yu Xie, Carol Hollenshead, Linda P. Fried, Londa Schiebinger, Piya Chatterjee, Marianne A. Ferber, and Kathleen Sullivan.
Abstract: This book is based on updated papers presented at a conference on Women in Research Universities: The Next Quarter Century held at Harvard and Radcliffe in November 1998 under the auspices of the Committee for the Equality of Women at Harvard (CEWH). The impetus for holding this conference arose from continued concern about "the scarcity of women faculty, especially tenured professors at Harvard." The purpose of the conference "was to examine the current status of the female professoriate in research institutions from several perspectives, to seek an understanding of the factors that still seem to hinder women's progress in these universities, and to identify policies and practices that contribute to greater equality in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women faculty." The CEWH "also hoped to examine the impact on [women] students of being educated in a climate that, in the absence of women faculty and high level administrators, may not always be equitable." The book is organized into five sections.
(1)The first section provides "a snapshot of women's current status in research universities and [assesses] how it has changed since the early 1970s from several perspectives: in numbers, in rank and tenure status, and in the settings and climates in which they work in various institutions."
(2)The second section focuses on women in science and engineering. Papers in this sections are:
Mary Frank Fox, "Gender, Faculty, and Doctoral Education in Science and Engineering" - an examination of "the cultures and climates of graduate science departments [and how they influence] women's participation and position in these fields."
Charlotte V. Kuh, "You've Come a Long Way: Data on Women Doctoral Scientists and Engineers in Research Universities" - and examination of "the interplay between the [increasing supply of women doctorates] and the basically static demand for faculty in research universities."
J.Scott Long, "The Presence and Participation of Women in Academic Science and Engineering: 1973-1995" - "addresses the ultimate outcomes for women science and engineering faculty in detail in order to account adequately for the observed sex differences."
Kimberlee A. Shauman and Yu Xie, "Explaining Sex Differences in Publication Productivity among Postsecondary Faculty" - "demonstrates the dependency of productivity on the research setting."
(3)The third section discusses "how some major issues of concern to women faculty were tackled in two very different settings": The University of Michigan (Carol Hollenshead, "Women in the Academy: Confronting Barriers to Equality") and the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School (Linda P. Fried, et al., "Organizational Change to Support Success of Women: A Model and its Lessons.")
(4)The fourth section shows how bodies of knowledge, including scientific knowledge, can be changed when viewed through a different; i.e., a feminist, lens. (Londa Schiebinger, "Primatology, Archaeology, and Human Origins: Feminist Interventions" and Piya Chatterjee, "Transforming Knowledges: Anthropology's Encounters with Feminism(s)")
(5)The fifth section examines "policies and practices that have been suggested as well as implemented to create an academic environment that is more responsive to a changing society. Marianne A. Ferber, "Women's Uneven Progress in Academia: Problems and Solutions" - describes "the problems women encounter simply as women" and Kathleen Sullivan "Work/Life/Family Issues and Programs in Higher Education - What's New" and Rae Simpson "Old Issues, New Solutions: Family Work" discuss how their efforts to help faculty at Stanford and MIT, respectively, achieve balance between work and life.
A concluding chapter, by Lilli Hornig and Barbara Lazarus, summarizes "the many lessons learned at the conferences [and reviews] the many suggestions and experiences recounted by participants in several workshop sessions."
Hyde, Janet Shibley and Marcia C. Linn. "Gender Similarities in Mathematics and Science." Science 314 (Oct. 2006): 599-600.
Available online
Notes: Metaanalysis show that boys and girls have similar abilities in mathematics
Abstract: The authors use the results of metaanalysis of numerous studies to argue that "boys and girls have similar psychological traits and cognitive abilities -- even in mathematics." They argue that "a focus on factors other than gender is needed to help girls persist in mathematical and scientific career tracks."
Jackson, Judy. "The Story Is Not in the Numbers: Academic Socialization and Diversifying the Faculty." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (2004): 172-85.
Available online
Notes: A survey of 665 tenured engineering faculty at 19 research intensive universities showed that women and faculty of color perceived a more negative climate than their male colleagues.
Abstract: "This report is of a descriptive study that explored differences by gender and race/ethnicity on measures of teaching, research, and service productivity of 665 tenured engineering faculty members in 19 research-intensive institutions. Data from a self-report survey were analyzed using inferential and descriptive methods. Comparisons among productivity levels of white male faculty and those of white women, and of Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, revealed little difference. Qualitative data on social experiences of the participants showed that women and faculty of color were more discouraged, less supported, and perceived the tenure process to be less fair, than their white male colleagues. I discuss implications of the findings for administrators and suggestions for diversifying the faculty."
Jobe, Denice. "On Track?" AAUW Outlook 98, no. 1 (Fall 2004): 8-13.
Notes: Tenure review process discriminates against women faculty in some cases.
Abstract: Women faculty face sex and maternity discrimination in tenure review processes. Story chronicles the responses of some women faculty who chose to sue the institutions that discriminated against them. Though lawsuits take a large personal toll on the women who pursue them, they can be a tool to force institutional change. Article mirrors the findings of a report Tenure Denied.
Jonieta, Erika. "Women at the Institute - Where Do They Stand?" Technology Review (Oct. 2002): 8-11.
Available online
Notes: Byline: "Four new studies reveal widespread discrimination against MIT's female faculty."
Abstract: Wide-spread gender discrimination and marginalization at MIT was first examined by a gender-equity commission in 1995. In a report released in 1999, the Institute admitted that its female faculty faced discrimination. Since that time, a number of efforts have been undertaken to address the problem and the scope of the efforts have been expanded to the entire Institute.
Judson, Olivia. "Different but (Probably) Equal." The New York Times (New York), 23 Jan. 2005, 4, 1, 17.
Notes: Summers op-ed response
Abstract: Editorial defends the notion of innate sex differences from an evolutionary biology perspective.
Keller, Evelyn Fox. "The Anomaly of a Woman in Physics."Women, Science and Technology: a Reader in Feminist Science Studies Ed., Mary et al. Wyer, 9-16. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Notes: The author's painful experiences as a physics graduate student at Harvard in the late 1950s, how it relates to the experiences of other women in the sciences and her current status and work.
Keller, Linda H. and et. al. "Women in Science '93: A "Female Style"?" Science 261, no. 5120 (July 1993): 408-12.
Available online
Notes: Collection of responses to the special issue of Science, "Women in Science '93."
Abstract: Article is a collection of letters-to-the-editor responding to the special issue of Science, "Women in Science and Engineering." The issue of balancing family and an academic career is given particular attention.
Kempf, Mirjam. "EmPOWREment and ADVANCEment for Women." Science 297 (Sept. 2002).
Notes: Feature on the efforts of the NSF to remove gender barriers in the science through POWRE and ADVANCE.
Knight, M. T. & Cunningham C. M. "Building a Structure of Support: An Inside Look at the Structure of Women in Engineering Programs." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science & Engineering 10 (2004): 1-20.
Abstract: Over the past 20 years, colleges and universities across the country have developed Women in Engineering (WIE) and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) programs as resources to promote the recruitment and retention of women in college engineering. As part of the Women's Experiences in College Engineering project, a series of interviews were conducted with WIE and WISE directors at 26 colleges and universities in the United States. The results of these interviews were compiled to gain an understanding of the structure of WIE and WISE programs and the experience and advice that program directors have for others who may be interested in such programs.
Kohlstedt, Sally Gregory. "Sustaining Gains: Reflections on Women in Science and Technology in 20th-Century United States." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (2004): 1-26.
Available online
Notes: Though we have witnessed growth and improvements in women's involvement in science over the 20th century, challenges remain to be addressed.
Abstract: "Historical participation by women in science and technology has been persistent but with inconsistent patterns because of the social, economic, and intellectual obstacles that have stood in their way. This account of women's initiatives and successes in 20th-century United States begins with early 20th-century involvement and suggests the subsequent ways in which the inroads of that period have influenced later struggles and strategies. Women of distinction like Marie Curie, Anna Botsford Cornstock, and Ellen Swallow Richards established possibilities but also standards of exceptionalism. Data suggest that the number of women in most areas of science has continued to grow, in fits and starts, over the past half century. Nonetheless, quantitative surveys and individual stories indicate that the gender gap-in terms of opportunities, salaries, and career advancement-remains a challenge that needs to be addressed."
Kuck, Valerie J. et al. "Analysis by Gender of the Doctoral and Postdoctoral Institutions of Faculty Members at the Top-Fifty Ranked Chemistry Departments." Journal of Chemical Education 81, no. 3 (2004): 356-63.
Available online
Notes: Analysis points to the relevance of post-doctoral positions for promoting the retention of women Chemistry PhDs in academia.
Abstract: An examination of hiring practices at the top-50 National Research Council (NRC)-ranked chemistry departments is reported. Data from the study show that hiring of tenure-track professors has focused on candidates who graduated from doctoral programs of only a few schools. Of the domestically trained faculty members receiving their doctoral degree after 1979, 60% completed doctoral training at just 10 universities. Additionally, male doctoral graduates from these universities were hired more frequently than were their female counterparts. Further, men that had their initial postdoctoral fellowship at one of the top-five postdoctoral schools were hired preferentially by the top-50 NRC-ranked departments. Women who did their initial postdoctoral fellowship at a university ranked below the top-ten were hired more often than were those who held a fellowship at a top-five university. The low rate of hiring female doctoral graduates was found to correspond to the distribution of women in the postdoctoral pool and not to that in the doctoral pool. Ways to increase the number of women on the faculties of Ph.D.-granting schools are proposed. [JChE online]
Kuh, Charlotte V. "You'Ve Come a Long Way: Data on Women Doctoral Scientists and Engineers in Research Universities."Equal Rites, Unequal Outcomes: Women in American Research Universities editor, Lilli S. Hornig. New York: Kluwer Academic, 2003.
Notes: Analysis of NSF data on earned doctorates by cohort. Argues that part of the difficulty women in the sciences face is the fact that there are more qualified women candidates at a time when there are also fewer available positions.
Abstract: Examines "the interplay between the [increasing supply of women doctorates] and the basically static demand for faculty in research universities." Kuh argues that research universities "have moved from a time of growth and expansion to what is, at best, a steady state in terms of employment and funding [and that] the period of most rapid entry of women into the Ph.D. labor force occurred at the same time as the slowing of growth." She argues that we need to "look at the experience of different cohorts of Ph.D.'s since different cohorts entered science and engineering at times when opportunities for everyone, male and female, changed. Using data from the National Science Foundations Survey for Earned Doctorates and Survey of Doctoral Recipients. The paper is divided into three parts: (1) total numbers and share of women in research universities by broad field, within each fied, by part-time and full-time status, by tenure status, and by rank for the years of 1973, 1979, 1989, and 1995; (2) follows four cohorts of PhD recipients who received their degrees in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s through different stages in their careers; (3) compare research universities to other types of institutions and sees whether there are differences in the career outcomes for women that depend on being in a research university. Concludes that women are underrepresented among assistant professors relative to their representation in the pool of Ph.D. recipients. The underrepresentation is consistent in the physical science, but for engineering - in which the numbers of women continue to be very low, they are represented among assistant professors in higher percentages than in the pool of PhD recipeints. Also concludes, from following cohorts, that women are in the right place at the wrong time -- that the number of women doctorates has increased at the same time that "tenure track employment in research universities" is down. By studying other institutions concludes that women are more likely to achieve tenure at non-research than at research universities. Intentionally does not attempt to explain the "continuing gender differences in status in research universities."
Kulis, Stephen and Diane Sicotte. "Women Scientists in Academia: Geographically Constrainted to Big Cities, College Clusters, or the Coasts?" Research in Higher Education 43, no. 1 (2002): 1-30.
Available online
Notes: Geographic constraints on women scientists in Academia.
Abstract: This study examines the extent to which the jobs of academic women scientist are disproportionately concentrated in large cities, areas with many colleges and universities, and regions where most doctorates are granted. [It also] considers whether jobs in these locations affect salary, tenure, full-time faculty status, and employment outside one's field of training in ways that differ for women and men. [The authors] argue that geographic constraints on women's mobility are rooted in social factors, such as gender role and mate selection patterns . . . [They conclude] that, irrespective of their family status, women faculty are more likely than their male counterparts to reside in doctoral production centers, areas with large clusters of colleges, and large cities. Responsibility for children intensifies women's geographic concentration more than marriage does and in ways that differ from men. Geographic concentration also appears generally more harmful to women's careers than to men's, Women in doctoral production centers are less likely to have tenure and more likely to work part time; those in larger cities are more likely to be in jobs off the tenure track. Locales with many colleges appear to present somewhat better career prospects for women
Kulis, Stephen, Diane Sicotte, and Shawn Collins. "More Than a Pipeline Problem: Labor Supply Constraints and Gender Stratification Across Academic Science Disciplines." Research in Higher Education 43, no. 6 (Dec. 2002): 657-91.
Available online
Abstract: Employing a nationally representative sample of science faculty in U.S. colleges, we investigate 3 explanations for persisting differences in women's faculty representation across science fields even after adjusting for women's variable representation among doctoral recipients. First, we examine labor market factors: (a) differential growth rates and "critical mass" in the supply of women doctoral recipients, (b) growth or contraction in academic and nonacademic job opportunities, and (c) presence of foreign-born scholars. Second, we control for institutional explanations such as differential rates of faculty unionization and less receptivity to women at prestigious or research-oriented universities and fields that are "applied," "soft," or "nonlife" sciences. Third, gender rote explanations are addressed by controlling for gender differences in work experience, work interruptions, and the prestige of doctoral credentials. After finding that none of these explanations account fully for distinctive patterns among science fields in the faculty gender composition, we discuss how they may reflect differences in academic "cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]`
Laine, Christine. "Editorial: On Being Dr. Mom." Annals of Internal Medicine 129, no. 7 (Oct. 1998): 579-80.
Available online
Notes: Editor argues for institutional support for medical faculty with children.
Abstract: Building upon Carr and et al.'s article, "Relation of Family Responsibilities and Gender to the Productivity and Career Satisfaction of Medical Faculty," the editor presents an argument for instituionalizing support for medical faculty with children.
Lane, Nancy J. "Why are there so few women in science?" Sept. 1999. [http://www.nature.com/nature/debates/women/women_contents.html].
Notes: Introduction to online moderated debate about women in science
Abstract: "Increasing attention has been drawn to the problems faced by women in science, engineering and technology (SET). Women are unequally represented in science and their career progression is not comparable to their male colleagues. The growing interest in this topic may partly be because of the growing awareness of the huge untapped economic potential that women represent."
Langdon, Emily A. "Women's Colleges Then and Now: Access Then, Equity Now." Peabody Journal of Education 76, no. 1 (2001): 5-30.
Available online
Notes: Includes discussion of the role women's colleges play in providin women with positive role models, mentoring, leadership, and achievement in male-dominated fields such as math and science.
Abstract: This article sheds some light on the historical contributions of women's colleges and their role in providing access to higher education for women. It also explores their contemporary contributions toward educational equity for women; in particular, this article focuses on the areas of positive role modeling and mentoring, leadership, achievement in the male-dominated major fields such as math and science, and pedagogical and curricular innovations. Although there are other issues that might be raised as we explore the future of women's colleges, these four areas are discussed in greater length in this article.
Lange, Sheila Edwards and et al. "Implementing a Transitional Support Program."WEPAN National Conference 2003 - 50/50 by 2020: Working Together for Equity.
