1. Running head: WOMEN IN THE SCIENCES 1
The Presence of Women in the Sciences
in Higher Education
Sara Ludwig-Nagy
NUR 8500
Villanova University

2. WOMEN IN THE SCIENCES 2
Abstract
The careers and education of women in the sciences, technology, engineering and
mathematic (STEM) in higher education has many barriers that may limit women from
reaching their ultimate goals. This review of the literature examines the history of
women in STEM, the culture and perceptions of women in STEM, the specific barriers
that women may encounter, and the strategies to overcome the multiple issues that
women face in STEM education and as faculty in STEM.

3. WOMEN IN THE SCIENCES 3
In 1877, Ledger wrote an editorial piece titled Higher Education for Women,
stating his excitement for young women entering colleges and universities. He noted the
opinion of a European writer in the 13th century exclaiming that “the proper education of
women was defined as knowing how to pray to God, to love man, to knit and sew.”
Ledger also stated cautiousness in overwhelming women with information, stating:
“perhaps her health breaks down under the constant strain, and then we hear the cry of
the physical incapacity of the sex for mental labor” (286).
The presence of women in higher education has changed since 1877, with women
making up 57 percent of all college students in a report by The White House Project.
However, the same report found that 26 percent of full professors, 23 percent of
university presidents, and 14 percent of presidencies at the doctoral degree- granting
institutions were women, noting that women in leadership roles continue to be low
(Madsen, 2012). Women in higher education with a focus on the sciences, technology,
engineering and mathematic (STEM) disciplines are however slowly increasing. Women
who have earned PhDs in engineering has increased from 0.2 percent in 1966 to 22.5
percent in 2006, in the geosciences 3 percent in 1966 to 36.6 percent in 2006, and also
increased in the physical sciences 3.7 percent to 27.9 percent. The United States have
made a huge effort to attract women students in the past 30 years, noting the importance
of investing in the future market of qualified scientists in order to continue to be
competitive in the world market of research (Goulden et al., 2011).
However, women continue to be underrepresented in many scientific disciplines
in academia, particularly so in higher faculty positions. In a report by the National
Academy of Sciences, researchers found that women were less likely to obtain academic

4. WOMEN IN THE SCIENCES 4
research positions, and women were more likely to leave tenure track positions if
pursuing a faculty role (Goulden et al., 2011). The US Science Foundation noted that
about half of the doctorate degrees are earned by women, but only make up 21 percent of
full professors and 5 percent of engineering professors (Shen, 2013).
Researchers, governmental leaders, and academic leaders voice the importance of
increasing access of women to STEM education, and more specifically, the important
role they play in as leaders in STEM academia. Western culture and perceptions of
women may play an unconscious role in creating barriers, weaving a spider web of
conscious and unconscious gender biases for women entering the sciences.
The decreased representation of women in science was not always existent in the
history of the United States: in the 19th century, women grossly overpopulated
astronomy, physics, natural sciences, and chemistry in education. It was strongly
suggested that the sciences better prepared women for motherhood, teaching, and social
work. At the beginning of the computer age, computer programming was encouraged for
women due to the strong connection to clerical work. This perception began to change in
the 1950s, when the profession enticed men interested in a developing, difficult specialty.
The gender composition of specialties is powerfully influenced by economic and social
events; men began to dominate science education in the late 19th and 20th centuries due to
shifting higher education requirements, and women began to experience barriers due to
evolving perceptions and biases of gender (Charles, 2011).
In 2005, Lawrence Summers, president of Harvard, remarked that innate
biological differences explained the underrepresentation of women in the sciences.
Summers received backlash and was criticized for his opinion; his observation unveils a

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continuing stereotype that women do not have the qualities to excel in a perceived
masculine specialty. However, the representation of women in the sciences in other
countries does not mirror the United States. For example, in Malaysia, 57 percent of
science degree recipients are women. Computer science is viewed as being theoretical,
and is primarily a specialty that takes place in an office; both of which is viewed as a
female quality in the culture. The Malaysian government also encouraged economic
development by training male and female workers, in hopes of competing in the
information technology field. In Western society, educators, nongovernmental activists
and others urged that students are given the superficial freedom of choice; although,
women were more encouraged to pursue ‘human centered’ specialties, believed to
accommodate female domestic and social roles. Yet, in developing countries, the focus is
primarily on economic progress than in fostering women’s assumed affinities. Young
people in developing countries may be concerned more with personal economic security
and national development (Charles, 2011). Scholars in the United States maintain that a
gender-diverse society of academic scientists is pivotal to continuing a leadership
position in the sciences and to continue being competitive in the world market. Scholars
also argue that workforce diversity inspires problem solving and creativity; thus, if
women continue to encounter barriers in the sciences, STEM and Western society will
suffer as a whole by inhibiting potential scientific knowledge and advancement in the
field (Ecklund et al., 2012).
The vast majority of Americans today consider that men and women are innately
different, but those innate characteristics can be freely chosen- however the cultural
stereotype of STEM being primarily male discourages women’s interest. Shelly Correll

