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Laura Hoopes' Women in Science thoughts will be moving to Voices in Scientific American blog network soon.
Hope Jahren's Lab Girl is a new biography about the making of a woman scientist. If you read it, what did you think?
Ruth Hubbard passed away, the first woman tenured in Harvard biology. She had turned her research towards feminism of science. Do you know her work?
The Women in Science Forum has reached the end of the road and will end September 15 for all new material. The blog will continue to be posted on the internet in case you need to refer to material posted earlier. Farewell!
A new game called DNA Ahead will enable learning and creativity based on DNA discovery and experiments.
NIH Women in Science Newsletter for August highlighted new research suggesting some choices people make can have unexpectedly strong effects on success of women.
A new graphic nonfiction presentation of the role of a woman in the moon landing is making waves. Do you like the approach?
Last year, one woman was selected to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, but no women in Chemistry.
Theresa Sullivan Barger highlights the role of cooperative atmosphere and positive reinforcement in retention of women engineers. Does this fit with your own observations?
Evelyn Witkin, along with Stephen Elledge, won the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for 2015 for the SOS response to DNA damage.
Have unmarried women overcome the gender gap in STEM pay?
Again this year, the percentage of women among the incoming members of NAS was just below 30%.
Annita Sawyer describes her new memoir of becoming a woman scientist.
We need to follow Sally Ride's advice and make more women-in-science role models available for girls today.
Women are 29% of the new group of members of the National Academy of Sciences.
Connecticut and California have recently chosen women in science to be honored.
Equal pay for equal work is still elusive for women, but why?
Would the right balance of men and women in small group work overcome the factors leading women to quit engineering majors?
Double Jeopardy research report shows gender bias in STEM that varies with the ethnicity of the woman.
AAUW is releasing a new report on women in engineering and computer science.
Nancy Hopkins takes a look at what works in institutional change to improve success of STEM women.
Are Ceci and WIlliams right that academic science isn't sexist?
Informal contacts made at scientific meetings can be very helpful to some women, depending on their fields.
Do people avoid asking STEM women questions about science?
What challenges do scientific couples face today?
What do you know about science cheerleaders?
Should STEM women look more compassionate in order to achieve their greatest success?
Why this Duke graduate student is concerned about women's STEM persistence? Many good reasons.
How can conservation planners learn to listen to women?
Do male STEM superstars favor young men in choosing graduate students and postdoctoral fellows?
Transgendered scientists offer a unique chance to see how American science feels to a woman versus a man, with all the other variables held constant. Ben Barres sees a big influence of unconscious biases in holding women back.
How important is it for men to speak up for inviting more women to give important lectures?
What strategies work best for women teaching STEM students?
Maryam Mirzhani is the first woman to receive a Fields Medal in Mathematics.
The new members of the National Academy of Sciences for 2014: good and bad news.
How prevalent is sabotage in the lab, and does it focus on women?
It's time to fix unequal pay for women, now!
Are postdoc benefits quite variable where you work?
Can women stop putting down Sheryl Sandberg to get noticed?
Girls Coming to Tech! Reviewed
Would you have accepted an award for your discovery regardless of legal threats?
Could adjuncts be treated more fairly?
Was Nazareth College right to withdraw a job offer when the candidate in philosophy tried to negotiate a better deal?
How well do art works featuring women help with recruiting women to STEM?
What five science books would you choose if asked to name them in five minutes?
Does Sandberg demand too much of women in Leaning In?
Did Janet Rowley inspire you?
How can inappropriate comments to women scientists be stopped?
Are people leaving science for lack of funds due to the sequester, or for gender inequity in salaries, or both?
Monica Riley was one of a few women whose contributions to the genome sequencing projects in the US wer widely recognized.
Is it more admirable to choose science from a very early age rather than find it later?
Should Scientific American have removed a blog post recounting sexist name-calling from The Urban Scientist's blog?
How complete and accurate was the recent New York Times magazine article on why women don't go into science?
Are women getting a fair shake in selection of science Nobel laureates?
There is some good news from DC: strong women scientists are being selected to help run the place!
Should Caltech be inviting more women to speak to their biology division?
Why do women turn down invitations to speak at meetings more often than men?
Refresh your knowledge of the rights of working women with Sonia Pressman Fuentes, who worked to make many of these regulations a reality!
How can a city suddenly lose most of its women leaders? Ask Los Angeles.
A member of the Lacks family will sit on the committee to consider use of the HeLa genome data.
Did you know Maria Mitchell once had equal pay issues as a Vassar professor?
Does gender bias in perception of scientific quality tilt the playing field with respect to collaboration opportunities for women in STEM fields?
Can Congress re-start the process of opening up STEM fields to women?
Student mothers work a lot of hours and really need flexibility in course scheduling according to a new survey; do you agree?
Are you confused by the decisions landed down by SCOTUS last week? Do they seem to add up to a consistent position to you?
Warrior says work-life balance is all wrong; what we need is integration.
Work-life balance has financial and morale implications that are worth noticing.
Can a family-oriented man face discrimination?
Motherhood is still dangerous to your employment success.
A response to a letter over 50 years old brings up poignant issues for women with children.