Available online
Notes: Paper outlines the design, implementation, and evaluation of a Transitional Support Program award and outlines best practices for other universities.
Abstract: "As part of its National Science Foundation ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award, the University of Washington implemented a Transitional Support Program for faculty members. The program goals are to make faculty careers less stressful during times of transitions such as a new child, first tenure track appointment, expansion or redirection of a research program, major illness or caring for elderly parents. Support is offered for up to three academic quarters for the faculty member while moving through such a transition. Small grants are provided for course release, graduate student or post-doctoral support and/or laboratory supplies. Grant proposals are solicited quarterly and, in its first year, seventeen faculty have benefited from the program. Panelists will describe the program and provide guidelines for replicating similar programs at other universities."
Lawler, Andrew. "Institute Faulted on Attitudes Toward Women." Science 299, no. 5609 (Feb. 2003): 993-94.
Available online
Notes: The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore is criticized for losing female scientific staff because of an environment that is too competitive and aggressive. Several incidents creating an inhospitable climate for female staff members are listed. Some planned changes are listed.
________. "MIT Hiring Controversy Sparks Faculty Fracas." Science 313 (July 2006): 284.
Available online
Notes: MIT finalist rejects job offer due to feeling unwelcome on campus
Abstract: Article discusses how the actions of one faculty member led a young female job applicant to reject a job offer for a faculty position at MIT. Discusses the ire of other faculty members and the damage to MIT's reputation and ability to hire excellent candidates.
________. "Progress on Hiring Women Science Faculty Members Stalls at MIT." Science 312 (Apr. 2006): 347-48.
Available online
Notes: Comment of lack of progress hiring women science faculty at MIT
Abstract: Reports that though MIT saw an increase in hiring women science faculty after the publication of the 1996 MIT study of women scientists on its campus, this increase has not been sustained. Hiring of women faculty in many science departments has actually decreased. Alice Hogan, NSF ADVANCE program director says that without specific efforts designed to increase women's participation such results are not surprising. Mentions the work of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the University of California, Irvine; and the University of Washington, Seattle in calling attention to encouraging diversity in the hiring process.
________. "Universities Urged to Improve Hiring and Advancement of Women." Science 313 (Sept. 2006): 1712.
Available online
Notes: Reports on the NAS Report - Beyond Bias and Barriers
LeBold, William K. and Dona J. LeBold. "Women Engineers: A Historical Perspective." PRISM (Mar. 1998): 30-32.
Available online
Notes: "Recognizing the contributions of engineering's 'founding mothers' and celebrating their legacy."
Abstract: Article traces the history of women in engineering in America, begining in the late 1800's. Describes the contributions of several goundbreaking woman engineers and highlights additudinal and educational shifts that have helped to support women in engineering.
Lee, H. & Noh S. "Educational Use of E-Mentoring to Encourage Women into Science and Engineering." in Web and Communication Technologies and Internet-Related Social Issues - HSI 2003, 75-84. Berlin: Springer, 2003.
Leggon, Cheryl B. "Women in Science: Racial and Ethnic Differences and the Differences They Make." Journal of Technology Transfer 31, no. 3 (May 2006): 325.
Abstract: "Often the term women; is assumed to include women of color in the same way as the terms "African American" and "Hispanic"; are assumed to include both women and men. Although women of color and non-Hispanic white women are under represented in the science labor force, the rates of and factors contributing to this under representation differ by race and ethnicity. Consequently, disaggregating data on women in science by race and ethnicity is crucial to capture these differences. Such distinctions are critical to developing effective policy, practice, and programs to increase the participation of women in science."
Lehr, Jane L. "Athena Unbound: The Advancement of Women in Science and Technology." BioScience 51, no. 6 (June 2001): 504-9.
Available online
Notes: Mixed, but mostly negative book review.
Abstract: Mixed, but mostly negative review. Praises Athena Unbound for providing recommendations for improving the advancement of women in science and engineering, unlike other works such as Valian's and Schiebingers. But, argues that the authors policy interventions are not significantly different from those made by other theorists or by women's advocacy organizations. Also criticizes the quantitative analysis.
Leslie, Larry L., Gregory T. McClure, and Ronald L. Oaxaca. "Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering: A Life Sequence Analysis." The Journal of Higher Education 69, no. 3 (May 1998-June 1998): 239-76.
Available online
Notes: Studies factors influenceing the participation of women and minorities in science and engineering
Abstract: Authors integrate the extant literature and the results from the analysis of two national surveys to identify the factors that influence the participation of women and minorities in science and engineering. Focusses on precollegiate influences.
Leveson, Nancy. Women in Computer Science: A Report for the NSF CISE Cross-Disciplinary Activities Advisory Committee 1989.
Notes: Paper discusses barriers to women in computer science and suggestions on how to overcome them.
Abstract: Report summarizes findings from a non-scientific survey of women in computer science that addressed the challenges of women in computer science. Several obstacles are identified including classroom climate and social pressures. Suggestions on how to support and encourage women in computer science include: workshops, networking, pre-college programs, women speaker series, mentoring, and research opportunities. Issues facing computer scientist women at the graduate and faculty level are also addressed. The report contains extensive monographs from survey respondents.
Leveson, Nancy G., Educational Pipeline Issues for Women, (unpublished).1990.
Available online
Notes: Climate issues discourage women in science (focus on computer science).
Abstract: The author draws on the Taulbee Report on Computers Sciences, her own experience and that of others in computer sciences to argue that socialization, psychological sex differences, academic and social isolation, and institutional practices in higher education are obstacles to women in science at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels. Overcoming these barriers requires awareness, improved mentoring, and inclusive practices.
Levin, Janna. How the Universe Got Its Spots. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002.
Abstract: (from dust jacket) In startling and beautiful prose, Janna Levin's diary of unsent letters to her mother describes what we know about the shape and extent of the universe, about its beginning and its end. She grants the uninitiated access to the astounding findings of contemporary theoretical physics and makes tangible the countours of space and time - those very real curves along which apples fall and planets orbit. Levin guides the reader through the observations and thought-experiments that have enabled physicists to begin charting the universe. She introduces the cosmic archaeology that makes sense of the pattern of hot spots left over from the big bang, a pursuit on the verge of discovering the shape of space itself. And she explains the topology and the geometry of the univese now coming into focus - a strange map of space full of black holes, chaotic flows, time warps, and invisible strings. Levin advances the controversial idea that this map is edgeless but finite - that the univese is huge but not unending - a radical revelation that would provide the ultimate twist to the Copernican revolution by locating our precise position in the cosmos. As she recounts our increasingly rewarding attempt to know the universe, Levin tells her personal story as a scientist isolated by her growing knowledge. This book is her remarkable effort to reach across the distance of that knowledge and share what she knows with family and friends - and with us. Highly personal and utterly original, this physicist's diary is a breathtaking contemplation of our deep connection with the universe and our aspirations to comprehend it.
Levine, Susan C. et al. "Socioeconomic Status Modifies the Sex Difference in Spatial Skill." Psychological Science 16 , no. 11 (Nov. 2005): 841-45.
Available online
Abstract: We examined whether the male spatial advantage varies across children from different socioeconomic (SES) groups. In a longitudinal study, children were administered two spatial tasks requiring mental transformations and a syntax comprehension task in the fall and spring of second and third grades. Boys from middle- and high-SES backgrounds outperformed their female counterparts on both spatial tasks, whereas boys and girls from a low-SES group did not differ in their performance level on these tasks. As expected, no sex differences were found on the verbal comprehension task. Prior studies have generally been based on the assumption that the male spatial advantage reflects ability differences in the population as a whole. Our finding that the advantage is sensitive to variations in SES provides a challenge to this assumption, and has implications for a successful explanation of the sex-related difference in spatial skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Lewis, B. F. "A Critique of Literature on the Underrepresentation of African-Americans in Science: Directions for Future Research." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science & Engineering 9 (2003): 361-73.
Abstract: It is well documented that African Americans have been disproportionately underrepresented in science and science-related careers for over two decades. However, although there have been great efforts to address the problem through policy and intervention efforts, our research grounded understanding of underrepresentation has not kept pace. This article provides an overview of empirical studies aimed at extending knowledge on the underrepresentation of African Americans, with the goal of providing a critical overview of this literature. Empirical studies are reviewed as webs explanations garnered from related literature that offer insight into potential causes of underrepresentation. The article concludes by identifying five salient limitations of existing literature. These limitations are the low number of empirical reports, the preponderance of poorly defined factors related to career decisions, uniformity in theoretical and methodological approaches, the tendency to equate career attainment.
Linse, Angela R. Student Ratings of Women Faculty: Data and StrategiesSeatlle, WA: University of Washington, 2002.
Available online
Notes: Discusses concerns about gender bias in student evaluations of male and female faculty.
Abstract: Discussed data and concerns about gendered bias in student evaluations of male and female faculty. Addresses and discusses question of why women faculty in STEM field perceive a gender bias in student evaluations despite research results that reveal no significant differences. Provides advice and recommendations.
Long, J. Scott. "Measures of Sex Differences in Scientific Productivity." Social Forces 71, no. 1 (1992): 159-78.
Available online
Notes: Considers explanations for why sex differences in numbers of publications increase during the first decade of careers and are reversed in later years.
Abstract: "Satisfactory and robust explanations of sex differences in scientific productivity remain elusive. This article provides a multidimensional, longitudinal description of the productivity of male and female biochemists. Several findings have implications for explaining differences in productivity. Sex differences in the numbers of publications and citations increase during the first decade of the career but are reversed later in the career. The lower productivity of femals results from the overrepresenation among nonpublishers and their underrepresentation among the extremely productive. Among biochemsts who publish, differences cannot be explained by patterns of collaboration, which are nearly identical for males and females, with one exception: females are much more likely to collaborate with a spouse. The smaller number of citations received by females results from their fewer publications, not from the quality of their publications. Papers by females on average receive more citations than those by males. These and other findings suggest future directions for research to understand sex differences in scientific productivity.
________. "The Origins of Sex Differences in Science." Social Forces 68, no. 4 (June 1990): 1297-316.
Available online
Notes: Small disadvantages accumulate and have a significant negative impact on women scientists' careers.
Abstract: "The sociology of science has clearly established the presence of sex differences in scientific productivity and position. This article examines the processes leading to the lower productivity of female scientists at the completion of their doctoral training. Collaboration with the mentor is found to be the most important factor affecting productivity. For females, opportunities for collaboration are significantly decreased by having young children. As a consequence, the presence of young children has an adverse, indirect effect on the productivity of female scientists during graduate study. This effect does not exist for males. In addition to differences in the process of collaboration, many small differences that disadvantage women and advantage men are found in the levels of resources affecting productivity and in the mechanisms by which resources are translated into productivity. The concentration of small disadvantages provides a further explanation of sex differences in productivity at the start of the career. Since early advantages and disadvantages have been found to accumulate, this article provides an essential first step in understanding sex differences in scientific productivity and position that emerge during the career."
________. "The Presence and Participation of Women in Academic Science and Engineering: 1973-1995."Equal Rites, Unequal Outcomes: Women in American Research Universities editor, Lilli S. Hornig. New York: Kluwer Academic, 2003.
Notes: Regression analysis of NSF data on doctoral recipients shows that after statistically control for professional age, type of institution, field, and other variable, men are still more likely to be tenured and be full professors.
Abstract: "Addresses the ultimate outcomes for women science and engineering faculty in detail in order to account adequately for the observed sex differences." Using data from the 1973, 1979, 1989, and 1995 panels of the NSF's Survey of Doctorate Recipients presents a simple statistical analysis of the number and percent of women receiving Ph.D.s and their participation in the labor force. She also uses regression analysis "to compare the predicted career outcomes of men and women after controlling statistically for differences in background characteristics." She argues that such analysis is "particularly important for understanding gender differences in tenure and academic rank since these are so dependent on the age of the scientist." Some of her findings include: "men and women have become increasingly similar in their distribution among types of institutions [Research I, Medical, Research II, Doctoral, Masters, Baccalaureate]" in which they are employed, though they do not necessarily hold the same types of positions within these institutions. Women were more likely to be in non-tenure track positions than men. In tenure track positions women were less likely to have tenure and full professorships than men. While Long found that "the most important factor affecting gender differences in faculty status is the age of a scientist or engineer" her regression analysis showed that even after "adding statistical controls for professional age, type of institution, field, and other variables . . . men continue to be more likely to be tenured . . . [and to be] full professors. She concludes that "while women have clearly made enormous gains in their participation in science and engineering . . . these advances represent neither unconditional success in overcoming gender inequalities nor assurance of continuing progress in the future."
Long, J. Scott, Paul D. Allison, and Robert McGinnis. "Rank Advancement in Academic Careers: Sex Differences and the Effects of Productivity." American Sociological Review 58, no. 5 (Oct. 1993): 703-22.
Available online
Notes: Women scientists in academia are promoted more slowly than men, evidence suggests that they are expected to meet higher standards than men scientists.
Abstract: "Advancement in rank is critically important to the career of an academic scientist, and the highly visible nature of the event makes it ideal for studying stratification in science. Concern with universalistic factors in promotion has prompted debates over two issues. First, why do female scientists advance more slowly than male scientists, and why do so few reach the rank of full professor? Second, is promotion driven by the sheer volume of published work as opposed to its quality? Event history analyses clearly indicate that quantity of publications is far more important than various measures of quality of publications in predicting rank advancement; and women are less likely to be promoted than men. About one-half of this sex difference is attributable to differences in levels of variables affecting promotion. Remaining differences are a result of differences in expected timing of promotion to associate professor and to the negative effects of department prestige on promotion to full professor for women."
Long, J. Scott and Mary Frank Fox. "Scientific Careers: Universalism and Particularism." Annual Review of Sociology 21 (1995): 45-71.
Available online
Notes: The univeralistic norm governing rewards in science falters in particular contexts to disadvantage women and minorities in science.
Abstract: "Science is an institution with immense inequality in career attainments. Women and most minorities, as groups, have lower levels of participation, position, productivity, and recognition than do white men. Research in the sociology of science has focused on the degree to which different outcomes have resulted from universalistic and from particularistic processes. In this paper we 1) depict the career attainments of women and minorities in science, 2) consider the meaning and measurement of universalism compared to particularism, 3) analyze the causes of differential attainment with a view to assessing evidence for violations of universalism, 4) propose conditions under which particularism is likely to occur, and 5) consider methodological problems that affect this research." The authors argue that in some processes "universalism falters"; that :being a women or a minority may have negative effects [and that] members of underrepresented groups [do] not receive due recognition or rewards."
Long, J. Scott et al. From Scarcity to Visibility: Gender Differences in the Careers of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 2001.
Notes: Examines differences in career outcomes of men and women in science and engineering in the 1970s and 80s.
Abstract: Although women have made important inroads in science and engineering since the early 1970s, their progress in these fields has stalled over the past several years. This study looks at women in science and engineering careers in the 1970s and 1980s,documenting differences in career outcomes between men and women and between women of different races and ethnic backgrounds. The panel presents what is known about the following questions and explores their policy implications: In what sectors are female Ph.D.s employed? What salary disparities exist between men and women in these fields? How is marital status associated with career attainment? Does it help a career to have a postdoctoral appointment? How well are female scientists and engineers represented in management?
