Where are all the women science professors? .

Percentage of Women Doctoral Scientists and Engineers in

Academic Institutions by Field and Rank in 2003

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	All Science and Engineering			Biology and Life Sciences	Physical Sciences	Engineering	Math and Statistics	Computer Science
Assistant Professor	41			38.4	24.5	16	29.2	23.3
Associate Professor	31.1			29.4	19.2	11.9	15.9	19.9
Full Professor	17.6			19	6.8	3.8	9.2	12.3
Total	29.8			32.1	14.8	10.3	17.1	18.3
Source: Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, 2007.
Note: The percentages in the “total” category include instructors and lecturers. Although the numbers of women receiving degrees in Engineering, Science and Math have increased substantially, the number of women science professors is still low. Just four years ago, Harvard University president Summers tried to argue why this might be... (1) Women with children can't work 80 hours a week (2) fewer girls than boys have top scores in math and science in high school- and these discrepancies are probably genetic and (3) discrimination within the hiring process cannot possibly play a role because schools that did not discriminate would be able to hire top women within the science field, and we have not witnessed this trend How do we fix this? A good start might be to re-educate individuals like Summers: (1) Women who desire a family don't typically have the same options as men to work 80 hours a week (biological differences like pregnancy and breast feeding are just the beginning) (2) there is no genetic basis for lower math and science test scores in girls, but changes in early education can help alleviate these discrepancies and (3) discrimination exists within academia, making it more difficult for women (and all minorities) to secure higher level positions.