Women & STEM by National Women's History Museum

Women in Education Forum February 2015

Women Making History – DC May 11, 2015

Women Making History – LA September 2015

For more information please contact: info@nwhm.org or 703.461.1920

CONTENTS MUSEUM HAPPENINGS....................................PAGE 3 A NIGHT TO REMEMBER...................................PAGE 5

One area that has provided tremendous opportunities for extending the reach of our messages and in doing so, has helped us engage new audiences and advocates this year, is social media. In fact, as of this writing, NWHM ranks in the top 3 museums in the country for overall social media engagement, and with more than 180,000 “Friends,” we’re in the top 10 on Facebook. That’s pretty amazing for a museum that doesn’t have a building... yet. Analysis of engagement during November revealed that our Facebook posts (62 that month) generated an average of 11,117 Likes and 2,528 Shares – testament that our online audience not only enjoys the content, but enjoys it enough to share it with their own networks. My profound thanks to NWHM’s small, but mighty, social media team (led by Marjahn Golban) of Emily McAfee, Sydnee Winston and a host of brilliant interns. Clearly, we’ve tapped into an interest the public didn’t know it had! Most recently, we’ve launched a blog on the Huffington Post—another excellent platform for extending the reach of our messages and advancing our mission. (I say “we” because, even though it carries my name, this is a team effort. Our public relations firm has educated us on the mechanics of maximizing this opportunity and our Communications Director Susan Murphy makes it sing.) The inaugural post, Making the Case for a National Women’s History Museum went live on November 23rd and within hours had been shared widely on social media by readers supporting our efforts to build the Museum. You can follow the blog at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-wages. We welcome your thoughts on future topics– what would YOU like us to address? I hope you will enjoy this issue’s feature about women in STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics). Many thanks to AAUW and its archivist, Suzanne Gould for contributing the feature article, and to research scientist turned science communications specialist, Catherine Fontana, for providing an overview of the state of women in STEM today. Last, but by no means least, I must acknowledge and thank my incredible team at NWHM – (in addition to those named above) Kate Clinton, Angie Garrison, Liz Maurer, Joan Moser, Becky Schergens, Pat Szarek, and Lora Lynn Jones for their unyielding dedication to advancing our noble mission. We couldn’t have accomplished all we did this year without them and I am tremendously grateful for all they do.

SNAPSHOT.........................................................PAGE 15

In accepting the Rachel Carson Living Legacy Award at this year’s de Pizan Honors, Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell remarked —“This MUST happen!” (a reference to building the museum.) She went on to poignantly describe how her middle school teacher “Mrs. Black” influenced the way she saw the world and inspired her to pursue the path she chose to take in life. Many of us have been inspired by our own “Mrs. Black.” With your continued help and support, we will honor the many women who, like Mrs. Black, have inspired us and made our nation great.

2014 AT A GLANCE...........................................PAGE 17

Wishing you, your friends and family a happy holiday season.

WOMEN & STEM...............................................PAGE 7 A WIN FOR ALL WOMEN..................................PAGE 11 BIOGRAPHIES....................................................PAGE 13

As another year draws to a close, it’s natural to reflect on the progress we’ve made in 2014. (We’ve summarized much of our activity in an infographic that appears on page 17 of this issue.) As you would imagine, educating the public about why women’s history matters and why we need a national women’s history museum is an ongoing priority.

WE HEAR YOU...................................................PAGE 18

NWHM Launches 2nd Season of Initiating Change /Adapting to Change Discussion Series NWHM kicked off the second season of its discussion series Initiating Change / Adapting to Change (presented in partnership with The George Washington University) on October 22nd with a riveting program entitled New Beginnings: Immigrant Women and the American Experience. Moderated by award-winning anchor of News4 Midday at NBC4 Washington, Barbara Harrison,

As part of her introduction, Ms. Lufkin shared a poignant story about her great aunt, Jane Briggs Hart,

the panel included Dr. Donna Gabaccia (University of Toronto,

who was one of the thirteen women selected by NASA in the late 1950s to participate in Project Mercury.

Scarborough scholar of international migration), and Diane

The project tested womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to pass space flight program requirements. Thirteen women passed

Portnoy, founder of The Immigrant Learning Center (Malden,

the test, but NASA ended the program in 1961 and never allowed them to travel to space.

