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Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy (1991)

Chapter: 2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure

« Previous: 1. Introduction
Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

2
THE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE

The education system is the most effective way to attract people into a career. As noted in its 1991 Strategic Plan, the Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel (OSEP) is concerned about the nature of education infrastructure in the United States, which

has a profound effect on the number and quality of individuals in the science and engineering talent pool. Policies addressing the education infrastructure in the United States are diverse and distributed throughout federal, state and local governments, not to mention the private sector.... NRC and OSEP can make a unique contribution to our understanding of the complex issues to be faced by ... education in the next decade and beyond. While these issues are of interest to many other organizations, few of these other actors effectively link fundamental research with policy formulation. NRC and the broader Academy complex specialize in developing such linkages through its unique committee process.

It is in this linking role that the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering addresses those aspects of the S&E education infrastructure that can increase the participation of women in science and engineering.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics' National Longitudinal High School Study of the Class of 1972 (NLS-72) and its follow-up studies show that, after expressing an initial interest in S&E studies, individuals often switch to nonscience or nonengineering fields (see, for instance, Burkheimer and Novak, 1981, and Eagle et al., 1988). Many undergraduate S&E majors of both sexes switch to education, law, business, or medicine and other health-related fields for graduate study. For

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

example, of those female freshmen enrolling in engineering programs in 1985, 35.6 percent dropped out of engineering during their sophomore year compared with approximately 16 percent of the male freshman engineering majors (Engineering Manpower Commission, 1987).

The S&E education infrastructure has both formal and informal mechanisms for attracting and retaining talented and qualified individuals into careers in the sciences and engineering. Forming the backbone of the formal S&E education infrastructure are (1) the institutions providing the education to potential scientists and engineers and (2) the policies and programs providing the financial assistance essential for acquiring that education. Informal aspects of the education infrastructure include the media, parents, role models, and mentors. We discuss below the formal and informal mechanisms that have been developed and the data that indicate their effectiveness.

Formal Mechanisms

Various studies have shown that females intending to major in science, mathematics, and engineering have higher attrition rates from those fields than their male counterparts. For instance, a 1986 survey revealed that only 44.4 percent of females (compared with 54.2 percent of males) intending to major in one of those fields actually received a degree in them (Tables 8 and 9). Further,

an examination of college majors ... demonstrates that females of all races consistently majored in science, engineering, or mathematics less often than males.... White females majored in these fields about half as often

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

TABLE 8: College Major Field of Study of 1980 High School Seniors Who Had Graduated from College by 1986, by Intended Field of Study in High School and by Sex (in percent)

 

College Graduates, by Major Field of Study

 

 

Sex and Intended Field of Study in College in 1980

Total (sample size)

SEM*

Other

All

All 1980 High School Seniors Planning to Attend College

Males

 

 

 

 

 

Total

100.0 (668)

33.9

66.1

100.0

100.0

SEM*

100.0 (230)

54.2

45.8

39.1

31.2

All other fields

100.0 (634)

20.9

79.1

60.9

68.8

Females

 

 

 

 

 

Total

100.0 (786)

18.2

81.8

100.0

100.0

SEM*

100.0 (152)

44.4

55.6

18.8

19.6

All other fields

100.0 (634)

12.1

87.9

81.2

80.4

* Science, engineering, and mathematics

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "High School and Beyond" survey, 1986, in Henry A. Gordon, Who Majors in Science? College Graduates in Science, Engineering, or Mathematics from the High School Class of 1980 (NCES 90-658), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

TABLE 9: 1980 High School Seniors Who Graduated from College by 1986, by Major Field of Study and by Race/Ethnicity and Sex

 

College Graduates, by Major Field of Study

 

 

Sex and Race/Ethnicity

Total (sample size)

SEM*

Other

Percentage of All 1986 College Graduates

Percentage of All 1980 High School Seniors

Males

 

 

 

 

 

Total

100.0 (730)

30.8

69.2

100.0

100.0

White

100.0 (491)

31.1

68.9

91.2

79.9

Black

100.0 (114)

