Joanne L. Stewart, “Why So Few Women?” Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly 1994, 15(1), 13-16.

WHY SO FEW WOMEN?

Joanne L. Stewart

Associate Professor of Chemistry

Hope College

"Why are there so few women working in the department this summer?" This very legitimate question was posed to me a year ago by one of our women researchers. How could I explain that usually there are a lot of women in the department, and I didn't really know why there were so few this year. How could I explain that we, the faculty, had just "let it happen." What could we do to not let it happen again?

Liberal arts colleges have an excellent record in encouraging women to pursue careers in science. In terms of percentage of bachelor's degrees, liberal arts colleges far outrank research universities in graduating women in science and mathematics.¹ The opportunity to do undergraduate research undoubtedly plays a large role in this; it certainly did for me when I was a student at Kalamazoo College. Many of you, male and female, have done outstanding work mentoring female students and providing opportunities for research. Nonetheless, more women continue to switch out of science majors than men.²

A few simple suggestions can help faculty and administrators encourage women students to persist in science. Though the suggestions almost certainly will help both male and female students, the ideas grow out of examining research on gender differences and listening to women science students at Hope. Let us ask why it is important to provide this encouragement, examine some of the research on why women choose to major or not major in science, and propose some suggestions based upon this research and my own experiences at Hope.

Let me point out immediately that this type of analysis inherently focuses on "normative behavior," and consequently tends to over-generalize. As Mary Beth Ruskai states in an article titled "Why Women are Discouraged From Becoming Scientists"³

One difficulty with the gender-difference theory is that it necessarily emphasizes normative behavior, while ignoring the much greater differences that exist among individuals within a given category, whether that category is defined by gender, ethnic classification or some other parameter.

If you feel my analysis and suggestions don't fit your own experiences, that's not surprising. I am not talking about students who are "just like us." Students who are "just like us" have done well and will continue to do well in a "traditional" science setting. I'm talking about students who opt out of majoring in science because science, as it is presented to them, is not a good "fit."

Why is it important to encourage women to study science?

One reason not to encourage women to study science is the "pipeline" issue, the controversial projected national scientific labor shortage. Maria Comninou, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at University of Michigan stated succinctly in a National Public Radio editorial⁴

There are many good reasons why there should be more women engineers, but before discussing them, I would like to dispose of some bad ones. The "pipeline" reason is an example. (We need to increase the number of women and minorities entering engineering since projected shortages cannot be covered by white males.) Women are not there to mold their aspirations and needs to some limited-range planning of a male authority figure. They are not there to fill the shoes of absentee males, only to find themselves superfluous when the need passes, or the knights in the white armors reappear. Furthermore, if the white knights steer clear of a profession, maybe smart women should do so, too!

Whether the projected shortfall is legitimate or not, women should not be expected to play the role of Rosie the Riveter, only to be told to return to hearth and home when they are no longer needed.

What are good reasons to encourage women to pursue careers in science? The best reason is that science provides many exciting, fulfilling, and challenging career possibilities. One of my colleagues tells his students that he jumps out of bed in the morning and cannot wait to get to work, because he loves his job so much. He says he gets "paid to play." Most scientists do love their jobs (at least most of the time!). Share your enthusiasm for science with your students. Tell them why you chose your career path. Many of us took fairly crooked paths to get where we are, and students find these stories both interesting and reassuring.

Science education is also appropriate preparation for many other careers including law, business, politics, education, and the allied health professions. A solid science background is important in these careers not only because of the increasingly technical nature of many important societal issues, but also because science provides a model for making decisions. Science stresses the importance of exchanging ideas in order to improve our understanding, and scientific research teaches us to test our ideas against the data and to learn from our mistakes.

Why women switch out of science in college.

Many excellent studies document how students choose their majors in college, and why students who are initially interested in science switch to other areas (the so-called "switchers"). According to studies by Hewitt and Seymour,² switchers and non-switchers have similar difficulties in their science studies. They concluded that the

...most important single generalization about switchers and non-switchers is that we did not find them to be two different kinds of people. For instance, most switchers did not have more conceptual difficulties with science and math, or less inclination to work hard, than the non-switchers.