Do you watch your Micromessages to your students and coworkers? It might make all the difference.
Can women 'Lean In" and collaborate for success, or are those who drive to the top too competitive to work together?
Do you know why Bell Burnet, Lederberg, Wu, Meitner, Franklin, and Stevens should be among the most famous women scientists?
Do women reject STEM careers because they have too many other choices?
Some videos made by SFSU show women of color in STEM fields answering students' questions. Use these or make your own to encourage young women!
Should women in STEM receive equal pay with men for equal work?
Do women commit scientific fraud less often than men?
How do women's and men's salaries compare in your own field?
Should universities monitor salary equity and make across the board raises for women when needed to achieve fairness?
Yvonne Brill's obituary caused a fire-storm of protest about its sexism. Should the author have left out her beef stroganoff recipe and family life?
Does it diminish scientific luster to have a woman in science described along with details of her family life or showing her as nurturing or as a role model?
How can the glacial pace of STEM workforce diversification be accelerated?
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook promises to be a game-changer. What do you think of it?
How much work-life flexibility do we really need?
Should STEM women cut off contact on pregnancy/childbirth leave?
Is the Smithsonian Women in Science resource helpful or detrimental?
Women aren't there yet, in STEM achievement, according to Shen in Nature.
Was your grandmother in STEM fields?
Will the NSF programs to supplement grants of women on parental leave give them a level playing field?
Do you notice a trend for men to be pushed into longer hours and women into part time jobs without benefits?
What do today's students think helps them learn?
Do women with children get unfair pay and evaluation for management?
Does field-specific publication deficit for women ring true for you?
Sylvia Earle, oceanographer par excellence, speaks for saving our own futures by saving the ocean.
MSNBC features women in STEM for two hours Saturday, February 9.
Should the US be ashamed of the performance of our girls on international tests?
Were enough women selected for National Medals of Science?
Have you heard about the life of Rita Levi-Montalcini?
Should STEM majors get a discount on college tuition?
Do you have work-work conflicts in your experience?
At Neuroscience, at least one male professor was wandering around making negative judgements of female pulchritude. How does this strike you?
What is in a good CV?
Do the companies you support with your business put women on their boards?
Is mentoring a crying need for NIH to address as an aspect of diversity?
What would help women return to STEM positions after childbirth and child care?
As Lisa Jackson steps down from directing the EPA, Laura asks, how much did you know about her?
Yale's Women's Faculty Forum has rescued the first women to be graduated from Yale's graduate school from the dustheap of history and shone a spotlight on their achievements. Do you know about other women who need to be spotlighted?
Here's an exciting new video on lives of diverse science educators.
Which do you prefer, biography or memoir about scientists?
Medical faculty members, especially women, feel oppressed by the system in which they work. Do you find that surprising?
Did you know three major defense contractors have new or incoming women CEOs?
Enjoy Janet Bandows Koster's thoughts on Half the Sky.
Do you know these organizations that encourage girls to consider STEM careers in the US and worldwide?
To honor Ada Lovelace, tell us about some of your role models or mentors early in your life or career.
No new women Nobel laureates in science this year. Is that a bad sign?
Have you read and enjoyed the blog of Female Science Professor?
Have you checked yourself for unconscious bias with an online test?
Upcoming radio appearance and interview in Microbe magazine re Laura and Spiral Ceiling.
Did your life take a new turn when the Russians fired off Sputnik in 1957, on this very day of the year?
What works in your personal science outreach activities?
What do you think women in science need most right now?
Do you have ideas for combatting and overcoming imposter syndrome?
Surprise: unconscious bias against women in science is still alive and well according to a new study.
No women were selected this year for Lasker or Waterman awards, and Nobel Prizes are pending. What do you think, is this shaping up to be a bad year for women in science?
Mae Jemison flew on the retiring shuttle Endeavor for the first space flight by an African American woman astronaut. How much did you know about her?
Do you know older women in science who are staying around to inspire and work with the younger generations?
Have you ever felt so excited about what you were revealing that you didn't want to go home?
What message did Helen Gurley Brown have for the woman scientist?
Check out Tobias and Baffert's prescription for improving our ability in US to recruit and keep STEM teachers in high schools.
Abella sees the image of STEM professionals as a big problem in recruiting more women. How did that affect you when you were considering career options?
How much do you know about the achievements of Gertrude Elion, Nobel Laureate in 1988?
A new collection of national and international testing results suggest the US has a bigger gap in female vs male achievement in STEM fields than some other countries.
In your experience, does aging affect women's mental abilities more than men's?
Do you know about Mildred Dresselhaus who recently won the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience?
What works in trying to hire women into technology positions?
Why do women decide to leave academia?
Yale has settled its Title IX lawsuit. Will they follow through?
RIP Sally Ride. Do you have special memories of her to share?
Have you heard about Fabiola Gianotti, the woman in charge of the Higgs boson search?
Gender inequity in departments could indicate a difficult future for new women hired, by analogy with countries.
Is motherhood the biggest hurdle for women in science today? What do you think about the responses Science received to this question?
Laura will speak in Malibu, CA on Thursday of this week (July 12) and in Conway AR at Hendrix College on Wednesday of next week (July 18). Then it's back to the writing board for the rest of the summer. What are your plans?