Long, J. Scott and others. From Scarcity to Visibility: Gender Differences in the Careers of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers - Slides From Lecture.
Notes: Slides from lecture based on Long's book.
Love, Nancy, Karen Thole, and Hassan Aref. "Women Academic Leaders are Key to Transforming Engineering Colleges." Mar. 2004. [http://www.engtrends.com/edit_03-2004.html].
Notes: The culture of engineering tends to discourage women both in academic and leadership postions; the advancement of women in engineering leadership positions is crucial to institutional transformation.
Abstract: "Barriers to women's advancement to leadership positions in engineering academia remain. If women academic leaders are key to transforming engineering colleges, increasing the number of women academic leaders is essential. Institutions such as MIT, Princeton, and Duke have launched internal programs that affect women in science and engineering and address the barriers to women's success. On a national level, the National Science Foundation has recognized the need to develop more women leaders in science and engineering through their Advance Program. In an important shift from past efforts to develop individual women faculty, NSF is now promoting changes in the academic culture that will transform institutional thinking in ways that are more inclusive and supportive of women's contributions. By transforming the institutions through continued deep and pervasive changes, we believe that more women will aspire to become leaders on their own terms (using styles consistent with their value systems) rather than the terms historically defined by their institutions. This increase in women engineering leaders in higher education will encourage more women to pursue engineering degrees and, in turn, engineering careers in the commercial, governmental and academic sectors. As more women pursue these opportunities, the climates must and will become more inclusive and supportive of a diverse workforce."
Luckenbill-Edds, Louise. "The Educational Pipeline for Women in Biology: No Longer Leaking?" BioScience 52, no. 6 (2002): 513-21.
Available online
Notes: Undergraduate pipeline is not leaking, but the graduate pipeline is. Suggests remedies.
Abstract: Argues that the "source of the biology pipeline" - undergraduate degrees is no longer leaking, but that the pipeline leading from bachelor to doctoral degrees still leaks. Argues that "further progress toward a totally inclusive practice of biology can only come with changes in how we think about who will become a professional biologist." Suggests that we should abandon the "weed-out model" of education; value different career patterns, including part-time tenured careers for women and men; value different career paths such as teaching, employment in industry, or in community and government services.
MacLachlan, Anne J. The Lives and Careers of Minority Women ScientistsBerkely, CA: Center for Studies in Higher Education, 2000.
Available online
Notes: Paper examines the stories of minority women scientists in an effort to understand their experiences and what factors helped to shape them.
Abstract: This paper is a qualitative study on the experiences of minority women scientists. Ten personal interviews with minority women scientists inform the author's assessment of the undergraduate, graduate, and professional experiences of minority women scientists. Common themes suggest factors that might important for the success and retention of minority women in science.
Magrane, Diane and Jonathan Lang. "An Overview of Women in Academic Medicine, 2005-06." AAMC Analysis In Brief 6, no. 7 (Oct. 2006).
Available online
Notes: Overview of data on women in academic medicine in 2005-06
Abstract: This brief overview of that data on women in academic medicine in 2005-06 shows that despite the fact that women represent approximately half of all medical students and graduates, they remain underrepresented on medical faculties and in leadership positions.
Malcom, Shirley et al. Preparing Women and Minorities for the IT Workforce: The Role of Nontraditional Educational PathwaysAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, 2005.
Available online
Notes: Based on the finding that the largest producer of bachelor's degrees in information technology and computer science was not a major research university, but a for-profit institution that also produced the largest number of women and African American graduates with bachelor's degrees in IT/CS, this study examines nontraditional educational pathways and makes a number of suggestions for increasing the graduation of women and minorities in IT/CS.
Abstract: "This study examines the role of nontraditional educational pathways in preparing women and underrepresented minorities for the information technology (IT) workforce. It was sparked by the finding that the nation's number one producer of bachelor's degrees in information technology and computer science (IT/CS) was not a major research university, but instead was Strayer University, a for-profit institution with many campuses in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Not only was Strayer the top producer overall, but it also produced the largest number of women and African American graduates with baccalaureates in IT/CS." It concludes with a number of recommendations: that professional societies, employers, and institutional representatives should develop voluntary program standards; that "traditional providers," with the support of federal funding agencies, should "expand their client-centered options, including remote-learning . . . to attract nontraditional students;" that public and private funding agencies should increase their support of 2-year colleges, historically black colleges and universities, and institutions serving Hispanic populations; funding agency should develop programs that allow students to study part-time in areas deemed to fill a "national need;" augment traditional programs with internships or other workplace experience; strengthen enforcement of employment discrimination laws.
Margolis, Jane and Allan Fisher. "Geek Mythology." Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 23, no. 1 (Feb. 2003): 17-20.
Available online
Abstract: The fact that information technology is becoming the lingua franca of 21st-century busines makes it of more than passing interest that the proportion of women selecting and succeeding in the field is in decline. In Margolis and Fisher's Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing, the authors analyze the problem and report on how it is being partially righted at Carnegie Mellon University. The following slections are from Chapters 4 and 8 of their book.
Marincola, Elizabeth Ed. Career Advice for Life Scientists. Bethesda, MD: The American Society for Cell Biology: Women in Cell Biology, 2002.
Notes: Selected articles from Women in Cell Biology column of American Society for Cell Biology Newsletter providing advice on career advancement in Life Sciences; chapters are "The Head Game," "Teaching & Learning," "Communication," "Management," "Leadership," "Underrepresentation in Science Careers," "Tenure," "Parenthood & Science Careers," "Exploring Venues for Science," and "Women & Science Careers."
Martin, Steven C., Robert M. Arnold, and Ruth M. Parker. "Gender and Medical Socialization." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 29, no. 4 (Dec. 1988): 333-43.
Available online
Notes: "Gender socialization" affects women physician's career choices - which tend towards lower paid, lower status positions and specialities - despite their medical socialization.
Abstract: "Although both gender and professional socialization determine physicians' values, attitudes, and behaviors, the relative importance of each varies. Physicians' career paths demonstrate gender differences: women tend to choose primary care fields and rarely enter surgery, they are paid less and are less likely to be self-employed, and they are underrepresented in positions of authority within medical organizations and in academia. Data on practice style reveal striking similarities in physicians' attitudes toward patient care, knowledge, and clinical behavior, but recent work on physician-patient communication reveals important gender differences. These differences suggest that although medical socialization determines most aspects of practice style, a physician's gender can have an important influence on medical practice."
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. Nobel Prize Women in Science. Second ed. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 1998.
Notes: Profiles Nobel Prize winning women scientists and women who, arguably, deserved to win a Nobel Prize.
Abstract: Well written biographical profiles of women scientists who won the Nobel Prize and women, who arguably, deserved to win a Nobel Prizes. The biographies describe these women's personal lives and their scientific discoveries and illuminate the obstacles they faced and overcame.
McIlwee, J. S. and J. G. Robinson. ""Appendix A: Research Methods" and "Appendix B: Questionaire and Interview Schedule"."Women in Engineering: Gender, Power, and Workplace Culture J. S. McIlwee and J. G. Robinson, 193-215. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1992.
Notes: Appendix A decribes the quantitative and qualititative research methodologies employed in the book; Appendix B reproduces the questionaire used in surveying women engineers.
McIlwee, Judith Samson and J. Gregg Robinson. Women in Engineering Gender, Power, and Workplace Culture. SUNY Series in Science, Technology, and Society. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.
McKendall, Sherron Benson. "The Woman Engineering Academic: An Investigation of Departmental and Institutional Environments." Equity & Excellence in Education 33, no. 1 (2000): 26-35.
Abstract: Article investigates women's underrepresentation among engineering faculties from the perspective of institutional and environmental (i.e., climate) contexts. Employing the Insider/Outsider theoretical framework, the study interprets academic woman engineer's expereinces at a Research I and Doctoral I institution.
McLean, Christopher and et al. "Masculinity and the Culture of Engineering." Australasian Journal of Engineering Education 7, no. 2 (1997): 143-56.
Available online
Notes: Investigates the construction of a masculine engineering culture with reference to theories of masculinity and explores how this culture impacts women engineering students. Conclusions are also drawn regarding efforts to increase women's participation in engineering.
Abstract: "There is a growing acceptance within the engineering community that there need to be major changes in the culture of engineering, and as part of this, a greater participation of women. For this to be possible, it is necessary to gain a clear picture of the existing cultural dynamics within university engineering faculties to understand the ways in which they perpetuate the under-representation of women. It is only on the basis of such an understanding that effective and well targeted policies and change programs can be devised and implemented." This paper argues that "engineering, both in its educational and professional contexts, is dominated by a specifically masculine culture which is characterized by a set of beliefs, behaviours and assumptions [that exclude] women (and some men) from full participation." The authors conclude that "achieving gender inclusiveness in engineering will need to involve a close examination of this dominant culture and the specific ways in which it is manifested."
McMurray, Julia E. et al. "The Work Lives of Women Physicians: Results From the Physician Work-Life Stuy." Journal of General Internal Medicine 15 (2000): 372-80.
Available online
Notes: Physician Work Life Study reveals gender differences in experience of and satisfaction with medical practice.
Abstract: Analysis of the Physician Work Life Study, "a nationally representative random stratified sample of 5,704 physicians in primary and specialty nonsurgical care . . . [revealed that] gender differences exist in both the experience of and satisfaction with medical practice." The authors argue that "addressing these gender differences will optimize the participation of female physicians within the medical workforce."
McNeill, L. and M Sher. Dual-Science Career Couples: Survey Results
Available online
Notes: Survey results
Abstract: Describes and discusses results of a survey of couples, one of whom was a physicist and the other also a physicist or some other type of scientist. Authors argue that "it is in the interests of both the hiring institution and the
physics profession as a whole that institutions take an active role in addressing the dualcareer situation of the physicists whom they wish to hire. Such efforts can help an institution to hire and retain the candidates they choose, and will also help to ameliorate the significant barriers experienced by talented women entering the profession."
MentorNet. "Diversifying Engineering and Science: Advice From Organizational Change Theory." MentorNet News (Aug. 2006).
Available online
Notes: Advice on implementing organizational change
Abstract: Recommends paying attention to organizational change theory when trying to diversity science and engineering. Advises keeping the following principles in mind: (1) "losses are more painful than gains are good" -- so focus on how changes can benefit the entire community; (2) "nothing works perfectly the first time" -- so seek feedback and redesign initiatives if necessary; (3) remember that their is "a major difference between having a vision of what can be accomplished and a hallucination" -- make sure that many people share your vision and that this vision embodies the shared values of the organization; (4) "how resources are allocated reveals an organization's actual values and practices" - so determine what receive "the most time, money, staffing, and senior leadership attention" and try to align your initiative with these values.
Mervis, Jeffrey. "Can Equality in Sports Be Repeated in the Lab?" Science 298, no. 5592 (Oct. 2002): 356.
Available online
Notes: By-line: "A 30-year-old federal education law caused participation in sports by women to skyrocket. Can it do the same thing for science?"
Abstract: Title IX accomplished vastly increased participation of women in sports; this article asks if the same law could be applied to increase women's participation in science. Emphasis on the application of the federal rules to the university setting.
________. "Diversity: Easier Said Than Done." Science 289, no. 5478 (July 2000): 378-79.
Available online
Notes: News on CAWMSET report and its recommendations for fostering diversity in science.
Abstract: "On 13 July the congressionally mandated Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development issued a set of recommendations that included a call to make the U.S. scientific workforce reflect the overall employment pool. But whether these latest efforts will be sufficient to create a diverse talent pool is not at all clear; translating similar words into deeds in the past has proven to be quite difficult."
________. "Diversity: Report Urges National Academies to Improve Status of Women." Science 312, no. 5782 (June 2006): 1859a.
Available online
Notes: Report calls on National Academies to select more women as members and leaders of their organizations and to form standing committees on diversity.
Abstract: An international panel formed to study women in science examined not only women status internationally but also their status within the 90 national academies that had requested the report. The report, published by the Interacademy Council, calls upon National Academies to "first put their own houses in order." It recommends that National Academics select more women members and leaders and establish standing committees to collect, study, and discuss data on gender diversity.
________. "Men Still Have Edge in U.S. Science Careers." Science 294, no. 5549 (Dec. 2001): 2067.
Available online
Notes: Family status impeeds women's tenure.
Abstract: "Having children improves a man's chances of becoming a full professor but hinders a woman's progress in academia. That's one of many provocative findings from a National Research Council panel that has been exploring gender differences in the careers of U.S. scientists and engineers."
________. "NSF Program Targets Institutional Change." Science 291, no. 5511 (Mar. 2001): 2063-64.
Available online
Notes: News on the NSF women in science ADVANCE grant program.
Abstract: "Last month, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled plans for a new $20-million-a-year program aimed at improving career prospects for women scientists and engineers in academia. NSF hopes to make five to 10 'instututional transformation' awards by this fall as part of its new program, called ADVANCE. The program replaces NSF's earlier efforts to tackle the chronic problem of women being underrepresented in science."
________. "NSF Searches for Right Way to Help Women." Science 289, no. 5478 (July 2000): 379-81.
Available online
Notes: News on development of women in science and engineering ADVANCE grants.
Abstract: Discusses various programs NSF has funded in its attempt to foster women's involvement in science. Presents various views on the success or lack of success of these programs and on NSF's new initiative -- the ADVANCE grants. "
________. "Workforce Diversity: NSF Makes the BEST of a Good Idea." Science 292, no. 5516 (Apr. 2001): 416-17.
Available online
Notes: News on the creation of the BEST program.
Abstract: "Eight federal agencies have agreed to create a $10 million, industry-led organization to promote diversity in the U.S. scientific workforce. The new entity, called Building Engineering and Scientific Talent, hopes to become a national clearinghouse on diversity in science and engineering, studying what works and publicizing its findings."
MIT Committee on Women Faculty. A Study on the Status of Women Faculty In Science at MITBoston, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999.
Available online
Notes: MIT Report on women faculty.
Abstract: In 1995 the Dean of Science established a Committee to analyze the status of women faculty in the six departments in the School of Science. The Committee submitted a report of its findings in August, 1996 and amended reports in 1997 and 1998. The Committee discovered that junior women faculty feel well supported within their departments and most do not believe that gender bias will impact their careers. Junior women faculty believe, however, that family-work conflicts may impact their careers differently from those of their male colleagues. In contrast to junior women, many tenured women faculty feel marginalized and excluded from a significant role in their departments. Marginalization increases as women progress through their careers at MIT. Examination of data revealed that marginalization was often accompanied by differences in salary, space, awards, resources, and response to outside offers between men and women faculty with women receiving less despite professional accomplishments equal to those of their male colleagues. An important finding was that this pattern repeats itself in successive generations of women faculty. The Committee found that, as of 1994, the percent of women faculty in the School of Science (8%) had not changed significantly for at least 10 and probably 20 years. The Committee made recommendations for improving the status of senior women faculty, addressing the family-work conflict for junior women faculty, and increasing the number of women faculty. The Dean of Science took immediate actions to effect change and these have already resulted in highly significant progress including an increase in the number of women faculty. This collaboration of faculty and administration could serve as a model for increasing the participation of women, and also of under-represented minorities, on the faculty of other Schools at MIT. This is an important initiative since, even with continued effort of this magnitude, the inclusion of substantial numbers of women on the Science and Engineering faculties of MIT will probably not occur during the professional lives of our current undergraduate students. The inclusion of significant numbers of minority faculty will lag for even longer because of the additional problem of a shortage of minority students in the pipeline.
