Report finds bias keeping women out of science jobs
Academia urged to tackle gap in faculty numbers
WASHINGTON -- Women are being filtered out of high-level science, math, and engineering jobs in the United States, and there is no good reason for it, according to a National Academies report released yesterday.
A committee of specialists looked at some commonly suspected reasons -- biological differences in ability, hormonal influences, child-rearing demands, and differences in ambition -- and found no good explanation for why women are being locked out.
``Compared with men, women faculty members are generally paid less and promoted more slowly, receive fewer honors, and hold fewer leadership positions," the Academies said in a statement. ``These discrepancies do not appear to be based on productivity, the significance of their work, or any other performance measures."
Female minorities fare the worst, the study found. And the panel said the discrepancies are costing the country many talented leaders and researchers and recommended immediate and far-reaching changes.
``We found no significant biological differences between men and women in science, engineering, and mathematics that could account for the lower representation of women in academic faculty and scientific leadership positions," said Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami and head of the committee that wrote the report.
The study was compiled by all the National Academies -- the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine -- The institutions advise the federal government.
``It is not a lack of talent but an unintended bias . . . that is locking women out," Shalala, a former secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, said at a briefing.
The report noted that the problem is not restricted to academia. ``The underrepresentation of women and minorities in science and engineering faculties stems from a number of issues that are firmly rooted in our society's traditions and culture," the report said.
Many arguments have been made to explain why women do not excel in math and science -- that they are not as good as men in mathematical ability or that their brain structures are different.
Lawrence H. Summers resigned as Harvard University president after he made widely disparaged remarks in 2005 suggesting that women lack the same ``intrinsic aptitude" for science as men and that many women chose to pay more attention to their families and thus could not put in enough effort to succeed at 80-hour-a-week jobs.
The specialists examined many different studies on the issue.
``The committee found no sound evidence to support these myths," said Ana Mari Cauce, executive vice provost at the University of Washington in Seattle. ``In fact, female performance in high school mathematics now matches that of males. If biology were the basis of that, we've seen some major evolution in the past decades."
University presidents and provosts need to make it clear that recruiting and promoting women is a priority, the report said. 