Title IX is forty years old as of June 23. Women's athletics has benefitted greatly, how about STEM?
REACH conference to boost women's ability to get patents and start businesses will occur at Ohio State University Sept 23-25.
Do young girls considering science WANT to be this girl?
Are you surprised that women MDs aren't paid as much?
Rest in peace, Phoebe Leboy. Your contributions towards equity for women in science will long be remembered with gratitude.
Is the Queen Bee Syndrome characteristic of all women who are the First Female to take a particular position?
A role model of a woman scientist can be important to motivating women to choose and stay in the field. How important was it to you? Could a man be a role model for a woman in science?
Stereotype threat is preventing the U.S. from reaching competitive heights in STEM fields, according to the authors of a new book. How serious do you think it is in your experience?
What could help women win more scientific society awards?
A 20-year old college student won a Mayborn Biography award for her essay on Marie-Anne Lavoisier. Had you heard of her work in chemistry?
How hard is it to speak up to make diverse scientists comfortable in the field?
Should women press to have more women elected to NAS, or does it rebound badly onto those who are chosen?
Christine Guthrie, superstar RNA and yeast genetics investigator, shared her struggles in 2006. Do you find it encouraging to hear that even highly regarded women struggled with sexism?
Can the slow erosion of management women in information technology in industry hurt our ability to recruit more women into CS and information technology?
What issues should women consider if offered a promotion or a new position?
Have you read Sue Rosser's new book Breaking into the Lab yet?
Have you heard women talk about family in a scientific setting?
A successful program aims to help women transition into academia. If that's your wish, what motivates you?
Maria Klawe and Harvey Mudd College are leading the way in enticing more women into computer science and engineering.
Are you the "ideal worker" or more tuned in to family-work balance?
Do you know what Emmy Noether is famous for?
Are we progressing towards pay equality at the right speed?
According to the IAP, the US Academy of Sciences has approximately 10% female members. Is this an accurate reflection of women's accomplishments in science in the US?
Do you know about Latinas in Computing?
What motivates you as a scientist?
Back-Up Care programs are being offered at NIH and several universities, to take care of mildly sick kids or to cover care when other sites have vacations or sick care-givers. Do you have such a system at your site?
Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences had a great meeting March 30-31 at Cedar Crest College. Do you have ideas for effective and stimulating local meetings?
Which policy changes to support women who bear children would help most in your view?
Could journal impact factors cloud the issue of publication impact instead of making it clearer? Could this hurt the chances of tenure for women?
Women in assistant professor rank in mathematics have problems keeping/staying in faculty positions compared to men, but in other fields things are not statistically significantly different for men and women. Is the lack of significance an artifact of numbers of women professors in engineering?
Federal agencies and universities offer a hodge podge of childbirth policies affecting postdocs. Have you or people you know had problems with this issue?
Do you have one or more favorite science writers?
What other encouraging science gifts for girls, besides Cool Biology Activities for Girls, have you heard about?
Have you heard of Andrea Ghez?
Do you know more classic women in science than the 10 listed by Smithsonian recently?
Happy International Women's Day! Celebrate with a good video and what else?
Do you have a conference or talk for Women in Science?
Which do you feel is harder on you, outright negative comments or a long-term lack of warmth and support?
Do you find it inspiring to read the #IAmScience life stories?
Please visit one of Laura's talks in March if one is near you and introduce yourself!
Do women succeed best as leaders when the business they lead has a service aspect?
Do salary differences between men and women show women are nearly equal now in pay in life sciences?
Was there a book that stimulated your interest in science, as astronaut Dr. Janice Voss's was?
Can the Labor Department's challenge for writing apps help get rid of the gender gap in pay?
How does a male blogger evaluate the evidence on women's math aptitude?
Can you stand up for better science education where you live?
Suzanne O'Neill balances family and a career including genomics, psychology, and cancer patient treatment choices. Do you know other young women in science who have achieved a good family/career balance?
Come out and meet Laura in Toronto or Allentown, PA when she speaks in March.
The White House honored 12 mentors for diversity in science in December. Do you know these names?
Are women progressing in academic medicine fast enough?
If low grades and long study hours deter science majors, can we justify modifying our methods or would they dilute learning too much?
Single-gendered education based on supposedly scientific brain differences between the sexes is based on shaky science. So why do women's colleges produce more STEM women?
Did you realize being born female can be a death sentence in South Asia?
Mary Ellen Avery, MD, discovered that missing surfactant in the lungs caused deaths of many prenatally born babies. Were you aware of her role?
The EDGE program mentors women in mathematics graduate schools. Do you know of other programs similar to it?
Do you think Lego's girl-named figures are helpful or work against girl scientists?
In considering women leaders in science you've known, do you find they lead as "agentic" or "collaborative" leaders? Do "agentic" women run into bad reactions in your experience?
Have you heard about the shooting of women engineers in Montreal in 1989? What kind of observance would you be moved to participate in?
Ms celebrates Marie Sklodowska-Curie's two Nobel prizes 100 years ago by noting there are still too few women in science. Is there a cultural barrier to women's success in STEM fields, you can try to push back this year at your location?