26.3

73.7

5. l

10.6

Hispanic

100.0 (125)

29.0

71.1

3.8

9.5

Females

 

 

 

 

 

Total

100.0 (868)

16.5

83.6

100.0

100.0

White

100.0 (575)

15.7

84.3

88.5

78.8

Black

100.0 (161)

23.8

76.2

7.8

12.2

Hispanic

100.0 (132)

18.1

81.9

3.7

9.0

* Science, engineering, or mathematics.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "High School and Beyond" survey, 1986, in Henry A. Gordon, Who Majors in Science? College Graduates in Science, Engineering, or Mathematics from the High School Class of 1980 (NCES 90-658), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

as white males (15.7 percent versus 31.1 percent). Black females, however, majored in science, engineering, or mathematics almost as often as black males (26.3 percent of males versus 23.8 percent of females) (Gordon, 1990; Table 9).

The near parity of black females with black males suggests that further study should be done to probe cultural and sociological reasons for this result.

Institutions

Analyzing the status of women in the S&E education pipeline, one must examine those institutions most effective in producing women scientists and engineers and the programs they have in place to achieve that goal:

  • Ph.D.s: As shown in Table 10, the 10 U.S. doctorate-granting institutions that awarded the most S&E degrees during the past decade are University of California-Berkeley, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell University, Stanford University, University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, Purdue University, University of Michigan, and University of California-Los Angeles. When ranked by S&E Ph.D.s awarded to women, however, their rank order changes dramatically (see Related Tables A and B), and MIT and Purdue are displaced in the top 10 by the Ohio State University and the University of Maryland. These

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

TABLE 10:

Top 25 Science and Engineering Doctorate-Granting Institutions, 1980-1990 (all graduates)

Institution

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

Total 1980-1990

TOTAL, MALE and FEMALE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Calif, U-Berkeley

540

483

542

519

517

549

563

534

585

658

607

6097

III, U, Urbana-Champ

394

411

358

382

381

442

383

434

444

468

514

4611

Mass Inst Technology

372

384

391

412

389

421

442

436

489

469

478

4683

Wisconsin, U-Madison

400

389

442

398

399

458

413

453

479

485

460

4776

Cornell Univ/NY

330

333

328

355

351

337

371

367

377

395

455

3999

Stanford Univ/CA

327

358

339

308

364

334

393

405

411

412

411

4062

Minnesota, U-Minneapl

291

316

291

275

312

336

381

310

337

360

403

3612

Purdue University/IN

297

326

288

305

308

308

320

300

302

348

383

3485

Michigan, Univ of

292

315

323

376

348

371

348

344

344

335

382

3778

Calif, U-Los Angeles

314

330

310

311

296

296

282

288

363

334

382

3506

Texas, U-Austin

219

228

234

228

227

255

298

330

326

329

367

3041

Ohio State Univ

300

274

305

293

269

323

297

322

307

371

366

3427

Texas A&M University

211

195

180

202

227

221

228

257

253

310

305

2589

Maryland, Univ of

175

172

202

192

209

210

213

220

205

244

301

2343

Michigan State Univ

281

279

305

299

250

240

242

258

268

287

286

2995

Washington, U of

228

231

246

249

237

221

249

262

279

272

283

2757

Penn State Univ

215

233

240

261

243

234

237

251

260

289

282

2745

Florida, Univ of

169

166

142

206

203

216

203

223

236

259

273

2296

Harvard Univ/MA

248

232

244

256

246

205

243

215

242

221

269

2621

NC State U-Raleigh

112

128

168

164

171

175

193

180

210

199

252

1952

Columbia University

228

231

222

197

233

245

219

215

223

254

243

2510

Pennsylvania, U of

201

214

256

217

211

206

202

248

221

272

240

2488

Northwestern Univ/IL

178

184

193

179

188

218

207

211

220

259

234

2271

Calif, U-Davis

233

253

193

276

239

209

229

234

252

247

234

2599

Arizona, Univ of

184

154

179

188

197

182

171

214

225

237

228

2159

 

SOURCE: National Science Foundation, unpublished data.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

results may indicate that other universities are taking steps to broaden the supply of female Ph.D.s in S&E fields.

