|
MentorNet's CEO Takes Leadership Role in Advancing Women in Science
Harvard President Lawrence Summers' statements on January 14 speculating on gender differences
in science prompted an immediate response from the MentorNet community. Dr. Carol Muller, MentorNet's
CEO, enlisted support from other leaders in science, engineering and education to increase awareness of
the facts, research and studies related to women pursuing careers in the sciences. Muller, who founded
MentorNet specifically to support women who face and are influenced by stereotyping and misguided conclusions
about their abilities in science and technology, drafted a Letter to the Editor of the New York Times, which
published a condensed version on January 21. Muller's letter,
signed by more than 100 colleagues, stated in part:
If society, institutions, teachers, and leaders like President Summers, expect (overtly or subconsciously)
that girls and women will not perform as well as boys and men, there is a good chance many will not perform as well.
At the same time, there is little evidence that those scoring at the very top of the range in standardized tests are
likely to have more successful careers in the sciences. Too many other factors are involved. Finally, well-documented
evidence demonstrates wome's efforts and achievements are not valued, recognized and rewarded to the same extent as
those of their male counterparts.
President Summers' remarks suggested that innate gender differences in scientific ability might be one reason
women don't advance in science and math careers and that discrimination might not be a significant factor in the
paucity of tenured women professors in science and engineering. Further, President Summers said that if discrimination
were the main factor limiting the advancement of women in science and engineering, then a school that does not discriminate
would gain an advantage by hiring away the top women who were discriminated against elsewhere. While outraging women and
men in science and engineering, Summers' remarks have created an opportunity to point out the problems that women confront.
"Almost any woman involved in technical pursuits can tell you about roadblocks along the way that had nothing to do
with her abilities," says Muller, who has tracked research on women in engineering and science for many years.
"These comments and discussions are further evidence to me that mentoring is absolutely essential."
"Social and cultural change takes a tremendous amount of time, but we can make it happen-sometimes working one
person at a time. Mentoring provides the learning and the extra 'reality check' which helps an individual put
into perspective her abilities and achievements (which are usually considerable) in light of the opportunities
ahead. We'll be impoverished as a society if we don’t have the full range of talent contributing to science and
technology development."
MentorNet CEO Muller is joined by other noted experts on gender and science in the forefront of education and
advocacy efforts, including Sue Rosser and Virginia Valian, whose books are listed below. A variety of scholars
have been interviewed on the subject, and other prominent higher education leaders-deans, provosts and president-shave
made strong statements in support of women in science. Advocacy organizations such as WEPAN, AWIS, SWE, and the National
Women's Law Center have called on President Summers to work to correct past discrimination and eliminate current stereotypes.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who has taken the lead in U.S. Senate on the need for enforcement of Title IX in science
and technology, has renewed his call for Congressional action to assure equity for women in science the same way that
Title IX has advanced sports for women.
"This public discussion can really help advance the understanding that will make a difference for women in the future.
Attitudes and behaviors are shaped by beliefs. Opportunities like the one we have today can help examine belief systems
that may not correlate with known data and existing research, and help us re-think those unexamined assumptions about
women’s capabilities," Carol Muller declared.
To find out what you can do to make a difference for women in science, engineering and technology, click here
Links and resources:
- Full text of Carol Muller's letter to the New York Times
- Lawrence Summers' letter of apology to Harvard
- Ambrose, Susan, Kristin Dunkle, Barbara Lazarus, Indira Nair, and Deborah A. Harkus. Journeys of Women in Science and Engineering: No Universal Constants (Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1997).
- Etzkowitz, Henry, Carol Kemelgor, and Brian Uzzi. Athena Unbound: The Advancement of Women in Science and Technology (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000).
- Henrion, Claudia. Women in Mathematics: The Addition of Difference (Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1997).
- Maddox, Brenda. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA (New York, HarperCollins, 2002).
- Margolis, Jane and Allan Fisher. Unlocking the Clubhouse (Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2001).
- Nelson, Donna J. and Diana C. Rogers. "A National Analysis of Diversity in Science and Engineering Faculties at Research Universities." (PDF download)
- Preston, Anne E. Leaving Science: Occupational Exit from Scientific Careers (Russell Sage Foundation Publications, 2004).
- Rosser, Sue V. The Science Glass Ceiling: Academic Women Scientists and the Struggle to Succeed (New York, Routledge, 2004).
- Seymour, Elaine and Nancy Hewitt, Talking About Leaving (Boulder, CO, Westview Press, 1997).
- Steele, Claude. Atlantic Monthly articles (3-part series) on Stereotype Threat (1999)
- Tobias, Sheila. They're Not Dumb, They're Different: Stalking the Second Tier (Tucson, AZ Research Corp., 1994).
- Valian, Virginia. Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women (Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 1999).
- Xie, Yu and Kimberlee A. Shauman. Women in Science: Career Processes and Outcomes (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2003).
© 2005 MentorNet, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from
MentorNet News in whole or in part, as long as you include complete
attribution, including live link to the MentorNet web site. Please also notify
us at info@mentornet.net where the
material will appear. Attribution should read: "From MentorNet News, by
MentorNet, the E-Mentoring Network for Women in Engineering and Science.
www.MentorNet.net"
|