Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s. A Statement on Policy and Strategy.

The underparticipation of women in the fields of science and engineering is a matter of record; the understanding that something might be done to bring qualified women into productive careers as researchers, teachers, and practitioners of science and engineering prompted the National Research Council (NRC) in 1990 to establish the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE) within the Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel (OSEP). The Committee met for the first time in 1991 and developed a plan of action-a strategic plan-for effecting change. That plan is the subject of this report. In addition to providing statistics on the participation of women in the education/employment pipeline, it summarizes the Committee's deliberations relating to its role in increasing the participation and improving the status of women in science and engineering. The report further offers an ambitious strategic plan of both short-term and long-term activities. Chapters include: (1) "The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure"; (2) "Effectiveness of Intervention Models"; (3) "Career Patterns"; (4) "Measurement for Scientific and Engineering Human Resources"; and (5) "Strategic Plan for Increasing the Numbers of Women in Science and Engineering." (156 references) (KR)