MA). The panelists discussed historical challenges for immigrant women in America including barriers to immigration and discrimination, and also highlighted the unique and valuable

Both programs can be viewed on NWHMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ nwhmwomenshistory/playlists

role that immigrant women have played in preserving their traditions, and serving as a bridge between their traditional culture and American culture. The series continued on Nov. 20 with Breaking In: Women in STEM, Then & Now. STEM stands for science, technology,

From left: y, Diane Portno son, ri ar H Barbara accia ab G na on D Dr.

engineering and mathematics. Moderated by Daily Beast editor, Eleanor Clift, the panel consisted of Regina MorantzSanchez, historian and professor at the University of Michigan, and National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) Chief Executive Officer, Mimi Lufkin. This fascinating discussion touched on both the historical and current challenges faced by women in (or interested in breaking into) STEM careers.

From left: R egina Mora ntz-Sanchez Eleanor Cli , ft, Mimi Lu fkin, Joan W ages

NWHM presented the 2014 Living Legacy Awards at the 4th annual NWHM de Pizan Honors on November 17, 2014 at the Mead Center for American Theatre, home of Arena Stage, in Washington, DC. Chaired by the Honorable Senators Susan Collins and Barbara Mikulski, and Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Marsha Blackburn, Candice Miller, and Eleanor Holmes Norton, it was truly a night to remember. This year, we were delighted to honor the accomplishments and contributions of three women who blazed the trail for this year’s worthy honorees. Retired NASA Mathematician, Katherine Johnson received the Maria Mitchell Living Legacy Award, named for our first female astronomer and the first woman to discover a comet. Goldieblox Founder & CEO, Debbie Sterling received the Louise Fitzhugh Living Legacy Award, named for the award-winning

author of Harriet the Spy, the classic children’s book notable for its portrayal of a young protagonist who represented a departure from the traditional view of femininity in the early 1960’s. Environmental preservationist and Secretary of the Interior, The Honorable Sally Jewell was presented with the Rachel Carson Living Legacy Award. Like Mitchell, Fitzhugh and Carson before them, Katherine Johnson, Debbie Sterling and Sally Jewell have risen to the top of their fields and in doing so helped to reverse long-held and erroneous societal beliefs that an individual’s gender should dictate career choice. Further, having achieved success in overwhelmingly male professions, each of our honorees serves as a role model and inspiration to young girls everywhere.

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Attendance at this year’s event was fantastic and the enthusiasm for our mission was palpable throughout

Continued on page 12

Feature Article

Women & STEM Uncovering the Invisible Role Models

of Strasbourg, but found they would not grant a degree to a woman. She then moved to the University of Heidelberg where she was held in inferior status by a ruthless male professor who would not allow her to attend lectures or labs, forcing her to rely on notes taken by two male lab assistants..

Despite having made tremendous gains in the last century, women still encounter significant obstacles when pursuing careers in STEM fields. In addition to deeply rooted gender bias, women often cite the lack of role models as a major barrier for advancement. Our efforts at uncovering the history of women in science can provide us with many examples worthy of emulation by women today.

Every possible obstacle was thrown in her way, but she refused to quit and managed to fulfill the requirements for the doctoral degree, which was granted in 1896, the first that the university granted to a woman.

One such example is Ellen Swallow Richards, born on December 3, 1842, in Dunstable, Massachusetts. Between tutoring and housecleaning jobs, she saved the $300 she needed for tuition and enrolled at Vassar College in 1868, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in just two years—becoming the first American woman to be awarded a degree in chemistry. Wanting to continue her studies beyond college, she applied to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to the online Vassar Encyclopedia, “Her entrance to MIT was not easy; many institutions turned her down on the basis of her sex, and MIT declined all women applicants except for Richards, accepting her as a special student to ascertain women’s ability in the sciences.” Not one to be discouraged, Richards completed the requirements for a master’s degree, but MIT refused to grant it to her, so Vassar awarded it instead. She then completed all of the requirements for her doctorate, but MIT wouldn’t award that degree either. Despite this, Richards stayed connected with the Institute and, with the help of the Women’s Educational Association of Boston established its Woman’s Laboratory in 1876. It was at this lab that women were taught chemistry, biology, and mineralogy. While Richards worked there without pay, it was through the Woman’s Laboratory that she fulfilled her dream of encouraging other women to study science and she provided an entry point for their training. Richards’ work to advance other women’s opportunities did not end there. In 1881, along with Marion Talbot, a recent graduate of Boston University, she established the Association of Collegiate Alumnae (ACA) which would later become AAUW. The ACA was founded to advance opportunities for women in higher education and the professional world and to conduct research on women and education.

