San Diego

Women staff at the California Institute of Technology are highly dissatisfied with academic conditions there, according to an internal study that has also found they are paid less than men at the prestigious university.

The investigation finds that women are unhappy with the economic support for their positions, their lack of involvement in faculty leadership, and the method by which they are promoted and receive tenure.

Anneila Sargent says Caltech's women staff are unhappy. Credit: RICK KOZAK

"The study shows a lot of dissatisfaction among women," says astronomer Anneila Sargent, chair of the faculty committee that conducted the two-year study. The committee is now preparing recommendations for Caltech administrators about the issues it raises.

Among the 283 academic staff at Caltech during the period studied, only 27 were women. But over one-third of undergraduates and one-quarter of graduate students there are women.

The study found that 54% of women were dissatisfied or had reservations about their career advancement, compared with 27% of men. Almost two-thirds of the women were dissatisfied or had reservations about faculty committee participation, while less than a quarter of men had reservations and none were dissatisfied.

David Baltimore, the institute's president, says: "Caltech is trying very hard to bring women into parity with men in the academic world. We are very conscious and sensitized to the issues, and will try to address whatever imbalances there are."

Sargent's committee is likely to recommend changes in how women are promoted and given tenure, and in the openness of academic affairs. "When a process is not transparent, there is always room for a perception of injustice," says Sargent.

The study also found that women were paid less than men, although no figures are disclosed in its report. "Clearly, if there are inequities in salaries we will need to take a serious look at that," says Steve Koonin, provost of the institute.