SCIENCE A N D ENGINEERING PROGitAMS On Target for Women? NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Kahle/ Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/scienceengineeri0000unse C ~ 7 National Research Council NRC Science and engineering 1992 programs: On target for women? SCIENCE AND ~NGINEERING PROGRAMS On Target for Women? Marsha Lakes Matyas and Linda Skidmore Dix, editors Ad hoc Panel on Interventions Committee on Women in Science and Engineering Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1992 CEW LIBRARY 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. This report has been reviewed by persons other than the authors according to procedures approved by a .Report Review Committee consiSling of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in I 963, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, u.nder the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the exa.mination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council bas become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communitie-s. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. This material is based on work supported by the National Academy of Engineering's Technology Agenda to Meet the Competitive Challenge Program. Copyright 1992 by the National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 92-61248 International Standard Boole Number 0-309-04778-1 Additional copies of this report are available from: National Academy Presa 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 S-617 Printed in the United States of America COMMI'ITEE ON WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING MILDRED S. DRESSELHAUS, Institute Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chair ESTHER M. CONWELL, Research Fellow, Xerox Corporation, Vice Chair BETSY ANCKER-JOHNSON, Chair, World Environment Center GEORGE CAMPBELL, JR., President, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering JEWEL PLUMMER COBB, Trustee Professor of Biology, California State University--Los Angeles, and President Emerita, California State U niversity--Fullerton CAROLA EISENBERG, Director of International Programs for Medical Students, Harvard Medical School BRUCE ANDREW FOWLER, Director of the Toxicology Program, University of Maryland Medical School LILLI S. HORNIG, Visiting Research Scholar, Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College PAT HILL HUBBARD, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs, American Electronics Association SHIRLEY A. JACKSON, Professor of Physics, Rutgers University CHARLOTTE V. KUH, Executive Director of the Graduate Records Examination Program, Educational Testing Service *THOMAS E. MALONE, Vice President for Biomedical Research, Association of American Medical Colleges 111 *CORA BAGLEY MARRETT, Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin MARSHA !AKES MATYAS, Director of Women's Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science GIAN-CARLO ROTA, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology GARRISON SPOSITO, Professor of Soil Physical Chemistry, University of California-Berkeley KAREN K UHLENBECK, Professor of Mathematics, University of Texas-Austin Staff Officer: Linda Skidmore Dix Project Assistant/Senior Secretary: Gaelyn Davidson * Member through February 29, 1992. AD HOC PANEL ON INTERVENTIONS MILDRED S. DRESSELHAUS, Institute Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chair ESTHER M. CONWELL, Research Fellow, Xerox Corporation, Vice Chair GEORGE CAMPBELL, JR., President, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering BRUCE ANDREW FOWLER, Director of the Toxicology Program, University of Maryland Medical School MARSHA !AKES MATYAS, Director of Women's Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science GARRISON SPOSITO, Professor of Soil Physical Chemistry, University of California- Berkeley IV OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING PERSONNEL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STUDIES AND ANALYSES LINDA S. WILSON, President, Radcliffe College, Chair JOHN PATRICK CRECINE, President, Georgia Institute of Technology LESTER A. HOEL, Hamilton Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia ERNEST JAW ORSKJ, Distinguished Science Fellow, Monsanto Company DANIEL KLEPPNER, Professor, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ALAN S. RABSON, Director, Division of Cancer Biology and Diagnosis, National Institutes of Health BRUCE SMITH, Senior Staff, Center for Public Policy Education, The Brookings Institution Ex Officio WILLIAM H. MILLER, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of California- Berkeley Executive Director: Alan Fechter Director of Studies and Surveys Unit: Pamela Ebert Flaltau V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE) is a continuing committee within the National Research Council's Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel. The goal of the Committee is to increase the participation of women in science and engineering by convening meetings, conducting research, and dissen1inating data about the status of women in these fields. The Committee's core activities are funded by a consortium of federal and private organizations. For their roles in securing contributions of partial funding for the core activities of the Committee, their sharing with the Committee the concerns of their organizations relevant to the Committee's mandate, and their participation in the Committee's deliberations about topics that it might examine in order to address the underparticipation of women in science and engineering, we are grateful to the following sponsor representatives: Bruce Guile, National Academy of Engineering; Harriet Zuckerman, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Charles R. Bowen, International Business Machines Corporation; Mark Myers, Xerox Corporation; Burton H. Colvin, National Institute for Standards and Technology; Marguerite Hays, Department of Veterans Affairs; Margrete S. Klein, National Science Foundation (NSF); Sherri McGee, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Sheila Rosenthal, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Ruth Ann Verell, U.S. Departn1ent of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Research. ln addition, we acknowledge the input of Richard Stephens, DOE, and Margaret Finarelli and Frank Owens, NASA, during the initial discussions about the roles of the Committee and federal agencies in increasing the participation of won1en in science and engineering. Finally, we recognize the financial support given by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, through the direction of program officer Harry Weiner, specifically for the holding of the Conference on Science and Engineering Programs. The Committee is pleased to include within the various chapters of this report information conveyed by individuals knowledgeable of the issues and strategies for addressing them: Linda S. Wilson, Elizabeth Stage, Marsha Lakes Matyas, Joan Sherry, Garrison Sposito, Esther M. Conwell, Linda Skidmore Dix, and Mildred S. Dresselhaus. These authors relied not only on their own knowledge of the issues, but also on the presentations of several experts who are listed in Appendix B of this report. .. Vil The Committee is indebted to several staff of the National Research Council's Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel. Alan Fechter, executive director, offered valuable advice during the planning of the conference. Pamela Ebert Flattau, director of studies and surveys, helped to structure both the conference agenda and the format of this report. Gaelyn Davidson, project assistant for CWSE, handled conference logistics and all word processing for this report. Assisting with the development of graphics was Valerie Andrewlevich, senior secretary. Throughout this project- from initial planning of the conference through dissemination of this report- activities have been coordinated by the CWSE study director, Linda Skidmore Dix. Finally, we acknowledge the special efforts of three individuals: Marsha Lakes Matyas and Linda Skidmore Dix, who devoted much time editing the manuscripts during the first six months of 1992, and Mildred S. Dresselhaus, CWSE chair whose oversight for this work led her to carry the manuscript halfway around the world. The Committee appreciates their efforts to compile information from a variety of sources that would present an overview of the current knowledge about postsecondary S&E interventions in place on university campuses and in the work setting. - Vlll