Montelone, B. A. et al. "A Mentoring Program for Female and Minority Faculty Members in the Sciences and Engineering: Effectivemess and Status After 9 Years." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science & Engineering 9 (2003): 259-71.
Abstract: A mentoring program far tenure-track female and minority faculty members was established at Kansas State University (K-State) in 1993 with funds for 4 years from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. In 1998, K-State committed itself to continuing the program. Funds are currently provided for five tenure-track faculty members per year at up to $6,000 each. Eligibility is limited to those who have not yet obtained significant extramural research funding. Each recipient works with a tenured mentor who provides advice on establishing oneself in a chosen research discipline. Recipients may use program funds in a variety of ways. The program s effectiveness is shown by several outcomes, including extramural funding success, tenure and retention, and anecdotal evidence from award recipients regarding the positive effects of the program on their professional development. The authors discuss the limitations of the program and problems that remain, together with strategies for dealing with them. They also discuss longer term outcomes that will continue to be monitored.
Moore, Christine. "The Unfeminine Mystique: Why Do Female Faculty Leave the University of Wisconsin?" Madison Magazine (May 1993): 32-36.
Notes: Climate issues contribute to most female junior faculty members leaving prior to tenure.
Abstract: This article asks why female faculty members leave the University of Wisconsin. The experiences of two women faculty (Denice Denton and a faculty member who chose to remain anonymous) illustrate the challenges faced by women at UW along the tenure track. Climate is noted as the primary problem, with lack of mentoring, departmental factions, and individual faculty members as contributing causes. One of the women faculty members profiles suggests that "shaking up the system of faculty governance" (36) might provide a long-term solution to the problem.
Muller, Carol B. "Introducing Mentornet." WEPAN 2003 Conference, Chicago, IL (June 8-11): 5.
Available online
Abstract: MentorNet (www.MentorNet.net), the E-Mentoring Network for Women in Engineering and Science, is a nonprofit organization focued on furthering women's progress in scientific and technical fields through the use of a dynamic, technology-supported mentoring program. Since 1998, nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate women studying engineering and related sciences at more than 100 colleges and universities across the U.S., and in several other nations, have been matched in structured, one-on-one, email-based mentoring relationships with male and female scientific and technical professionals working in industry and in government. This paper provides an overview of the partnership of colleges and universities, corporations, government labs and agencies, and professional societies currently invovled in MentorNet, and the participants in the MentorNet community and One-on-One program. MentorNet is an ongoing effort which supports the interests of all organizations working to advance women in engineering and related sciences.
. The Under-representation of Women in Engineering and Related Sciences: Pursuing Two Complementary Paths to Parity Carol B. Muller. 2002.
Notes: Report for the 2002 National Academies Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR)
Murray, Charles. "Sex Ed at Harvard." The New York Times (New York), 23 Jan. 2005, 4, 1, 17.
Available online
Notes: Summers op-ed response
Abstract: This editorial, writen by a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, argues for innate sex differences. It implicitly supports Summers' position but aruges for a focus on individual ability as opposed to group differences.
National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. Biological, Social, and Organization Components of Success for Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2006.
Notes: Report on a convocation, Maximing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering: Biological, Social, and Organizational Components of Success held by the National Academies in December 2005.
Abstract: This text is the result of the work of a National Acadamies ad hoc committee, the Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, charged with the following tasks: "review and assess research on sex and gender issues in science and engineering, including innate differences in cognition, implicit bias, and faculty diversity; examine the institutional culture and practices of academic institutions that discourage and prevent talented individuals from realizing their full potention as scientists and engineers; determine effective practices to ensure that women doctorates have access to a wide range of career opportunities in academe and in other research settings; determine effective practices for recruiting and retention of women scientists and engineers to faculty postions; provide recommendations to guide faculty, deans, department chairs, other university leaders, funding organizations, and government agencies in the best ways to maximize the potential of women science and engineering researchers." The committee held a covocation in December 2005 that "brought together national experts in a number of disciplines to discuss crucial and controversial questions." Invited speakers "were asked to address what sex differences research tells us about capability, behavior, career decisions, and achievement; the role of organizational structures and institutional policy; cross-cutting issues of race and ethnicity; key research needs and experiment paradigms and tools; and the ramifications of their research for policy, particularly for evaluating current and potential academic faculty." These speakers "presented the most up-to-date research exploring the effects of sex and gender on cognition and on recruiting, hiring, promoting, and retaining women scientists and engineers, and they described the best methods for improving women's opportunities to advance and succeed in academic science." This text "presents the views and opinions of the convocation participants." Section 1 of the report presents summaries of the convocation presentations, including summaries of the discussion following presentations. This presentations were divided into the following areas/panels: cognitive and biological contributions; social contributions; organizational structures; and implementing policies. Section 2 of the report reproduces selected workshop papers. Section 3 provides summaries of posters on display at the convocation. Section 4 is an appendix that includes the convocation agenda, biographical information on the speakers, biographical information on the members of the committee, and a statement of the committee's task.
National Council for Research on Women (U.S.) and Mary Thom. Balancing the Equation: Where Are Women and Girls in Science, Engineering and Technology?. New York: National Council for Research on Women, 2001.
Notes: National Council for Research on Women - Report
National Research Center: Committee on Women in Science and Engineering. "Career Characteristics of Doctorate Recipients." Data packet. 1999.
Notes: Part of a data packet used as part of April 25, 1999 symposium called "Who Will Do the Science of the Future? A Symposium on Careers of Women in Science." Contains information on academic and industry appointments for those in the agricultural, biological, physical, social, and behavioral sciences.
National Research Council. To Recruit and Advance Women Students and Faculty in Science and Engineering. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006.
Abstract: "This guide addresses three issues - recruitment, retention, and advancement - for three populations of women: students, faculty and administrators in science and engineering."
________. Women in the Chemical Workforce: A Workshop Report to the Chemical Sciences Roundtable. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2000.
Abstract: A publication of a report to the Chemical Sciences Roundtable by the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technologies and the Commission of Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Applications, on women in the chemical workforce. Specifically, discusses the facilitation of employers in the industry hiring and making the workplace more comfortable for women.
________. Women Scientists and Engineers Employed in Industry: Why So Few?. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1994.
Abstract: Limited access is the first hurdle faced by women seeking industrial jobs in science and engineering. While progress has been made in this area in recent years, common recruitment and hiring practices that make extensive use of traditional networks often overlook the available pool of women. Once on the job, many women find paternalism, sexual harassment, allegations of reverse discrimination, different standards for judging the work of men and women, lower salary relative to their male peers, inequitable job assignments, and other aspects of a male-oriented culture that are hostile to women.
National Research Council and National Academies of Science. Bridges to Independence: Fostering the Independence of New Investigators in Biomedical Research. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2005.
National Research Council of the National Academies and Committee on Women in Science and Engineering. Achieving XXcellence in Science: Role of Professional Societies in Advancing Women in Science: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2004.
Notes: Proceedings of a 2002 workshop held to address what professional societies can do to aid in the advancement of the careers of women involved in clinical research. Numbers of scientists interested in the field are shrinking, particularly among women, and as women may soon hold the majority of medical/life science degrees, the low numbers in the field are worrying. Contains five presentations held at workshop and comments from session leaders.
National Research Council (U.S.), Committee on Women in Science and Engineering, and National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Who Will Do the Science of the Future? a Symposium on Careers of Women in Science. Compass Series: Compass Series (Washington, D.C.). Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 2000.
National Science Foundation. Gender Differences in the Careers of Academic Scientists and Engineers: A Literature Review, NSF 03-322. Project Director, Alan I. Rapoport. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation, 2003.
Available online
Notes: Report review existing research on the postion of women in academic science and engineering; it concludes that overall women are disadvantaged in earnings, but that this is at least partially accounted for by differences in academic rank and scholarly productivity.
Abstract: "Taken as a whole, the body of literature we reviewed prodives evidence that women in academic careers are disadvantaged compared with men in similar careers. Women faculty earn less, are promoted less frequently to senior academic ranks, and publish less frequently than their male counterparts.
Sections 2 through 5 of this report deal with background issues, findings on the gender earnings gap in academia, the effects of gender on tenure status and academic rank, and the literature on gender differences in scholarly productivity. Section 2, on background issues, provides a context for interpreting the findings in the literature. The last three sections of this review are connected by a common theme. Findings in the literature indicate that the gender earnings gap is at least partly due to gender differences in promotions and scholarly productivity."
________. New Formulas for America's Workforce: Girls in Science and EngineeringWashington, D.C.: National Science Foundation, 2003.
Available online
Abstract: Describes numerous projects across the nation design to promote scientific careers and education for women and girls. Projects range from those targeted to elementary school schools all the way across the educational spectrum to those targeted towards university faculty.
________. Science and Engineering Indicatiors 2004, NSB 04-01B. 2004.
Available online
Notes: Statistical reference on science and engineering; includes CD-ROM with data and basic informational cards.
Abstract: "The biennial Science and Engineering Indicators series provides a broad base of quantitative information about U.S. science, engineering, and technology for use by public and private policymakers. The two-volume 2004 edition contains analyses of key trends that illuminate the scope, quality and vitality of research and education both in the United States and in an international context. In response to user demand, it also contains a new chapter on state-level indicators."
National Science Foundation. "Science and Engineering Indicators 2004 (NSB 04-01C)." CD-ROM. 2004.
Notes: Statistical reference data CD.
Abstract: Statistics address the following topics: elementary and secondary education; higher education in S&E; S&E labor force; U.S. and international R&D; academic R&D; industry, technology and the global market place; public attitudes towards S&T; and state-level indicators.
National Science Foundation. Science and Engineering Indicators 2004: Volume 2: Appendix Tables, NSB 04-01A. Arlington, VA: 2004.
Available online
Notes: Statistical reference contains tables of data on a variety of science and engineering topics, some emphasis on gender and race.
National Science Foundation. Science and Technology Pocket Data Book, 2000, NSF 00-328. Arlington, VA:
Available online
Notes: Statistical reference on science and engineering in the US; small emphasis on women and URMs.
Abstract: Pocket book provides statistics and charts on the following topics: national R&D funding patterns, academic R&D, R&D in U.S. industry, education of scientists and engineers, working scientists and engineers, public attitudes towards S&T (science and technology), and international S&T trends.
________. SESTAT: A Tool for Studying Scientists and Engineers in the United States, NSF 99-337. Nirmala Kannankutty and R. Keith Wilkinson. Arlington, VA: 1999.
Available online
Notes: Reference guide to the SESTAT database.
Abstract: SESTAT uses data collected from the biennial National Survey of College Graduates(NSCG), the National Survey of Recent College Graduates(NSRCG), and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) to create a comprehensive and integrated system of information about the employment, educational, and demographic characteristics of scientists and engineers in the US,
________. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2000, NSF 00-327. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation, 2000.
Available online
Notes: Report describes the status of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering; extensive data and statistical tables.
Abstract: "This report, the 10th in a series of Congressionally mandated biennial publications, documents both short- and long-term trends in the participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering education and employment. Its primary purpose is as an information source; it offers no endorsement or recommendations on policies or programs.
The report aims to examine changes in participation since the first report in this series was released in 1982. Despite the many changes that have occurred since then, several of the findings reported therein (NSF 1982) continue to hold true. Among these are the relatively small percentages of women and minorities who earn science and engineering degrees and who are employed in science and engineering, the concentration of women and minorities in specific fields, the higher rates of part-time employment for women, the lower salaries earned by women and minorities, and the lower percentages of women in full professorships."
Women, Minorities, and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering 2004. 2004.
Notes: Statistical reference includes a data CD and basic information cards.
Nelson, Donna J. "A Culture That Tolerates Discrimination." The Chronicle of Higher Education 52, no. 38 (May 2006): A10.
Available online
Abstract: Donna J. Nelson, an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma, discusses data collection on job discrimination on women in the chemistry education field and shares her own experiences.
Nelson, Donna J. and Diana C. Rogers. A National Analysis of Diversity in Science and Engineering Faculties at Research UniversitiesNorman, OK: Diversity in Science Association, 2004.
Available online
Notes: Report surveys 'top 50' science and engineering departments and finds that women and minorities are severely underrepresented on these faculties. The authors suggest that this underrepresentation continues a cycle whereby women and minorities fail to pursue academic science and engineering careers because of a lack of role models. Conclusions point towards active mentoring by male faculty and addressing the environment as keys to encouraging women and minorities in science and engineering.
Abstract: "The first national and most comprehensive analysis to date of tenured and tenure track faculty in the 'top 50' departments of science and engineering disciplines shows that females and minorities are significantly underrepresented. ...The data demonstrate that while the representation of females in science and engineering PhD attainment has significantly increased in recent years, the corresponding faculties are still overwhelmingly dominated by White men. ...A cycle is perpetuated. Women are less likely to enter and remain in science and engineering when they lack mentors and role models. In most science disciplines, the percentage of women among faculty recently hired is not comparable to that of recent women PhDs. This results in fewer female faculty to act as role models for female undergraduate and graduate students. Female students observe this in the course of sampling the environment. When female professors are not hired, treated fairly, and retained, female students perceive that they will be treated similarly. This dissuades them from persisting in that discipline. ...Because of the dearth of female professors and the impact this has on female student perceptions, the male faculty should (1) actively encourage female students to enter science and engineering and offer to become their mentors and (2) insure that the environment for the few female professors currently in science and engineering is one which female students will perceive as appealing. In the end, the presence, treatment, and fate of female professors will be most relevant to the lives, family responsibilities, and careers of typical female students and the choices and obstacles they will face."
Niemeier, Debbie A. and Cristina Gonzalez. "Breaking into the Guildmasters' Club: What We Know About Women Science and Engineering Department Chairs at AAU Universities." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (2004): 157-71.
Available online
Notes: Women are underrepresented in science and engineering university department leadership roles.
Abstract: At the present rate of progress it would take women until 2149 to achieve parity with men as full professors (Glayzer-Raymo 1999). Progress in academic leadership positions has been equally as slow, particularly at the departmental level. In summer 2000 a survey of approximately 92 percent of the 2,817 departments at research institutions helped to develop a set of baseline demographics for department chairs. For the departments with data available, the results of the survey showed that men chaired nearly 81 percent of the surveyed departments while women chaired approximately 19 percent. With as few as 8 women chairs in 298 engineering departments and less than 6 percent in the 340 math, statistics, earth sciences, chemistry, and physics/astrophysics departments for which data were available, it is clear that women are a very small proportion of these important academic leadership positions. This study discusses the survey results by disciplinary field and reviews the underlying factors that might be contributing to the low proportions of women.
NIH Office of Research on Women's Health. Achieving XXcellence in Science: Advancing Women's Contributions to Science Through Professional Societies. Alexandria, VA: Murphy & Milano for the Office of Research on Women's Health, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; and the American Society for Cell Biology, 2000.
Available online
Notes: Proceedings of a workshop held Dec. 9-10, 1999
Abstract: "The purpose of the workshop was to explore the roles of scientific societies in advancing science by building the careers of all women in science, from the predoctoral stage to the senior scientist level." The workshop focussed on 5 issues: How scientific societies can participate in mentoring and networking to promote the contributions of women scientists; how scientific societies can contribute to the career development of women scientists at the mid and senior levels; how scientific societies can recruit, retain, and advance women within their organization and ensure that their programs reflect the demographics of their constituents; what scientific societies can do to "model" successful strategies to industry/academia; how can societies collaborate to advance science by promoting women in science. Describes a series of proposed initiatives which include an action and evaluation plan. Publication includes list of participants and registrants and a list of resources.
