Women Scientists Explore More Ways to Smash Through the 'Glass Ceiling'

Abstract

RALLIED BY WOMEN who have made it to the top, several hundred physicians and scientists—mostly women— gathered in Bethesda, Md, to discuss how to overcome obstacles to women's full participation in the biomedical sciences. New hard data on the reality of the so-called "glass ceiling" that keeps women from achieving their potential (<i>JAMA</i>. 1990;264:1813-1817 and 1854-1855) came surprisingly from pediatrics, the medical specialty that has attracted the most women physicians for the longest time. Only six of the 126 pediatric departments in the United States are chaired by women, says Jane Schaller, MD, chair of pediatrics for the New England Medical Center Hospitals, Boston, Mass. A survey by the Association of Academic Pediatric Department Chairmen revealed that two thirds of men in academic pediatrics but only one third of women are associate professors or above, and that women make on average $11000 less than men. Child rearing was cited most