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, gave a new interview to CBS about recruiting women to tech jobs. How do you think recruiting women to CS is going these days?
What do women aspiring to a career in aerospace need?
Have you found that students think a proper science student should be rule-oriented and always know the answers?
Many thanks for a year of stimulating discussion.
People tend to view women in "masculine" fields as either competent or likable but not both.
Many people, even those who espouse gender equity in the sciences, unconsciously associate "science" with "male".
A new study debunks the supposedly consistent higher variability of math scores for all males, undermining one of Larry Summers' excuses for low numbers of full professor women in physical sciences and math at Harvard.
Christianne Corbet will post her last week, focusing on the last chapter of Why So Few?, Dec 17-23. Be sure to let her know how helpful her postings have been.
Smithsonian Magazine's list of brain myths pokes fun at those who think women's brains are less good for math and science than men's brains. Have you heard this myth lately?
L'Oreal UNESCO awardees were just announced. How many of them did you know about before?
Did you or a girl you know ever want a science kit that someone said was "just for boys?"
How hard it is for women in subjects like engineering to feel professionally competent?
Work-family balance may be particularly challenging for female STEM faculty.
Mentoring appears to help address the feelings of isolation and marginalization that women in academic settings often report.
Having a "sense of fit" in one's department is important for faculty success, and female STEM faculty are less likely to say they fit in well in their departments than are their male colleagues.
Women STEM faculty are less likely to feel a good sense of fit within their departments.
At Harvard, as Julie Barzilay explains, women in science reach out to support each other.
Lynn Margulis has passed away. Had you heard of her?
At the top of the business hierarchy, networking skills and pay favor men over women. Do we have a similar phenomenon in science?
Do women choose life sciences because they are "soft?"
Can women overcome the negative images of STEM women that others have projected onto them over the years?
Memoir as Gift or Freebie to Teachers
How has this year been for women in STEM fields?
Are women making slow, steady progress in STEM fields?
Women won two of the eleven Medals of Science and of Technology this year. One is a molecular biologist and one is a rocket scientist. Did you know about these women?
Do you follow issues like the California lawsuit by women against WalMart?
Did you know about Grace Hopper's role in developing early computer programming methods?
What web sites do you read to keep up with women-in-science issues?
Departmental culture sets "successful" physics programs apart from "typical" physics programs
The culture of college and university science and engineering departments can make a difference in recruiting and retaining women.
Are comparative salary averages made available to all professors at your institution?
Do you have questions about academic administration? Ask Laura and help her get ready to give a big talk to 600 people next month.
If funds were not limiting, what would be best to do to help women in science today?
Academic women in Europe succeed best if they are from countries with the highest equality of men and women throughout society. Is that what you would have predicted?
Have you ever been asked a question about women in science that you pondered over for years, after not answering it when it first appeared?
Mara Jeffries offers tips on salary negotiation in AWIS Magazine. What has been your experience with negotiating?
What woman inspired you when you were moving toward a science career? Celebrate Ada Lovelace day with some memories and celebrations.
Find out more about Susan Forsburg, a Fellow of AWIS and a national leader for women in science.
NSF has introduced several new family friendly policies. Which one do you expect to have the most impact?
Women engineering students with poorly developed spatial skills are more likely to stay in engineering if they take a spatial skills training course.
Even though women are less likely than men to have well-developed spatial skills, anyone can learn these skills.
One of the most persistent gender gaps in cognitive skills is found in the area of spatial skills. But research shows that these skills can be relatively easily learned.
What's the best way to deal with sexism in classes, to ignore it or to complain?
A new article by Anna Holmes gives us reason to be concerned but somewhat optimistic about women in Computer Science. Do you agree that about a third of the Computer Scientists need to be female to improve the atmosphere?
What do you think about the increase in research in community colleges?
Do chair height and color scheme work against success for women in science?
How do Harold Shapiro, Joseph Gall, and other highly successful mentors of women achieve their alchemy? What is it that they do to inoculate their women associates for success?
Is Marie Curie a good influence or a bad influence on young women in science? Read about this book review of Des Jardins' The Marie Curie Complex.
How many presidents of Ivy League universities today are female?
Belief structures about male superiority in math and science may deter capable women from pursuing science and engineering careers.
Research suggests that women believe they must achieve at very high levels in math and science to consider a science or engineering career.
When told that men excel at a task, women assess their abilities lower than men do, regardless of actual achievement
How do you feel about Scientific Barbie behavior?
What can we learn from Marcia McNutt about leadership for women in science? Is it really insulting for people to introduce her as the first female head of the USGS?
Do you agree that women seeking love tend to reject science?
Could the Sisterhood of Science be the missing link in the process of attracting and keeping females in science? Kate Sleeth argues that its eminently worth a try.
Free copies of memoir to teachers interested in using the book in their classes to address sexism, family/career balance, and dealing with bias.
Bernadine Healy, the first female head of NIH, has passed away. Can you trace any health issues you have today to pre-Women's Health Initiative treatments?
Laura will speak at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on August 11 and at Cedars Sinai LA on Sept 22.
Women in science experience better pay equity than most other women. Could enticing more women into science solve the gender gap in pay?