1847 Maria Mitchell becomes first American to discover a comet

1849 Elizabeth Blackwell becomes first woman to receive medical degree

1866 Lucy Hobbs Taylor becomes first licensed female dentist

1919 Alice Hamilton becomes first female faculty member at Harvard Medical School

1925 Dr. Florence Sabin becomes first woman elected to membership of National Academy of Sciences

Courtesy of AAUW Archives, Washington, DC

Physiologist Ida Henrietta Hyde’s (1857-1945) greatest contribution was not her own scientific research, but rather her efforts on behalf of other women. She faced a litany of obstacles throughout her life, yet none of them stopped her. At a young age, she became the primary breadwinner for her family, worked as a milliner’s apprentice and paid for her own and her brother’s education. Hyde graduated from Cornell University in just three years. Few disputed her brilliance and everyone praised her hard work – both of which were evident when she graduated from Cornell University in just three years. Hyde received the European Fellowship from the Association of Collegiate Alumnae in 1893, but like Ellen Swallow Richards, was told there was no “precedent” for a woman to pursue graduate work in science. Using the funds from the fellowship, she looked abroad to European universities which at the time were more welcoming of women. She studied physiology and zoology at the University

1934 Gladys Hobby becomes member of a Columbia Medical School research team to find human uses for penicillin

1940 Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu receives Ph.D. in physics from UC Berkeley. Disproves Law of Conservation of Parity, enabling two male colleagues to win the Nobel Prize

Impressed by her tenacity, Anton Dohrn invited her to conduct research at his marine biological lab in Italy, the Naples Zoological Station, which at the time, was the largest and most important marine lab of its kind in the world. Hyde was the first American woman to work at the lab when she arrived in 1896. While in awe of her experience, she was determined to ensure that

Actress, Hedy Lamarr in Algiers (Circa 1938)

1941 Hedy Lamarr co-invents antijamming device for radio-controlled torpedoes. The technology serves as foundation for modern communications

1941 Dr. Helen Taussig develops surgical procedure to correct “blue baby” syndrome; considered beginning of pediatric cardiology

1943 Euphemia Hayes becomes first African-American to earn Ph.D. in mathematics (Catholic University of America)

Mount Holyoke College, Brown pursued a career in chemistry. She received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1920 and later a doctorate from the University of Chicago. Upon completing her doctorate, Brown accepted a job in the division of laboratories and research in the New York State Department of Health. In 1948, she began collaborating with Elizabeth Lee Hazen on research that would lead to the development of the first antifungal antibiotic.

Courtesy of A AU Archiv es, WashingtonW , D C”

other American women would have the same opportunity that she did. Returning to the United States in 1989, she gathered a group of women educators and philanthropists to establish the Naples Table Association for Promoting Research by Women, a scholarship fund for women to study in Naples. The initial prize of $500 was oversubscribed and quickly raised to $1,000, then doubled shortly thereafter. The Naples Table award was the longest living scholarship for women in science when it ceased 1924 and is credited with kick-starting the careers of many female scientists.

Brown and Hazen’s work started rather simply — with mason jars and the U.S. mail. They put soil samples in the jars and mailed them to each other for lab analysis. A sample from a Virginia farm led to the development of Nystatin -- the first antifungal antibiotic, named after the New York State Department of Health, in 1950. Nystatin went beyond eliminating annoying fungal infections such as athlete’s foot and ringworm by curing potentially major fungal infections of the skin and body. It continues to be used today to treat deadly fungal infections associated with chemotherapy, AIDS, and organ transplants.

Chemist Rachel Fuller Brown (1898-1980) developed a lifesaving drug and also found time to be a mentor to other women. Born in 1898 in Springfield, Massachusetts, she attended Mount Holyoke College. Her tuition was paid for by Henrietta Dexter, a friend of Brown’s grandmother, who was impressed by Brown’s hard work and dedication.

