Printable Version In the past, the situation of women in science as undergraduates was much more difficult than it is today. When Susan Love, a breast surgeon at UCLA applied to medical school during the Vietnam War her advisor tried to make her feel guilty, reminding her that she would be “killing some boy, because he would be drafted if she took his place”.5 Most places had gender-based quotas and would only admit 5 or 10 percent women. 5 Although one would hope that this would never happen today, sexism and discrimination in science have a significant impact on women who pursue careers in all fields of science. For example, undergraduate women may be deterred by classrooms dominated by men. Female graduates may face isolation and discouragement. Yet, the percentage of women in science in undergraduate and graduate schools is increasing, illustrating that despite sexism women are succeeding in academia. The bigger problem occurs after graduation when women are forced to make decisions that men do not have to face, such as deciding between having children and working. Women working for research corporations, and on the tenure track, face an unforgiving system that frequently does not allow breaks for family, forcing them to abandon their hopes of children. Although sexism holds numerous women back in science, many manage to overcome obstacles and pursue successful careers, and the present system although not perfect is certainly a considerable improvement from Susan Love’s generation. The significant contributions that women have already made in a number of areas of science clearly illustrate that women are capable of great achievements in science, and to exclude them would be a great loss. To remedy the problem of discrimination against women in science, support systems should be established that allow women to participate in science on an equal footing with men. While it is clear that women have made noteworthy advances in science, there are still many who believe that women are incapable of bringing the same standard of intellect as men to the discipline. For example, Lawrence Summers, former President of Harvard University, stated in a speech that, "Innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers."2 Summers typifies men in science who believe that women are not as capable as men. Unfortunately, these men are the ones hiring female employees, and they seem to ignore the work of women like Rachel Carson, Marie Curie, and Jane Goodall who have been fully capable of bringing to science the same intellectual rigor as men. The capability of women in science is unquestionable. In reality it is men like Lawrence Summers, who are holding women back. Statistically women have outranked men in terms of education since the year 2000,and an increasing number of women are obtaining undergraduate degrees in science and engineering.7 As a female biology major, I have attended two undergraduate institutions in the state of California and have found that women outnumber men in many of the biology and chemistry classes. One tenured biology professor I interviewed agreed with this observation, stating that she has noticed a higher percentage of women than men in her biology classes.3 Although the first university I attended was a women's college, the science program was associated with two other coed universities. The university I currently attend demonstrates the same patterns in terms of female to male ratio in science classes. Many of my female peers commit more time to their studies, and in terms of grades they are as successful as their male counterparts. In a number of instances, they outperform the males in their classes. This female commitment to education suggests that women may well be the more qualified and competitive group in the workforce in the near future. Therefore creating a support system for women throughout academia and in the workforce is extremely important not only for helping women achieve success but for keeping science cutting edge. The ratio of the sexes in graduate level science programs is changing rapidly as well, and in many scientific fields women are outranking men. In the biological sciences, more than half of graduate students are female. Although the percentages of women in math and engineering are still not quite as even as they are in other fields, the percentage of women in all fields increased from 1994 to 2004.7 These statistics illustrate that women are as capable of competing as graduate students as are men. A number of women attending graduate institutions such as MIT, where some classes have female to male rations of 4 to 60, do experience sexist remarks and acts but such discrimination does not have a direct impact on their decision to pursue their studies since they are already highly motivated and capable.3 The evidence is clear that women in science are just as intelligent and academically capable in graduate schools as men, and the sexism and discrimination they may experience does little to discourage them. After graduate school many women, who pursue careers in academia or in research corporations find that having a family and a career is very difficult. Some do make it, but compared to the number of graduate students, the number of tenured female professors in the sciences is remarkably low. For example, in a Carnegie study in universities in the US, only 25,000 out of 85,000 doctoral science and engineering faculty were women.7 In research corporations many women are unable to become mothers while they are still in their prime childbearing years, because they are forced to spend so much time publishing because this is the only thing that many research institutions care about.3 As one article illustrates, the answer to the drop off of women in science after graduate school is clear: "In the critical period of their early 30s, just as they had gained their scientific credibility, and were amassing data and the ensuing all-important published papers that impress the university search committees, so there was the shadow of the biological time-bomb for women."4 The problem is that the older a woman is when she becomes pregnant, the more likely she is to give birth to a child with defects such as Down syndrome. Yet, science advances so quickly that any time taken off might block entry back into the scientific field.3 As Greenfield says, "if a woman takes time out to have a child at this highly critical phase in her career, it could be very hard for her to compete on a level playing field with men who have had a consistent track record of publishing."4 There are many factors contributing to this, among them, "work-environment climate, bias, unequal pay and discriminatory hiring."1 There are many solutions to this discrimination present in both academia and in research corporations. For example, in academia the notion of extending tenure is one of the main concessions that women in science ask for while on the tenure track.1 This flexibility allows for an equal opportunity for both women and men to succeed in science because women who decide to have children have more time to establish themselves, while at the same time having a family during prime childbearing years. We must also recognize the changing nature of the family. In the future, men might begin to share more of the responsibility of raising the children, so this extended time for receiving tenure might need to apply to them too. Daycare is another issue that the professor I interviewed said helped her to balance her family life and her profession. This again is another form of support that frequently is inadequate, largely because women’s circumstances are not taken into account. 3 Women, who have taken a few years off from research to have children, often feel they cannot return to their former jobs because they are no longer up to speed. One solution might be to raise money, to ease women’s transition back into research. Although, at the same time corporations and academia cannot make too many allowances to women because if research institutions are more forgiving to women who have not published as much as a result of having children, the productive output of the institution might suffer, making them less competitive with other research institutions. One way or another, it is clear that the support system for women in research corporations and in academia must be improved, so that women might better be able to balance family and a career. A female biology professor I interviewed conducts research in her own lab, has a husband and two sons, and has earned tenure. She is able to do this because her husband understands the importance of her career and so he too has made sacrifices at work. They both equally share the responsibility of raising their children. She was also allowed to extend her tenure decision until two years after her first child was born giving her the flexibility she needed. Although it was a challenge, she said to me, "You can do it, because I am doing it."3 This professor exemplifies the kind encouragement from a mentor that young women need to in order to more easily and successfully pursue careers in science. Encouragement and mentors are extremely important for the success of women in science.3 Some women in the past were able to find mentors and were encouraged in science. For example, Vera Rubin an astronomer and staff member in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at The Carnegie Institution states, “I decided to go to Vassar because…I knew that Maria Mitchell had taught there” 6 At the time Vassar was an all women’s college, and so Rubin was not discouraged, and she had a mentor to look up to. 6 Many women are deterred from science because they do not have someone to model themselves after. It will be important in the future for the science community to build a support system of advisors and mentors to encourage women in science. Despite the increasing presence of women in all fields of science there are still a minority at universities and at corporate based research institutions. Although throughout graduate and undergraduate they are just as competitive and intelligent, and are even the majority in some subjects such as the biological sciences, there continues to be a drop off of female scientists after graduate school. This drop off occurs during prime childbearing years, because many women feel that conditions in the workplace make it impossible to be successful as a mothers and scientists. There are, however a number of solutions that would enable women to succeed in both areas. Money must be raised to provide excellent childcare services, and to offer courses to women to bring them up to date in their fields after having taken time off to have children. There should be a network of mentors to encourage and advise aspiring female scientists. It should also be made clear that women are as capable and intelligent as men in schools from an early age, so that both men and women are brought up in a culture that does not discriminate in the workplace based on sex. Stronger supports systems throughout education and in the workplace will give women an equal playing field to expand and evolve with the ever-changing field of science. |