Read about postdoc Kate Sleeth's experiences with two very different women mentors and tell us what you think: are most women mentors in science good or bad?
Both women and men in science decide to leave the field due to constraints on family life. What do you think about this finding?
Next week, Kate Sleeth will give us the thoughts of a woman postdoctoral fellow on mentoring. Let Laura know in your comments of others you'd like to hear from (can be categories or specific people).
How important is it for women scientists to give presentations such as TED lectures to the general public?
Being well-rounded doesn't bode well for girls in science, but taking calculus does.
How do stereotypes affect self-assessments?
If girls don't believe they have the ability to become a scientist or engineer, they will choose to be something else.
Fewer girls than boys say they are interested in science or engineering careers. The work of Shelley Correll, a sociologist at Stanford University, sheds light on why this might be.
A new generation of girls are winning science fairs. Will the science establishment be ready to welcome them with open arms?
Have you seen application of Title IX to sexual harassment in your institution?
Why are topics in scientific life style discussed so rarely with future scientists?
How important is family in your own life, current or prospective?
Women need to hear how important it is to balance family and careers in science, and be convinced it is possible.
Do you have any good or bad experiences with academic startup support?
Mayo Clinic has pioneeered a middle school science program using zebra fish in real experiments by the kids. How does this compare with middle school science curricula you are familiar with?
Mary Lee Ledbetter's guest posting on being an NSF Program Officer, Part 2.
Mary Lee Ledbetter, Program Officer at NSF, shares her thoughts on aspects of that role. Do you think you might want to become a Program Officer at some point in your career?
Because stereotype threat is triggered by the test-taking environment, it can also be fairly easily lifted by changing the environment.
Let's talk a bit more about the studies that demonstrate stereotype threat
How often do you think cutting edge research is described as being by a woman as opposed to a man in science?
Does the Clayman Institute's response to the controversy over the Girl Power song by Beyonce and its critic seem like a good idea to you? Will thinking girls have power prevent society from achieving actual equality?
What do you think about the Supreme Court's ruling on WalMart's class action suit from its women employees?
Do you find the First Females to do things you've observed are driven to be perfect? If so, why do you think they are like that?
Participate in the international STEM women's conference at the White House today, June, 14.
Do you feel that women in science, like women in politics, have different motivations and behave better?
The US Department of Labor has settled a lawsuit against Astro Zeneca's Pennsylvania plant that was paying women $1700 less than men. Why do you think AstraZeneca paid their 124 female employees less than their male counterparts?
How are the FFs, the First Female holders of a position, different from or similar to later women who hold the same position?
Do you agree with the top women in science about issues of highest concern?
Rosalyn Yalow's remarkable life is highlighted in her NYT obituary. What do you find most inspiring about her life?
Is the public aware that we have decreasing interest in science among high school and college graduates, and that women could help fill in the deficiency?
Get to know a woman scientist featured by EPA and see if you think women are particularly likely to start and sustain collaborations.
Achievement is one thing, but persistence is another.
A growth mindset promotes achievement in STEM
Girls benefit from viewing mathematics ability as a learned skill rather than a gift
A fixed mindset can become a growth mindset
A "growth mindset" benefits girls and women in STEM.
Do you think women are not as apt to discover important findings in science or that the National Academy of Sciences has a process that works against their receiving credit for their discoveries?
How have your parents influenced your career in science? Were they gung-ho and supportive, or did they prefer for you to do something else?
What inspires you in Kareen Wilkinson's story?
An ACS Meeting talk on women in theoretical chemistry emphasizes the need to speak out. If you saw a conference program without any women speakers, would you contact the organizers?
Oceanography has improved its welcome for women, but they don't make it to the highest ranks very easily today. Do you think there's an unconscious 25% "ceiling" on women's inclusion in some fields?
Women disappear from NIH grantee rolls as they advance towards the top of the scientific world, as their ages increase.
Laura's rant on the available biographies and memoirs of women in science.
Breaking Through the Spiral Ceiling released today, Monday May 2, 2011, on Amazon.com.
In high paying specialties, women are scarce, and in all specialties of medicine, women receive lower pay. Is this fair and reasonable or a problem?
Upcoming events re Laura Hoopes' new memoir, Breaking Through the Spiral Ceiling, being released on Amazon.com Monday, May 2.
From early ages, fewer girls than boys express interest in pursuing science or engineering.
Women are more likely to leave the STEM workforce than men.
Many young women who appear to be in the science and engineering pipeline in high school turn away from STEM when they enter college.
Should men in power question whether pregnancy and motherhood will erode women's commitment to work?
Can you participate in a Facebook conference on women in technology today, Weds, April 20?
How is the NIH as a granting agency for women? Have you and your women friends had good experiences with it?
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, suggests three ways women could progress to top positions with more success. Do you agree?
Did you read the Ceci and Williams paper and feel surprised at all the media hype?
Do you use discount words in your emails?
Should men and women with similar training and similar daily activities be declared comparable in work and be paid the same salary?
Here is a URL where you can view a video of Laura Hoopes' talk and reading at Scripps College.
Nancy Hopkins highlights successes and caveats, reveals shocking events in her own life, in her Keynote at MIT Symposium. Did you ever experience something that could have been sexual harassment in the laboratory?