  • Baccalaureate Origins: Many of the same institutions that are successful in retaining female S&E graduate students to completion of doctorates have also provided their undergraduate education in S&E fields. Data from the Doctorate Records File indicate that efforts in this area during the 1985-1990 period were particularly successful at University of California-Berkeley, Cornell University, University of Michigan, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Joining those institutions to form the top 10 baccalaureate institutions of women who received S&E Ph.D.s during 1985-1990 were Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, University of California-Davis, and the University of Pennsylvania. The latter four institutions also awarded 17 percent of the Ph.D.s granted to women in the sciences and engineering by the top 25 institutions between 1985 and 1990. As shown in Table 11, however, the number of doctorates awarded to women who received undergraduate degrees from the same institution varies by field. Data from NCES (1970 +) confirm that women, particularly minority women, are somewhat less likely than men to attend the most prestigious research universities as either undergraduate or graduate students.

Availability of Financial Support

Financial aid is a very important factor in recruiting and retaining able women in science and engineering. At the undergraduate level, schol-

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

TABLE 11: Top Five Baccalaureate Institutions of Female Science and Engineering Doctorate Recipients, by Field of Doctorate, 1985-1990

Physical Science

Agriculture

Biological Science

Psychology

Social Science

Engineering

1 UC-Berkeley

1 Cornell Univ.

1 Cornell Univ.

1 UC-Los Angeles

1 C-Berkeley

1 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champlain

2 Cornell Univ.

2 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champlain

2 UC-Berkeley

2 Univ. of Michigan

2 Univ. of Michigan

2 UC-Berkeley and Purdue Univ.

3 Wellesley College

3 UC-Davis

3 UC-Davis

3 UC-Berkeley

3 UC-Los Angeles

3 Univ. of Michigan and Penn State

4 Univ. of Michigan

4 Michigan State

4 Univ. of Michigan

4 Cornell Univ.

4 Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison

4 Cornell Univ.

5 Rutgers Univ.

5. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison

5 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champlain

5 Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison

5 Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis

5 Ohio State

 

SOURCE: National Research Council, Doctoral Records File, unpublished data.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

arships to women for S&E studies often reinforce recruitment efforts (NSF, 1990b; Moran, 1986). Furthermore, undergraduate women are encouraged to continue their S&E studies because they know that financial support will be available for continued studies at the graduate level. At the graduate level, recruitment is strongly tied to the availability of financial support (see, for instance, Anderson, 1990), and retention requires consistent, continuing support.

However, women do not receive the same kinds and levels of financial aid as their male counterparts in science and engineering (Table 12), and this may inhibit their entry. An increase in the probability that women students will receive financial support could yield significant increases in female participation in the undergraduate and graduate student segments of the pipeline (Coyle, 1986). Research indicates that women who are offered financial aid at the beginning of their undergraduate education are more likely to continue their studies in the sciences and engineering (Rosenfeld and Hearn, 1982). In addition, needy students, those who cannot afford to complete their education without interruption to earn more money, may require special alternatives such as part-time or continuing education programs, perhaps developed in cooperation with industry. The availability of sustained financial aid when needed by students later in their undergraduate education is also important for retention (Connelly and Porter, 1978).

Variations in Ph.D. attainment rates by S&E field are highly correlated with the availability of financial support (Tuckman et al., 1990). Some universities have responded favorably to this finding: Yale University, for instance, has decreased the use of teaching assistants (TAs) but now encourages graduate students to earn Ph.D.s more rapidly by

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

TABLE 12: Percentage Distribution of Primary Sources of Support of Doctorate Recipients, by Sex and Broad Field, 1989

Source/Gender

Year

Total Fields

Phys. Scncs.

Engng.

Life Scncs.

Social Scncs.

Human.

Prof/Educ.

