Preface

The Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR) was established in 1997 by the National Research Council (NRC). It provides a science-oriented, apolitical forum for leaders in the chemical sciences to discuss chemically related issues affecting government, industry, and universities. Organized by the NRC's Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, the CSR aims to strengthen the chemical sciences by fostering communication among the people and organizations—spanning industry, government, universities, and professional associations—involved with the chemical enterprise. The CSR does this primarily by organizing workshops that address issues in chemical science and technology that require national attention.

Women in the chemical workforce was identified as a workshop topic by the CSR in response to broad concerns in the chemical sciences community about underutilization of women in chemistry and chemical engineering. To provide a forum for exploring these concerns, a workshop was planned for May 2000.

The workshop, “Women in the Chemical Workforce,” gathered leaders in chemistry and chemical engineering from government, industry, and academia together with experts from the social sciences and from business to explore practical approaches to improving the effectiveness of employers from all sectors in hiring and enabling the success of female professionals in chemistry. I am grateful to those members of the roundtable who provided key assistance in identifying topics and people for the workshop. A special note of thanks goes to Dr. Jong-On Hahm of the National Research Council's Committee on Women in Science and Engineering for her advice and assistance in organizing the workshop.

The papers in this volume are the authors' own versions of their presentations, and the discussion comments were taken from a transcript of the workshop. In accord with the policies of the CSR, the workshop did not attempt to establish any conclusions or recommendations about needs and future directions, focusing instead on issues identified by the speakers.

Janet G. Osteryoung

Workshop Organizer