Why don't women obtain patents at the same rate as men? Guest Forum from Sue V. Rosser examines this issue.
Let's talk about pay equity in science and engineering.
Sue V. Rosser will be the Forum Guest on Monday, Apr 4. She will post about a gender gap in patenting.
Differences in girls' math achievement cross-culturally and over time support the role of sociocultural factors in explaining any remaining gender gaps in math performance.
Do women's math skills hold them back from pursuing STEM careers?
Here's an example of an interesting event hosted by a local AWIS chapter in the LA area. What do you know about AWIS?
Do you find that women's contributions at your location are undervalued?
Get informed about leakage or rupture of breast implants, a procedure that is often recommended by doctors for post-breast-cancer patients. How much do you know about breast implant safety issues?
Go to hear Rebecca Skloot on HeLa and Henrietta Lacks, and tell your friends and students!
Cathy Middlecamp asks important questions. Who is still missing? From where? What is still missing in science education? From where? What do you see and feel about these questions?
How important is it that men move into traditionally female occupations?
What surprises do you find int the new report on the status of women from the US Commission on Women?
Learn how a Pakistani woman looks at women in science issues.
How much do you know about access of women in countries other than US and UK to science and technology careers?
Today is the 100th International Women's Day! Find out what other people around the globe are doing to celebrate women.
Laura Hoopes is talking near Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 8. Come if you can!
Who can you discover as a new hero of science by following Smithsonian this month?
How is science for women outside the US? What do we take for granted that others are struggling to achieve?
Learn more about AWIS from national president, Joan Herbers.
Coming soon: posting about AWIS by President Joan Herbers.
Looking back based on an upcoming conference for young women in STEM fields--what did we learn and when did we learn it?
When and how do women slip away from their dreams of being scientists? Mary Ann Mason has a clue.
Mary Ann Mason, professor and co-director of the Center, Economics & Family Security at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, will guest post on the Forum on Monday.
This is a question that comes up pretty regularly. Here is one answer.
Women are not underrepresented in all STEM fields (such as biology) or all math-intensive fields (such as accounting), so how should we refer to the science and engineering fields where women are underrepresented?
There are a few differences between male and female human brains, including the average size (men's are larger). Is it OK to know this?
Hi, everyone! I'm very happy to be joining the Women in Science forum, representing the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
How prevalent and pernicious is neurosexism in our society?
Find out about women who did top secret computing during World War II.
Janet Rossant, premier cancer researcher who made major breakthroughs in our understanding of cancer, was interviewed in NYT.
Is child care the most important deterrent to the rise of women into full professor status? Take the poll, and comment.
Laura L Mays Hoopes will be speaking about her forthcoming book, "Breaking Through the Spiral Ceiling" which describes her science career path and the obstacles she faced forging it.
Is Wikipedia's gender imbalance really worth our concern?
Do you sense a divide between how men and how women communicate that can explain the dearth of women Wikipedia authors?
Why don't women post on Wikipedia or write OpEd articles or blogs under their own names?
Is it okay to have students vote on the grade for someone who had given birth?
Why do so few women die, according to the New York Times obituaries?
In serving as a role model and/or mentor, how much contact or exposure does the mentee need to get benefit from the encounter?
University of Pennsylvania is the correct academic affiliation of Phoebe Leboy.
Have you had good experiences with being mentored?
Leboy asks, "How does the tendency of postdocs and graduate students to equate 'male with science' impact the long term success of women in science and allied fields?"
On Friday, Jan 21, Phoebe Leboy from AWIS will post her guest Forum here.
Is it fair to say women are asked to do too much service? Or do they need to do it for their well-being?
How many times a day do you apologize? Try our new poll feature.
What action should be taken in response to the new Sloan Foundation pipeline report re women in science?
It's time to suggest some new ideas so Laura can invite new guests to address them.
Do you use "discount phrases" before your scientific comments? Listen to Isis on these insidious little phrases.
Without child care, the first American woman to receive a Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine would not have been able to conduct her work.
Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn recommended, back in 2002, that science should adapt to women, not women to science. Do we still need this prescription?
National Medal of Science awards to women are scarce, and in 2010 a very important woman in science, Esther Conwell, received one. Is it important to stop and recognize her achievement?
Can it be healthy to emphasize work over family rather than try to balance them?
Share one or more of your favorite influential books of 2010.
Is women's difficulty managing money another myth? If they get more confident, is that a good sign for women in science and math?
Is it a problem that scientists are largely Democrats? Should women in science worry about this issue?
Research in physics teaching shows strong gender effects. What take home lessons does it have?
US Army competition for junior high students, share with girls you know!
Do women in physics have it easier at small colleges?
Does it matter that the voice of science is usually male?
Have you tried our new features? Ideas for things that you wish we did or had?
The women in physics have a plan to help more of them persist and succeed. How well do you think it will work?
Would you expect women scientists to make the list of the most powerful 25 women of the century?
Would you know what to recommend about making your institution more immune to negative stereotypes?
Check out the resources provided by The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), a not-for-profit educational and service organization that empowers women to succeed and advance in the field of engineering, and to be recognized for their life-changing contributions as engineers and leaders.
