Get the Facts: Female Faculty in Math and Science

Although women have made significant gains in representation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classrooms, their growth in STEM faculties has been much slower.  However, it is unlikely that discrimination is the primary cause of the discrepancy between the number of men and women in STEM faculties.  Thus, government intervention that attempts to artificially increase the number of women in STEM departments may only serve to erode the quality of teaching and research in universities-as they could be encouraged to hire based on sex, not merit.

Representation of Women in University Professorships:

• In 2003 one in four full-time professors at four-year colleges were women, compared to less than one in ten in 1972.
  
• Since 1988, the percent of women entering faculties has grown across disciplines.  For example, from 1988 to 2003 the percentage of women in humanities faculties grew from 37% to 52% and from 22% to 31% in natural sciences.  Engineering and computer science have seen the fastest rates of growth.
  
• However, across disciplines women account for larger proportions of associate and assistant professors rather than full professorships, and the percent of female students far outweighs the percent of female faculty.

Causes for Low Female Representation on STEM Faculties:

• Role of tenure and family pressures: 
  
  • Professors seeking tenure have a limited amount of time to prove they deserve the appointment through producing important research, being published, and teaching. 
    
  • Because the rigorous tenure process usually coincides with the years women are most likely to give birth and raise children, the perceived (and real) conflict between achieving tenure and family life contributes to the underrepresentation of women in professorships.  For example, women in graduate school cite the challenge of balancing career and family as one reason for a dwindling interest in pursuing careers in academia.
    
• Interests:
  
  • Many studies, including personality-inventory tests, reveal that women's interests may be a root cause of their underrepresentation in academia.   For example, the University of California found that it hired women in proportion to the percentage of women in their applicant pool.  However, the number of women in the applicant pool was always much lower than the number of women receiving Ph.D.'s.
    
• Discrimination:
  
  • Where overt or subtle discrimination occurs in STEM faculties, institutions should stop that discrimination and work to create a positive environment for all.  However, it is crucial to note that different participation rates among men and women in STEM faculties are not themselves evidence of discrimination.  For example, even at prestigious all-women's universities where sex-discrimination is unlikely, women are often minorities on STEM faculties.
    
  • A recent study found that 91% of the discrepancy between men's and women's faculty salaries is due to differences in experience, work patterns, seniority, and education levels.  Some argue these differences are themselves discrimination.  However, they are likely in part due to women's greater interest in working with people than men's.

All information taken from Excellence, Not Gender Parity, Should be Priority for STEM Faculty, a publication by the Independent Women's Forum, available at iwf.org