Advancing Women in Science: An International Perspective

Many countries have implemented policies to increase the number and quality of scientific researchers as a means to foster innovation and spur economic development and progress. To that end, grounded in a view of women as a rich, yet underutilized knowledge and labor resource, a great deal of recent attention has focused on encouraging women to pursue education and careers in science — even in countries with longstanding dominant patriarchal regimes. Yet, overall, science remains an area in which girls and women are persistently disadvantaged. This book addresses that situation. It bridges the gap between individual- and societal-level perspectives on women in science in a search for systematic solutions to the challenge of building an inclusive and productive scientific workforce capable of creating the innovation needed for economic growth and societal wellbeing.

This book examines both the role of gender as an organizing principle of social life and the relative position of women scientists within national and international labor markets. Weaving together and engaging research on globalization, the social organization of science, and gendered societal relations as key social forces, this book addresses critical issues affecting women’s contributions and participation in science. Also, while considering women’s representation in science as a whole, examinations of women in the chemical sciences, computing, mathematics and statistics are offered as examples to provide insights into how differing disciplinary cultures, functional tasks and socio-historical conditions can affect the advancement of women in science relative to important variations in educational and occupational realities.

Edited by three social scientists recognized for their expertise in science and technology policy, education, workforce participation, and stratification, this book includes contributions from an intellectually diverse group of international scholars and analysts and features compelling cases and initiatives from around the world, with implications for research, industry practice, education and policy development.

Willie Pearson, Jr., is Professor of Sociology in the School of History, Technology, and Society at Georgia Institute of Technology. He specializes in the sociology of science and is the author or editor of several books and monographs and numerous articles and chapters. Pearson has held research grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities, Sloan Foundation and U.S. Department of Justice. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was selected Distinguished Lecturer in Sigma Xi’s Distinguished Lectureship Program. For several years, he served as the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine, U.S. National Academies. He has served as chair of the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, NSF and as chair of the Committee for Science, Engineering and Public Policy, AAAS. In 2001, he was designated Lifetime National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Currently, he sits on several editorial boards and on advisory committees for NSF, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and NAS.

Lisa M. Frehill is a Senior Analyst at Energetics Technology Center (ETC) providing subject matter expertise to the U.S. Department of Defense Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Development Office. Prior to her position at ETC, she served as Executive Director of the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology and was an Associate Professor of Sociology at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Since 1991, her research has focused on gender, science and technology, with an emphasis on human capital issues within the international context. While at NMSU, she was the principal investigator and director of a U.S. National Science Foundation funded ADVANCE Institutional Transformation project. She is a research methodologist whose numerous articles, book chapters, technical reports and other publications present social science findings to scientists and engineers using data from various U.S. national and international data sources. Her recent projects have focused on evaluating programmatic impacts on science and engineering human capital.

Connie L. McNeely is Professor of Public Policy and Co-Director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy at George Mason University. Her teaching and research address various aspects of organizational behavior and work and occupations, science and technology policy, public policy, law and governance, social theory, and culture. Emphasizing comparative and historical perspectives, her work has engaged questions on international development and organization and issues related to race, ethnicity, nation and gender. She currently directs major projects on scientific networks and on diversity in the science and technology workforce and leads an International Research Group on Global Innovation in Science and Technology. She also has conducted research on education, culture and innovation, and healthcare and has ongoing projects examining cultural and institutional dynamics and matters of citizenship and polity participation. Dr. McNeely has numerous publications and is active in several professional associations, serves as a reviewer and evaluator in a variety of programs and venues and sits on several advisory boards and committees.