Other

Personal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Men

1989

34.1

13.7

15.3

22.3

49.1

48.0

74.6

53.5

Women

1989

51.1

13.0

12.5

27.3

59.5

48.0

77.6

57.2

Federal, Non-R.A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Men

1989

5.3

4.1

4.1

13.0

4.0

2.3

2.7

2.1

Women

1989

5.7

4.3

10.4

15.1

5.2

1.5

1.9

1.3

R.A., Fed. & Univ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Men

1989

27.2

45.4

49.7

34.4

9.2

1.5

3.0

7.2

Women

1989

15.1

42.8

50.5

30.8

8.5

1.5

3.8

9.2

Teaching Assistant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Men

1989

17.5

25.9

12.1

10.9

21.7

31.5

5.9

21.2

Women

1989

15.7

29.5

10.0

11.8

14.6

35.4

6.4

19.1

Fellowship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Men

1989

6.0

4.7

4.7

7.7

7.6

11.3

2.4

4.9

Women

1989

6.0

4.9

9.7

8.1

7.1

9.1

2.4

5.2

Other Sources

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Men

1989

9.9

6.2

14.1

11.6

8.4

5.4

11.3

11.1

Women

1989

6.4

5.4

6.9

6.8

5.2

4.4

7.7

8.0

 

SOURCE: Delores H. Thurgood and Joanne M. Weinman, Summary Report 1989 Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1990.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

offering them fellowships to finish their dissertations (Cheney, 1990). However, it was pointed out to the committee that

The graduate education process is evolving into a system serving the needs of the faculty and institution at the expense of the needs of the graduate student population. The shrinking availability of research funds accelerates this process, further compromising the quality of the graduate experience. All graduate students are adversely affected, but women in graduate programs are especially impacted because of their traditional lack of assertiveness.... Their dependency on a major advisor for financial support may force them to endure misuse or abuse: long hours in the laboratory, excessive teaching responsibilities, extended stays in the graduate program (Mulnix, 1990).

Table 12 shows that women graduate students in the life sciences and the social sciences are more likely than men to be self-supporting and less likely, in general, to be funded as either TAs or research assistants (RAs). Thus, relative to men, women overall are more likely to be deprived of research time and important opportunities for interaction with peers and faculty.

The extent to which these problems occur varies by field and by race/ethnicity. In this context, OSEP examined the numbers of women applying for and receiving graduate fellowships in the programs it administers for NSF. These fellowships are highly selective and prestigious and are generally regarded as early indicators of future success. Although women in general have received about one-third of those awards, primarily in the earth, biomedical, biological, and behavioral science same fields in which most women apply (Tables 13 and 14; see also Related Tables C, D, E, and F)—the percentage of awards to women has increased steadily since 1985. Overall, the proportion of women receiving NSF graduate fellowships is lower than among men, though it appears to vary

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

TABLE 13: NSF Graduate Fellowship Program Applications and Awards, by Sex, 1985 and 1991

Discipline

1985

1991

1985

1991

 

M

W

M

W

M

W

M

W

 

