Laboratory talk and women's retention rates in science
Autor/in:
Conefrey, Theresa
Quelle: Journal of women and minorities in science and engineering, Vol. 6 (2000) No. 3, S. 251-264
Inhalt: "Despite initiatives designed to increase women's participation in science, their
attrition rates remain high. To improve women's retention rates, this article proposes
a closer examination of the culture of science to discover what it is about it that
women might find uncomfortable, that could create a 'chilly climate' for them. A 2-year
ethnographic study of a university research laboratory group was conducted that identified
the group's communication style as problematic for some female members. A weekly meeting
was selected that exemplifies several of the dynamics of the communication style that
women at this laboratory had found problematic. An analysis of this meeting identified
specific features of the talk and examined research findings from the fields of language
and gender research and laboratory studies to explain why women might find these features
problematic." (author's abstract)|
CEWS Kategorie:Naturwissenschaft und Technik, Geschlechterverhältnis
Dokumenttyp:Zeitschriftenaufsatz
The myth of meritocracy and delusions of equity : cultural impediments to diversity in natural science programs
Autor/in:
Jones, Leslie S.
Quelle: San Diego, 1998. 12 S.
Inhalt: "In an effort to determine why there is continued scarcity of all women and of men
of color in the sciences, this study turns the lens of the social sciences onto social
aspects of the sciences. Interviews with academic science faculty examined gender
and racial/ethnic issues in the professional domain of a variety of scientists for
clues as to how the culture of science might influence demographic participation in
science programs. As a study of culture with an explicitly sociopolitical agenda,
this study adheres most closely to the traditions of Critical Ethnography. Interviews
were conducted with 34 practicing scientists sampled demographically across science
and applied science fields with respect to sex and racial/ ethnic background. The
interviewees were half female, half male, half Caucasian, and half people of color
(from several ethnic groups). Results indicate that the scientific method and its
associated worldview are the most readily identifiable source of the problem of minority
representation in the sciences. Scientists believe they can remove subjectivity from
their treatment of people, because they are convinced they can do this in their empirical
work. Responses, however, in interviews indicate that people in the sciences are not
treated equally or equitably." (author's abstract)|
CEWS Kategorie:Naturwissenschaft und Technik, Europa und Internationales, Geschlechterverhältnis
Dokumenttyp:Graue Literatur, Bericht
The origins of sex differences in science
Autor/in:
Long, J. Scott
Quelle: Social forces : an international journal of social research associated with the Southern Sociological Society, Vol. 68 (1990) No. 4, S. 1297-1315
Inhalt: "The sociology of science has clearly established the presence of sex differences in scientific productivity and position. This article examines the processes leading to the lower productivity of female scientists at the completion of their doctoral training. Collaboration with the mentor is found to be the most important factor affecting productivity. For females, opportunities for collaboration are significantly decreased by having young children. As a consequence, the presence of young children has an adverse, indirect effect on the productivity of female scientists during graduate study. This effect does not exist for males. In addition to differences in the process of collaboration, many small differences that disadvantage women and advantage men are found in the levels of resources affecting productivity and in the mechanisms by which resources are translated into productivity. The concentration of small disadvantages provides a further explanation of sex differences in productivity at the start of the career. Since early advantages and disadvantages have been found to accumulate, this article provides an essential first step in understanding sex differences in scientific productivity and position that emerge during the career." (author's abstract)