1952 Dr. Virginia Apgar designs and introduces Apgar Score to evaluate health of newborns

1959

1962

Rear Admiral Grace Hopper co-develops 1st computer language— COBOL

Dr. Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ published

Inspirational stories such as these are not confined to academic science. Similar examples can be found in the fields of technology, engineering and math. During World War II, women mathematicians were recruited to work as ‘computers’ calculating ballistics and weapons trajectories. The experiences of these “Top Secret Rosies” were kept hidden and have only recently begun to be shared with the public. Some of the same women later worked on the first programmable computer, the ENIAC. In 1941, Actress Hedy Lamarr, along with her friend, George Anthiel, developed a sophisticated communication system designed to keep radio signals hopping to prevent enemy detection of radio controlled torpedoes. The system is the basis of our wireless communications today. Lamarr’s contributions also went largely unrecognized during her life time. During the 1950’s, Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper led the team that developed the first computer language known as COBOL or Common Business-Oriented Language. And did you ever wonder where the term “computer bug” came from? Hopper coined the term after a moth accidentally flew into her computer, stuck to the inside, and caused the computer to stop working. When she removed the moth, she said the computer was “debugged,” and the term has been used ever since. In 1907, near the end of her life, Ellen Swallow Richards commented on the “rapidly increasing numbers” of women pursuing studies and careers in science. Of the future, she asked, “To whom shall we look more confidently for leadership in constructive work, for social and national betterment, than to the professionally and technically trained women now coming onto the stage?” No doubt Ellen would be pleased with the progress women have made, but challenges for women in STEM still exist today! While many studies point to a lack of role models as one of the reasons girls don’t pursue science, technology, engineering or math, clearly there have been many. However, because their stories are largely omitted from history books, their legacies have become invisible. If we, as a nation, are going to succeed in encouraging more women to enter STEM fields, it is critically important that we preserve and share the inspirational stories of the women cited above and throughout this issue. By Suzanne Gould, Archivist & Records Manager, American Association of University Women

Grace Murray Hopper at the UNIVAC keyboard, c. 1960. Photo Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution

At the urging and encouragement of Emma P. Carr, then chair of the chemistry department at

A patent was granted on June 25, 1957 and when it expired the two women received $13.4 million in royalties, which they donated to the nonprofit Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement. Half of the funds went to general purposes; the other half established the Brown-Hazen Fund to provide scholarships and funding to students and researchers in the life sciences. Brown even repaid Henrietta Dexter, the woman who had funded her college education.

1965 Dr. Helen Taussig becomes first female president of American Heart Association

1975 Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu becomes first female president of the American Physical Society

This content is intended to serve as a primer on the topic and not a comprehensive history. While we would welcome the opportunity to include every woman who made history in the topic discussed, we are limited by page count.

1983 Barbara McClintock receives Noble Prize for “discovery of mobile genetic elements” (Photo Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

1983 Sally Ride becomes first American woman in space

1992 Mae Jemison becomes first African-American woman in space

2006 Frances Elizabeth Allen becomes first female to win the Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery

A WIN FOR ALL from page 5

It is with great joy that we announce the passage of our legislation calling for the creation of a privately funded, bipartisan congressional commission to study and produce a plan for a national women’s history museum in the nation’s capital. The bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) now heads to the White House where it awaits President Obama’s signature. Approval of our legislation marks a giant step forward in our efforts to build a national women’s history museum in Washington, D.C. and we are forever grateful to you, our Charter Members, for your continued support. You can be sure we’ll have news about the White House signing and establishment of the Commission in the next issue of A Different Point of View!

