Search

Researchers and practitioners in the United States increasingly promote phenomena‐based instruction in science that supports the development of a coherent storyline throughout the unit. Questions about who is constructing the science storyline and how still remain. Employing a qualitative ethnographic case study approach, we explore how three Latinx female students authentically contribute in their high school chemistry class and change the science storyline originally developed by the teacher. Data include over 950 min of video recordings, student artifacts, and interviews collected from a unit about reaction rate, which was contextualized by students' experiences with a local wildfire. The analysis points to three instructional moves that appear to play an important role in shifting the collective storyline: connecting to Latinx students' personal concerns, moving across multiple figured worlds, and recognizing students' epistemological contributions. Implications for supporting minoritized students are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines women's perceptions of and experiences with institutional norms in political science departments and their institutions. Conceptually, it builds on feminist institutionalism. Specifically, it examines the broad institutional norms, formal and informal, that define political science departments within their larger institutions, as well as potential avenues for change. I argue that a "critical mass" of women in academic departments and the presence of "critical actors" in departmental and university leadership positions sympathetic to the cause and powerful enough to implement change can bring about institutional reforms. To that end, I conducted a survey among 1,273 female PhD students and faculty members in political science departments across the United States. The survey questions revolve around women's perceptions of institutional gender norms, the way they are judged by them, their ability to have professional success under them, and their (or others') ability to change them. After discussing the survey results within the context of feminist institutional theory, I offer some conclusions about the positions of women in political science departments in the United States, the implications of this for the profession at-large, and some thoughts on avenues for future research on the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemistry enterprise continues to evolve, becoming increasingly more diverse and inclusive. Likewise, opportunities and roles for women in the chemistry enterprise have evolved. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, women faced tremendous obstacles pursuing a career in chemistry. Through determination, hard work – and with some good fortune – a few pioneering role models were able to overcome challenges. Countless women have followed in their footsteps. For example, the percentage of PhDs in science awarded to women in the United States has quadrupled over the past 50 years to over 30 %. In addition, the frequency of women elected to professional chemical society leadership or awarded a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry has increased significantly over the past 25 years, even accelerating in the last 5–10 years. Yet, the progress is uneven and much remains to be done to reach gender parity. There are major differences across countries in representation by women researchers in science and technology. In addition, there are significant gender gaps in faculty at top global universities in chemistry departments, as well as in governance at the largest publicly traded U.S. chemical companies. Moreover, progress is needed to reach gender equity in U.S. chemist compensation. However, I am optimistic that women will continue to progress and move towards parity. Like previous women leaders of the global chemistry enterprise, tomorrow's successful women will have the passion, courage, and determination to overcome challenges and achieve the equity and opportunities they deserve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to answer the question: What effects did COVID-19 have on the status of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in higher education in the United States? It presents a thematic review of the current literature regarding the social and professional impacts of the pandemic on this group from 2020 to 2022. The research briefly examines the challenges women in STEM faced pre-pandemic and then explores the repercussions of the pandemic to date. It reviews the literature published from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to present day. Recommendations for STEM librarians serving this population are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the number of women in science, engineering, and math occupations has increased over the years, the technology career field has not reaped the same rewards. The goal of this correlation study was to learn the factors that women consider before deciding on a career in technology. The sample consisted of 106 Generation Z women in the United States between the ages of 18 to 25, in their first two years of postsecondary study, who had not chosen an IT program at a university offering information technology courses in degree programs. The findings revealed a stronger understanding of how women's learned experiences affect their career choices. The results from this study disclosed a strong relationship between gender bias, gender pay, and required courses in technology as reasons why these women did not choose a technology career field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much prior research has examined the individual-level, major-specific, and institutional correlates of college students' choice of major, as well as the variation in labor market outcomes associated with this important choice. Extant accounts, however, largely overlook the process by which individuals change their major throughout college. This study provides a comprehensive description of major switching, and considers its relevance to concerns about stratification in postsecondary education. Drawing on survey and transcript data from students at three large universities in the United States, I find that switching is widespread, and that many students change their majors multiple times. Students appear to change majors in an effort to better fit their interests and abilities, as students seek out majors that are generally less competitive and easier. Major change further contributes to gender segregation, particularly as women leave science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields after initially selecting these at lower rates than men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under-representation of women in academic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) requires multi-faceted solutions focused on retention along with recruitment. This study evaluates programs developed to provide mentorship, work-life balance support, and leadership training, all aimed at ensuring retention. Perceived benefits and objective productivity markers were investigated, relying on quantitative and qualitative data. High levels of satisfaction were reported for career-advancement initiatives, with the program providing support during periods of personal challenges rated somewhat higher. Together, programs resulted in productivity gains, including more publications, conference presentations, and promotions post-participation, although grant submissions were not affected. This study provides preliminary support for multi-faceted career development efforts, spanning scholarship and work-life balance, and targeting STEM women academic staff across the career trajectory. Similar efforts are likely to be effective in other higher education settings, in the United States (U.S.) and elsewhere, providing career support and development opportunities for women in STEM. “Best practices” resulting from this program implementation are currently being disseminated regionally in the U.S. through the Pacific Northwest Partnership effort funded by the National Science Foundation (HRD–1936019) and await broader applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biography of former U.S. Extension Service Poultry Specialist Harriette Eliza Cushman is presented. She was born in 1890 in Alabama and studied at Mount Holyoke College and Cornell University. After completing school she worked in a lab and began overseeing chicken farms during World War I. Other topics include the employment of women in scientific fields, Cushman's work with Native Americans in Montana, and how Cushman handled gender roles in her personal and professional lives.

