A recent work force survey by the Washington, D.C.-based American Chemical Society (ACS), building on data from a 1990 ACS salary survey, concludes that women in chemistry still face obstacles to advancement, despite an improved professional climate in recent years.
Even so, conversations with women chemists working in the public and private sectors Lind many optimistic about their work and futures. But most also point to changes they would like to see in the profession of chemistry to lower the barriers to women's career advancement.
"I have an international reputation in a number of the things I do," says Debra R. Rolison, an electrochemist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C. "I get asked to organize seminars and give invited talks, so I can't complain. But 1 also notice at any given symposium that issues invitations, you don't see as many women on the program as you think ...