Total Applicants

Total Awards

N

2776

1614

4145

3201

362

178

556

394

%

63.2

36.8

56.4

43.6

67.0

33.0

58.5

41.5

Biochem*

246

167

276

256

32

16

31

31

59.6

40.4

51.9

48.1

66.7

33.3

50.0

50.0

Biology

298

274

369

432

32

40

40

53

52.1

42.9

46.1

53.9

44.4

55.6

43.0

57.0

Chemistry

219

118

272

174

32

9

41

16

65.0

35.0

61.0

39.0

78.0

22.0

71.9

28.1

Earth Sci

151

88

116

124

20

9

13

16

63.2

36.8

48.3

51.7

69.0

31.0

44.8

55.2

Appl Math/ Statistics

80

39

100

87

14

1

18

4

67.2

32.8

53.5

46.5

93.3

6.7

81.8

18.2

Mathematics

105

43

132

90

19

1

22

10

70.9

29.1

59.5

40.5

95.0

5.0

68.8

31.2

Physics and Astronomy

309

44

404

99

39

6

57

13

87.5

12.5

80.3

19.7

86.7

13.3

81.4

18.6

Behavioral Sciences**

397

436

627

780

50

50

92

89

47.7

52.3

44.6

55.4

50.0

50.0

50.8

49.2

Biomedical Sciences

154

208

195

311

15

28

23

30

42.5

57.5

38.5

61.5

42.5

57.5

43.4

56.6

Computer Science

182

54

282

67

27

3

40

5

77.1

22.9

80.8

19.2

90.0

10.0

88.9

11.1

Engineering

635

143

1280

692

82

15

179

127

81.6

18.4

64.9

35.1

84.5

15.5

58.5

41.5

* Includes biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology.

** Prior to 1991,this field included psychology, economics, and sociology. Bemuse the disaggregation of behavioral sciences——into (1) anthropology, sociology, and linguistics; (2) economics, urban planning, and history of science; (3) political science, international relations, and geography; and (4) psychology——did not occur until 1991,a single category is used here. SOURCE: Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

TABLE 14: NSF Minority Graduate Fellowship Program Applications and Awards, by Sex, 1985 and 1991

Discipline

1985

1991

 

Men

Women

Men

Women

Total Applicants

 

 

 

 

N

298

305

595

644

%

49.4

50.6

48.0

52.0

Biosciences*

62

79

93

158

44.0

56.0

37.1

62.9

Chemistry/ Earth Science Phys/Astron/ Math

27

22

48

41

55.1

44.9

53.9

46.1

37

32

82

56

53.6

46.4

59.4

40.6

Behavioral Science**

68

116

113

207

37.0

63.0

35.3

64.7

Engineering

65

35

172

119

65.0

35.0

59.1

40.9

Total Awards

 

 

 

 

N

39

21

87

63

%

65.0

35.0

58.0

42.0

Biosciences*

10

5

16

13

66.7

33.3

55.2

44.8

Chemistry/ Earth Science Phys/Astron/ Math

2

2

4

4

50.0

50.0

50.0

 

6

1

9

8

85.7

14.3

52.9

47.1

Behavioral Science**

12

11

18

21

52.2

47.8

46.2

53.8

Engineering

9

2

40

17

81.8

18.2

70.2

29.8

* Includes biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and biomedical science.

** Includes anthropology, sociology, and linguistics; economies, urban planning, and history of science; political science, international relations, and geography; and psychology.

SOURCE: Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

unpredictably from one field to another and from year to year. Women applicants fare particularly poorly in the fields of computer science, applied mathematics/statistics, and physics/astronomy. Until 1991, when they received 31 percent of the awards in mathematics, women received less than 18 percent of the graduate fellowships in that field.

Informal Mechanisms

Informal efforts to recruit women into S&E fields typically:

  • address the negative public image of scientists and engineers and of science and engineering;

  • encourage precollege interest of young women in S&E majors and careers;

  • involve parents and peers; and

  • as in formal programs, provide opportunities for female students to interact with scientists and engineers in academe, industry, and government who serve as role models and mentors.

Research on retention of both men and women in undergraduate S&E programs indicates that effective programs include the following: orientation programs for freshmen, remedial courses, career seminars, educational and career counseling, peer tutoring, research opportunities, cooperative and summer job programs, campus chapters of professional organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers, recognition awards and events, and exit interviews with graduating seniors. Successful retention programs, such as Purdue University's Women in Engineering Program and the Women in Science Program of Rutgers University's

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

Douglass College, have used two other intervention actions that can affect retention of women in S&E majors:

  1. the use of professional counselors with training both ill the special problems faced by undergraduate women in traditionally ''masculine'' fields of study and in specific counseling strategies that can increase women's persistence in these fields; and

  2. interactions with industrial scientists and engineers in order to enhance the motivation of beginning S&E students (LeBold, 1987).

Two additional factors affecting undergraduate retention were noted in the National Engineering Career Development Study: academic performance during the freshman year; and self-perceptions of math, science, and problem-solving ability (Shell et al., 1985). These same factors could also be applicable to undergraduate science majors.