Many students across the United States enter college with aspirations of becoming a successful career scientist within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in physics has significantly lagged behind the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in the other STEM disciplines. Of the physics bachelor's degrees awarded nationally in 2014, only 20% were conferred to women. As a part of the conversation on recruitment, retention, and diversity in physics, researchers have focused on students' self-efficacy (SE), or one's personal beliefs in their capabilities to execute a specific task. Self-efficacy is highly correlated with performance and success, career aspirations, and student persistence, particularly in physics. In addition, many studies have shown that men and women evaluate their science SE differently with women, on average, reporting a lower SE toward science. This article will provide a robust literature review about the research reporting on the gender differences in science SE, specifically within the physics discipline. We will highlight common resources educators can use to measure students' SE in their own physics classrooms, the standard findings that SE decreases in introductory physics courses but not in other science courses, and within physics the decreases tend to be larger for female students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Representation of women in science drops substantially at each career stage, from early student to senior investigator. Disparities in opportunities for women to contribute to research metrics, such as distinguished speaker events and authorship, have been reported in many fields in the U.S.A. and Europe. However, whether female representation in scientific contributions differs in other regions, such as Latin America, is not well understood. In this study, in order to determine whether female authorship is influenced by gender or institutional location of the last (senior) author or by subfield within ecology, we gathered author information from 6849 articles in ten ecological and zoological journals that publish research articles either in or out of Latin America. We found that female authorship has risen marginally since 2002 (27 to 31%), and varies among Latin American countries, but not between Latin America and other regions. Last author gender predicted female co-authorship across all journals and regions, as research groups led by women published with over 60% female co-authors whereas those led by men published with less than 20% female co-authors. Our findings suggest that implicit biases and stereotype threats that women face in male-led laboratories could be sources of female withdrawal and leaky pipelines in ecology and zoology. Accordingly, we encourage every PI to self-evaluate their lifetime percentage of female co-authors. Female role models and cultural shifts–especially by male senior authors–are crucial for female retention and unbiased participation in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers falls off more quickly for young women than for young men over adolescence, and gender stereotypes may be partially to blame. Adolescents typically become more stereotypical in their career interests over time, yet they seem to become more flexible in applying stereotypes to others. Models of career interest propose that career decisions result from the alignment of self-perceived abilities with occupation-required skills and that gender stereotypes may influence this process. To investigate the discrepancy between applying stereotypes to self and others, we examined if these models can be applied to perceptions of others. Focusing on students from fifth grade through college enrolled in advanced STEM courses, we investigated how STEM occupational stereotypes, abilities, and efficacy affect expectations for others’ and own career interests. U.S. participants (n = 526) read vignettes describing a hypothetical male or female student who was talented in math/science or language arts/social studies and then rated the student’s interest in occupations requiring some of those academic skills. Participants’ self-efficacy, interest, and stereotypes for STEM occupations were also assessed. Findings suggest that ability beliefs, whether for oneself or another, are powerful predictors of occupational interest, and gender stereotypes play a secondary role. College students were more stereotypical in their ratings of others, but they did not manifest gender differences in their own STEM self-efficacy and occupational interests. Experiences in specialized STEM courses may explain why stereotypes are applied differentially to the self and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diverse perspectives in science promote innovation and creativity, and represent the needs of a diverse populace. However, many science fields lack gender diversity. Although fewer women than men pursue careers in physical science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (pSTEM), more women than men pursue careers in behavioral science. The current work measured the relationship between first-year college students' stereotypes about science professions and course completion in science fields over the next 3 years. pSTEM careers were more associated with self-direction and self-promotion (i.e., agency) than with working with and for the betterment of others (i.e., communion). On the flip side, behavioral science careers were associated with communion to a greater degree than with agency. Women completed a lower proportion of pSTEM courses than did men, but this gender disparity disappeared when women perceived high opportunity for communion in pSTEM. Men pursued behavioral science courses to a lesser degree than did women; this disparity did not exist when men perceived ample opportunity for agency in behavioral science. These results suggest highlighting the communal nature of pSTEM and the agentic nature of behavioral science in pre-college settings may promote greater gender diversity across science fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Girls lose interest in science by age 9, and researchers have attributed this finding to misrepresentations of female scientists in the media. While television, film, the Internet, textbooks, and biographies have been analyzed for such representations, this study examines the extent to which females and minorities are portrayed over time in science sections of a popular children’s magazine, Highlights for Children. Results indicate that, while males and Whites have outnumbered females and minorities in depictions of science, Highlights has consistently exceeded the number of females and minorities actually employed in scientific fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women academics are an under-represented part of many science faculties at many colleges and universities in the United States. Efforts to improve the imbalance have been driven by institutional and national-level policies. This article highlights many of the policy efforts by considering the stages of policy process. The article also incorporates international differences in gender equity policy and shows how this issue can be an important part of the policy agenda in science faculties. Through an understanding of policy process, policy makers can find creative ways to grow the numbers of female science academics at universities around the country. This growth can help further expand the opportunities for future generations of female science academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on findings of a sex differences in authorships in cardiovascular research supported by National Institutes of Health. It states differences in credit that women receive relative to men, and mentions that cardiovascular research, women's higher average relative risks of first authorship stemmed from their rate of first authorships in the lowest impact journals. It concludes that women have become more likely to earn first author positions in cardiovascular research.

