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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE

Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context

Summary of a Workshop

Catherine Didion, Lisa M. Frehill, and Willie Pearson, Jr., Rapporteurs

Committee on Status and Participation of Women
in STEM Disciplines and Careers

Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Policy and Global Affairs

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS   500 Fifth Street, NW   Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This project was supported by the National Science Foundation under award DRL 1048010. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-22519-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-22519-1

Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Room 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu

Copyright 2012 by the National Academies. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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COMMITTEE ON STATUS AND PARTICIPATION OF
WOMEN IN STEM1 DISCIPLINES AND CAREERS

SHIRLEY M. MALCOM (NAS),*Chair, Head, Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science

ALLAN L. FISHER, Vice President, Laureate Education, Inc., and Member, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine (2008-2012)

JOHANNA (ANNEKE) M.H. LEVELT SENGERS (NAS and NAE),* Scientist Emeritus, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Chair, Women for Science Working Group, InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences

LILIAN S. WU, Program Executive, Global University Relations, IBM, and Chair Emeritus, Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine

STAFF

CATHERINE DIDION, Director
LISA M. FREHILL, Senior Program Officer (until August 26, 2011)
RITA S. GUENTHER, Program Officer (from January 2, 2012)
WILLIE PEARSON, JR., Consultant
WEI JING, Research Associate

__________________

1 Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a commonly used acronym in the United States.

* Denotes members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
×

COMMITTEE ON WOMEN IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING,
AND MEDICINE

POLICY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS DIVISION NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

RITA R. COLWELL (NAS), * Chair, Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland, College Park and Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

ALICE AGOGINO (NAE),* Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

JOAN W. BENNETT (NAS),* Professor, Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, and Associate Vice President, Office for Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics, Rutgers University

JEREMY M. BERG (IOM),* Associate Senior Vice Chancellor for Science, University of Pittsburgh

VIVIAN PINN (IOM),* Director Emeritus for Research on Women’s Health, National Institutes of Health PATRICIA TABOADA-SERRANO, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Early-Career Representative, Women for Science Working Group, InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences

LYDIA VILLA-KOMAROFF, Chief Scientific Officer, Cytonome/ST, LLC

SUSAN WESSLER (NAS),* Distinguished Professor of Genetics, University of California, Riverside

STAFF

CATHERINE DIDION, Director
LISA M. FREHILL, Senior Program Officer (until August 26, 2011)
RITA S. GUENTHER, Program Officer (from January 2, 2012)
WEI JING, Research Associate

__________________

*Denotes members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
×

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The scientific work of women is often viewed through a national or regional lens, but given the growing worldwide connectivity of most, if not all, scientific disciplines, there needs to be recognition of how different social, political, and economic mechanisms impact women’s participation in the global scientific enterprise. Although these complex sociocultural factors often operate in different ways in various countries and regions, studies within and across nations consistently show inverse correlations between levels in the scientific and technical career hierarchy and the number of women in science: the higher the positions, the fewer the number of women.

Understanding these complex patterns requires interdisciplinary and international approaches. In April 2011, an ad hoc committee overseen by the National Academies’ standing Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine (CWSEM) convened a workshop entitled, “Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context” in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the workshop was to identify strategies, core data, and important guidelines for implementing policies and procedures that will increase women’s participation and advancement in the global science enterprise. The presentations and discussions at the workshop highlighted some of the research results and findings on women in selected science fields and helped to identify critical gaps in data and the research.

The scope of the workshop was limited to women’s participation in three scientific disciplines: chemistry, computer science, mathematics and statistics. Although three fields cannot represent the distinct and diverse nature of all science, the choice of three permitted the workshop participants to focus in greater depth on common areas. These fields were chosen because they have significantly different levels of female participation in degree programs in several countries, and some of these differences continue into the workforce (see Appendix D, Table D-2). In addition, chemistry and mathematics have a long history of international organizations that have facilitated international collaboration and research in their respective disciplines.

This project began in 2008 under the auspices of the American Institute for Research and continued at the Commission of Professionals in Science and Technology until it was transferred to the National Academies in 2010. The workshop should serve as a useful foundation for future work on women in international science which looks at science in a more disaggregated fashion, taking into account critical differences in the ways that organizations are structured, routine practices in the training of scientific workers, and interactions within work organizations and among researchers located in different nations—all of which vary across disciplines.

The workshop represented a rare opportunity to examine the status of gender in science across many countries. At the same time, workshop participants were cognizant of the difficulties of establishing clear cross-national comparisons given the lack of pertinent or comparable data. The workshop was an opportunity to identify common issues in the advancement of women in chemistry, computer science, mathematics and statistics, and we hope this summary will serve as a catalyst for future efforts at global and regional levels, providing scientists and policymakers with a framework for exploring the global context of women’s participation in their individual scientific disciplines. The data and information from the workshop presentations that are referenced in this report are available on the CWSEM website: www.nas.edu/cwsem.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
×

This summary has been prepared by the rapporteurs as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. The ad hoc committee’s role was limited to planning and convening the workshop. The views contained in the summary are those of individual workshop participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all workshop participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies. Rita S. Guenther contributed to the completion and production of this workshop summary.

The workshop agenda is provided in Appendix A, with the biographies of the speakers and a list of workshop participants in Appendixes B and C. Appendix D contains data on women researchers in science provided at the workshop. Finally, speakers were invited to submit papers to provide further detail about their presentations, and their papers are found in Appendix E.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and scientific expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of the report: Judy Franz, The American Physical Society; Sharon Hrynkow, U.S. Department of State; Susan Staffin Metz, Stevens Institute of Technology; Lynette Osborne, George Washington University; and Patricia Taboada-Serrano, Rochester Institute of Technology. Although the reviewers listed have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authors and the institution. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1048010. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Catherine Didion
Lisa M. Frehill
Willie Pearson, Jr., Rapporteurs

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13306.
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The scientific work of women is often viewed through a national or regional lens, but given the growing worldwide connectivity of most, if not all, scientific disciplines, there needs to be recognition of how different social, political, and economic mechanisms impact women's participation in the global scientific enterprise. Although these complex sociocultural factors often operate in different ways in various countries and regions, studies within and across nations consistently show inverse correlations between levels in the scientific and technical career hierarchy and the number of women in science: the higher the positions, the fewer the number of women. Understanding these complex patterns requires interdisciplinary and international approaches. In April 2011, a committee overseen by the National Academies' standing Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine (CWSEM) convened a workshop entitled, "Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context" in Washington, D.C.

CWSEM's goals are to coordinate, monitor, and advocate action to increase the participation of women in science, engineering, and medicine. The scope of the workshop was limited to women's participation in three scientific disciplines: chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and statistics. The workshop presentations came from a group of scholars and professionals who have been working for several years on documenting, analyzing, and interpreting the status of women in selected technical fields around the world. Examination of the three disciplines-chemistry, computer science, and mathematics and statistics-can be considered a first foray into collecting and analyzing information that can be replicated in other fields.

The complexity of studying science internationally cannot be underestimated, and the presentations demonstrate some of the evidentiary and epistemological challenges that scholars and professionals face in collecting and analyzing data from many different countries and regions. Blueprint for the Future: Framing the Issues of Women in Science in a Global Context summarizes the workshop presentations, which provided an opportunity for dialogue about the issues that the authors have been pursuing in their work to date.

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