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 ...
