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Reprinted from May 28, = 2008, issue of=20 U.S. 1 Newspaper

Women In a Male-Dominated = Science=20 World

by Michele Alperin

A Ceiling Made

of Laboratory Glass

Linley Erin Hall = showed=20 early promise as a perfect candidate for a scientific career. Tracing = her=20 interest in science to biological experiments she did in her Phoenix, = Arizona,=20 junior high school, she remembers, =E2=80=9CI was most fascinated with = biochemistry and=20 little biology =E2=80=94 cells, DNA, and proteins =E2=80=94 rather than = with elephants running=20 across the savanna.=E2=80=9D

Although her earliest love was = writing =E2=80=94 she started=20 her first novel at age 12 =E2=80=94 she remembers her mother suggesting = during high=20 school that she develop a strong sideline to pay her bills until she = finished=20 her best-selling novel. So she signed on for a bachelor=E2=80=99s degree = in chemistry at=20 Harvey Mudd, but soon began to realize that her love of science did not=20 translate to a love of lab work.

Not only did Hall not enjoy the = physical=20 mixing of chemicals, she felt frustrated by the narrow focus of the = laboratory=20 routine. =E2=80=9CI knew a lot about a research project in a tiny area = of chemistry,=E2=80=9D=20 she says, =E2=80=9Cbut I felt all these other interesting things were = going on that I=20 was missing out on because I had to be so = specialized.=E2=80=9D

After graduating=20 in 2001 with her chemistry degree, she got a graduate certificate in = science=20 writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Hall got a big = break early=20 in her career. Brooke Warner, an editor at Seal Press, had read = Hall=E2=80=99s personal=20 essay about hair in the San Francisco Chronicle and really liked her = writing=20 style. She was also intrigued by Hall=E2=80=99s one-sentence bio about = her interest in=20 science and engineering.

Warner contacted Hall and asked whether = she was=20 interested in writing a book about women and science. =E2=80=9CIn some = ways I felt like=20 I had cheated in getting a book deal,=E2=80=9D says Hall, =E2=80=9Cbut I = still had to write the=20 proposal and get it passed by the editorial board.=E2=80=9D With the = help of Warner,=20 Hall started to review existing books about women and science and found = they=20 focused primarily on academe and were written in a scholarly style. She = decided=20 to focus more widely, including women in industry and government = laboratories,=20 and write a book accessible to a more general audience. The result was = =E2=80=9CWho=E2=80=99s=20 Afraid of Marie Curie? The Challenges Facing Women in Science and=20 Technology.=E2=80=9D

Hall will be the keynote speaker for the New = Jersey Council=20 on Gender Parity=E2=80=99s second annual Women in the Science and = Technology Workforce=20 Summit at the Conference Center at Mercer on Friday, May 30, at 8 a.m. = The=20 conference will focus on mentoring practices, workplace climate, K-12 = science=20 education, marketing science as =E2=80=9Ccool,=E2=80=9D and connecting = education with careers.=20 For more information, contact Lisa Weisser at 908-578-9443, or=20 lweisser@rci.rutgers.edu.

Hall=E2=80=99s first exposure to the = difficulties women=20 can face in science was as a summer researcher for one of her professors = at=20 Harvey Mudd. =E2=80=9CShe was a mentor to me and also one of the reasons = why I decided=20 not to continue in science,=E2=80=9D says Hall. She saw the demands = placed on this=20 female assistant professor, who struggled to balance committee work, = teaching,=20 and research and deal with departmental politics as she sought=20 tenure.

Hall also saw close up the pressures that affect all = scientists,=20 like the push to get research results published combined with the = difficulty=20 getting grants from the National Science Foundation or the National = Institutes=20 of Health to fund research. =E2=80=9CYou have to show a certain level of = productivity=20 before getting money to continue,=E2=80=9D says Hall, =E2=80=9Cand = it=E2=80=99s getting harder and=20 harder to get government money because of budget cuts and because more = people=20 are out there doing science.=E2=80=9D

Despite the hard work, = Hall=E2=80=99s mentor was=20 denied tenure. Instead of giving up or moving to industry, she started = another=20 tenure-track position elsewhere, which Hall saw as very = brave.