Nosek, Brian A., Mahzarin R. Banaji, and Anthony G. Greenwald. "Math = Male, Me = Female, Therefore Math Does Not Equal Me." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83, no. 1 (2002): 44-59.
Available online
Abstract: College students, especially women, demonstrated negativity toward math and science relative to arts and language on implicit measures. Group membership (being female), group identity (self = female), and gender stereotypes (math = male) were related to attitudes and identification with mathematics. Stronger implicit math = male stereotypes corresponded with more negative implicit and explicit math attitudes for women but more positive attitudes for men. Associating the self with female and math with male made it difficult for women, even women who had selected math-intensive majors, to associate math with the self. These results point to the opportunities and constraints on personal preferences that derive from membership in social groups.
Olson, Annette. "A Nonlinear Path to the Future." Science.
Available online
Notes: The construction of academic science as opposed to social/personal relationships is a major reason why women find the climate in science chilly.
Abstract: The author argues that the key to attracting and retaining women in science is changing the traditional values of the scientific workplace -- values that "reward one's willingness to sacrifice community, family and self in pursuit of science." The author asserts that women "value not solely on intellectual challenge, professional achievement, or supportive relationships, but on achieving a balance among them. She suggest that the scientific community needs to place increased value on achieving balance between community, family, relationships and career. She suggest evaluation and reward systems need to change to reflect these values and that flexible work options that allow for work-life balance and mentoring can help support women in science.
Olson, Kristen. "Who Gets Promoted? Gender Differences in Science and Engineering Academia." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 8, no. 3/4 (2002): 347.
Notes: Rewards of academic science - tenure and promotion - are differentially distributed by gender.
Abstract: "Using a nationallly representative sample of doctoal academic scientists and engineers, this study examines gender differences in the likelihood of having tenure and senior faculty ranks after controlling for academic age, field, doctoral origins, employing educational institution, productivity, postdoctoral positions, work activities, and family characterics. Logistic regressions show that many of these controls are significant; that biology and employment at comprehensive univeristies have a gender-specific advantage for women; and that postdoctoral positions, teaching instead of doing administrative work, and having children have a gender-specific disadvantage. Although the statistical methods employed here do not reveal the exact nature of how gender inequities in science and engineering careers arise, the author suggests that they exist."
Osborn, Mary. "Status and Prospects of Women in Science in Europe." Science 263, no. 5152 (Mar. 1994): 1389-91.
Available online
Notes: Summary of the current environment of women in science in Europe, with focus on the lack of women in positions allocating resources. Recommendations for EU actions to advance the status of women in science.
Palepu, Anita et al. "Minority Faculty and Academic Rank in Medicine." Journal of the American Medical Association 280, no. 9 (Sept. 1998): 767-71.
Available online
Notes: "Minority faculty were less likely than white faculty to hold senior academic rank. This finding was not explained by potential confounders such as years as a faculty member or measures of academic productivity."
Abstract: A self administered survey sent to US medical school faculty sought "to determine whether minority faculty were as likely as majority to attain senior rank (associate or full professor) after adjusting for other factors that typically influence promotion. . . . After adjusting for the medical school, department, years as medical school faculty, number of peer-reviewed publications, receipt of research grant funding, proportion of time in clinical activities, sex, and tenure status, we found that the odds ratios of holding senior rank relative to white faculty were 0.33 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.63) for black faculty, 0.36 (95% CI, 0.12-1.08) for Hispanic faculty, and 0.58 (95% CI, 0.30-1.12) for Asian faculty. Minority faculty were less likely than white faculty to hold senior academic rank."
Palepu, Anita and Carol P. Herbert. "Medical Women in Academia: The Silences We Keep." Canadian Medical Association Journal 167, no. 8 (Oct. 2002): 877-79.
Available online
Notes: A hostile climate, work-life balance, bias and social norms all present major challenges to women in academic medicine. Institutional change resulting in supportive policies are needed to rectify these barriers.
Abstract: This article hopes to "foster open dialogue" about the challenges women in medicine face. The author discusses challenges posed by the need to balance career and family, by gender bias, and by sexual harassment. She suggests the need for more female leadership in medicine and stresses the need for medical schools to create more welcoming environments for women students and faculty members.
Perrucci, Carolyn Cummings. "Minority Status and the Pursuit of Professional Careers: Women in Science and Engineering." Social Forces 49, no. 2 (Dec. 1970): 245-59.
Available online
Notes: There are disparities between "career paths and career sucess" (257) of men and women scientists and engineers; women scientists and engineers in careers exhibit different marriage and childbearing patterns than those not in careers.
Abstract: "The integration of a visible minority group into the American occupational structure; specifically, the sexual integration of science and engineering is investigated by comparing selected social characteristics of career with noncareer women and men with similar training in these fields. Deviation of science, and especially engineering, from the ideal-typical model of rational professions is indicated in the finding of significant "selective patterning" of careers and differential career success by sex of college graduate, which is evident when they first enter the labor market and becomes more pronounced during the course of their careers. It is suggested that discrepancies between occupational values of women employees and their perceptions of their actual work situation may indicate potential problems in their employment. Finally, possible adaptations to mitigate the effect of "deviant" sex status in the professional context are identified for two age groups of women scientists and engineers in terms of patterns in their temporal ordering of the events of college graduation, employment, marriage, and childbearing."
Potier, Beth. "Researcher Mia Ong: Physics 'Glass Ceiling' Intact." Harvard News Gazette (Jan. 2004).
Available online
Notes: Ong is conducting a longitudinal study of women and underrepresented minorities pursuing career paths in physics. Issues of exclusion, being both singled out and overlooked because of their minority. Examples of how students have coped and suggestions for what needs to be done.
Pribbenow, Christine Maidl, Sue Lottridge, and Deveny Benting. The Climate for Women Faculty in the Sciences and Engineering: Their Stories, Successes, and Suggestions Christine Maidl Pribbenow, Sue Lottridge, and Deveny Benting. 2004.
Notes: Report on Interviews with 26 Women faculty in science and engineering
Abstract: Reports on interviews conducted with 26 women faculty in the sciences and engineering. The interviews were conducted for three purposes: (1) to serve as a baseline from which to measure changes in women's experiences on campus; (2) to inform development of a survey for all faculty on compus; and (3)to help WISELI determine the direction of its research and program activities. The interviews covered a wide range of topics but concentrated on the following eight areas: the hiring and promotion process; the climate in each woman's unit; balancing professional and personal life; career development and recognition; gender issues in various aspects of their professional life; use of campus resources; thoughts about the future for women on campus; and WISELI's role in improving the climate for women on campus.
Prow, Tina M. "Diversity in the College of Engineering." Engineering Outlook 42, no. 1&2 (2002).
Notes: Issue devoted to Diversity in the College of Engineering, including the Minority Engineering Program and Women in Engineering.
Rayman, Paula and Belle Bret. "Women Science Majors: What Makes a Difference in Persistence After Graduation?" Journal of Higher Education 66, no. 4 (July 1995-Aug. 1995): 388-414.
Available online
Notes: Environmental factors encourage women to persist in science careers.
Abstract: "Women remain an underrepresented group in science and mathematics. This article examines factors related to persistence in science/mathematics of women science or mathematics majors. Cohort, major, number of undergraduate science courses, parental encouragement, and career advice from faculty were key factors associated with persistence in science/mathematics after college."
Reskin, Barbara F. "Sex Differences in Status Attainment in Science: The Case of the Postdoctoral Fellowship." American Sociological Review 41, no. 4 (Aug. 1976): 597-612.
Available online
Notes: Women scientists' careers do not follow the normal status-attainment process, this might be accounted for by differences in professional committment and/or sex discrimination in science.
Abstract: "This article compares the status-attainment process for women and men, using career data for a sample of 450 doctoral chemists. The study focuses on the role of the postdoctoral fellowship, a career event that is thought to validate predoctoral performance and foster later professional success. Analyses of covariance show sex interactions for both the predoctoral determinants and the occupational consequences of the postdoctoral experience (award receipt and prestige), which persist when marital status is taken into account. Such sex-fellowship interactions fail to occur only for the impact of the fellowship on productivity, indicating a prestigious award-enhanced scientific output for both sexes. These results seriously question whether achievement norms govern status attainment for female scientists and whether science is, in fact, unique in its normative structure."
Richley, Bonnie Ann and Tony Lingham, Examining a Gendered Culture: Individual and Institutional Factors Impacting Women's Desired Futures, (unpublished).
Notes: Study of women postdoctoral students in the biological sciences that examines the role that gender, in a male-biased culture, plays in shaping individuals women's choices of career path (research, teaching, or industry).
Abstract: This exploratory study examines the perceptions of women working in a male-biased environment and how individual and institutional forces impact their desired projected futures. Although participants projected three distinct career paths (i.e., research, teaching, industry), of significance is the shared ambition to contribute to the field of science based on traditional notions of success, regardless of path. Findings in this study offer insight into to the individual's career decision process involving sensemaking about how gender is experienced in a male-biased culture. Together, these two overarching areas provide information about the postdoctoral juncture for women that suggest and environment heavily laden with gender and family biases. This study surfaces how these disadvantages factor into participants' choice of projected career path and how the culture of academic science contributes to the 'leaky pipeline.' Responses from the participants intending to move into industry show anomalous findings that might warrant future research. Further, two unexpected findings emerged from this research: 1) participants in this study experience gender and family discrimination that is similar to what senior women in academia report and 2) the postdoctoral stage is a unique 'transition zone' marked by a process of adaptation and selection.
Women in Nontraditional Careers. Jocelyn Riley. 16 videos Her Own Words.
Available online
Abstract: Sixteen videos profile women in nontraditional careers. Videos include "Women in Engineering," "Women in Dentistry," "Math at Work."
Rinehart, Jan, Susan Staffin Metz, and Natela Ostrovskaya. "Mentoring Men of Color and Women to Faculty Postions: Results From a Faculty Survey (Session 3592)."Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition: Staying in Tune With Engineering Education: American Society for Engineering Education.
Available online
Notes: A survey of women and minority faculty suggests that the best way to encourage students to pursue academic careers is through mentoring.
Abstract: "This paper reports on an engineering faculty survey designed to provide insights into why under represented (women, African American men, Latinos, and Native American men) enter academia. There continues to be a shortage of participation from these groups in the engineering field and evein with all the efforts of people, foundations, and agencies, the numbers are not increasing. Determining what the factors are that motivate and encorage young people to pursue Ph.D.s and then select academic careers, is vital to the economic growth of America."
Ripley, Amanda et al. "Who Says a Woman Can't Be Einstein? (Cover Story)." 165, no. 10 (Mar. 2005-): 50-60.
Available online
Notes: Explores current research on sex differences in the brain and concludes that though interesting differences exist they don't translate into different aptitudes, abilities, or behaviors. Also discusses the role of expectations, motivations, and encouragement in determining career interests and success.
Abstract: Offers a tour of men and women's brains and finds there is no reason a woman can't be Einstein. Comments by Harvard University President Larry Summers on the reasons why women are less likely than men to end up top-tier tenured science professors which set off the debate; Research which show differences between the male and female brain which do not seem to change behavior; Some of the brain differences; Brain function over form; Segregation of the senses between gender; Role of expectations in success; Other new research into the workings and adaptability of the human brain. INSETS: SCIENCE IS STILL A MAN'S WORLD; WILL TODAY'S GIRLS CHANGE THAT?
Rolison, Debra R. "Can Title IX Do for Women in Science and Engineering What It Has Done for Women In Sports?" American Physical Society News Online 12, no. 5 (May 2003): 8.
Available online
Notes: Title IX should be used to pressure science and engineering departments to change practices that preference white men.
Abstract: The author proposes using Title IX to compel science and engineering departments to hire women. She suggests that public funding should be withheld from institutions that fail to do so and encourages rejecting the male-dominated status-quo. The article further suggests that that women in science are critical to progress and innovation.
Rose, Hilary. "Nine Decades, Nine Women, Ten Nobel Prizes: Gender Politics at the Apex of Science." Eds., Mary et al. Wyer, 53-68. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Abstract: Details the careers of nine women receiving Nobel Prizes in the sciences, the causes of success and failure for their careers, and the politics behind their winning of recognition.
Rosser, Sue V. "Attracting and Retaining Women in Science and Engineering." Academe 89, no. 4 (July 2003-Aug. 2003): 24-29.
Available online
Abstract: Discusses a study conducted to determine the occupational challenges facing women scientists and engineers in the U.S. as of 2003. Review of related literature; Data and methods used; Findings.
________. The Science Glass Ceiling: Academic Women Scientists and the Struggle to Succeed. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Notes: Presents research based on 450 women who received either an NSF POWRE Award or a Clare Boothe Luce Professorship.
Abstract: "This book presents quantitative and qualitative data that elucidate the problems and opportunities surrounding the careers and daily lives of 450 women scientists and engineers at academic institutions." All 450 women received either an NSF Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) award or a Clare Boothe Luce Professorship award.
________. "Testing Theories for the Gender Difference." Science 302, no. 28 (Nov. 2003): 1506-7.
Available online
Abstract: Reveiew of "Women in Science: Career Processes and Outcomes" by Yu Xie and Kimberlee A. Shauman. "Comprehensive exploration of gender differences in science careers in the United States, the authors consider the trajectory from high school to graduate school to combining jobs with families. Analyzing 17 data sets, they consider how students are selected into and out of science education and how social forces shape choices in the science labor market. "
________. "Twenty-Five Years of NWSA: Have We Built the Two-Way Streets Between Women's Studies and Women in Science and Technology." NWSA Journal 14, no. 1 (2002): 103-24.
Available online
Abstract: A survey conducted in 1988 of the annual meetings of the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) from 1979 to 1986 documented the percentage of individual papers and entire sessions in the conferences focused on science, technology, or health. The twenty-fifth anniversary of NWSA becomes an appropriate time to update these percentages and review the past, current, and future impacts of the two-way street of sci-ence and technology on NWSA and of NWSA on the broader scientific and technology communities. This review becomes especially timely since in 2001, for the fi rst time in public and print, the presidents of the most prestigious research universities suggested that science and engineering might need to change to accommodate women. Because transformation of the academy signals the hallmark of Women's Studies, NWSA and women's studies faculty must play a critical role in the institutional changes required.
________. "Using POWRE to ADVANCE: Institutional Barriers Identified by Women Scientists and Engineers." NWSA Journal 16, no. 1 (2004): 50-79.
Available online
Abstract: In January 2001, in a statement released on behalf of the most prestigious U.S. research universities, administrators suggested that institutional barriers have prevented women scientists and engineers from having a level playing field in their professions. Also in 2001, the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated a new awards program, ADVANCE, which focuses on institutional rather than individual solutions to empower women to participate fully in science and technology. Survey responses from almost 400 Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) awardees from fiscal year '97, '98, '99, and '00 elucidate problems and opportunities identified by women scientists and engineers. POWRE respondents consider balancing career and family the most significant challenge facing women scientists and engineers today. Based on these results, institutions must seek to remove or at least lower these and other barriers to attract and retain women scientists and engineers. The survey responses are grouped into four areas that form the basis for policy areas which could be addressed at the institutional level to mitigate the difficulties and challenges currently experienced by women scientists and engineers.