They did find that

...non-switchers were more likely to make effective use of situational resources, to employ a variety of other strategies, and to find ways to tolerate or surmount the same types of difficulty reported by switchers.

The recently published Wellesley report by Rayman and Brett titled "Pathways for Women in the Sciences,"⁵ points out several differences between switchers and non-switchers. For example, switchers had a slightly less positive experience in their college science and math courses. However, the Wellesley report emphasizes that most students did not cite discouragement as an important factor in choosing a non-science major, but instead cited interest in other areas. While discouragement may not be the most important factor for all students who switch out of science, both studies point out the importance of making science classes positive, supportive experiences. The introductory classes, in particular, should be viewed as an opportunity for recruiting majors and not as the place to "weed out" students.

Another result from Hewitt and Seymour's study is that women are more likely than men to have chosen a science, mathematics, or engineering major because of the personal influence of a family, high school, or other mentor, rather than out of intrinsic or professional interest. Most women found it difficult to learn from faculty who took no personal interest in them. This points out the possibility that large classes may have a disproportionately negative effect on women students. Hewitt and Seymour report that

...an affective orientation to education was also reflected in women's descriptions of 'good teaching.' Again the personal qualities of favorite professors, rather than their pedagogical practices, were described. The best professors were seen as approachable, nice, friendly, patient, interested in how you respond, able to present it in a friendly manner, around all the time so you can ask them to explain the material, and won't take your head off. Good teachers were also defined as those who want to get to know you as a person, who treat you nicely, and understand you're a human being who's trying to work at getting good grades, who really care about you and want you to learn.

Most students are not aware of this affective orientation; they just know they find large, impersonal classes to be demoralizing. While the authors of the Wellesley report did not find this impersonality be an important factor in choosing a major, they did discover that students who stayed in science felt more encouraged by high school science teachers and more encouraged by their Wellesley teachers than students who left science.

Hewitt and Seymour's study showed a significant gender difference in loss of self-esteem. Over three-quarters (77.9%) of women switchers cited the discouragement and loss of self-esteem they experienced from low-grades in their freshman and sophomore years as contributing to their decision to leave, compared with 42.9% of the male switchers. The Wellesley report does not find a drop in self-esteem for their own switchers, in fact the Wellesley switchers' self-confidence in general went up. They do report the switchers found themselves less well-prepared than they had thought, and their own sense of their ability in math dropped significantly relative to students who persisted in science.

So, what can we do? Ideas for change.

Specific suggestions or techniques for encouraging your women students to remain in science are rather easy to implement. None require limiting class size to 20 students or restructuring your curriculum. Most can be implemented immediately.

1. Take time to really listen to students. As scientists, many of us have a strong desire to always fix everything. When our students come to us with problems, we promptly analyze the situation and propose a solution. Often such a reaction is exactly the wrong thing. How can we improve our listening abilities?

Answer questions with questions. When a student says, "This class is really hard," a bad answer is, "You think this is hard, wait until you get to organic." A better answer might be, "Yes, and I bet you've been working hard; tell me how you study for the course and who you study with." Or perhaps a student says, "I'm not smart enough to be a scientist." A bad answer is, "Well, not everyone is meant to be a scientist." Better answers might be, "What interested you in science in the first place?" "What things do you find hard about this course compared to other courses?" "Are you studying by yourself...let me help you find a study partner."

Then listen. Listen to their answers, their fears, their dreams. Often students are not looking to have things "fixed" but are just seeking reassurance that they are on the right track, that somebody cares, and that all their hard work is worth it.

2. Provide opportunities for students to talk or write about why they study science and respond to their thoughts. Students are looking for these opportunities. For example, in what was supposed to be a brief summary of one of our chemistry seminars, one of my students included two pages on why she's studying science. She wrote, "I've never considered myself a 'science wiz' but was greatly inspired by a teacher that I had in high school...she really was an energetic and interesting person....I think you're the type of person that would like to hear about people's goals, very similar to Mrs. Faber, my H.S. biology prof."

