From Scarcity to Visibility Gender Differences in the Careers of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers (2001) / Chapter Skim
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5: Sector of Employment and Work Activity
5: Sector of Employment and Work Activity
Pages 101-122
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classic study Social Stratification in Science only briefly mentions nonacademic employment. Studies of stratification in academic science have generated a huge body of research, 1Cotgrove and Box 1970.
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Academic researchers found it increasingly difficult to secure adequate federal research support while academic employers increased pressure on faculty to obtain externally funded grants (Hackett 1990)
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A small residual category includes a variety of other organizational contexts, with the largest single employer being educational institutions below the level of a two-year college, primarily teaching at levels K through 12.
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This is consistent with Preston's (1993) finding that the attrition rate Men: Academia Women: Academia Men: Industry Women: Industry 80 70 60 Percent Employed 50 40 30 20 10 0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 FIGURE 5-1 Employment of full-time scientists and engineers in the academic and industrial sectors, by year of survey and gender.
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In a report of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission (1996) , conference participants reported that they experienced many of the same barriers that hamper all professional women from gaining access to corporate America: recruitment and hiring practices, sexual harassment, different standards for judging women's work, inequitable job assignments, limited promotions, and lower salaries.
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There is also a large over-representation of men among mathematicians working in industry. While there were large gender differences in the academic and industrial sectors for the physical sciences in 1973, these were reduced to only 2 points by 1995.
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While there are some differences between the 1970 cohort and the 1980 cohort, they are quite similar. Overall, it appears that the shifting size of sectors involved both differences in the initial hiring of new scientists and changes in sector of employment over time, with gender differences being reduced through both of these processes.
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Academia Industry Government PNP/Hospitals Other 108 100 90 80 70 60 50 Percent 40 30 20 10 0 ng nces nces ioral atics ng nces nces ioral atics ng nces nces ioral atics ng nces nces ioral atics eri v eri v eri v eri v g ine l Scie Scie eha them g ine l Scie Scie eha them g ine l Scie Scie eha them g ine l Scie Scie eha them En sica y L ife ial/B Ma c En sica y L ife ial/B Ma c En sica y L ife ial/B Ma c En sica y L ife ial/B Ma c Ph So Ph So Ph So Ph So 1973 1979 1989 1995 Panel A: Sector of employment organized by field within year of survey.
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Academia Industry Government PNP/Hospitals Other 100 90 80 70 60 50 Percent 40 30 20 10 0 73 79 89 95 73 79 89 95 73 79 89 95 73 79 89 95 73 79 89 95 Engineering Mathematics Physical Sciences Life Sciences Social/Behavioral Panel B: Sector of employment organized by year of survey within field FIGURE 5-2 Sector of employment for full-time scientists and engineers, by field and year of survey.
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While this may partially reflect the specific subfields in which women are working, the report of the Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE 1994) notes that the rate of attrition of female scientists and engineers in industry is more than double that of men and much larger than in other sectors.
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, 1989 (middle cohort) , and 1995 (older cohort)
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Basic research is study directed toward gaining scientific knowledge primarily for its own sake.
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TABLE 5-3 Primary Work Activity in Academia by Field, 1995 Engi- Mathe- Physical Life Social/ Combined neering matics Sciences Sciences Behavioral Fields Teaching 48.2 65.4 39.6 29.0 56.7 44.1 Basic Research 11.8 18.4 33.0 37.3 12.9 24.9 Applied Research 30.0 8.9 17.6 18.9 14.3 17.8 Management 8.7 5.9 8.0 7.8 9.3 8.2 Professional Services 1.3 1.5 1.9 7.1 6.8 5.0 N 24,210 16,523 35,409 68,936 59,749 204,827 NOTE: (See Appendix Table C-5 for details.)
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The following decreases in the percent indicating teaching as their primary work have occurred between 1973 and 1995: 20 percent in engineering, 12 percent in mathematics, 23 percent in the physical sciences, 20 percent in the life sciences, and 15 percent in the social and behavioral sciences. Table 5-4 presents the difference between the percent of full-time male academics in each work activity and the corresponding percent of women, broken down by field and year.
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. With the exception of the social and behavioral sciences, this decrease in administration and management corresponds to increases in applied research and production.
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TABLE 5-5 Primary Work Activity in Industry, by Field in 1995 Engi- Mathe- Physical Life Social/ Combined neering matics Sciences Sciences Behavioral Fields Basic Research 1.4 4.8 4.3 5.2 0.5 3.0 Applied Research 25.9 36.6 38.4 35.7 12.3 29.0 Production 45.7 32.0 31.6 23.7 12.0 29.5 Management 21.6 19.1 18.8 17.2 9.0 17.1 Professional Services 5.1 6.8 6.5 17.2 65.1 20.7 Total % 99.6 99.4 99.7 99.1 98.9 99.3 N 36,519 4,827 39,228 30,272 29,185 140,031 NOTE: See Appendix Table C-6 for details. Percentages do not add to 100 since teaching has been excluded.
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Second, female scientists are more likely to be in professional services, regardless of field, although this difference has decreased over time. Third, the largest gender differences are seen in engineering and in the physical sciences where women are more likely to be in applied research.
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report that the lack of women in leadership positions is a key barrier to the recruitment and retention of women. Women in leadership positions serve as role models and mentors, provide critical channels of communication for understanding organizational politics, and establish technical credibility.
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As mentioned earlier, basic research is more common in government, while production jobs are relatively rare. With these differences taken into account, field differences among those in government (see Figure 5-7 and Table 5-7)
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-- indicates too few women to compute percentages. There were too few women in engineering and mathematics to present results.
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In the social/behavioral and life sciences, gender differences in management have decreased substantially since 1973. SUMMARY Since 1973 there are increasing similarities between men and women in the sector in which they work and the type of work activity that they pursue.
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122 FROM SCARCITY TO VISIBILITY Business Government Academic 50 45 40 35 Percent 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Education h ing ch Government ac ar rch n Te se se a tio nt Business Re e d uc me ce s sic dR ro ag e rvi Ba pli e P an lS e Ap M a ion fe ss Pro Panel A: Women in 1995 Business Government Academic 50 45 40 35 30 Percent 25 20 15 10 5 0 Education h ing r ch Government ac ea rch on Te s se a cti nt Business Re e du me s ic dR ce B as li e Pr o n ag e ervi pp Ma lS A na s sio ofe Pr Panel B: Men in 1995 FIGURE 5-8 Combinations of sector and primary work activity in 1995, by gender. NOTE: Data are based on those working full time in the sectors and work activities shown.
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