CHALLENGES WOMEN SCIENTISTS FACE

Abstract

WHY ARE THERE so few women scientists? asks the back cover of Athena Unbound: The Advance ment of in Science and Technology. It is a persistent question that seems to wax and wane in the public view. We appear to be in a period of heightened concern. For example, earlier this year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology convened a daylong President's Workshop on Gender Equality in Academic Science & Engineering, where officials and faculty from nine top research universities pledged to work to remove barriers facing women faculty (C&EN, Feb. 5, page 8). In May 2000, the Chemical Sciences Roundtable sponsored a workshop at the National Academy of Sciences titled Women in the Chemical Workforce. The themes articulated there expressed a sense of urgency: The next decade is critical for women in academic science. As faculty members hired during the university expansions ofthe 1960s retire, there is an opportunity for ...