Rosser, Sue V. and Jean-Lou Chameau. "Institutionalization, Sustainability, and Repeatability of ADVANCE for Institutional Transformation." Journal of Technology Transfer 31, no. 3 (May 2006): 335.
Abstract: "Principal investigators sow the seeds for successful institutionalization and sustainability of their ADVANCE grants when they make the decision to submit the grant and plan the goals, objectives, and activities underpinning the particular aspects of institutional transformation that their university will pursue within a general framework to advance faculty women to senior and leadership positions. Receiving the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding in a very competitive, peer-reviewed program and the relatively large size of the NSF grants carry considerable prestige. It is the institutional investment in terms of both human and capital resources and commitment on the parts of administrators and faculty to establish, change, and implement policies and practices to support ADVANCE that leverages the NSF support and assures long-term impact of the initiative."
Rosser, Sue V. and Eliesh O'Neil Lane. "A History of Funding for Women's Programs at the National Science Foundation: From Individual POWRE Approaches to the ADVANCE of Institutional Approaches." Journal of Women & Minorities in Science & Engineering 8, no. 3/4 (2002): 327-46.
Abstract: Focuses on National Science Foundation initiatives to redress the underrepresentation of women, minorities and persons with disabilities. Information on NSF women's programs in the 1980s; Origins of the Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) program; POWRE problems.
________. "Key Barries for Academic Institutions Seeking to Retain Female Scientists and Engineers: Family-Unfriendly Policies, Low Numbers, Sterotypes, and Harrasment." Journal of Women & Minorities in Science & Engineering 8, no. 2 (2002): 161-90.
Abstract: Presents information on a study which evaluated survey responses from almost 400 Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) awardees from fiscal years 1997 to 2000, to elucidate problems and opportunities identified by female scientists and engineers. Barriers identified by POWRE awardees; Comparisons of responses among women from different disciplines; Concern regarding balancing career and family; Stereotypes formed against women in science and engineering.
Rossi, Alice S. "Women in Science: Why So Few?" Science 148, no. 3674 (May 1965): 1196-202.
Available online
Notes: "Social and psychological influences restrict women's choice and pursuit of careers in science." (article by-line)
Abstract: Rossi examines the social and psychological factors that limit women in science. The author examines how the priority of marriage and childbearing, career interruption durring child-rearing, and views of the maternal role tend to discourage women from careers in general. Next, the propostion that women and science are incompatable is examined. Early cognitive development is discussed as a primary determinant of sex-based differences in intellectual ability, which in turn predisposes women against science. The author concludes by recommending that society undertake the following actions to enable women in science: 1) emphasizing education and teaching girls that work is a fundamental aspect of life, 2) stop restricting women's career choices by making the balancing of multiple roles a problem for society to address, 3) use technology to rationalize house work, and 4) "encourage men to be more articulate about themselves as males and about women" (1201).
Ryan, Gina, ed. Magazine of the Society of Women Engineers. Chicago, IL: Society of Women Engineers, 2002.
Sabatier, M., M. Carrere, and V. Mangematin. "Profiles of Academic Activities and Careers: Does Gender Matter? An Analysis Based on French Life Scientist CVs." Journal of Technology Transfer 31, no. 3 (May 2006): 311.
Abstract: "The aim of this paper is to analyze the factors that influence the length of time to promotion for male and female academics. Promotion is defined as elevation to a professorship. We examine the role of academic profiles, which are based not only on publications, but also include activities such as fund raising, consulting, teaching, and managerial appointments (dean of a department for instance). The paper examines the factors that speed up or slow down the progress of an academic career for males and females, respectively, to explore the 'glass ceiling' effects. Survival and duration models are used to test whether the gender differential persists after controlling for observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The originality of this paper lies in the use of duration models to track sex differences in promotion criteria. It highlights that the different criteria of promotion for male and female academics: women have to demonstrate higher involvement in different networks in order to be promoted."
Sands, Aimee. "Never Meant to Survive: A Black Woman's Journey: An Interview With Evelynn Hammonds by Aimee Sands."Women, Science, and Technology: a Reader in Feminist Science Studies Eds., Mary et al. Wyer, 17-25. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Abstract: Experiences of Evelynn Hammonds as a black female physics student. Prepared for racism, she was unprepared to be discriminated against by her peers because of her gender.
Sax, Linda J. et al. "Faculty Research Productivity: Exploring the Role of Gender and Family-Related Factors." Research in Higher Education 43, no. 4 (Aug. 2002): 423-46.
Available online
Notes: Study finds that "factors affecting faculty research productivity are nearly identical for men and women, and family-related variables, such as having dependent children, exhibit little or no effects on research productivity."
Abstract: This study explores the role of several family-related factors in faculty research productivity for a large, nationally representative sample of university faculty members. The role of marriage, children, and aging parents is examined after controlling for other personal and environmental factors, such as age, rank, department, and intrinsic motivations to conduct research, that previous research has shown to influence research productivity. Analyses are conducted on a sample of 8,544 full-time teaching faculty (2,384 women and 6,160 men) at 57 universities nationwide. Results show that factors affecting faculty research productivity are nearly identical for men and women, and family-related variables, such as having dependent children, exhibit little or no effects on research productivity.ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
Schubert, Charlotte and Gunjan Sinha. "News Feature: A Lab of Her Own." Nature Medicine 10, no. 2 (2004): 114-15.
Available online
Notes: By-line: "Why do women continue to drop out of resaerch in record numbers? Charlotte Schubert and Gunjan Sinha plumb the 'leaky pipeline.'
Abstract: Article describes institutional barriers to women's progress into the top rungs of academic science and reviews several innovative approaches to improve this situation. ADVANCE is discussed but the EMBO career re-start grants, which enable women (amd men) to re-start a career after an interruption. Though not restricted to this situtation, the grants enable mothers to get back into their careers after taking time off from sceince to give birth and care for young children. The intent is this program will help to keep more women from dropping out of science entirely.
Sealy, Cordelia. "The Leaky Pipeline." Materials Today 5, no. 11 (Nov. 2002): 1.
Available online
Notes: Editorial discusses new thinking on the leaky pipeline.
Searing, Susan E. and Phyllis Weisbard. Women and Science: Issues and ResourcesMadison, WI: University of Wisconsin System, 1994.
Available online
Notes: Bibliography of readings on Women and Science
Abstract: Includes a bibliography of readings and references to other bibliographies on Women and Science, Biographical sources, Review Essays, Indexes to articles in Women's Studies and in Science.
Selby, Cecily Cannan Ed. Women in Science and Engineering: Choices for Success. New York: The New York Academy of Sciences, 1999.
Abstract: Participants and presenters from industry; universities; and government, corporate and academic institutions report on the "best practices" that foster women's science careers. The papers assess whether, where, and how progress has taken place in the 25 years since the Academy held a conference entitled "Women in Science: Determinants of Success" that recommended ways of accelerating it, as well as goals for this century. The shared perspective of the conference was that diversity must be abetted by substantive changes in the attitudes, policies, and practices that inform how we educate the workforce and how the science workplace is managed.
Selvin, Paul. "Jenny Harrison Finally Gets Tenure in Math at Berkeley." Science 261, no. 5119 (July 1993): 286.
Available online
Notes: Tenure denial - part of national discourse on women in academia.
Abstract: Story of Harrison, a female mathematics professor at Berkeley, who was denied tenure but fought the university's decision and eventually won tenure.
Settles, Isis H. et al. "The Climate For Women in Academic Science: The Good, the Bad, and the Changeable." Psychology of Women Quarterly 30, no. 1 (Mar. 2006): 47-58.
Available online
Abstract: Deficits theory posits that women scientists have not yet achieved parity with men scientists because of structural aspects of the scientific environment that provide them with fewer opportunities and more obstacles than men. The current study of 208 faculty women scientists tested this theory by examining the effect of personal negative experiences and perceptions of the workplace climate on job satisfaction, felt influence, and productivity. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that women scientists experiencing more sexual harassment and gender discrimination reported poorer job outcomes. Additionally, perceptions of a generally positive, nonsexist climate, as well as effective leadership, were related to positive job outcomes after controlling for harassment and discrimination. We discuss implications for the retention and career success of women in academic science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Shaumann, Kimberlee A. and Xie Yu. "Explaining Sex Differences in Publication Productivity Among Postsecondary Faculty."Equal Rites, Unequal Outcomes: Women in American Research Universities Editor, Lilli A. Hornig. New York: Kluwer Academic, 2003.
Notes: Explains sex differences in scholarly productivity as a result of such facors as positions in the academy and access to resources.
Abstract: This article contributes to "a large volume of research aimed at explaining sex differences in scholarly productivity." It follows up on a recent article by the same authors that examined sex differences in research productivity among scientists and argued that previous studies had not taken into account such factors as positions within the academy, access to resources, etc. This article concluded that "if men and women are located in the same positions within the structure of the academy and if they have equal access to the resources that facilitate publication, sex differences in research productivity are nil." This article extends a similar analysis to additional disciplines; to the social sciences and education, the arts and humanities, the natural sciences and engineering, and to the medical and professional fields. This article replicates the authors' findings in their previous work examining sex difference in productivity in the sciences and engineering.
Shaw, Carol M., Norman Fogel, and Maureen B. Gonzalez. 1992.
Notes: Describes the University of Dayton's Women in Engineering Program and its results. Includes survey results of participants during fifteen years.
Abstract: This report (unpublished??) describes the University of Dayton's Women in Engineering (WIE) Program -- a one-week summer career awareness program begun in 1974. Uses program evaluation and a survey (response rate = 33% or 295/899) administered to participants during the past fifteen years to assess the programs effectiveness in encouraging women to enter engineering. Results showed that 62.5% of participants obtained degrees in engineering or engineering technology, 23% pursued master's degrees in engineering or science, and 3% pursued science or engineering Ph.Ds. 81.6% of respondents indicated that the WIE Program was very influential (23.3%) or influential (58.3%) in their choice of career.
Sher, Marc, ed. CSWP Gazette. Vol. 25, no. 22006.
Available online
Notes: Several articles on Dual Career couples
Sheridan, Jennifer et al. "Discovering Directions for Change in Higher Education Through the Experiences of Senior Women Faculty." Journal of Technology Transfer 31 (2006): 387-96.
Notes: Discusses the use of "discovery interviews" to gain greater understanding of the experiences of senior women faculty in science and engineering and to incorporate the insights gained into efforts to foster institutional transformation.
Abstract: The Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an NSF-funded ADVANCE Institutional Transformation project, employed the "discovery interviews" method to characterize the experiences of senior women faculty in science and engineering on campus. This method allowed WISELI to reach its aims of (1) gaining information from senior women that would inform the programs developed by WISELI, and (2) building relationships among the senior women and WISELI. The discovery interview process also had some uninteded consequences, including creation of an expectation of advocacy that exceeded the original intent of the project. This method was well-matched to the needs of WISELI as a change agent at the UW-Madison, and has contribted a great deal to its Institutional Transformation efforts, promarily by changing WISELI's perceptions of what leadership means to senior women faculty.
Sherwood, Kaitlin Duck. "Women in the Engineering Industry." 1994. [http://www.webfoot.com/advice/women.in.eng.html].
Notes: Advice for women on how to succeed in engineering.
Abstract: Article is derived from a talk author delivered to the Society of Women Engineers at UIUC. Author provides advice for women regarding how to succeed (how to fit in) in the engineering industry. Tone is light and entertaining.
Shirley, Donna. "Women in Engineering: Focus on Success." The Bridge 29, no. 2 (Summer 1999).
Available online
Notes: "Numerous opportunities exist for creative solutions to the problem of insufficient numbers of women engineers in the workforce."
Sobecks, Nancy W. and et al. "When Doctors Marry Doctors: A Survey Exploring the Professional and Family Lives of Young Physicians." Annals of Internal Medicine 130, no. 4 (Feb. 1999): 312-19.
Available online
Notes: Survey reveals differences in the careers and lives of dual-physican couples versus married physicians.
Abstract: "Background: Soon, half of all physicians may be married to other physicians (that is, in dual-doctor families). Little is known about how marriage to another physician affects physicians themselves.
Objective: To learn how physicians in dual-doctor families differ from other physicians in their professional and family lives and in their perceptions of career and family.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Setting: Two medical schools in Ohio.
Participants: A random sample of physicians from the classes of 1980 to 1990.
Measurements: Responses to a questionnaire on hours worked, income, number of children, child-rearing arrangements, and perceptions about work and family.
Results: Of 2000 eligible physicians, 1208 responded (752 men and 456 women). Twenty-two percent of male physicians and 44% of female physicians were married to physicians (P < 0.001). Men and women in dual-doctor families differed (P < 0.001) from other married physicians in key aspects of their professional and family lives: They earned less money, less often felt that their career took precedence over their spouse's career, and more often played a major role in child-rearing. These differences were greater for female physicians than for male physicians. Men and women in dual-doctor families were similar to other physicians in the frequency with which they achieved career goals and goals for their children and with which they felt conflict between professional and family roles. Marriage to another physician had distinct benefits (P < 0.001) for both men and women, including more frequent enjoyment from shared work interests and higher family incomes.
Conclusions: Men and women in dual-doctor families differed from other physicians in many aspects of their professional and family lives, but they achieved their career and family goals as frequently. These differences reflect personal choices that will increasingly affect the profession as more physicians marry physicians."
Sonnad, Seema S. and Lisa M. Colletti. "Issues in the Recruitment and Success of Women in Academic Surgery." Surgery 132, no. 2 (Aug. 2002): 415-19.
Available online
Abstract: BACKGROUND: We undertook a national survey of male and female academic surgeons to identify issues and perceptions surrounding the success of women in surgery. DATA AND METHODS: A previously tested survey instrument was sent to 772 female and 994 male academic surgeons. Responses were entered and compared across a number of categories using descriptive statistics and t tests. RESULTS: Women report similar objective experience, but have very different perceptions of the issues in academic surgery than do men. Differences include access to collaboration and support, issues in balancing family and work life, and to what degree perceptions are changing. DISCUSSION: If we are to recruit and retain the best possible faculty into academic surgery, it will be necessary to further understand women's perceptions of their role in academic surgery and to address obstacles that exist for both men and women.
Sonnert, Gerhard and Gerald Holton. Who Succeeds in Science?: The Gender Dimension. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995.
Abstract: (From back of book:) Why don't more women become scientists? And why do those who do become scientists often face more difficulties than their male counterparts? Every year, about a quarter of a million young ment and women in the United States receive their first academic degree in science, mathematics, or engineering. A small fraction will eventually become research scientists. But many who start out with that goal fail to reach it - for reasons that may have less to do with their scientific ability than with their gender.
Drawing on a wealth of information (699 questionnaires and 200 interviews) from men and women who gave every promise of scientific achievement, Gerhard Sonnert and Gerald Holton illuminate the partly gender-driven dynamics of "the leaky scientific pipeline." At the heart of this book are gripping personal life stories of ten women and ten men: half became highly successful scientists, the rest left research science. In their own voices, they talk candidly about their career paths, the obstacles and assists they encountered, and the difficulties and rewards of attempting to combine a family life with a research career.
Sonnert, Gerhard and Gerald James Holton. Gender Differences in Science Careers the Project Access Study. The Arnold and Caroline Rose Book Series of the American Sociological Association. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 1995.