Mentorship and collaboration necessarily shaped opportunities for women in science, especially in the late nineteenth century at rapidly expanding public co-educational universities. A few male faculty made space for women to establish their own research programs and professional identities. At the University of Minnesota, botanist Conway MacMillan, an ambitious young department chair, provided a qualified mentorship to Josephine Tilden. He encouraged her research on algae and relied on her to do departmental support tasks even as he persuaded the administration to move her from instructor to assistant professor in 1903. Resulting publications on Minnesota algae led her to look further west, first at Yellowstone National Park and then along the Pacific Northwest coast. After visiting a particularly productive littoral site on Vancouver Island, she suggested that they establish a Minnesota Seaside Station there. Over its seven years in operation under the Midwestern leaders, that location proved remarkably productive. At the remote site, the two operated within their typical but not inevitable gendered roles and deliberately defined their seaside station as unconventional. They expected participants to study productively and, at the same time, find imaginative ways to enjoy nature at a place far from urban amenities. Gendered expectations remained casual as participants moved both within and against them. This study investigates how, in the early twentieth century, the role and expectations of mentorship shifted as Tilden established her own independent research agenda. The Minnesota Seaside Station, in particular, proved significant in developing the leadership skills essential for her to pursue research in the Pacific region at a time when American expansionism and indigenous cooperation made sites accessible to academic researchers., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