What can women scientists, engineers, mathematicians learn from women CEOs? How about effective negotiation?
Does it matter for everyone when women sue their university for fairer salaries?
Who should count as a woman scientist, Jenny Gordon asks?
Who inspired you? It's a good time to thank your role models and mentors.
Could the right body language help women in leadership positions succeed?
Jennifer Gordon, AAAS Science Policy Intern in DC, gives us the low down on working in science policy.
Is it worthwhile to aspire to be a Good Guy of science? If you think you try to be one, what exactly do you mean by the term?
Arizona State University is the source for CareerWise, apologies for the misattribution.
Jenny Gordon. AAAS Intern in Science Policy, will post here Friday.
Are women still "sweet" and men "bright" in recommendation letters you've seen?
Join the online "Town Hall" on November 17 and make women in science a larger force in the national planning for science and math.
Why do advisors seek to divert women who consider going directly into industry after the PhD?
Why are women's colleges especially productive of women in science and math?
Good ideas for exciting students' interests by using The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Please vote today. Women's issues are on the ballot in almost every state, in the form of candidates' positions and in California, in the form of ballot propositions.
Coming Friday: Guest forum from Irene Evans on teaching about HeLa cells from Rebecca Skoot's new book.
What kind of training do you need to become an NSF Program Officer? What do they do? How do they think about our issues? Do any work to increase the participation of women in science?
Susan Forsburg reminds us that science is run like a tournament, with many losers and few winners. Could we use a more functional model for how science is rewarded?
The first guest Forum of the series for Oct/Nov will be Susan Forsburg on Friday.
How have statistics helped or hurt women in science, in your own experience?
How can we address the "don't care" attitude of the male Information Technology power structure?
Will sexists attack women more broadly by retaliating against their partners? See this chilling story about a woman engineer in Kentucky.
Can we learn from the success of women in computer science in Malasia?
Can the National Science Foundation sell the acronym "STEM" to the general publlic? Or is it misleading to the point of being counter-productive?
Can studying science make women immortal??
Guest bloggers coming, let us know topics of interest!
Cordelia Fine makes an ironic companion for those who want to read about the current studies of gender and the brain, full of sarcastic humor and witty counter examples.
One of the hardest family/career balance situations is handling a sick child. What strategies work for today's scientific women who find themselves in this situation?
A woman in computer engineering was recently awarded a MacArthur 'genius' grant. What can her experiences tell us about women's place in STEM fields today?
Can the habit of focus fight against women's fairness issues in science?
Are there women in science who are now or are candidates to become CEOs of biotech firms? Or are women in science kept in a different management track than the CEO-directed track?
Are postdocs visible at your place? This is their week nationally, so I'd like to hear your ideas on how they are doing.
Epigenetics, in addition to sex hormones, control gender-differences in brain function between men and women. Should we be concerned with this finding?
Some of the STEM fields are the last holdouts as women pass men in receiving the most PhD degrees.
Do women have a more collaborative, supportive style of management? What has your experience been?
Where do you find your satisfaction in your career? Is it based on your own research and your group, your department, others at your institution, or interactions with people in your field who are elsewhere? Has it changed over time?
Do STEM women or women in general reject experts and resist others' expertise? Is this part of why they struggle to fit into these fields?
Do today's women in STEM fields feel it's awkward to call themselves feminists or to associate with other women to achieve their goals?
Some recent books highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly in gendered brain differences for humans. How do you feel about research looking for gender differences in brain structure and function?
How about a career at a predominantly undergraduate institution? Listen to find out if you might be interested.
Do your Jenny Craig meeting, 24 Hour Fitness membership, and hair appointment matter just as much as your journal club presentation skills in science? Does this change over time, as the woman matures?
If an intern really messes up her assignment, how far should a compassionate supervisor go to 'save' her?
Is Male Studies a legitimate field? How should women react to its birth?
How have vets made their practice more women-friendly? Can we learn from them?
Women gained the right to vote on Aug 26, 1920. Did you know? How do you feel about learning about women's rights history?
In a NYT article, it's claimed that mothers are punished by the US labor market. However, in a few cases, a solution may have been found, including in Ob/Gyn, optometry, and veternary medicine.
Industry needs to accomodate more dual career couples. Could this lead to men speaking up for what women in science need?
More good information from Sonia Pressman Fuentes on the history of Civil Rights in the USA.
Blogger Isis loves knowing a secret of nature that no one else knows. What's your greatest pleasure in doing science?
How good was your earliest math teacher? It may matter to your career choice later on.
Do young women steer away from choosing science because it doesn't move them towards their deeply held goals?
When Otana Jakpor from Riverside, CA was 13, she convinced herself, her mother, her science teacher, and the California Air Resources Board that ozone from air purifiers could increase asthmatic attacks. What can we learn from her experience?
What, if anything, is the biological basis of gender? Is it all environment or do genes and hormones control our behavior as well as our physiques?
Sonia Pressman Fuentes, expert in Title VII law, explains pregnancy leaves and will answer your questions about these issues. Should all pregnancy/child care leave be paid? Read on to find out!
