Groups Promoting Women In Science Mobilize In Washington, D.C.

As the Clinton administration establishes itself in Washington, D.C., action is heating up in the United States capital to raise the awareness of the general public--as well as lawmakers--about the disproportionately high unemployment rates and low salaries of women in scientific careers. Most noteworthy among these efforts, perhaps, is last month's reintroduction of federal legislation that would create a Commission on the Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering. Other efforts include a Washington conference, sponsored by Dartmouth College and the National Zoo, focusing on government policies affecting women; publication of a mentoring handbook by the 3,500-member Association for Women in Science (AWIS); and efforts by the Coalition for Women's Appointments, a group of 80 women's organizations, to persuade the Clinton administration to hire more women to fill scientific roles in government. According to statistics compiled by the National Science Foundation (using 1990 rates), women with master's degrees in science and engineering had median annual salaries $6,200 lower than and an unemployment rate 1.2 percent higher than their male counterparts. This same study, entitled "Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering: An Update," showed women with science and engineering Ph.D.'s had median salaries $4,900 lower than, and an unemployment rate that was more than double, those of men with the same degrees. "There is a problem of equity for the women who are actually holding these jobs," says Sue Kemnitzer, deputy director of the engineering, education, and centers division at NSF. "But there's a kind of ripple effect that can dampen the enthusiasm that young people have for pursuing these careers. Are you going to choose a profession where you see few people who are like you be successful? Probably not." Reintroduced in the House of Representatives on January 6 by Rep. Constance Morella (R-Md.), the Advancement of Women in Science and Engineering Act (H.R. 467) is designed to create a 17-member commission charged with gathering statistics and information that will examine the barriers to recruitment, retention, and advancement of women scientists. During the 102nd Congress, the bill passed the House but was blocked in the Senate. A Morella spokeswoman says the congresswoman has made the legislation a high priority and is intent on getting it passed by both houses this year. Upon the initial introduction of the bill in June 1992, Morella, a member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, said the purpose of the legislation is to "help women get in, stay in, and prosper in jobs that we know pay well and offer long-term career satisfaction and security." Catherine Didion, executive director of the Washington, D.C.- based AWIS, says she is concerned about the effectiveness of a federal commission. "There is some fear that this commission will suffer the same fate as the Task Force on Women, Minorities, and the Handicapped in Science and Technology from a few years ago, whose recommendations never got off the ground and were not implemented," she says, referring to the December 1989 federal commission report entitled "Changing America: The New Face of Science and Engineering." The commission was chaired by NSF's Kemnitzer. AWIS has its own activities planned for the next few months to raise public awareness concerning the position of women in science. The association has recently released a 260-page handbook, which Didion calls "a paper mentor for women scientists." The book, entitled A Hand Up: Women Mentoring Women in Science (Washington, D.C., AWIS, 1993), was published February 12. The handbook includes essays written by prominent women scientists, who describe the experiences and challenges of working in a profession dominated by men. The writers include Bernadine Healy, director of the National Institutes of Health; Florence Haseltine, director of population studies at NIH; and Linda Wilson, president of Radcliffe College. "We are hoping this publication will be a useful tool for young women entering science to reassure themselves that they're not alone," says Didion. On March 24, the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and the National Zoo will sponsor the second part of a two-part symposium on enabling more women to choose science careers. The program is entitled "Social and Political Issues" and will be held at 7:30 P.M. in the National Zoological Park Auditorium in Washington. Organizers expect a mostly local crowd of working women scientists, congressional staffers, and the general public. Speakers at the conference include Elizabeth Ivey, provost of Macalester College in Minneapolis, and Rose O'Donnell, a general manager at Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. AWIS's Didion will moderate the session, which will focus on how specific government policies affect the status of women in science and what can be changed. The event's organizers are hoping for a better turnout for this second meeting than they had at the first. Only 100 people attended the first part of the program, which highlighted recent findings related to women in science, held on Oct. 13, 1992. "I expect attendance to be much better this time," says Didion. "With the new administration in Washington, there is a recognition of an opportunity for real change. This empowers people to think, `Let me get my voice in here because I know it won't fall on deaf ears.' " The Coalition for Women's Appointments, based in Washington, D.C., at the National Women's Political Caucus, is also attempting to raise the profile of women scientists. The coalition, a group of 80 women's organizations, was formed to promote women for Senate-confirmed positions in the Clinton administration, including cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries, and agency heads. A recommendation list of around 400 women, more than 50 of whom are scientists, has been submitted to the White House. AWIS is part of the environmental task force, which includes staffing proposals in the departments of Energy, Interior, and Agriculture; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Two early successes were the appointments of EPA administrator Carol Browner and Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary, both of whom were recommended by the coalition.

Groups Promoting Women In Science Mobilize In Washington, D.C.

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