Women's Leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Barriers to Participation.

Abstract

Introduction There is a great deal of research available on the lack of gender equality in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Similarly, there is a large body of literature on the lack of gender equality in leadership areas. Yet there is surprisingly little research into the intersection of these two areas: the subject of women's leadership in STEM fields. This paper will explore the idea that the similar nature of the barriers to women's participation in STEM, and in leadership, makes this an area that should be carefully studied, both in order to identify and understand the unique problems women in STEM leadership may face and to see how the two sets of barriers may interact to compound or reduce the problem of women's participation in STEM leadership. Women's Participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Despite large gains made in several areas in science and technology, women still do not participate equally in all areas of STEM. According to the National Science Foundation (2011), women have achieved near-parity in several fields: mathematics, earth sciences and agricultural sciences. are over-represented in biology and the social/psychological sciences. Yet gaps persist in physics, engineering, and computer science (see Figure 1.) [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] In a recently released national report, the US government notes that while women have made significant gains, the areas of science and technology remain a problem (US Department of Commerce 2011, 23): Women earn the majority of conferred degrees overall but earn fewer degrees than men in science and Over the years a great deal of research has focused on the causes of this gender gap and possible remedies. Outright discrimination and sexual harassment were the leading problems in the lead-up to the 20t century (Gornick 1990; Rossiter 1982, 1995). As legislation and awareness helped reduce these issues, other problems arose or were drawn into visibility. Covert discrimination in the form of old boys' networks, biased hiring practices, unfair distribution of resources, and chilly climate were exposed to the light, and were found to be just as hard to combat. The latest research on gender differences in the sciences suggests that covert discrimination, implicit biases, career preferences and lifestyle choices are some of the current issues hindering women's participation in STEM. Discrimination and Implicit Bias Despite overt sexism being much less common now, covert sexism and discrimination are still major factors that keep women from participating in science and technology. In a study of the factors that help and hurt women in STEM, Settles and colleagues (2006) found that discrimination and harassment were still issues. Xu (2008) noted that women were more likely to leave STEM academic environments than men because of fewer resources and lack of support. A stunning example of covert discrimination is in the report created by women faculty at MIT in 1999. Data on sex discrimination showed just how bad the problem can be: smaller research spaces, smaller start-up packages and salaries, higher teaching loads, and other burdens for women. MIT has recently issued a follow-up report showing the remarkable gains made in supporting women faculty (2011). Lifestyle choices & family obligations In January 2005, Harvard President Larry Summers galvanized the field of women and science by suggesting that the lack of participation of women was partly due to the fact that women just didn't want to work 80 hours weeks and spend their life in the lab. In the flurry of media attention following this statement, one oft-cited book was in Science by Xie and Shauman (2003). In this heavily researched book, the authors discuss and examine various factors that are purported to hinder women. They dismiss several (research productivity, marriage, deficient backgrounds, among others) but show that career paths are affected by choices: constrained or not. …

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