the Duke Ellington School’s Mellow Tones, NWHM President & CEO Joan Wages, took the stage to welcome our guests and to thank our Platinum Sponsors—Morgan Stanley, Mari Johnson, Marcia MacArthur, Glamour Magazine, and Comcast—and all of the evening’s sponsors for their support. She also thanked the dedicated co-chairs of our host committee—Jon Bouker and Stu Van Scoyoc and their committee members, who worked so very hard to organize and support the evening. Ms. Wages went on to speak about the status of our legislation and to highlight the museum’s accomplishments during the last year. Each of the Living Legacy Awards was introduced by a member of the NWHM Board of Directors—Acting Chair and Vice Chair, Gretchen Green; Treasurer, Susan Danish; and Secretary, Ann Stone. Following the presentation of the awards and poignant remarks of our honorees, Ms. Wages returned to discuss the critical need for a national women’s history museum and encouraged attendees to share our messages with their personal and professional networks. You can view highlights or the entire event by visiting our You Tube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/ playlist?list=PLXaqdQe8eghigtL0hvg_dlBRARwn_Wtca. NOTE: In an effort to unify NWHM’s brand messaging, it has been determined that moving forward, the annual Washington, D.C. gala will be renamed to align with our LA event – Women Making History and held in May to coincide with both Mother’s Day and the move of the Portrait Monument from the Crypt of the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda—the birth of NWHM. Women Making History—Washington, D.C. will be held on May 11, 2015 at the Mead Center for American Theatre, home of Arena Stage. Stay tuned for details.

NWHM Staff strike poses for the de Pizan Photo booth

Biographies

for space shots which determined the timing for launches. She calculated the trajectories for a number of missions including Alan Shephard’s Mercury mission and the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Later in her career, she worked on the Space Shuttle program, the Earth Resources Satellite, and on plans for a mission to Mars. Over the course of her 33 years at NASA, Johnson co-authored 26 scientific papers and received numerous honors, including two Langley Research Center Special Achievement Awards, the National Technical Association’s Mathematician of the Year, and three honorary doctorates.

Katherine G. Johnson (1918-Present )

Katherine G. Johnson was a true pioneer of the American space program. A NASA mathematician, Johnson’s computations influenced every major space mission from Mercury, the first American space mission, through the Shuttle. Born in 1918 in West Virginia, Johnson was a talented student who entered college at the young age of 15. At West Virginia State University, one of her professors, W.W. Schiefflin Clayor, the third African American to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, recognized Johnson’s exceptional abilities and encouraged her to take advanced math courses. Johnson took that advice and went on to earn bachelor of science degrees in mathematics and French. Three years later in 1939, she became one of the first black students in West Virginia University’s graduate program in mathematics. In 1953, Johnson was contracted to work as a research mathematician at the Langley Research Center (LRC) with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that preceded NASA. She initially worked in a pool of women performing math calculations until after only two weeks, she was “temporarily” assigned to help the all-male flight research team. The assignment became permanent. Johnson specialized in calculating the trajectories

Maria Mitchell (1818-1889)

Maria Mitchell was America’s first professional female astronomer and the first American to discover a comet. She was also a librarian, naturalist and educator. Mitchell was an avid learner and received her education through local schools and her father’s tutoring. Her father had a tremendous influence on Mitchell’s education and she developed her love of astronomy from his instruction on surveying and navigation. On October 1, 1847, at the age of 29, she discovered a comet through a mere two-inch telescope, illustrating her true skill as an astronomer. Subsequently, she was awarded a gold medal by the King of Denmark and thrust into the international spotlight.

Mitchell was the first woman elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Philosophical Society, and in 1865 was the first person hired to the faculty at Vassar College. Mitchell remained at Vassar until her retirement in 1888. In 1902, friends of Mitchell’s founded the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association to promote her legacy and the exploration, education and enjoyment of Nantucket’s land, waters and skies. The association recognizes the historic persona of Mitchell and her potential impact on contemporary thought by passing on her legacy of intellectual curiosity, respect for and love of nature, learning by doing, and the ideal of individualism.

process to enrich uranium ore that produced large quantities of uranium as fuel for the bomb. She remained at Columbia following the war and in 1957, she and her colleagues Dr. Tsung-Dao Lee and Dr. Chen Ning Yang overthrew a law of symmetry in physics called the principle of conservation of parity. Dr. Wu observed that there is a preferred direction of emission, which disproved what was then a widely accepted “law” of nature. Her discovery about the law of parity was not recorded, while both Lee and Yang won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Mitchell was elected to the Hall of Fame of Great Americans at New York University upon its opening in 1905, and in 1994, she was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu (1912-1997)