Perhaps=20 with her former professor in mind, Hall felt it was crucial to bring = into her=20 book the voices and stories of real women. Reaching out to friends and=20 acquaintances, blogs, and relevant listservs, Hall found more women = willing to=20 share their stories than she had time to interview.

Hall found a = number=20 of obstacles that tend to push women away from science-related=20 fields.

Discouraging words. =E2=80=9CThere is still a sense in = our society that=20 science is for boys,=E2=80=9D says Hall, citing a widespread belief in = innate=20 differences between men and women that men are better at math and = science and=20 women at verbal activities like writing and communication. Women, = therefore, are=20 discouraged from pursuing science as early as elementary or junior high = school.=20

Because science and math were for so long male-only realms, the=20 scientific artifacts reflect this =E2=80=9Cmen=E2=80=99s club=E2=80=9D = ethos. Common science units we=20 use were often named after the people who made the discoveries related = to them =E2=80=94=20 primarily men: Mr. Watt. Mr. Joule. Or look at the science texts in = elementary=20 and high schools, where the great preponderance of discoveries were made = by men.=20 Even today women=E2=80=99s work may not find its way into these texts. = =E2=80=9CNow women are=20 making incredible discoveries,=E2=80=9D says Hall, =E2=80=9Cbut they are = often too specialized=20 and complex to be presented to a ninth grader.=E2=80=9D She adds that = some texts do try=20 to include special sections about women in science.

Hall suggests = that=20 young women reading such texts might tend to think: =E2=80=9CWell, there = are not very=20 many women. This must not be the field for me.=E2=80=9D Yet even in = environments that=20 are not very supportive, emphasizes Hall, each particular girl is going = to have=20 a different experience. Consider two girls in the same classroom, both = getting=20 subtle messages from the teacher that boys are more suited to science. = One may=20 have a mother at home who is a physicist and is counteracting these = messages by=20 doing experiments with her daughter and taking her to the science = museum. Others=20 of the girls may simply fall in love with science: =E2=80=9CDespite = getting negative=20 messages from different sources, they say, `This is something I like; = I=E2=80=99m going=20 to do it.=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D

Another issue in K to 12 science = affects both boys and girls.=20 Due in part to budget cuts, science often focuses on memorizing facts = rather=20 than asking a question, designing an experiment to answer it, and = learning=20 through this discovery process.

Women also encounter subtle and=20 not-so-subtle discrimination in college science programs. =E2=80=9CIn = the college years,=20 there are still the attitudes that women shouldn=E2=80=99t be there and = sometimes this=20 translates into actual discrimination,=E2=80=9D says Hall. One common = but subtle form of=20 discrimination comes from male students who form all-male study groups. = Not only=20 are the women not invited to join, but they may not even know the groups = exist.

=E2=80=9CThe idea that men form networks that leave women = out of is a=20 powerful one that continues throughout a woman=E2=80=99s = career;=E2=80=9D observes Hall. =E2=80=9CMany=20 men recognize that women are intelligent, strong, powerful, and have a = lot to=20 offer; but there are still men who tend to cluster with other men and = don=E2=80=99t=20 think to actively include women in such ventures.=E2=80=9D

Once = women make it to=20 graduate school, they have more battles to fight. Graduate = school=E2=80=99s focus is=20 research under a faculty mentor, and a fair number of faculty advisors = prefer=20 men to women. =E2=80=9CSome are plain sexist and expect a man do better = work,=E2=80=9D says=20 Hall. =E2=80=9CSome are afraid that a woman will marry and have = children, which will=20 affect her productivity.=E2=80=9D

Networking. Because the = relationship between=20 advisor and advisee is crucial both in graduate school and postgraduate = career;=20 a poor relationship may make it harder not only for a female student to = get a=20 degree but also to find a good postdoctoral fellowship. =E2=80=9CThe = advisor may be=20 helping male students to network and introduce them to colleagues at = conferences=20 but they are not doing the same for female students,=E2=80=9D says Hall. = =E2=80=9CIn many cases=20 this is completely unconscious on the part of the advisor or the men who = are=20 involved. They are not sitting down to not include women; they are = simply=20 unconsciously acting on these ingrained ideas about what is appropriate = and=20 what=E2=80=99s not.=E2=80=9D

Women in science must continue to = create their own networks.=20 Successful initiatives are ensuring that women do not feel isolated by = expanding=20 the mentoring available to women in the scientific community and = providing them=20 with a safe space to share their experiences.