________. Who Succeeds in Science? the Gender Dimension. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 1995.
Spelke, Elizabeth S. "Sex Differences in Intrinsic Aptitude for Mathematics and Science?: A Critical Review." The American Psychologist 60, no. 9 (2005): 950-958.
Available online
Notes: Research on cognitive development of humans at various stages of development provides no evidence for claims of intrinsic sex differences in aptitudes for math and science.
Abstract: This article considers 3 claims that cognitive sex differences account for the differential representation of men and women in high-level careers in mathematics and science: (a) males are more focused on objects from the beginning of life and therefore are predisposed to better learning about mechanical systems; (b) males have a profile of spatial and numerical abilities producing greater aptitude for mathematics; and (c) males are more variable in their cognitive abilities and therefore predominate at the upper reaches of mathematical talent. Research on cognitive development in human infants, preschool children, and students at all levels fails to support these claims. Instead, it provides evidence that mathematical and scientific reasoning develop from a set of biologically based cognitive capacities that males and females share. These capacities lead men and women to develop equal talent for mathematics and science.
Sreenivasan, Aparna. "Morning in American Science." Science - Next Wave (Aug. 2002).
Available online
Notes: Reports on 1994 MIT Report and the studies/action it inspired at CalTech, UCSF
Stanford University, Provost's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women Faculty. Report of the Provost's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women FacultyStanford, CA: Stanford University, 2004.
Available online
Notes: Report assesses the status of women faculty at Stanford University, with special emphasis on science and engineering faculty.
Abstract: Following in the footsteps of the MIT Faculty Study, this report utilizes survey data to assess the status of women faculty at Stanford University. The report focuses on several key issues, including: recruitment & retention of faculty, distribution of resources and recognition, and quality of life. Findings indicate that women faculty at Stanford are significantly more likely to have concerns about campus and departmental climates. A number of recommendations for institutional action are provided in the conclusion.
Stankovic, John and William Aspray. Recruitment and Retention of Faculty In Computer Science and EngineeringWashington, D.C.: Computing Research Associates, 2003.
Available online
Notes: Report assesses recruitment and retention of computer science faculty and provides suggestions on how to improve outcomes; brief discussion of women.
Abstract: "The study had three overall goals: 1) to assess the reality of faculty recruitment and retention problems in CSE [computer science and engineering] (i.e., to separate fact from fiction); 2) to propose long-term tracking of recruitment and retention by identifying which data to collect; and 3) to make specific recommendations for improving the recruitment and retention process."
Subramaniam, Banu and Mary Wyer. "Assimilating the "Culture of No Culture" in Science: Feminist Intervention in (De)Mentoring Graduate Women." Feminist Teacher 12, no. 1 (1998): 12-29.
Available online
Notes: "The culture of science education is such that it encourages women to give up their gender identities in order to become scientists. A project to help students and faculty overcome the barriers presented to women is described."
Abstract: Article departs from the notion that women and science are percieved to be incompatable categories, and as such women in science are trained to deny their gender and take on an objective, rational persona inorder to become a scientist. Graduate women in science generally learn this role from their mentors, in a process the authors call (de)mentoring. Feminist intervention stategies are investigated as potential means to resist this (de)mentoring. Year-long seminars that incorporated dialogue between graduate students and faculty members at multiple sessions at one-month intervals were found to be partially sucessful in confronting the gender bias women in science face.
Svarstad, Bonnie L. et al. "The Status of Women in Pharmacy Education: Persisting Gaps and Issues." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 68, no. 3 (2004).
Available online
Notes: Women continue to face gender disparities
Abstract: Using information from national databases, published reports, and scholarly studies, the authors argue that despite increases in the number of women faculty and the passage of time, gender disparities still remain in tenure status, leadership position, achievement awards, and salary.
Svitil, Kathy A. "The Most Important Women in Science." Discover 23, no. 11 (2002): 52-57.
Available online
Notes: Article provides brief biographical information on fifty women in science.
Tang, Joyce and Earl Smith. Women and Minorities in American Professions. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
Abstract: Edited volume includes chapters on women in law; women in computer work; women dentists; racial and ethic minorities and women in management; women in social work; African American men and women in the military; Native Americans in higher education; and medical school faculty.
Task Force on Women Faculty. Ladder Faculty Demographic TrendsCambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2005.
Available online
Notes: Presentation complies data on women and minority faculty through out Harvard University.
Tenenbaum, Harriet R. and Campbell Leaper. "Parent-Child Conversations About Science: The Socialization of Gender Inequities?" Developmental Psychology 39, no. 1 (Jan. 2003): 34-47.
Available online
Abstract: This study investigated the family as a context for the gender typing of science achievement. Adolescents (N = 52) from 2 age levels (mean ages = 11 and 13 years) participated with their mothers and fathers on separate occasions; families were from predominantly middle-income European American backgrounds. Questionnaires measured the parents' and the child's attitudes. Each parent also engaged his or her child in 4 structured teaching activities (including science and nonscience tasks). There were no child gender or grade-level differences in children's science-related grades, self-efficacy, or interest. However, parents were more likely to believe that science was less interesting and more difficult for daughters than sons. In addition, parents' beliefs significantly predicted children's interest and self-efficacy in science. When parents' teaching language was examined, fathers tended to use more cognitively demanding speech with sons than with daughters during one of the science tasks.
The Institute of Physics. The 3Rs: Recruitment, Retention, Returning - A Report following a deabate about why there aren't more women in the physical sciences, engineering and technology 2004.
Notes: Report drawn from a debate during the British Association Festivak of Science.
Abstract: Reports on a debate at the September 2003 British Association Festival of Science. The debate focused on three main factors: recruitment, retention, returning. Four keynote speakers presented practical approaches to issues raised in these areas. The report summarizes the presentations and the discussion, highlights key issues, and "outlines constructive steps to redress the gender imbalance and maximize women's potential in the scientific workforce."
The National Academies. Convocation on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering: Meeting Program and AbstractsWashington, DC: The National Academies, 2005.
Available online
Notes: Program for convocation held in December 2005
Abstract: Program for convocation held in December 2005. Includes agenda, abstracts, and brief biographical sketches of presenters.
Tobias, Sheila. "The 'Problem' of Women in Science: Why Is It So Difficult to Convince People There Is One?"A Hand Up: Women Mentoring Women in Science editor, Deborah C Fort, 150-159. Washington D.C.: Association for Women in Science, 1993.
Notes: Argues that institutions must change and adapt to women rather than women adapting to the institution.
Abstract: This chapter's title does not accurately reflect its content. The chapter concentrates on explaining why there is a "problem" of women in science. It applies feminist theoretician Kate Millet's definition of patriarchy (1970) to science to explain this problem, discusses how acceptance of patriarchal views of science and society can contribute to women's own denial of the influence of gender on women's place and work in science, and concludes that change will occur when "we no longer [ask] women to adapt themselves to existing structures, but to negotiate from strength for changes in established institutions and places of work."
________. "Women and Physics, Physics and Women: A Puzzlement."Science Literacy for the Twenty-First Century Editors, Stephanie Pace Marshall, Judith A. Scheppler, and Michael J. Palmisano, 31-43. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2003.
Notes: A review of possible causes keeping the number of women in the field of physics small, including self-confidence, lack of role models, and a sometimes-abusive or antagonistic atmosphere in the field. Includes anonymous personal experiences and some suggestions for ways to change.
Tobin, Sara L. "Successful Navigation Through the Tenure Process: Ten Recommendations." The American Society for Cell Biology Newsletter 21, no. 5 (June 1998).
Available online
Notes: Advice for achieving tenure
Abstract: "On the basis of a broad sampling of tenure histories," including the author's own experience, this article present ten suggestion and notes that "preparation for tenure begins before arrival on the new campus."
Tonso, Karen L. "The Impact of Cultural Norms on Women." Journal of Engineering Education (July 1996): 217-25.
Notes: Classroom norms in engineering education mariginalize and exclude women (both students and facutly), even in non-traditional settings.
Abstract: "Women student engineers' and professors' classroom experinences, especially their everyday interactions with men student engineers and professors, can be negative. This ethnographic study of the discourse used by professors and students durring a sopomore design class demonstrates that some women's difficulties are the result of cultural features of engineering that are only rarely open to redefinition by women. In spite of many engineering educators' sincere commitments to improving women's experinces in engineering education, these cultural features diminish the successes of reform-minded engineering education. I detail how discourse in whole-class and teamwork settings indicated the cultural norms of engineering talk and how this discourse reinforced traditional practices that were only rarely open to revision. Also, I comment on the use of ordeals in this classroom. My findings suggest that engineering education must change before the inclusion of women is realized. In particular, I suggest the changes needed are complex and include 1) more communication about the ways that cultural norms impact women and marginalized groups, 2) forums where participants can speak openly without fear of retaliation, and 3) attention to changing those policies and practices that send narrow messages about who engineers are and what engineering might be."
Toren, Nina and Vered Kraus. "The Effects of Minority Size on Women's Position in Academia." Social Forces 65, no. 4 (June 1987): 1090-1100.
Available online
Notes: "...The differential ineuqalities between women in the natural sciences as compared to the humanities depend on both sex-ratios [proportion of women in the academic field] and nature of the scientific discipline [its gendered definition]."
Abstract: "This study examines the effects of minority size on the academic position of women in higher education in Israel. Findings from faculty women show that their proportional representation is negatively related to their achievement in terms of academic rank; the smaller their proportion in a scientific field the more does their hierarchical distribution resemble that of their male colleagues. It is also found that women, as a rule, participate in larger proportions in the humanities than in the natural sciences. It is suggested that sex ratios affect women's position in combination with the stereotypes attributed to the feminine diffuse status-characteristic in different contexts. In scientific fields in which women's sex status is more salient they fare less well than in disciplines in which it is neutralized."
Traub, James. "Lawrence Summers, Provocateur." The New York Times (New York), 23 Jan. 2005, 4, 3, 4.
Available online
Notes: Summers response
Abstract: Article reports on the controversy surrounding Summers' coments and the academic response.
Trautner, Janice J. and et al. "Women Faculty in Engineering: Changing the Academic Climate." Journal of Engineering Eduation (Jan. 1996): 45-51.
Notes: The issue of women in engineering is important to the profession as a whole and climate issues that discriminate against/exclude women faculty in engineering need to be addressed.
Abstract: "This paper presents selected results from a unique conference 'Facing Issues: Women Faculty in the Structural Engineering Professions,' with supporting documentation from literature. The conference was held in April, 1993 and was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems. Gender-specific issues that were of interest to the female faculty and professional engineers who attended the conference are reviewed and discussed. These issues are bias, lack of professionalism shown toward women faculty, isolation, visibility/invisibility, patronization, faculty spouse issues, and other women not acknowledging women engineers. Suggestions and recommendations on how to increase the number of women recruited and, more importantly, retained on engineering faculties are offered to women faculty, colleagues and supervisors of women faculty, university administrators, and funding agencies."
Trix, Frances and Carolyn Psenka. "Exploring the Color of Glass: Letters of Recommendation for Female and Male Medical Faculty." Discourse & Society 14, no. 2 (2003): 191-220.
Available online
Abstract: This study examines over 300 letters of recommendation for medical faculty at a large American medical school in the mid-1990s, using methods from corpus and discourse analysis, with the theoretical perspective of gender schema from cognitive psychology. Letters written for female applicants were found to differ systematically from those written for male applicants in the extremes of length, in the percentages lacking in basic features, in the percentages with doubt raisers (an extended category of negative language, often associated with apparent commendation), and in frequency of mention of status terms. Further, the most common semantically grouped possessive phrases referring to female and male applicants ('her teaching,' 'his research') reinforce gender schema that tend to portray women as teachers and students, and men as researchers and professionals.
U.S. Department of Education. "Gender Equity in Education: Additional Resources." 1996. [http://www.ed.gov/offices/ODS/g-equity.html].
Notes: List of resources on educational access for women, special emphasis on women in math and science.
Abstract: "[This] is a selected list of resources/programs that embody some principles articulated during the US Department of Education's July 16, 1996, Satellite Town Meeting. In trying to raise awareness of the issue of gender equity in education, the Department met with many experts who made recommendations regarding appropriate resources. These resources are suggested to improve access for girls and women to education."
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). Gender Issues: Women's Participation in the Sciences Has Increased, but Agencies Need to Do More to Ensure Compliance with Title IX, GAO-04-639. Washington, D.C.: General Accountability Office, 2004.
Available online
Notes: Report finds that science agencies need to do more to ensure equal access for women in science and engineering to comply with Title IX.
Abstract: "Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 extended protections against sex discrimination to students and employees at institutions receiving federal assistance for educational programs or activities. In the 32 years since Title IX was enacted, women have made significant gains in many fields, but much attention has focused on women's participation in the sciences. Because of the concern about women's access to opportunities in the sciences, which receive billions of dollars in federal assistance, this report addresses: (1) how do the Department of Education (Education), the Department of Energy (Energy), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) ensure that federal grant recipient institutions comply with Title IX in math, engineering, and science; (2) what do data show about women's participation in these fields; and (3) what promising practices exist to promote their participation?
Four federal science agencies have made efforts to ensure that grantees comply with Title IX in the sciences by performing several compliance activities, such as investigating complaints and providing technical assistance, but most have not conducted all required monitoring activities. Agency officials at Energy, NASA, and NSF told us that they refer complaints to Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where they are investigated. However, only Education has monitored its grantees by conducting compliance reviews--periodic, agency-initiated assessments of grantees to determine if they are complying with Title IX. Women's participation in the sciences has increased substantially in the last three decades, especially in the life sciences, such as biology. The proportion of women science students has grown, but to a lesser extent at the graduate level than the undergraduate level. Meanwhile, the proportion of faculty in the sciences who are women has also increased, but they still lag behind men faculty in terms of salary and rank. However, studies indicate that experience, work patterns, and education levels can largely explain these differences. Studies also suggest that discrimination may still affect women's choices and professional progress. We found several examples of agencies and grantees that have instituted practices designed to foster greater women's participation in the sciences. While some of the practices are aimed at encouraging more women to pursue the sciences, others provide time off and fewer teaching duties so faculty can balance work and family life. Finally, a few practices seek to expand the recruiting pool for jobs in the sciences and make them more attractive to a greater portion of the U.S. population, including women."
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Center for Research on Women and Gender. Beyond Parity: Transforming Academic Medicine Trhough Women's Leadership. Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago, 2005.
Abstract: An outgrowth of a 2002 "Beyond Parity" Conference, this workbook provides advice and resources for transforming academic medicine in a direction that "more fully acknowledges, values, and enables the contributions of women and minorities."
University of Michigan, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, Gender and Student Evaluations: An Annoutated Bibliography, (unpublished).
Available online
Abstract: Annotated bibliography of articles that address the influence of gender on student evaluations of faculty teaching.
University of Washington ADVANCE, "Retention Toolkit.".
Available online
Notes: University of Washington ADVANCE Faculty Retention Toolkit.
Abstract: Provides advice for faculty retention by giving recommendations in the following areas: Monitoring the Health and Welfare of Departments; Transparency in Operations; Creating a Welcoming Department Climate; Mentoring; Valuing Diversity in the Department; Supporting Career Development of Pre-tenure Faculty; Encouraging Mid-Career Professional Development; Faculty Development Programs, Benefits, and Resources; Flexible and Accomodating Policies and Practices.