This paper explores how gender influences the way that faculty members are held accountable to gendered societal expectations related to scientists, faculty members, and leaders. In particular, women faculty members in the sciences, particularly those who lead large research groups, may be at a triple disadvantage: they must act in ways that contradict ideals of femininity in these multiple aspects of their professional lives. The data for this inductive, largely exploratory analysis come from a mixed-methods qualitative study of five chemistry research groups at a research-intensive US university. I find that gendered expectations do impact the way that men and women faculty are evaluated by their students, particularly the way that women faculty are judged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underrepresentation of racial minorities and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is a national concern. Goal theory provides a useful framework from which to understand issues of underrepresentation. We followed a large sample of high-achieving African American and Latino undergraduates in STEM disciplines attending 38 institutions of higher education in the United States over 3 academic years. We report on the science-related environmental factors and person factors that influence the longitudinal regulation of goal orientations. Further, we examine how goal orientations in turn influence distal academic outcomes such as performance and persistence in STEM. Using SEM-based parallel process latent growth curve modeling, we found that (a) engagement in undergraduate research was the only factor that buffered underrepresented students against an increase in performance-avoidance goals over time; (b) growth in scientific self-identity exhibited a strong positive effect on growth in task and performance-approach goals over time; (c) only task goals positively influenced students' cumulative grade point average, over and above baseline grade point average; and (d) performance-avoidance goals predicted student attrition from the STEM pipeline. We discuss the implications of these findings for underrepresented students in STEM disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of the causes underlying the under-representation of women and minorities in academia is a source of ongoing concern and controversy. This is a critical issue in ensuring the openness and diversity of academia; yet differences in personal experiences and interpretations have mired it in controversy. We construct a simple model of the academic career that can be used to identify general trends, and separate the demographic effects of historical differences from ongoing biological or cultural gender differences. We apply the model to data on academics collected by the National Science Foundation (USA) over the past three decades, across all of science and engineering, and within six disciplines (agricultural and biological sciences, engineering, mathematics and computer sciences, physical sciences, psychology, and social sciences). We show that the hiring and retention of women in academia have been affected by both demographic inertia and gender differences, but that the relative influence of gender differences appears to be dwindling for most disciplines and career transitions. Our model enables us to identify the two key non-structural bottlenecks restricting female participation in academia: choice of undergraduate major and application to faculty positions. These transitions are those in greatest need of detailed study and policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors comment on gender gaps. The authors are critical on the representation of sex differences in the U.S. when advancing women in academic science and engineering careers. Moreover, the authors relate the three-year study "Assessing and Reducing Gender Bias in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)."

Science is stratified, with an unequal distribution of research facilities and rewards among scientists. Awards and prizes, which are critical for shaping scientific career trajectories, play a role in this stratification when they differentially enhance the status of scientists who already have large reputations: the ‘Matthew Effect’. Contrary to the Mertonian norm of universalism – the expectation that the personal attributes of scientists do not affect evaluations of their scientific claims and contributions – in practice, a great deal of evidence suggests that the scientific efforts and achievements of women do not receive the same recognition as do those of men: the ‘Matilda Effect’. Awards in science, technology, engineering and medical (STEM) fields are not immune to these biases. We outline the research on gender bias in evaluations of research and analyze data from 13 STEM disciplinary societies. While women’s receipt of professional awards and prizes has increased in the past two decades, men continue to win a higher proportion of awards for scholarly research than expected based on their representation in the nomination pool. The results support the powerful twin influences of implicit bias and committee chairs as contributing factors. The analysis sheds light on the relationship of external social factors to women’s science careers and helps to explain why women are severely underrepresented as winners of science awards. The ghettoization of women’s accomplishments into a category of ‘women-only’ awards also is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the potential application of Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 anti-discrimination legislation to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education fields as of April 2012, focusing on a historical overview of Title IX and the differences between its application to athletics and academics. It states that the reported limited participation of women in STEM fields requires stricter Title IX compliance in academic environments.

The article examines the role of women scientists in the television program "Stargate: SG-1". According to the authors, the program combines tropes of feminist utopian science fiction with depictions of real-life conditions in the United States Air Force (USAF) to present a feminist critique of the roles afforded to women scientists and to explore the possibilities that would exist should their conditions be improved. Particular focus is given to the character Samantha Carter, an astrophysicist and soldier. Details related to her collaboration with other women scientists and her engagement with exploration and experimentation are presented. The trope of women as alien beings is also discussed.

An interview is presented with environmental endocrinologist John C. Wingfield, who was appointed the head of the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2011. He discusses the importance of interdisciplinary research, plans for managing open access data at the NSF, and strategies to expand the participation of women in the biological sciences.

