
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 18, 1992                   TAG: 9203180286
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ANN ARBOR, MICH.                                LENGTH: Short

STUDY SAYS LACK OF ENCOURAGEMENT HOLD WOMEN BACK

A lack of encouragement from family and peers may explain why few women are earning advanced degrees in math or physics, University of Michigan researchers have concluded.

The study sought to determine why in 1989-90 American institutions awarded only 158 Ph.D. degrees in mathematics to women and 129 Ph.D. degrees in physics. That was about 18 percent of all such degrees awarded in mathematics and about 9 percent of physics Ph.D.s.

"The small numbers of women studying graduate level mathematics is especially puzzling, because men and women graduate with math majors in roughly equal numbers nationwide," said D.J. Lewis, professor of mathematics.

The study, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, found no significant difference between male and female undergraduates in intelligence, grades, high school preparation, or innate ability to handle a demanding math and science curriculum.

Major findings included:

Women are much more sensitive to a lack of positive reinforcement from faculty and peers than men.

Male students reported a higher incidence of active encouragement from faculty than did female students.

by CNB