Excerpt

The National Academies, under the oversight of the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, created the Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering to develop specific recommendations on how to make the fullest possible use of a large source of our nation’s talent: women in academic science and engineering. This report presents the consensus views and judgment of the committee members, who include five university presidents and chancellors, provosts and named professors, former top government officials, leading policy analysts, and outstanding scientists and engineers—nine of whom are members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, or the Institute of Medicine, and many of whom have dedicated great thought and action to the advancement of women in science and engineering. The committee’s recommendations—if implemented and coordinated across educational, professional, and government sectors—will transform our institutions, improve the working environment for women and men, and profoundly enhance our nation’s talent pool.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Denice Dee Denton, 1959-2006
• Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering
• Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Summary
  • FINDINGS
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • CALL TO ACTION
• 1. Introduction
  • RECOGNIZING OBSTACLES
  • DEFINING THE ISSUES
• 2. Learning and Performance
  • CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
  • FINDINGS
  • RECOMMENDATION
  • RESEARCH APPROACHES
  • COGNITION
  • BIOLOGY
  • SOCIETY AND CULTURE
  • CONCLUSION
• 3. Examining Persistence and Attrition
  • CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
  • FINDINGS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • COURSE SELECTION IN HIGH SCHOOL
  • COLLEGE-GOING AND MAJORS
  • COLLEGE TO GRADUATE SCHOOL
  • POSTGRADUATE CAREER PLANS
  • POSTDOCTORAL APPOINTMENTS
  • FACULTY POSITIONS
  • ECONOMIC IMPACT OF FACULTY ATTRITION
  • CASE STUDY: CHEMISTRY
  • CONCLUSION
• 4. Success and Its Evaluation in Science and Engineering
  • CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
  • FINDINGS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • BUILDING A CAREER
  • LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
  • EVALUATION OF SUCCESS
  • BEYOND BIAS
  • CONCLUSION
• 5. Institutional Constraints
  • CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
  • FINDINGS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • THE “IDEAL” SCIENTIST OR ENGINEER
  • RECRUITMENT
  • INSTITUTIONAL INTERACTIONS
  • PIONEERS AND TIPPING POINTS
  • THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE
  • BRINGING INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
  • ESTABLISHING AN INCLUSIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT
  • BREAKING THE CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE: MINORITY-GROUP WOMEN FACULTY
  • FUNDING-AGENCY-DRIVEN INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATION
  • CONCLUSION
• 6. Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering
  • ROOT CAUSES OF DISPARITIES
  • WHY CHANGE IS NECESSARY
  • WHAT MUST BE DONE: A BLUEPRINT FOR ACTION
  • CALL TO ACTION
• Appendices
  • A Biographical Information
  • B Statement of Task
  • C Chapter 4 of Measuring Racial Discrimination (2004), National Research Council, Washington, DC, The National Academies Press
  • D References

Support for this project was provided by the National Academies; the National Institutes of Health Office for Research on Women’s Health under Contract N01-OD-4-2139, Task Order 166; Eli Lilly Company; the National Science Foundation award SBE-0536999; and the Ford Foundation. Eli Lilly funds were used only to support project research. 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.

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.