The Role of The Media

In order to recruit male or female students into science and engineering, those fields must be perceived as positive career choices (MacCorquodale, 1984). However, a number of recent studies in various developed counties suggest that science and engineering, in general, have an "image problem." When students and adults are asked about their image of scientists and engineers, not only are science and engineering strongly viewed as traditionally masculine fields of study, but in most cases scientists and engineers are pictured as "mad" scientists and perpetrators of destruction (Kahle and Matyas, 1987).

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

The positive benefits of S&E research and development have not been the primary focus of the public image, nor have science and engineering generally been viewed by the public as ennobling careers (OTA, 1988; NAS, 1989). Even a cursory glance at popular television and print materials (such as comic books) suggests that the popular media do little to change this public image and can have an important negative influence on students' images of science and engineering and of scientists and engineers. The potential for using popular media in recruitment strategies remains largely untapped (Task Force, 1988).

Parental Guidance

A study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that most of the most effective precollege programs to increase females' participation in science and mathematics involve parents in some way (Malcom, 1983). Parents play an important role in influencing the initial career choices of all students, but especially those of young women. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of programs and materials informing parents about the importance of science and mathematics education for their children, girls as well as boys, and guiding parents on how to assist their children in career choices in these areas.

Role Models and Mentors

Research indicates that students, both male and female, are influenced by role models and faculty members (see, for instance, Nagy and Cunningham, 1990). Opportunities to interact with S&E personnel have

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

long been central to "career day" and other precollege programs designed to spark young women's interests in S&E careers.2 As John F. Welch, Jr. (1991), chairman and chief executive officer of the General Electric Company, wrote recently:

Corporate volunteers can guide America's students toward a world of work, study, and achievement.... GE volunteers and their counterparts at a few other companies have proved that social and economic upward mobility——the glue that holds us all together——can be restored. American nightmares [about inability to compete in the global marketplace] can be changed into American dreams.

Undergraduate women in science and engineering have been effectively used to recruit high school students, and women graduate students have successfully served as recruiters of women undergraduates in science and engineering (Hall and Sandler, 1983). At present, however, female S&E faculty role models are most likely to be found among the untenured junior faculty and, therefore, are not generally available for significant time commitments to recruiting and other activities involving greater interactions with students (Cheney, 1990). Recruitment of women students at a given institution would be enhanced by the presence of women faculty at all ranks, a signal to women students that they will be respected and treated fairly. The presence of women faculty at junior ranks only or in adjunct or off-ladder status signals the opposite (Sandler, 1986). However, many top graduate departments in science and engineering still

2

For descriptions of some of these programs, see Sandra L. Keith and Philip Keith, eds., Proceedings of the National Conference on Women in Mathematics and the Sciences (St. Cloud, Minn.: St. Cloud State University, 1990).

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

have no tenured women faculty, which gives an even more negative signal (see, for instance, Selvin, 1991).

Undergraduate women and men at large research universities are negatively affected by the frequent lack of interactions with the research-oriented faculty in their departments (Smith, 1990). Many highly talented students may not be receiving adequate encouragement to pursue graduate study. Such a phenomenon would affect women more than men, bemuse women are usually less plugged into the network (Mulnix, 1990). In response, some institutions encourage women S&E faculty members to act as role models and mentors for undergraduate and graduate women in their departments (Malcom, 1983). Institutions address this issue through formal programs that (1) sensitize faculty to the needs of women students, (2) follow the progress of women students throughout their enrollment period, and (3) promote mentoting between undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral women in science and engineering. Examples of programs that seem effective are the Illinois Institute of Technology's Women's Mentoring Organization and the University of Chicago's Mellon Instructorships, which "offer new Ph.D.s the opportunity to work with mentors teaching in the common core (Cheney, 1990), as well as the University of Washington's Women in Engineering Initiative.

