NAS issues report on Gender Bias

international | gender and sexuality | other press

Tuesday September 19, 2006 14:54

by pat c - Enemies of the Collective

Its not just in Indymedia that there are problems of Gender Bias, you also get it in the sciences. The NAS have published a report on dealing with the problem. Full story at the link.

pat c

NAS issues report on gender bias

Inter-institution cooperation is needed to improve the climate for women in academic science, the report states
By Kerry Grens

Higher education organizations should look into creating an inter-institution monitoring organization to help eliminate gender bias in the academic sciences, a report released today by The National Academy of Sciences recommends.

The recommendation is one of a number in the report made by the Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, whose 18 members include Chair Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami; Catherine D. Deangelis, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association; and Robert J. Birgeneau, chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley.

Called "Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering," the new report lays out steps the Committee believes need to be taken by universities, scientific and professional societies, funding agencies, federal agencies and Congress.

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Academia Told to Make Room for Women

Tue Sep 19, 2006 16:02

Another article rtegarding the NAS Report. You will find the full text at the link.

pat c

Academia Told to Make Room for Women

U.S. universities foster "a culture that fundamentally discriminates against women," says a report on the status of women in academic science and engineering issued today by the National Academies. Their underrepresentation is "deeply troubling and embarrassing," according to the report, which suggests that institutions should create a body to collect data, set standards, and ultimately monitor compliance to increase the number of women in technical fields.

"Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering," cites research demonstrating that women are paid less, promoted more slowly, bypassed for honors, and subjected to implicit gender bias from both their male and female colleagues. The 18-member panel--chaired by University of Miami president Donna Shalala and made up primarily of female university presidents, provosts, and senior professors--also finds no scientific basis to the argument that inherent differences between the genders are at the root of the problem.