Doctoral Education and the Faculty of the Future

13. Increasing Women’s Representationin the Life Sciences

13 Increasing Women’s Representation in the Life Sciences Jong-on Hahm In academic employment, women are not yet present in numbers that would be expected given the level of degree attainment over the past few decades. According to the 2003 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, women constituted 45 percent of junior faculty (assistant professors) and 29 percent of senior faculty, which included the associate and full professor ranks (survey data reported in National Science Board 2006). Among fifty research universities that receive that highest level of government research funding, the percentage of assistant professors is 30 percent, associate professors 25 percent, and full professors 15 percent (Nelson 2004). The life sciences—including the biological and agricultural sciences— do not face the numerical challenges of the physical sciences and engineering in attracting women to their disciplines. Since 1996, women have earned more than 50 percent of the bachelor’s degrees in the life sciences, a proportion that had grown to 59 percent in 2006 (National Science Board 2006). In 2003, women earned 46 percent of the doctorates in the biological sciences (National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics 2004b). Thus, in postsecondary degree attainment, women are nearing or have exceeded parity with men. However, the numerical advantage enjoyed by women in life sciences doctorates has not translated into similar gains in faculty ranks. This is Increasing Women’s Representation in the Life Sciences 183 particularly marked at the top research universities (National Research Council [NRC] 2001). As a group, the top research universities have the lowest percentage of women faculty, including those in the life sciences. This finding suggests that even in disciplines that have a significant supply of potential faculty, women’s career development does not progress in a manner similar to men’s. Women face a number of challenges on their way up the academic career ladder. Women are less likely to receive tenure or be promoted than their male counterparts (NRC 2001). In a study of medical schools, the “fall off” of women from assistant to associate professor was nearly 60 percent (Nonnemaker 2000). It takes women longer to be promoted to senior faculty ranks. Valian (1999) has noted that women take much longer to advance from associate to full professor. Additionally, their rate of promotion from associate to full professor is lower than that of their male counterparts (National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics 2004b). The life sciences have had more women faculty for a longer period of time than other science disciplines; hence, it might be expected that there are significantly more senior women faculty. Despite the larger numbers, the level of female full professors in the life sciences in 1995 was under 15 percent (NRC 2001), and this number has not increased significantly since then. Withinthepastdecadeanumberofinitiativeswerelaunchedtoadvance women faculty. In 2001 a group of nine leading universities began a wellpublicized effort to promote women faculty on their campuses (Cox and Wilson 2001); the National Science Foundation introduced ADVANCE, a grant program intended to catalyze institutional transformation and systemic changes at awardee universities to advance women faculty; and the NRC’s Committee on Women in Science and Engineering undertook a project to find common policies and strategies among institutions that have been successful in advancing women at different levels. The nine leading universities assessed the status of women faculty on their campuses and initiated various programs to increase their numbers and improve career development.1 To date a number of reports have been issued on the programs introduced as well as the progress achieved. Most of the findings have been reported at the institutional level, usually according to school. One reason for this is that for most universities, data collected at the departmental levels comprise too small a sample for meaningful statistical analysis. However, some universities disaggregate their data by department or by broad fields, which allows for examination of disciplinary differences. In 2001 Princeton University convened a task force to examine the status of women faculty in the natural sciences and engineering. The 184 Doctoral Education and the Faculty of the Future task force conducted a survey of current and former faculty, and collected data from numerous university sources including departments and department chairs. As expected, there was uneven progress across the departments. However, some of their findings were unexpected. In the life sciences, two of three departments experienced an increase in women faculty while the third experienced...