Objectives Many have wondered why U. S. women continue to shun certain STEM fields, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This study investigates this question and examines the pathways that women and men follow in attaining their STEM bachelor's degrees. Methods Using NELS 88-00 and the postsecondary transcript data, the descriptive analysis examines gender differences in the three stages of the STEM pipeline: expected college major, first major, and bachelor degree major. The multivariate analysis examines the outcomes of STEM degree attainment, the subfields attainment and the pathways in a series of logical steps. Results Drawing from the pipeline model and its associated cumulative disadvantage theory, and the alternative framework of revolving door theory, analyses from this study indicate that men are more likely than women to follow the complete persistence pathway to attain STEM degrees, but women are as persistent as men once they expect a major in STEM as high school seniors. High school achievement, attitudes, and course taking are related to the subfields attainment, as well as the pathways of the STEM degree attainment. Conclusions Taken together, the results are more aligned with revolving door theory and support the contextual variability in the salience of gender to understand gender differences in attaining STEM fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on the recruitment of women and girls in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) academies or classrooms. According to the career and technical education statistics at the secondary level from the U.S. Department of Education in 2005, very low numbers of female students exist in STEM. The author states that "Rosie the Riveter," is the best example of an outreach campaign to recruit women to male-dominated jobs. The campaign has been developed by the U.S. government and is based on Rose Monroe, a real female factory worker.

I am delighted to write the commentary for this very rich set of papers. It is wonderful to have such a diverse set of papers together in one volume. When I began my work on this topic in the mid 1970s, the focus in the field was entirely on the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the theoretical tools were quite limited, and the scholars were all of European-American heritage. These papers illustrate how far this area of study has advanced along each of these dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to understand and alleviate the pervasive underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields may benefit from the utilization of research methodologies that can model STEM engagement from multiple levels of analysis. We discuss the utility of experience sampling methodology (ESM) in capturing this broad range of factors that contribute to women's success and engagement in STEM fields-as well as other fields in which women have historically been underrepresented-with special focus on the importance of identity, social support, and gender-based rejection. We propose that the use of ESM may provide fine-grained details of women's STEM experiences, and thus model the challenges they face in STEM fields. The advantages of using ESM for capturing repeated measures of affect and behavior, the use of electronic methods of data collection, and the use of ESM to administer interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars partly attribute the low number of women in academic science to the impact of the science career on family life. Yet, the picture of how men and women in science - at different points in the career trajectory - compare in their perceptions of this impact is incomplete. In particular, we know little about the perceptions and experiences of junior and senior scientists at top universities, institutions that have a disproportionate influence on science, science policy, and the next generation of scientists. Here we show that having fewer children than wished as a result of the science career affects the life satisfaction of science faculty and indirectly affects career satisfaction, and that young scientists (graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) who have had fewer children than wished are more likely to plan to exit science entirely. We also show that the impact of science on family life is not just a woman's problem; the effect on life satisfaction of having fewer children than desired is more pronounced for male than female faculty, with life satisfaction strongly related to career satisfaction. And, in contrast to other research, gender differences among graduate students and postdoctoral fellows disappear. Family factors impede talented young scientists of both sexes from persisting to research positions in academic science. In an era when the global competitiveness of US science is at risk, it is concerning that a significant proportion of men and women trained in the select few spots available at top US research universities are considering leaving science and that such desires to leave are related to the impact of the science career on family life. Results from our study may inform university family leave policies for science departments as well as mentoring programs in the sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, women and minorities have not been fuily represented in science and engineering. Numerous studies have attributed these differences to gaps in science achievement as measured by various standardized tests. Rather than describe mean group differences in science achievement across multiple cultures, this study focused on an in-depth item-level analysis across two countries: Spain and the United States. This study investigated eighth-grade gender differences on science items across the two countries. A secondary purpose of the study was to explore the nature of gender differences using the many-faceted Rasch Model as a way to estimate gender DIF. A secondary analysis of data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was used to address three questions: 1) Does gender DIF in science achievement exist? 2) Is there a relationship between gender DIF and characteristics of the science items? 3) Do the relationships between item characteristics and gender DIF in science items replicate across countries. Participants included 7,087 eight grade students from the United States and 3,855 students from Spain who participated in TIMSS. The Facets program (Linacre and Wright, 1992) was used to estimate gender DIF. The results of the analysis indicate that the content of the item seemed to be related to gender DIF. The analysis also suggests that there is a relationship between gender DIF and item format. No pattern of gender DIF related to cognitive demand was found. The general pattern of gender DIF was similar across the two countries used in the analysis. The strength of item-level analysis as opposed to group mean difference analysis is that gender differences can be detected at the item level, even when no mean differences can be detected at the group level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the scientific productivity and gender performance in Chile's open and proprietary science systems. It examines the gender productivity differences between open and proprietary science regimes in the country. It assesses the level of participation of women in science in such countries as Spain, Japan and the U.S. The opinion of Paul A. David on proprietary science and open science is also cited.