During the 20th century the “First Lady of Physics,” Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, made important contributions in the area of radioactivity and received many honors, awards, and honorary degrees for her accomplishments. Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu was born on May 31, 1912 in Liu Ho, China. In 1922, Wu went to boarding school in Suzhou and graduated at the top of her class in 1930. She graduated from the prestigious National Central University of Nanking in 1936, and after graduation she traveled to the United States to pursue graduate studies. She enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley where she studied physics and received her Ph.D. in 1940. Two years later, she married Luke Yuan, a Chinese physicist and former classmate from U.C. Berkeley. During World War II, Dr. Wu was asked to join the Manhattan Project (the Army’s secret project to develop the atomic bomb) at Columbia University. She helped develop a

Though she did not receive the Nobel Prize, Wu received many other honors and awards. She was named full professor at Columbia in 1958 and authored the book Beta Decay in 1965. She was appointed the first Pupin Professor of Physics in 1973, and was the first woman elected to the American Physical Society. Wu continued to teach at Columbia University and conduct nuclear research until her retirement in 1981. After her retirement, she lectured widely and encouraged the participation of young women in scientific careers. She died on February 16, 1997 in New York.

By: *Catherine Fontana, Editorial Account Supervisor, BioScience Communications Women have made extraordinary contributions to science and engineering (S &E) over the last century. As women earned their places at the lab bench, the S & E playing field began to gradually level, resulting in the greater representation of gender, race, ethnicity, and disability observed today. Although more inclusive, significant challenges to achieving gender equality in S & E still exist. Over the last decade, approximately 16% of all undergraduate degrees were awarded to women in S & E, with women receiving about 50% of all undergraduate S & E degrees, regardless of race or ethnicity. In 2012, women earned 41.1% of all S & E PhD degrees, an increase from 38.4% in 2002.

Despite women’s valuable contributions to scientific discourse, gender bias continues to permeate the academic environment, becoming an ultimate navigator of a woman’s trajectory in S & E. A recent randomized, double-blind study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrated that these cultural biases influence even the most factual, evidence-based thinkers. In this study, male and female faculty from research universities across the United States were asked to evaluate a randomly assigned resume of either a male (“John”) or female (“Jennifer”) undergraduate student interested in becoming a lab manager after graduating. The resume qualifications were identical, except for the name “John” or “Jennifer” to indicate the gender of the applicant. Despite “Jennifer” being an identical candidate, “John” was considered to be significantly more competent and hirable by both male and female faculty. Furthermore, the faculty awarded a significantly greater starting salary and more mentorship opportunities to “John” than “Jennifer.” Even more surprising, a sisterhood does not seem to be forming among junior and senior female scientists; female faculty surveyed in this study consistently rated “Jennifer” lower compared to assessments by male faculty. As this data demonstrates, the reshaping of the S & E landscape has ignited research on the status and advancement of women in these fields. There is broad recognition now that women have been and will continue to be 50% of S & E brainpower necessary for great scientific discovery. Continued community building, mentoring, and advocacy to promote gender equality within S & E will enable, inspire, and retain some of our nation’s best scientists and engineers.

Women continue to receive the majority of undergraduate degrees and PhDs in the S & E fields of psychology, anthropology, and sociology. However, within lab- and mathbased sciences, the only fields in which women receive both more undergraduate degrees and PhDs than men are the biological sciences. Traditionally male-dominated fields, such as physics and computer science, produced approximately one female PhD for every five males awarded a doctorate in 2012. Similarly, engineering has the lowest percentage of female PhD graduates: 14.5%, 15.2%, and 17.1% in aerospace, mechanical, and electrical engineering, respectively. However, these numbers are not surprising, as only 19% of engineering undergraduates in 2012 were women. Fuller representation of women within S & E has not resulted in equal pay for female scientists. According to data collected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), females in S & E occupations earn approximately $0.83 for every $1.00 their male counterparts are paid. Over her lifetime, a female scientist or engineer can make anywhere from 14% to 20% less than her male colleagues. The greatest pay gap ($0.80/$1.00) occurs between the ages of 40 and 49, which could be a direct result of women’s decisions to have children between ages 30 and 39. In academia, this pay differential may also be influenced by women serving as assistant professors for a significantly longer period of time compared to men.

*Catherine Fontana is an Editorial-Account Supervisor for BioScience Communications, a medical communications firm in New York City. She holds a M.Sc. in Environmental Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Editorial Staff Editor: Susan Murphy, NWHM Director of Communications Assistant Editor: Sydnee Winston, NWHM Project Coordinator Art Director: Brandon Scott, Envision Marketing

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