A Numbers Game
The National Academy of Sciences, membership of which is one of the highest honours in American Science (think of it like Royal Society membership for the UK) has inducted just 9 women this year. 72 members in total were inducted and 18 foreign associates.
So of the new members of NAS, women make up just over 1%.
From the Chronicle's article on this:
"The academy elected 17 women each in 2004 and 2003, 11 in 2002, 7 in 2001, and 9 each in 2000 and 1999. About half of all of the current female members were elected since 1999."
Do the math. The NAS has 2,025 members. That means that women apparently make up 6.9% of its membership. Of the total science and engineering PhDs awarded in American Universities in 2005, women made up 39%. In 2003 (the last year for which data is available), women held only 18% of full professorships in science and engineering.
So, with 61% of the PhDs and 82% of the full professorships and 93% of the NAS memberships, its good to be a man in science. Isn't it good to know that that Y chromosome makes you 3 times more likely to graduate with a sci/eng PhD, 4 times more likely to make it though the hiring and tenure process and about a gazillion times more likely to become a member of the NAS?
Where do I sign up for the sex change?
And let's not even look at the stats for minorities - the NAS has maybe (they don't keep stats on this) 4 African-American members. No word on whether any of them are women.
But really. There's no sex discrimination in academia or science anymore! Shush, you troublesome statistics.
So of the new members of NAS, women make up just over 1%.
From the Chronicle's article on this:
"The academy elected 17 women each in 2004 and 2003, 11 in 2002, 7 in 2001, and 9 each in 2000 and 1999. About half of all of the current female members were elected since 1999."
Do the math. The NAS has 2,025 members. That means that women apparently make up 6.9% of its membership. Of the total science and engineering PhDs awarded in American Universities in 2005, women made up 39%. In 2003 (the last year for which data is available), women held only 18% of full professorships in science and engineering.
So, with 61% of the PhDs and 82% of the full professorships and 93% of the NAS memberships, its good to be a man in science. Isn't it good to know that that Y chromosome makes you 3 times more likely to graduate with a sci/eng PhD, 4 times more likely to make it though the hiring and tenure process and about a gazillion times more likely to become a member of the NAS?
Where do I sign up for the sex change?
And let's not even look at the stats for minorities - the NAS has maybe (they don't keep stats on this) 4 African-American members. No word on whether any of them are women.
But really. There's no sex discrimination in academia or science anymore! Shush, you troublesome statistics.