Women in Biology Internet Launch pages

Page 1a: Studies and Reports

If you just arrived, please start at the first page for an introduction to the site and an index (you can use the buttons at left to navigate all pages). The starting page also provides a special section for all recent additions to this site; these will eventually be moved to their appropriate category as new resources are added.

Links I consider to be of particular interest or use. Your mileage may vary.
Direct quotations are in color.

Section contents:
Science careers
Women's issues

• Trends in Life Science Careers (1998). A must-read for anyone interested in getting an advanced degree in biology.
• Careers in science, or, there's more to science than being a professor
• Effects of the funding crisis: A broken pipeline (PDF). There may be no future for men OR women if we don't fix this. From a new web site, www.brokenpipeline.org
• Careers and Rewards in Bio Sciences: the disconnect between scientific progress and career progression from the ASCB
• Reshaping graduate education of scientists and engineers
• Funding of young investigators in biology. Another must read, for anyone considering the academic career path.
• Addressing the Nation's Changing Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists (2000). Also, see this article about the report from The Scientist: " Its starkest conclusion about biomedical science is that the number of new Ph.D.s awarded annually "is well above that needed to keep pace with growth in the U.S. economy and to replace those leaving the workforce as a result of retirement and death.""
• Research Doctorate Programs in the US: continuity and change
• Web Guide to Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers
• Bridges to Independence: Fostering the Independence of New Investigators in Biomedical Research
• From the NSF:Surveys of earned doctorates in science, including statistics on numbers and employment.
• Also from the NSF: Women, minorities, and disabled in science
• The CPST (Committee on Professionals in Science and Engineering) online report Scientists and Engineers in the New Millenium says "The three sections of the collection feature timely data and analyses that would be of practical use to researchers, educators, administrators, and policymakers alike. The text accompanying the numbers is short and interpretive. A concluding essay serves as a postscript for underscoring not only issues, but also an agenda for research and policy action. "
• A dissertation: The Fiscal Crisis of the American Public Research University and its Impact on Faculty: A Case Study of Factors Influencing Recruitment and Retention of Academic Personnel
• Scientific remedies: how do we fix what's ailing our science effort? From Inside Higher Education