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conducted a study that supported the self-fulfilling effects of gender stereotypes. A test
was given to the subjects, which had no right or wrong answers, and all subjects were
given a score of 60 percent correct. Before the test, subjects were told one of the
following two beliefs: that men on average do better, or that men and women do equally
well. The first group was exposed to the first belief, and the men in that group rated their
performance higher than female students; the second group exhibited no gender
differences. The study supports that beliefs about difference may create gender gaps in
STEM and in self-confidence in certain specialties, discouraging girls from pursuing
careers in STEM (Charles, 2011). In a study by Ecklund et al. (2012), researchers
interviewed biology and physics scientists, and found that the scientists themselves cited
inherent differences between men and women in their specialties. The researchers also
found that nearly half of all the subjects interviewed believed that at some time in their
educational careers, women were discouraged from pursuing a career in physics. The
researchers also found that the subjects believed that women’s higher representation in
biology is due to the perceived emotional content of biological research, as opposed to
the abstract math affiliated with physics (Ecklund et al., 2012).
In a study by Fox (2001), the researcher conducted a national survey of 5,000
students and faculty members in field science and engineering fields (chemistry,
electrical engineering, physics, microbiology, and computer science), 22 different site
visits, as well as 10 programmatic case studies for women in graduate education in
science and engineering. The researcher found that women in their departments reported
that they felt faculty did not take them seriously and that they felt the faculty did not
respect them. This study can also be supported by research conducted by Moss-Racusin

7. WOMEN IN THE SCIENCES 7
et al. (2012), which examined the unconscious gender biases of science faculty members.
In this study, the researchers presented the application materials of an undergraduate
student who applied for a laboratory position. The application was randomly assigned
the name of a female or a male student. The results of the study revealed that both male
and female faculty perceived the female student to be less competent, even though the
application materials were identical to the male student’s application. The results of this
particular study highlights the importance of addressing subtle, unconscious gender
biases because of the risk of converting into real world disadvantages in the assessment
and the management of female science students.
Even if women were able to bypass the unconscious barriers entering the science
field, women continue to encounter obstacles as science faculty members. Currently it
was found that women enter graduate and doctorate level positions at higher rates, but
continue to not enter tenure track positions as previously stated in this paper. The
argument for the cause of the phenomena may be due to discrimination and biases, but
may also be due to academia’s inability to support family obligations. Goulden et al.
(2011) found that family formation may explain why so many women receive PhDs but
fail to acquire tenure in the sciences. The researchers found that women in the sciences
who are married with children are 35 percent less likely to enter a tenure track position
after acquiring their PhD than married men with children. The researchers also found
that married women with children who are in a tenure track position are 27 percent less
likely to obtain tenure than their male counterparts. Even future plans to have children
affected women more than men- the researchers found that 28 percent of women would

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reconsider their career goals compared to 17 percent of men if children came into the
picture, planned or unplanned (Goulden et al., 2011).
Women in science academia also have not made any progress in closing the salary
gap with their male colleagues. In the White House Project (2009) report, it must be
noted that in 1972, women made 83 percent of what male faculty made, and in 2009, that
statistic has deceased to 82 percent (Madsen, 2013). More specifically, the pay gap in
physics and astronomy is more startling, with women earning 40 percent less than their
male counterparts. Some experts argue that the primary explanation for the pay gap is
due to the disproportionate rate of women who are in non-tenure track positions or are
employed at lower status universities (Shen, 2013).
There are several strategies to overcome the problems and barriers that
women face in STEM fields. A credible option and opinion is modifying the structure of
secondary education. Restricting curricular choices by requiring all students to take
mathematics and sciences throughout high school may increase the amount of women
and girls obtaining math and science degrees. Research continues to reveal the harm that
Western cultural gender stereotypes have on women overall, with particular
repercussions that extends into STEM fields (Charles, 2011). A cultural shift is
underway, with more research supporting the need for girls to be exposed to the sciences,
and the positives that may result from such a move. For women in academia, there is an
obvious need for more family/community support, including: child care services,
paid/increased maternal leave, increased length of tenure due to family obligations or
emergencies, and other programs. Another important strategy is the need for more role
models in STEM who are women. In an article by Mary Hale Tolar titled “Mentoring

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Experiences of High Achieving Women,” Tolar gathered the perspectives from women
leaders in higher education and public service to examine the support, advantages, and
inputs that had allowed them to reach their current potential. This study cited the
importance of mentoring, with the subjects exclaiming how mentoring was a great aid but
also at times a burden (Madsen, 2012).
The presence of women in STEM, specifically in higher education in the United
States will continue to transform. Although there has been an increase overall of women
attending college, as well as acquiring graduate and doctorate degrees, there are many
barriers and obstacles that will require action and change.

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References
Charles, M. (2011). What gender is science?. Contexts, 10(2), 22-28.
Goulden, M., Mason, M. A., & Frasch, K. (2011). Keeping women in the science
pipeline. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science, 638(1), 141-162.
Ecklund, E. H., Lincoln, A. E., & Tansey, C. (2012). Gender segregation in elite
academic science. Gender & Society, 26(5), 693-717.
Fox, M. F. (2001). Women, science, and academia Graduate Education and Careers.
Gender & Society, 15(5), 654-666.
Ledger, P. (1877, Apr 21). Higher education for women. The Friend; a Religious and
Literary Journal (1827-1906), 50, 286. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/91065
245?accountid=14853
Madsen, S. R. (2012). Women and Leadership in Higher Education Current Realities,
Challenges, and Future Directions. Advances in Developing Human Resources,
14(2), 131-139.
Moss-Racusin, C. A., Dovidio, J. F., Brescoll, V. L., Graham, M. J., & Handelsman, J.
(2012). Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students. Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences, 109(41), 16474-16479.
Shen, H. (2013). Mind the gender gap. Nature, 495(7439), 22-24.