Women. Science. Help!
I'm embarking on a research project about women, science, and museums. So. If you have any input about the following questions, from your own experiences or others, I'm interested! If you have thoughts on something related to the topic that I don't specifically address, I'm also interested! Apparently my bringing-up wasn't, uh, typical enough for me to trust my own memories when it comes to these things, so please clue me in. Answers will not be used as formal data; I just need to know more about the world before I try to write about it.
1. Do you remember being told by authority figures that women shouldn't do science/math, or weren't good at it? Or that boys/men aren't good at language skills? When/who? What was your response?
2. If you took advanced math or science in high school / college, did you notice gender disparities?
3. Do you know men who believe themselves to be good at math/science even though they're not? Do you know women who think they're not good at them when they are? Does the reverse happen regarding language/verbal skills?
4. When you were younger, were you told that math/engineering/IT was a viable career choice for you? What about humanities/social science? Nonprofit work? What else were you encouraged or discouraged from regarding career paths?
5. Are you in a scientific/technological field right now? What is that like? Do you feel that it is inhospitable or discouraging to women?
6. When you imagine a museum director, especially of a science or natural history museum, who do you imagine? What about curator? Educator? Avg. worker?
7. Do married women / mothers have a disadvantage when trying to work in science/engineering/IT?
8. Are certain types of scientific work (medical, environmental, etc) more acceptable for women to enter than others? What about different ethnicities, races, or socioeconomic backgrounds?
9. (this one may be specific to United States) Do you agree with the statement that African-American women are encouraged to enter STEM fields more strongly/often than white women, or with the impression that they are more successful in them?
10. Finally, this is mostly coming from the Why So Few? report, found here. If you feel like reading it, let me know your thoughts on it.
11. Actually, really really finally, do you believe that things have changed in the past five years or so? How? Is something going to persist in barring women from science/engineering/technology?
It's a lot, and it's kind of all over the map, but I'd love to hear what you think. I know most of my friends here are women, but if you're male I'd also appreciate your perspective.
I want to eventually make an online exhibit about (possibly) women at high positions in science museums or science research in the early 1900s, but I may end up doing a much more recent thing. Who can say. I'll keep you all posted on whatever. In the meantime, I'm posting some research things under the name Historic Science Gals on Tumblr. [I'm not that good at Tumblr, but hopefully it'll get better].
1. Do you remember being told by authority figures that women shouldn't do science/math, or weren't good at it? Or that boys/men aren't good at language skills? When/who? What was your response?
2. If you took advanced math or science in high school / college, did you notice gender disparities?
3. Do you know men who believe themselves to be good at math/science even though they're not? Do you know women who think they're not good at them when they are? Does the reverse happen regarding language/verbal skills?
4. When you were younger, were you told that math/engineering/IT was a viable career choice for you? What about humanities/social science? Nonprofit work? What else were you encouraged or discouraged from regarding career paths?
5. Are you in a scientific/technological field right now? What is that like? Do you feel that it is inhospitable or discouraging to women?
6. When you imagine a museum director, especially of a science or natural history museum, who do you imagine? What about curator? Educator? Avg. worker?
7. Do married women / mothers have a disadvantage when trying to work in science/engineering/IT?
8. Are certain types of scientific work (medical, environmental, etc) more acceptable for women to enter than others? What about different ethnicities, races, or socioeconomic backgrounds?
9. (this one may be specific to United States) Do you agree with the statement that African-American women are encouraged to enter STEM fields more strongly/often than white women, or with the impression that they are more successful in them?
10. Finally, this is mostly coming from the Why So Few? report, found here. If you feel like reading it, let me know your thoughts on it.
11. Actually, really really finally, do you believe that things have changed in the past five years or so? How? Is something going to persist in barring women from science/engineering/technology?
It's a lot, and it's kind of all over the map, but I'd love to hear what you think. I know most of my friends here are women, but if you're male I'd also appreciate your perspective.
I want to eventually make an online exhibit about (possibly) women at high positions in science museums or science research in the early 1900s, but I may end up doing a much more recent thing. Who can say. I'll keep you all posted on whatever. In the meantime, I'm posting some research things under the name Historic Science Gals on Tumblr. [I'm not that good at Tumblr, but hopefully it'll get better].