. UW Advance University of Washington Center for Institutional Change. University of Washington: 2003.
Notes: Booklet published by University of Washington's Center for Institutional Change about their ADVANCE program, which strives to create "a campus in which all science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM) departments are thriving, all faculty are properly mentored, and every SEM faculty member is achieving his or her maximum potential." Overview of program and recognition of individuals.
Urry, Meg. "Speeding Up the Long Slow Path to Change." APS News 12, no. 2 (Feb. 2003): 12.
Available online
Notes: Article points out several problems contributing to the lack of women in physics, focusing on faculty's ignorance of a changing educational system, an often-exclusionary atmosphere, and sociological studies on unconscious gender bias. Some recommendations for steps to be taken to provide a better atmosphere.
Valian, Virginia. Why So Slow? the Advancement of Women. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1998.
Various. "Letters: Combining Parenting and a Science Career." Science 307 (Mar. 2005): 1720-1721.
Available online
Notes: Letters commenting on additional measures needed to attract and retain women and science and engineering; responses to Bhattacharjee's "Family matters: Stopping tenure clock may not be enough" (17 Dec. 2004).
________. "Letters - Women in Science: The Response." Science 256, no. 5064 (June 1992): 1610-1615.
Available online
Notes: Letters in Response to March 13, 1992 Special Section on "Women in Science"
Abstract: Writers of letters are: John Benditt; Geraldine Richmond; MaryJane K. Selgrade; Melanie MacNicol; Dean Falk; Kenneth G. Hancock; Julie A. Olson; Michele Jetter; Ellen C. Weaver; Stephanie J. Bird; Emily W. B. Russell; Forrest M. Mims; Renee Sung; Hanna Reisler; Denise Galloway; Maxine Linial; Virginia Zakian; Linda Vigilant; Debra R. Rolison; Joan Selverstone Valentine; Lynne M. Butler; Charity Hirsch
Vetter, Betty M. "Women Scientists and Engineers: Trends and Participation." Science 214, no. 4527 (Dec. 1981): 1313-21.
Available online
Notes: Women in science and engineering face unequal access to employment and compensation, at all levels.
Abstract: "Women have made tremendous strides in educational attainment in science and engineering over the past decade, increasing their proportion of doctorate awards in these fields from 7 percent in 1965 to 23 percent in 1980. But they still have higher unemployment rates and lower salaries than men in all fields of science and engineering, at all degree levels, and at all levels of experience; and the disparities between men and women widen with higher degree levels and with years of experience. Graduate enrollments indicate continuing increases over at least the next several years in degree awards to women, but their access to equal employment and advancement opportunities is not yet assured."
WABio. Women Advancing BioscienceEvanston, IL: Women Advancing Bioscience,
Notes: Overview of WABio and membership details.
Abstract: Pamphlet provides an overview of the Women Advancing Bioscience organization, which strives to provide women bioscientists networking and career advancement opportunities in the Chicago area.
Wagner, Belinda J. "A Scientist in Search of Balance." Sojourner: The Women's Forum (Jan. 1997): 17-19.
Notes: Consider alternative careers in science as a way to balance career & family demands.
Abstract: A woman scientist reflects on her personal challenges with balancing her career with her family life. She suggests that the academic career path empahsizes sacrificing family and personal life for publishing and tenure. This is stressful for both men and women academics. The author suggests that alternative careers in science are a good option for reducing the burdens of academic life and provides advice on how to pursue such alternative careers.
Weeks, Karla J., ed. The Bridge. Vol. 29, no. 2. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Engineering, 1999.
Available online
Notes: Journal aims to raise awareness of challenges to women in engineering.
Abstract: Articles include: "Creating Opportunities for Participation," "Women in Engineering: Focus on Sucess," "Increasing Diversity in the Engineering Workforce," and "The Future of Women in Engineering." Issue also includes NAE News and Notes and National Research Council Update.
Wenneras, Christine and Agnes Wold. "Nepotism and Sexism in Peer-Review." Nature 387 (May 1997): 341-43.
Available online
Notes: Swedish study of gender bias in peer review
Abstract: Swedish study showing gender bias in peer review process of awarding fellowships.
________. "Nepotism and Sexism in Peer-Review."Women, Science, and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science Studies Editors, Mary Barbercheck Mary Geisman Donna Ozturk Hatice Orun Wayne Marta Wyer, 46-52. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Notes: Swedish study showing gender bias in peer review process of awarding fellowships.
Werner, Linda L. and et al. "Want to Increase Retention of Your Female Students?" Computing Research News 17, no. 2 (Mar. 2005): 2.
Available online
Notes: The authors argue that employing "pair programing" in the classroom is an effective technique to retain women in Computer Science.
Abstract: "Pair programming has been found to be very beneficial in educational settings. Students who pair in their introductory programming course are more confident, have greater course completion and pass rates in that course, and are more likely to persist in computer-related majors. Although pairing helps all students, we believe that it is particularly beneficial for women because it addresses several significant factors that limit women's participation in computer science-their fears for safety while working in computer laboratories on weekends and late at night, their reported lack of confidence, and the perceived competitive and anti-social view that most people have of computer programming and computer science."
White, Judith S. "Pipeline to Pathways: New Directions for Improving the Status of Women on Campus." Liberal Education 91, no. 1 (Winter 2005): 22-26.
Available online
Notes: Author disputes the "pipeline" theory that held that increasing the participation of women in science required encouraging their participation at lower levels and that ultimately increasing numbers of women would advance up the science stream. Alternatively she advocates acknowledging and working to change the gendered nature of science careers.
Abstract: "Why have we not seen a faster increase in the number of women entering academic careers and moving up to the top rank of the faculty? The apparent failure of the thirty-year-old pipeline, and the current attempts to explain it, have implications for how we seek gender equity on our campuses in the coming decades. Our successes in the future will depend on how far we are willing to go in questioning the assumptions behind our current system for supporting and recognizing women faculty. Real progress in creating gender equity in the future will require acknowledging the gendered state of our current workplace."
Whitten, Barbara L., Suzanne R. Foster, and Margaret L. Duncombe. "What Works for Women in Undergraduate Physics?" Physics Today, no. September (Sept. 2003): 46-52.
Available online
Abstract: Examines the factors relevant to women in undergraduate physics. Importance of women in physics education; Issues concerning the recruitment of a diverse physics faculty; Influence of school policies on women faculty recruitment; Overview of the support networks provided by Afro-American colleges. INSET: Warming up the department.
Williams, F. Mary and Carolyn J. Emerson. Becoming Leaders: A Handbook for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology. Canada: NSERC/Petro-Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Newfoundland and Labrador, 2003.
Notes: Handbook of resources and research to promote women's leadership in STEM fields.
Abstract: "Women want sucessful careers in science, engineering and technology. They are prepared to work hard, but they must also 'work smart.' Becoming Leaders is a unique source of 'smart' information. It combines important research results with practical tips from women who enjoy sucessful careers."
Wilson, Robin. "The Chemistry Between Women and Science." The Chronicle of Higher Education 52, no. 38 (May 2006).
Available online
Abstract: "Chemistry is one of the most male-dominated disciplines in academe, but a discrepancy exists in most of the other scientific fields. Three female chemists, including Donna J. Nelson, Debra R. Rolison, and Geraldine L. Richmond, are leading the charge to attract more women to science."
________. "Family Science." The Chronicle of Higher Education 51, no. 46 (July 2005).
Available online
Notes: Byline: Some colleges are giving scientists who are mothers money to pay for day care or lab assistants.
Abstract: Article reviews institutional efforts to address family/career balance issues women scientists face. Special attention is given to grant programs such as the Life Cycle Research Grant.
________. "Louts in the Lab." The Chronicle of Higher Education 50, no. 20 (Jan. 2004): A7, 3p.
Available online
Abstract: Focuses on the discrimination and harassment facing women physics teachers and students in the U.S. Experience of Julie Zeigler, a graduate student in physics at Duke University; Increase in the number of female physics professors in 2002; Action taken by Harold U. Baranger, physics chairman at Duke University, to improve the climate for female professors and students.
________. "Women Underrepresented in Sciences at Top Research Universities, Study Finds." The Chronicle of Higher Education 50, no. 20: A9.
Available online
Abstract: Reports on the findings of a 2003 study on the underrepresentation of women in the field of sciences at top research universities in the U.S. Discusses problems posed by the shortage of women at the nation's institutions; Compares the proportion of bachelor's and doctoral degrees earned by women and the proportion of beginning faculty members teaching in the discipline; Examines the effect of the lack of female professors on science students.
WISE Program USC. "Women In Science and Engineering Program at USC." [http://www.usc.edu/admin/provost/WISE/].
WISE Residential Program. Women in Science and Engineering Residential Program 2001-2002 Annual Report
WISELI. "[WISELI Website]." [http://wiseli.engr.wisc.edu/].
Notes: Overview and organizational map of WISELI and list of new initiatives with brief description.
Wolcott, Barbara. "Role Models Needed." Mechanical Engineering 123, no. 4 (Apr. 2001): 46-51.
Available online
Abstract: Until the last decade, math and science were not generally encouraged for girls in American junior and senior high schools. The main hurdles in getting women to study engineering occur long before they reach college, and those who make it that far often have had a role model engineer like a father, brother, or close family acquaintance to introduce them to the field. Once they get to college, their retention is not significantly different from that of male engineering students. Even with a new push for math and science education across the country, the field of engineering goes unmentioned, unnoticed, and unexplored among educators, students, the media, and the American public.
Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network (WEPAN). 2003 WEPAN National Conference Proceedings.
Available online
Notes: Listing of abstracts for the conference's workshops; attached is printout of powerpoint presentation on workshop, "Women Engineering Faculty and Student Evaluations: Is There a Gender Bias?"
Women in Science Program, The Center for Continuing Education of Women. Resource List of National Organizations of and for Women in ScienceWashington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Notes: List of organizations relating to women in science.
Abstract: Lists organizations and resources about/for women in the social and natural sciences, organized by discipline.
Wong, Emily Y. et al. "Promoting the Advancement of Minority Women Faculty in Academic Medicine: The National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health." Journal of Women's Health and Gender-Based Medicine 10, no. 6 (2001): 541-50.
Available online
Notes: Recommendations from National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health for fostering diversity, mentoring, and faculty development.
Abstract: Minority physicians provide care in a manner that promotes patient satisfaction and meets the needs of an increasingly diverse U.S. population. In addition, minority medical school faculty bring diverse perspectives to research and teach cross-cultural care. However, men and women of color remain underrepresented among medical school faculty, particularly in the higher ranks. National data show that although the numbers of women in medicine have increased, minority representation remains essentially static. Studying minority women faculty as a group may help to improve our understanding of barriers to diversification. Six National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health used a variety of approaches in addressing the needs of this group. Recommendations for other academic institutions include development of key diversity indicators with national benchmarks, creation of guidelines for mentoring and faculty development programs, and support for career development opportunities.
Wyer, M. "Intending to Stay: Images of Scientists, Attitudes Toward Women, and Gender As Influences on Persistence Among Science and Engineering Majors." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science & Engineering 9 (2003): 1-16.
Abstract: Studies attitudes toward women, gender and persistence in undergraduate education in science and engineering. Information on the design of the study and study population.
Xie, Yu. "A Demographic Approach to Studying the Process of Becoming a Scientist/Engineer."Careers in Science & Technology: An International Perspective National Research Council, 43-57. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1995.
Notes: In this paper, I redefine career process as the collective experience of a birth cohort and propose a new demographic approach to studying the developmental process of becoming a scientist/engineer by following a synthetic birth cohort through its formative years of career development. The approach is dynamic rather than static, in the sense that it traces career changes over the life course of a cohort. At any given age, cohort members are identified as belonging to one of several states relevant to a scientific/engineering career. With data from longitudinal surveys, probabilities of cohort members' movements into and out of the different states are calculated as functions of age and population characteristics.
Xie, Yu and Kimberlee A. Shauman. "Sex Differences in Research Productivity: New Evidence About an Old Puzzle." American Sociological Review 63, no. 6 (Dec. 1998): 847-70.
Available online
Abstract: Numerous studies have found that female sicentists publish at lower rates than male scientists. So far, explanations for this consistent pattern have failed to emerge, and sex differences in research productivity remain a puzzle. We report new empirical evidence based on a systematic and detailed analysis of data from four large, nationally representative, cross-sectional surveys of postsecondary faculty in 1969, 1973, 1988, and 1993. Our research yields two main findings. First, sex differences in research productivity declined over the time period studied, with the female-to-male ratio increasing from about 60 percent in the late 1960s to 75 to 80 percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Second, most of the observed sex differences in research productivity can be attributed to sex differences in personal characteristics, structural positions, and marital status. These results suggest that sex differences in research productivity stem from sex differences in structural locations and as such respond to the secular improvement of women's position in science.
________. Women in Science: Career Processes and Outcomes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003.
Notes: Book explores the social causes of underrepresentation of women in science, looking in particular at education, socialization, and the gender parenting gap.
Abstract: "Why do so few women choose a career in science - even as they move into medicine, law, and other professions in ever-greater numbers? In the most comprehensive study of gender differences in science careers ever conducted, Women in Science provides a systematic account of how U.S. youth are selected into and out of science eduation in early life, and how social forces affect career outcome later in the science labor market.
Studying the science career trajectory in its entirety, the authors attend to the causal influences of prior experiences on career outcomes as well as the interations of career and family. While attesting to the progress in women in science, the book also reveals continuing gender differences in mathematics and science education and in the progress and outcomes of scientists' careers. The authors explore the extent and causes of gender differences in undergraduate and graduate science education; scientists' geographic mobility; research productivity, promotion rates, and earnings; and in the experience of immigrant scientists. They conclude that the gender gap in parenting responsibilities is a critical barrier to the futher advancement of women in science."
Yale Bulletin & Calendar. "Encouraging Women in the Sciences." Yale Bulletin & Calendar 2, no. 1 (2002).
Available online
Notes: Describes efforts at Yale University to attract and retain women in the sciences, including use of mentors and role models.
Young, Dana. "Women Vastly Underrepresented in Academia." Women's ENews (Feb. 2004).
Available online
Notes: Reports on Donna Nelson's Study of college faculty positions held by female and minority males at the nation's top math, science and engineering departments
Abstract: Reports on Donna Nelson's Study of college faculty positions held by female and minority males at the nation's top math, science and engineering departments. Nelson, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oklahoma, presents data that shows "pipeline issues" do not explain the small percentages of women and minority faculty in top math, science and engineering departments. She contrasts data on faculty composition with that on Ph.D. attainment by women and minorities.
Yu, Tak Yun Holly and James A. Sweet. UW-Madison PostDoctoral Scholar Survey: Summary of ResultsMadison, WI: University of Wisconsin Survey Center, 2002.
Available online
Zuckerman, Harriet. "The Careers of Men and Women Scientists: Gender Differences in Career Attainments."Women, Science, and Technology: a Reader in Feminist Science Studies Eds., Mary et al. Wyer, 69-78. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Abstract: Review of four proposed theories about the causes for the career gaps between male and female scientists: gender differences in scientific ability, gender differences based on social selection (discrimination and roles), gender differences from self-selection, and long-term accumulations of disadvantages. Conclusions about inadequacies of these theories and proposed directions for research.
Zuckerman, Harriet et al. The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community. New York: Norton, 1991.
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