Sometimes, says = Hall, women=20 won=E2=80=99t talk about discrimination for fear of jeopardizing their = careers. Yet Hall=20 emphasizes that it is important to break this silence, and women are = starting to=20 do that. Hall observes, =E2=80=9CNow more women are saying, = =E2=80=98This is what happened to=20 me, and it is not right.=E2=80=99 Some are doing it anonymously online = or in such places=20 as my book, and some under their own names. It is important to tell = those=20 stories not only to women but to men as well.=E2=80=9D

Academic = support.=20 Corporations, universities, and other organizations must create and = support=20 policies that help women and also men who struggle to balance family and = career.=20 All scientists are expected to work extremely long hours, and Hall = suggests the=20 policies would be good for men as well as women: the possibility of = working part=20 time, the ability to telecommute, the availability of on-site childcare, = and=20 possible extensions to tenure clocks. But, notes Hall, if these policies = are=20 seen as concessions to women and are only used by women, executives and=20 administrators will avoid them as much as possible.

Part of the = problem=20 has to do with how our society defines =E2=80=9Cideal=E2=80=9D workers = =E2=80=94 individuals who are=20 very focused and committed to their work, are completely flexible, and = are able=20 to work long hours. =E2=80=9CThey can go to Tokyo tomorrow if their boss = wants them to,=E2=80=9D=20 says Hall. =E2=80=9CGenerally these have been men who have stay-at-home = wives that=20 enable their men to be focused on their employers,=E2=80=9D says Hall. = But what happens=20 when two ideal workers live in the same household? Someone else is = raising their=20 kids, says Hall.

But things are beginning to change. = =E2=80=9CToday it is not=20 just mothers but also fathers who are not interested in working 80 hours = per=20 week and not seeing junior,=E2=80=9D Hall says. =E2=80=9CIf we see more = men who want to have=20 shorter hours, paternity leave, and more time with family, then these = policies=20 will be more accepted and employers will see them as something = important.=E2=80=9D Yet=20 even when companies have family-friendly policies on the books, women = are often=20 afraid to use them. Hall cites a University of Maryland study based on=20 interviews with women who work in different chemical companies. When = asked about=20 using family-friendly policies, women said that in some cases managers = refused=20 to let them use the ones on the books. They might, for example, say they = need a=20 full-time, not a part-time, worker. Bottom line, says Hall: = =E2=80=9CWomen are afraid=20 that by asking they would be seen as less useful workers and eventually = have=20 their jobs jeopardized by it.=E2=80=9D

She continues, =E2=80=9CIt = is very important for=20 teachers to become aware of what their biases may be so that they are = sending=20 the right messages and are telling their female students that they can = succeed=20 in math and science,=E2=80=9D says Hall. If not they may be subtly = discouraging their=20 female students without intending to. Hall adds that it is important for = kids to=20 have hands-on experience doing experiments where the outcome is not = obvious.=20

=E2=80=9CI remember that many of the lab experiments that I did = growing up were=20 cookbook style,=E2=80=9D says Hall. =E2=80=9CI knew what I was going to = get at the end =E2=80=94 that=E2=80=99s=20 not discovery, that is following directions.=E2=80=9D

Hall grew = up with=20 non-scientist parents, although her mother has worked for years in = business=20 operations and human relations at the school of engineering at Arizona = State=20 University. Early on she was around people who were very interested in = science=20 and engineering. Once Hall got her science writing certificate, she = joined her=20 mother in the school of engineering as a science writer, but a year = later=20 decided to go freelance.

Although Hall believes that as more = women get=20 into the field we are likely to see women succeeding, she has chosen not = to go=20 into research. =E2=80=9CScience writing presented an opportunity to use = the science=20 training I had and get back into writing and be much more of a = generalist in=20 science,=E2=80=9D she says. =E2=80=9CI can learn about the different = discoveries people are=20 making and talk to them about their work and not to be in the lab = worrying about=20 splashing chemicals on myself.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=94 Michele = Alperin

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