Women in science issues: Government studies, policies, meetings and statisitics

• RECENT REPORTS (2000-2007)
  • To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in U.S. Science and Engineering (2007) (free on line), from the National Academy Press, identifies and discusses better practices for recruitment, retention, and promotion for women scientists and engineers in academia.
  • Fixing the leaky pipeline by Phoebe Leboy. Numbers, statistics, and concrete suggestions. May require registration. (From The Scientist).
  • Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering. You can read it online, or order it. The fact that women are capable of contributing to the nation's scientific and engineering enterprise but are impeded in doing so because of gender and racial/ethnic bias and outmoded "rules" governing academic success is deeply troubling and embarrassing. It is also a call to action. Faculty, university leaders, professional and scientific societies, federal agencies and the federal government must unite to ensure that all our nation's people are welcomed and encouraged to excel in science and engineering in our research universities.
    • Women advancing Science reflects on the recent Academies report on Bias and Barriers. The comments posted in response are, as usual, depressing.
    Paper: Does Science Promote Women? from the Science & Engineering Workforce Project at the Nat'l Bureau of Economic Research
  • Gender Differences in the Careers of Academic Scientists and Engineers: A Literature Review from The National Science Foundation
  • A National Analysis of Diversity in Science and Engineering Faculties at Research Universities (.pdf) released January 15, 2004. This study finds that women are still rare in tenured positions and minority women even more so.
  • NSF Study: (2004) "Broadening Participation in AmericaÕs Science and Engineering Workforce," and an article about it
  • NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
  • NSF reports about women including the biennial Women, Minorities, and Persons With Disabilities in Science, 2002 version
  • The Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development, at NSF, wrote a 2000 report called Land of Plenty: Diversity as AmericaÕs Competitive Edge in Science, Engineering and Technology. They have both a summary and full report available in .PDF format. Recommendations are quite general--ranging from improving educational opportunities at all levels, to endorsing diverse workplaces that ensure fair treatment.
  • From Scarcity to Visibility: Gender Differences in the Careers of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers(2001) is a new report that describes career outcomes of scientists and engineers who received doctorates between 1973 and 1995. It was produced by the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering of the National Research Council. A review of this report appears in ScienceNOW, the daily news digest from Science Magazine, which comments: "[T]he panel did its own research on gender differences in the scientific workforce, mining four versions of two ongoing federal surveys. Its conclusion--that men retain an edge that cannot be explained by any objective measure of ability--may be disturbing to those who think that discrimination is a thing of the past."
  • Executive summary and press release of a report from the National Council for Research on Women called Balancing the Equation: Where Are Women & Girls in Science, Engineering & Technology? Includes a list of What we know and what we need.
• OLDER REPORTS (the 90s)
  • Women in Mathematics and Science from the National Center for Education Statistics
  • The Women's Issues and Gender differences in Science from the Online Ethics center has abstracts and/or text of these government and NRC reports:
    • Women Scientists and Engineers Employed in Industry: Why So Few? (1994)
    • Science programs: on target for women?
    • Increasing Women in Science
    • Gender gap in PhD salaries, NSF 1991
    • A Report on the Glass Ceiling Initiative, US Dept of Labor, 1991, and a sobering commentary about it. But then the Administration changed, and the final report from 1995 recommended 12 steps to combat the effect. But then things changed again....
  • National Science Policy Study, 1997
  • NSF sponsored a 1995 conference on women in science. You can read the program, including text of speeches, and the conference reports. The summary of the session on biology says the following: "The problem is not about numbers of women entering the field. It is about the numbers of women in leadership positions....To make a difference, women have to be at the table when decisions are being made, when policy is being set. "
  • A report for the from the European Technology Assessment Network on Women in science entitled Science Policies in the EU: Promoting Excellence through Mainstreaming Gender Equality. This report addresses issues relevant to participation of women in all countries, and makes some important points as women transition from exclusion form science, to segregation within it. "Waiting for equality will not work", the report suggests.
  • Proceedings from the 1999 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) symposium, "Who Will Do the Science of the Future? A Symposium on Careers of Women in Science" have been released by the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering of the National Research Council, including a special plenary address by MRC Greenwood focusing on women in the biological sciences. Available from ajurta@nas.edu.
  • Furthering Females, a report of a conference in the UK sponsored by the Athena Project that works to promote women in science. The report (from Science's Nextwave) comments on the difficulty women's programs have getting started. "Maybe institutions should tackle issues such as altering the male perspective of women in the workplace. . . Men seemed threatened by women's networking groups, viewing them as sexist, secretive, and discriminatory. Some wondered why equivalent groups for men only were not established, while others suspected that these discussions were forums for male-bashing. It appears that men in science, engineering, and technology (SET) need a greater appreciation of the problems that women face in male-dominated fields." Subscription might be required. Some parts of the site are free.
  • From an unexpected source, the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta produced this working paper: Does Science Discriminate against Women? Evidence from Academia, 1973Ð97. The author employs NSF data on awarded PhDs to study correlations between salary, promotion, productivity, and institution. "The most striking aspect of these findings is that very little has changed for women in science in terms of salary and promotion probabilities over the past 24 years." Also available as a .pdf file
  • EMBO and women in the life sciences
  • Also from EMBO: a transcript of a meeting on glass ceiling for women in science. Discusses science at different levels, in different countries (including the US). Features quotes and pictures.

Go to page 1(History, Education, Organizations)
Go to page 2 (Careers)
Go to page 2a (Faculty issues)
Go to page 3 (Chilly Climate)
Go to page 3a (Chilly climate in academe)
Go to page 3b (Personal life)
Go to page 4 (Books, Miscellaneous)
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Standard disclaimer: Any opinions are my own and do not represent the views of my employer.