Letting down her hair in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Female Science Professor points out that gender bias is still alive and well in academic science. Do you feel it too?
Do women, more than men, tend to use their undergrad profs as recommenders on and on in their careers?
Men sometimes exclude women from informal contact to "protect" them from unwanted harassment. Can we explain the difference?
Can quotas or goals help women in science get rid of these glass ceilings?
Can loss of women from Computer Science be reversed?
Is pregnancy leave expendable in a terrible economy?
More data show women fall farther behind in salary as their ranks get higher. Can anything be done to reverse this trend?
Women can become alert and tense when faced with a video showing gender imbalance at a scientific conference. What does this imply about life as a woman in science?
Are you satisfied with too little salary? Many women are, according to Nature's data.
Apology to AWIS: Here is the intended audience for the Congressionally funded workshops on women in science. Can they change minds?
Is there an advantage to being a woman laboratory leader?
As a prospective woman in science biography writer, I'd love to hear your thoughts about reading such biographies.
Could we need men's leadership to get gender equity?
The proposal that examining our personal bias can actually make America more competitive in science may be hard for some to accept.
Our language about gender betrays us.
Why is it so hard to remember women scientists?
What works to get young women excited about science? Is a film about joys, doubts, fears of young women a good type of tool?
Do graduate students and postdocs prefer men as mentors?
Tierney argues in the New York Times, that Larry Summers was right, and that having Congress fund symposia for women in science and engineering is too PC for words. What does he get wrong? Is it possible he gets something right?
More about Sonia Pressman Fuentes, our legal issues consultant.
Sonia Fuentes, lawyer and founding member of NOW, is willing to answer your questions on employment law issues for women and on the history of women's activism in the US.
Why should you want an award? And, if you do, how could you increase your chances of receiving one?
Just imagine what would happen if Harvard or MIT were told it couldn't get any more federal dollars unless it was demonstrably making rapid progress to increase the number of women full professors in STEM fields.
Do women in science decide early on careers? Do they tend to pursue tomboy activities?
Do women hesitate to speak out for science, more than men do?
In baseball, younger siblings take more risks than their older brothers. Does this finding shed any light on why women scientists choose risky problems?
Not surprisingly, the new report from the American Association of University Women on Women in Science is called Why So Few? It advocates teaching about subtle discrimination (e.g. stereotype threat).
Do women and men in science seek different values in a research career? Or do they both vary all over the map?
What can transgendered scientists tell us about how women in science are treated? Do they validate our experiences or challenge them?
I wonder, do any of you know of women who've made major contributions to (or made) important discoveries in science that got attributed to men alone?
Carol Grieder, Nobel laureate in 2009 for telomerase, said in an interview that she was dyslexic as a child and just had to learn to ignore obstacles.
The National Academy of Sciences does not release the percentage of its newly elected or overall members who are women. The Nobel Prize organization does. Why the difference?
Candace pitched to 30 venture capital firms without one coming through. Finally, she raised 1.8 million dollars from "angel investors" including Golden Seeds, venture capital support fund that emphasizes women-led businesses.
Jaime Escalante, and "Stand and Deliver," sent out is the big message that people fulfil your expectations of them. Do you know of cases where this has worked for women in science?
When I was the academic VP at Pomona College, I used to be faced with the two-body problem. I wonderful woman candidate would apply, and she would look impressive to her department, but unless her partner got a position in the LA area, she would not accept an offer.
Kimberly Tanner once founded a co-educational Science Club. What she saw took her breath away.
Do women get interested in different topics in science history/science than men? With her book on the origin of HeLa cells, Rebecca Skloot highlighted issues surrounding how we deal with medical samples and informed consent. Isn't it interesting that these cells have been around for about half a century and it's a woman who finally decided to write about them from this perspective?
About 40 years ago, the women editors at Newsweek pointed to inequalities between female and male editors and made national news. On March 29, 2010, Newsweek ran an article by three female editors entitled, "Are We There Yet?"
Shirky says women are "just bad at behaving like arrogant self-aggrandizing jerks." That's why they don't get the opportunities that their male colleagues get.
I can hear Aretha Franklin singing that song, R-E-S-P-E-C-T in the back of my mind. Do we have respect as women scientists today?
I've heard that Barbie is coming out with a new doll, one in the professions series, with Barbie dressed as a Computer Engineer.
Must you be obsessive-compulsive to become a scientist? Is the overt message of Naturally Obsessed really consistent with its content?
Must you be obsessive-compulsive to become a scientist? Naturally Obsessed, a new film by Richard Rifkind and Carole Rifkind is about how scientists are made.
Why so few awards, do women not do cutting edge research? Or is this just more of that same old issue: the people who nominate awardees look like young white males, so that's the type of person they tend to come up with?
Post under a made-up name!
Do you think Larry Summers’ remarks about women in science did more harm or good?
The bottom line Robin Heyden suggests is that slights to women in science today are multiple and small today, not major slaps in the face.
Women in science have two jobs: scientist for perhaps 60 hours per week, and houseworker for perhaps 20 hours per week.
I heard the term "stereotype threat" thrown around for years before I had a clue what it meant.
Welcome to the kickoff of Nature Education's new forum about women in science, with an education flavor.