U.S.-born Asian Americans are unique among American minority groups in that they lack earnings disadvantages relative to Whites with similar education levels. Controlling for education and age, there is little difference in the earnings of U.S.-born Asian and White men, but Asian women have higher earnings than comparable White women. Using data from SESTAT, this study tests the hypothesis that Asian American women’s high earnings may result from adjusting their labor supply less than White women in response to parenthood, leading to greater work experience over time. Findings show that Asian American women are less likely than White women to reduce labor supply in response to parenthood and that their resulting greater work experience explains their high rate of earnings growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of women in the United States science and technology professoriate depends on various factors, including the availability of a pool of qualified women with relevant doctorates and the elimination of policy constraints and institutional barriers to professional access. Recognizing that initial hiring in related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is a crucial step affecting gender composition and representation at all levels in the academic hierarchy, we focus on hiring profiles in institutions of higher learning to examine related trends and practices. In addition to the significant and inversely proportional influence of initial hiring on future trends, differences were noted relative to public or private control of the university and other institutional characteristics, providing a basis for further analyses of institutional dynamics restricting or enhancing favorable hiring policies and practices for STEM women faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article studies how gender inequality is perceived among U.S. professional women in science and technology, in particular whether "glass ceilings" for women are accounted for by meritocratic or structural (discrimination) explanations. Married women, women with a business education, and women at the top levels of their organizations were found to subscribe to meritocratic explanations, while women with children, women who are primary breadwinners, and women in unsupportive organizations were more likely to see structural factors.

Questions of gender equity and the underrepresentation of women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professoriate in U.S. institutions of higher education have become central issues in debates on the role and makeup of the STEM workforce in today's innovation-driven economy. In response, policy makers, advocacy groups, academics, and other stakeholders have called for the dedicated enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 as a tool for combating gender inequities in the academic workforce. Although previously applied primarily to gender bias in athletic programs and participation, Title IX was created to address myriad aspects of gender equity in educational institutions and, as such, currently is being invoked in the realm of STEM academic employment. Accordingly, we analyze Title IX relative to categories of potential regulatory development in light of the policy environment and related dynamics. Providing an historical overview of Title IX and its associated regulations as background, we characterize and delineate its relevance to gender disparities in the STEM professoriate, identifying areas for policy consideration and future application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We undertake an investigation of public statements and pronouncements from leaders at various universities to gain insight into institutional values and environments relative to women and their participation and advancement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and other disciplinary fields. Employing content analysis techniques to focus on terminological use and keyword interdependencies in these speeches, our findings indicate that, while gender equality is addressed as a separate topic in its own right, university leaders raise issues of gender in the context of STEM participation primarily in conjunction only with other topics. As expected, the data also support arguments suggesting diversity in general as an important goal espoused in the rhetoric of university representatives. Questions remain, however, concerning whether these speeches presage concrete institutional commitments and responses relative to the achievement of diversity, gender equality, and gender equity in the STEM professoriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uncovers examples of women scientists' attempts to challenge American science from within, to democratize it by making scientific knowledge accessible and its practice comprehensible to a broad audience. It posits that natural history museums are important locations for understanding both the opportunities for and the barriers to women's professional engagement with the public understanding of natural science in the United States. Using a feminist standpoint approach as an entry into these scientists' world, this article explores the work of freelance naturalist and museum founder Martha Maxwell, carcinologist Mary Jane Rathbun, agrostologist Agnes Chase, and botanist Alice Eastwood. While Maxwell's and Rathbun's lives illustrate two women's strategic and situational assimilations to scientific "best practice" and institutional bureaucracies during their particular historical periods, Chase's and Eastwood's lives provide feminists with more timeless models for crafting a democratic science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encouraging women to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers is an important part of a skilled, diverse workforce. While women constitute nearly half of the U.S. workforce, they make up only one-third to one-fifth of the nation's STEM careers. The lack of women in science is a “hallmark characteristic of science and has persisted in spite of the rapid improvement of women's social and economic status over the past few decades.” One scientific discipline, however, has attracted an inordinate number of females: forensic science. In a survey of accredited forensic science educational programs, the percentage of females was 78% compared with, at most, a 35% average for non-forensic science freshmen. Why is forensic science so popular among females and, therefore, is it a gateway for women into STEM careers? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]