Excerpt

In the fields of science and engineering, women are not represented in proportion to their fraction in the U.S. population. This underrepresentation is especially pronounced in academic departments, where hiring of women lags far behind their representation in the pool of doctoral degree holders. Furthermore, women apparently do not ascend the career ladder as fast or as far as their male counterparts. Recent reports, elaborate on the impact of this and related issues for science, the academic enterprise, the U.S. economy, and global economic competitiveness. The Chemical Sciences Roundtable judged that the demographics of the workforce and the implications for science and society vary, depending on the field of science or engineering. Accordingly, it organized a workshop, “Women in the Chemical Workforce,” to address issues pertinent to the chemical and chemical engineering workforce as a whole, with an emphasis on the advancement of women.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Chemical Sciences Roundtable
• Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
• Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications
• Preface
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• Summary
  • CONTEXT AND OVERVIEW
  • OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANGE
  • CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS
• 1. 1970-2000: A Less Than Golden Age for Women in Chemistry?
  • DIFFERENTIAL RATES OF CHANGE
  • CHANGEMAKERS
  • CONCLUSION
  • EPILOGUE
  • DISCUSSION
• 2. The Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering
  • ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM: GENDER SCHEMAS
  • ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM: ACCUMULATION OF ADVANTAGE
  • THE ANSWER IN A NUTSHELL AND SOME REMEDIES
  • DISCUSSION
• 3. Workforce for the 21st Century: The Federal Perspective
  • DISCUSSION
• 4. Reports from the Breakout Sessions
  • DISCUSSION
• 5. An Oddity No Longer: Women Scientists in Industry
  • DISCUSSION
• 6. Title IX for Women in Academic Chemistry: Isn't a Millennium of Affirmative Action for White Men Sufficient?
  • THE QUESTION UNDER CONSIDERATION
  • WHY TITLE IX?
  • FINALLY! ROOM IN THE ACADEMIC POOL—A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY
  • WHY ARE THE NUMBERS OF WOMEN ON CHEMISTRY FACULTIES SO LOW?
  • WHY ARE WOMEN VOTING WITH THEIR FEET AGAINST ACADEMIA?
  • COVERT RATHER THAN OVERT BIAS
  • REDEFINE WHAT DEPARTMENTS WANT
  • GUARDING AGAINST THE MYTH OF OBJECTIVITY
  • WIN THE BATTLE, LOSE THE WAR?
  • THREE OPTIONS FOR FIXING BROKEN INSTITUTIONS
  • CARROTS ARE FOR VEGETARIANS
  • WHAT WOULD HELP UNIVERSITIES ATTRACT MORE WOMEN FACULTY?
  • CAN THE FUNDING AGENCIES PLAY A ROLE?
  • CRITICAL MASS
  • DISCUSSION
• 7. Remarks for the Chemical Sciences Roundtable Dinner
  • DISCUSSION
• 8. Reports from the Breakout Sessions
• 9. Experience of Women at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • DISCUSSION
• 10. Reports from the Breakout Sessions
• Appendixes
  • A Workshop Participants
  • B Biographical Sketches of Workshop Speakers
  • C Origin of and Information on the Chemical Sciences Roundtable

Support for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CHE-9630106, the National Institutes of Health under Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139, and the U.S. Department of Energy under Grant No. DE-FG02-95ER14556.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.