Tracing Young Women's Career Aspirations from Junior High School into College

Abstract

We have heard the claim that the United States needs more scientists, mathematicians, and engineers to compete in world markets (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983; National Science Board (NSB), 1993, 1998, 2004; National Science Foundation (NSF), 1994, 2001; Task Force on Education for Economic Growth, 1983). The intensity of such claims increased with the realization that the majority of the workforce would be women and minorities, who traditionally have not pursued such careers (Bae & Smith, 1996; Johnson & Packer, 1987; NSB, 1998; Oakes, 1990; Stumpf & Stanley, 1996). The NSB (1998) predicted a 44% increase in science and engineering (S&E) occupations from 1996 to 2006. However, women constituted 22% of the S&E work force in 1995 and 25% in 1999 (NSB, 1998, 2004). The largest percentages of women were in the biological sciences (40%) and mathematics/computer science (33%), with much lower percentages in physical science (22% to 23%) and engineering (9% to 10%) (NSB, 1998, 2004).