After a presentation that a colleague and I gave on women in science, another student wrote, "The final part of the seminar that I enjoyed was when the professors talked about their own feelings and asked the opinions of the students. They both seemed to be very excited about their respective fields and excited to share with the students. When I think about Hope College this is the type of situation I always think of, with the educators talking directly to the students asking for their personal views."

3. Tell your students often about your own successes and struggles. Do you like what you're doing? Don't wait until the last day of class for a heart-to-heart discussion of what science means to you. Often these personal stories will provide an opening for students to come to you and share their own concerns. Personal contact with faculty can play an important role in many students' choice of major.

4. Do not tolerate sexist language or behavior from other faculty or students. Few women students complain of blatant sexism, but nearly all complain of daily irritation caused by sexist remarks from male peers and faculty. This problem has been particularly frustrating for me as a female faculty member, because I can feel all eyes turn to me whenever an inappropriate remark is made, waiting for my reaction. I would love to hear one of my male colleagues speak out when an inappropriate comment is made so that this role does not always fall on my shoulders. Similarly, women students need to know that male scientists are sensitive and caring, not sexist and deprecating.

5. Think carefully about how you test. Studies on the SAT test show that time pressure hurts girls' scores more than boys'.⁶ I try very hard to write tests of reasonable length, but find it difficult to do. Several of my colleagues have moved their tests to the evenings so the students can work as long as they want. I have not found this practical in large, introductory classes, and I worry about putting undue burden on students with work and family commitments. Think about creative ways to test that relieve the time pressure students feel. Different formats may help. Careful consideration of what you want to assess and how best to assess it might suggest a very different testing style than you now use. Oral presentations, group projects, and portfolios of work can all be appropriate.

Think seriously about the effect of very low test averages on students. Students are very perceptive of their own difficulties and do not need to be frequently reminded that you know more than they do. One of my students commented on an evaluation that "tests are fair and differentiate between students, yet are not so difficult that they are discouraging. For example, in physics a 60% might be an A, but psychologically it is discouraging to only get 60% right." Your own college experiences may not have matched this student's; I was thrilled to get 60% and find out it was an A. Still, we should listen to these students carefully and respond thoughtfully. Very low test averages may frequently contribute to the loss of self-esteem noted in Hewitt and Seymour's study.

Conclusions

Every faculty member may change her/his classroom to help encourage women students to study science. The result of many small changes will be to encourage women, minorities, men, all students to continue to seek and find the thrill of science. So many of you have been supportive and encouraging to women students over many years and you have made a difference. At Hope College, being aware of a problem a year ago has produced a change. This summer (1994) 44% of our research students are women. I haven't heard yet if any of the male faculty members have been asked, "Why are there so few men working in the department this summer?"

REFERENCES

1. Project Kaleidoscope. What Works: Building Natural Science Communities, A Plan for Strengthening Undergraduate Science and Mathematics. Stamats Communications, Washington, D.C., 1991.

2. (a) Hewitt, N. and Seymour, E. Factors Contributing to High Attrition Rates Among Science and Engineering Undergraduate Majors, Report to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, April 26, 1991. (b) Seymour, E. 'The Problem Iceberg' in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education: Student Explanations for High Attrition Rates, Journal of College Science Teaching, February 1992, 230-238. (c) Seymour, E. Undergraduate Problems with Teaching and Advising in SME Majors -- Explaining Gender Differences in Attrition Rates, Journal of College Science Teaching, March/April 1992, 284-292.

3. Ruskai, M.B. Why Women Are Discouraged from Becoming Scientists, The Scientist, March 5, 1990.

4. M. Comninou, commentary on WVGR (public radio), March 2, 1990.

5. Rayman, P. and Brett, B. Pathways for Women in the Sciences, The Wellesley Report, Part I, Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, 1993.

6. Rosser, P. The SAT Gender Gap: Identifying the Causes, Center for Women Policy Studies, Washington, D.C., 1989.