The statistical compendium shows that a significant number of women are getting higher educational degrees (54 percent of bachelor's and master's degrees in all fields in 1991 were obtained by women), but are still represented relatively poorly in the natural sciences and engineering, compared with their male counterparts, earning between 22 percent and 31 percent of the degrees conferred at the various levels (bachelor's, mas-ter's, and Ph.D.).
In the U.S. labor force, too, women's representation among professionals is on the rise, accounting for a very high percentage among psychologists and economists employed, the report found. A majority (87 percent) of the employees in health-related fields, such as nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists, are also women. However, women constitute only about 10 percent of those employed in engineering and the physical sciences professions (see accompanying chart). In academia, women made up about 22 percent of the total science faculty.
"More women are ...
