MENTORNET SUPPORTS WOMEN IN SCIENCE

摘要

In January, Lawrence H. Summers, president of Harvard University, made headlines when he suggested that innate differences between the sexes—rather than social barriers—may explain why fewer women than men succeed in science and math careers. Although Summers has since retreated from those comments, the controversy was a stark reminder of the myths and assumptions surrounding underrepre-sentation. Past research, much of it reported in C&EN (Sept. 27, 2004, page 32; Aug. 9, 2004, page 18; Feb. 16, 2004, page 68), has documented that there are many barriers to women's success. These include, but are not limited to, a relative lack of professional and educational support systems and work-family conflicts. Creating and maintaining a reliable one-on-one support system is one of the more difficult tasks for any woman scientist in an academic or industrial workplace—particularly early on in her career.