THE WOMAN SCIENTIST. Meeting the Challenges for a Successful Career

Transcription

1 THE WOMAN SCIENTIST Meeting the Challenges for a Successful Career

2 THE WOMAN SCIENTIST Meeting the Challenges for a Successful Career Clarice M. Yentsch and Carl J. Sindermann Springer Science+ Business Media, LLC

3 Llb~a~y of Cong~ess Cataloglng-In-Publlcatlon Data Yentsch, Clarice M. The woman SClentist : meeting tne cnalienges for a successf~l caeser / Clarice M. Ventsch and Carl J. Sindermann. p. cm. Includes bibliographlcal refeeences and index. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Women scientlsts--vocational guidance. 2. Women scientists. I. Sindermann, Car' J. II. Title V '5--dc CIP ISBN Clarice M. Yentsch and Carl J. Sindermann Originally published by Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York in 1992 SoftcoveJ: reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1992 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher

4 To Arlene, Mary, Neeta, Esther, Peggy and Roberta, who have been caregivers to my children, and whose faithful hours and efforts have permitted me to reap the joys of science. -CMY To all the women of science past and present, who have struggled, persevered, and achieved, despite resistance and even hostility from a highly conservative system. -CIS

5 CONTENTS PROLOGUE 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: STATUS OF WOMEN SCIENTISTS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 11 CHAPTER 2 CAREER GOALS OF WOMEN SCIENTISTS 23 Institutional recognition: positions and salaries of women scientists 27 Professional recognition: prizes, awards, and society offices for the woman scientist 33 The enigma of gender differences in scientific productivity 34 Suggested actions 39 Summary 44 CHAPTER 3 EARLY EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF WOMEN SCIENTISTS 47 Early education 48 Suggested actions 60 Summary 62 vii

6 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER 4 A TIME LINE APPROACH TO WOMEN'S LIFE-STYLES AS CAREER SCIENTISTS 67 Taking women seriously 68 The future? 79 Suggested actions 81 Summary 83 CHAPTER 5 EMPLOYMENT, UNDEREMPLOYMENT, AND UNEMPLOYMENT 85 Relative numbers of women in science workplaces 86 Part-time scientists 92 Kinds of underemployment 100 Unemplo jment 104 Suggested actions 107 Summary 108 CHAPTER 6 SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT ROLES: ASSOCIATES, TECHNICIANS, AND ASSISTANTS 111 The research associate 112 The laboratory technician/technologist 116 The research assistant 119 Why so many women? U1 Summary 122 CHAPTER 7 WOMEN SCIENTISTS IN POSITIONS OF POWER AND INFLUENCE 125 Perceptions 126 Women as managers of research groups 127

7 CONTENTS ix Women as science bureaucrats Women in positions of influence Suggested actions 142 Summary CHAPTER 8 WOMEN SCIENTISTS AS MENTORS AND ROLE MODELS 145 Mentors Role models Summary CHAPTER 9 THE MOBILE WOMAN SCIENTIST 161 Itinerant behavior 163 Examples 164 Summary 168 CHAPTER 10 PARTICIPATING IN THE FRATERNITIES, CLUBS, AND SOCIETIES OF SCIENCE 171 Perceptions 172 Realities 173 Present status 176 Suggested actions Summary CHAPTER 11 PERCEPTIONS AND REALITIES 181 Male scientists' perceptions of women in science 184 Female scientists' perceptions of other females in science 187

8 x CONTENTS Male administrators' views of women scientists 191 Female administrators' views of women scientists 195 Female scientists' views of male administrators 197 Graduate students' perceptions of women scientists 198 Public perceptions of women scientists 201 Summary and suggested actions 204 CHAPTER 12 SUBTLE FORMS OF GENDER-BASED DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN SCIENCE 207 Exclusion 209 Condescension Role stereotyping Tokenism 212 Hostility 213 Sexual innuendo Invisibility Body language 217 Backlashing 219 Devaluation 220 Suggested actions Summary CHAPTER 13 ERAS IN THE CAREERS OF WOMEN SCIENTISTS 225 Entry level 226 Junior scientist level: fast forward 229 The mature professional 233

9 CONTENlS xi The woman scientist over fifty 236 Summary 241 CHAPTER 14 CONCLUSIONS AND A FORECAST FOR THE YEAR EPlWGUE 253 APPENDIX A SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING WOMEN CAREER SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, AND ENGINEERS: A SAMPLING 257 APPENDIX B THE WOMAN SCIENTIST QUESTIONNAIRE 261 INDEX 265

10 We must welcome the future remembering that soon it will be the past, and we must respect the past remembering that at one time it was all that was humanly possible. -George Santayana