Women in Science: Fight or Flight?

[dt_fancy_image type=”” style=”1″ lightbox=”true” align=”left” padding=”10″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″ margin_right=”10″ margin_left=”10″ width=”450″ animation=”none” media=”” image_alt=”ASCB Photo” hd_image=”” image=”https://www.ascb.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/women-in-science-wordcloud.png”][/dt_fancy_image]For decades the question of whether women are well represented in various fields has been debated. However, in recent times the contribution of women to higher tiers of intensely competitive and male dominated careers such as science, engineering, technology, and mathematics (STEM) has been of grave concern. Women are now beginning to obtain more Master’s and PhD degrees than before in science (~44%), however, in non-science subjects women actually predominate in higher education degrees (~60%). Unfortunately more than half of these women may opt to leave their careers in their mid- to late-thirties leaving a further chasm between genders in later career stages. In academia, there are fewer female than male full professors and this can make it more difficult for the field to be conducive to continued female contribution. Various studies have shown that women earn more degrees in fields like social sciences, anthropology, and education whereas men usually earn degrees in engineering and mathematical and derived sciences. Just 50 years ago college-educated women would most often become teachers, nurses, or take clerical positions, until they married and were sometimes forced to resign. An important question we have to ask ourselves is: Why, in spite of an increase in women earning degrees in male dominated fields, do so few women persevere to pave the way for the rest?

 

There is a “slow erosion” of women in the STEM pipeline at every level, most noticeably at later stages of their careers. The reasons for the exodus are manifold. First, scientific fields usually require long, grueling workdays and often weekends too. For women with children or who are planning for them, 50-70 hour work weeks are not just unacceptable, they are nearly impossible. This puts women at a distinct disadvantage to married men who still put in the long hours required for success in science (Don’t raise those eyebrows men, while there are exceptions, in a majority of households, women end up with the brunt of the housework). This reduces time and energy available for a high-demand career like that of a tenure-track academic professor. Second, the already male-dominated fields can be a hostile and a difficult environment for women to work in. So despite the fact that women in these fields have superior academic achievements and other accolades, this oft goes to waste as many women choose to leave the field entirely.

 

Biology happens to be a popular choice among women pursuing higher education degrees. However, if we cannot maintain a healthy ratio of women to men at higher levels, awarding such degrees will not produce the parity that is hoped for. Some of it can be attributed to reduced scientific funding as well as the average age of obtaining a first independent grant having increased dramatically. But this again leads to a vicious cycle where decreased representation makes it harder for women to secure grant funding. It also results in a drain in the experience, training, and monetary investments that go into shaping a PhD. This reduces the competency of the field and leaves it lacking in expertise and female leadership. (Complete analysis of female brain drain can be found in the report “The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering, and Technology.”)

 

So here are a few questions for us to ask and answer soon. How do we reverse this female brain drain? How do we persuade women to follow their “fight” rather than their “flight” instinct when faced with a mid-career crisis? More importantly has the field of science become one that primarily excludes the possibility of work-life balance for both men and women? If that is the case, is there a solution to this seemingly insurmountable problem? In the coming months we plan to interview scientists both young and seasoned and hope to obtain some insights into the future of women in biology and STEM in general.