ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9603020002
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO
AS THE politically correct grows ever more politically incorrect, it may be useful to take a look at a study of gender disparities in the career development of men and women scientists, all of whom had received prestigious postdoctoral fellowships.
There's a gap.
A study by a (male) associate in Harvard's physics department found, through responses to 699 questionnaires and 200 interviews, that men advance more readily in the sciences than do women, at least in academia. There, 41 percent of the men surveyed and only 23 percent of the women were full professors. The notable exception is in biology, which has attracted enough women to achieve a "critical mass."
Men averaged 2.8 professional publications a year, compared to women's 2.3 percent average. But women reported doing more comprehensive and thorough work - which may help explain why, among academic biologists, women's articles receive more citations than men's.
A few women reported experiencing flagrant discrimination, but most said that rather than slamming into a glass ceiling, small barriers accumulated over the years to hinder career advancement.
Many did not feel accepted into the collegial circle, which meant they weren't consulted as much; collaborative research efforts tended to help men's careers but hurt women's, possibly indicating that women were more likely than men to be relegated to a support role; and colleagues sometimes were reluctant to accept the data or findings of women - despite the tendency toward thoroughness to the point of perfectionism in methodology.
The study also noted some differences in personal traits, with women showing slightly less self-confidence and ambition than men, and being perceived as less career-oriented and self-promoting.
Some of this is doubtless generational. As older, more male-dominated generations of scientists retire, more room is opened for women. It is hard to imagine a young woman scientist today would face serious career hindrances, especially given the current prevalence of affirmative action in academia.
But affirmative action can't address subtle attitudes - of both men and women - that can block women's achievement of their full potential. Society has an interest in eroding such barriers. Fuller participation of women in the sciences is a desirable goal for many reasons, not the least of which is the prospect of more vigorous research in at least one scientific field: women's health studies.
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