Institutional Factors

Attrition from S&E majors is seldom related only to academic talent and achievement, especially for women (Roby, 1973; LeBold, 1987; Hall, 1982; Sandler, 1986). As Cavanaugh (1990) noted,

Women often "drop out" of science in graduate school or

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

even after starting their careers. The major factor is the climate of the workplace, with its competitiveness, subtle forms of sexual harassment, off-track assignments or limited responsibilities, and lack of encouragement. Add to this lower salaries and promotion rates, inappropriate responses to reproductive hazards, and lack of provision for child-care and the difficulties of staying in science become obvious.

In addition to formal barriers and overt discrimination, women completing studies in traditionally masculine fields often encounter subtle forms of discrimination called "micro-inequities" (Hall, 1982; Ehrhard and Sandler, 1987) that contribute to an unsupportive "campus climate." On an incident-by-incident basis, micro-inequities appear to be insignificant, but collectively they make an important and significant difference in the collegiate experience of men and women. For example, women who try to participate in classroom discussion are ignored or interrupted more frequently than men by both faculty and male students; their questions are more often treated as trivial by faculty; and they are frequent targets of ''good-natured" derogatory humor (Sandler, 1986; Mulnix, 1990). Anecdotal evidence also indicates that faculty, teaching assistants, and graduate students from certain cultures are less accustomed to the presence of female students in the classroom and laboratory and may discriminate against women students either consciously or unconsciously.3 However, the

3

This issue was a topic of much discussion at the conference, "Women in Science and Engineering: Changing Vision to Reality," of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, July 29-31, 1987, and at meetings of the National Research Council's Committee on the International Exchange and Movement of Engineers [see National Research Council, Foreign and Foreign-Born Engineers in the United States: Infusing Talent, Raising Issues, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1988, and Engineering Education and Practice in the United States, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1985]. Although a recurrent theme during subse

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

Committee knows of no research undertaken to determine how common this phenomenon is or how to combat it.

Many academic institutions are unaware of the successful activities by other institutions to create a supportive campus climate. Besides programs mentioned earlier, these include data collection and analysis from each department on the participation and advancement of women at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels. The campus climate for women is also enhanced by on-campus branches of professional societies——such as the Society of Physics Students, Chicanos in the Health Sciences, and the Society of Women Engineers——that promote interactions between S&E professionals and students and shepherd women students into professional careers.

Priority Issues

Policies affecting the S&E education infrastructure are diverse, and many groups——public and private alike——have placed high priority on developing programs to increase the number and quality of women entering science and engineering careers. After some discussion, we have concluded that an effective role for the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering in this area will be:

  • stimulating data collection, to assess the effectiveness of

 

quent meetings of various professional scientific organizations, this issue has not yet been studied in depth.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×

educational programs that have been introduced formally over the years;

  • examining data on science majors graduating from historically black undergraduate colleges and universities, to determine the effectiveness of HBCUs in preparing those graduates for S&E careers;

  • specifying those features of effective programs developed in one institution that can be duplicated in another;

  • collecting data in order to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of college admissions policies in newly coeducational institutions, some of which are major sources of future S&E Ph.D.s and which may routinely establish quotas for admitting women and racial/ethnic minorities;

  • studying the career differences of men and women S&E doctorates, by discipline, with reference to their education; developing techniques to disseminate information to academic administrators on the importance of role models and mentors in the undergraduate and graduate S&E infrastructure, pointing out institutional mechanisms that are effective in producing S&E doctorates;

  • examining the incentives (financial support, etc.) available for potential S&E majors;

  • conducting regional and/or national conferences on the effective partnerships in science and engineering between academe, industry, and government; and

  • planning strategic "awareness" sessions for decision makers in the print and visual media in order to eradicate the negative image of science and engineering in society.

Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2. The Science and Engineering Education Infrastructure." National Research Council. 1991. Women in Science and Engineering: Increasing Their Numbers in the 1990s: A Statement on Policy and Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1878.
×
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From time to time, it is necessary to alert the research and policy communities to opportunities for action in areas of mutual concern. One such area is the participation and utilization of women in science and engineering in the United States.

This book explores the underparticipation of women in these fields and presents a strategic plan to bring qualified women into such careers as researchers, teachers, and practitioners of science and engineering.

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