EDUCATION
WOMEN NOW 17% OF CHEMISTRY FACULTY Up again by 1% from the previous year, women’s PROGRESS IS STEADY but glacial LINDA R. RABER, C&EN WASHINGTON
C&EN HAS BEEN counting women on
tion in these departments is similar to that of the entire top 50 on a year-to-year basis. It is. C&EN used the same data to determine how many of these long-term top 50 departments have enough women on their faculties that women who work there or who are contemplating applying for or deciding whether to accept positions they offer can avoid the burden of being one of only two or three women chemistry professors on campus.
est chemistry faculty surveyed, came out on top. Purdue’s chemistry department THE NEWS in this respect is unequivocally added a 15th woman to its faculty of 52, good. Among the 33 perennial departments, so now 29% of its chemistry faculty are the number with just one or two women onwomen. Holding at nine women on its 32board has dwindled from nine to two over member faculty (28%), the chemistry department at SMALL GAINS the University of Puerto Number of women professors has been growing slowly but Rico, Rio Piedras, is a close steadily while total academic population has changed little second this year. The chemistry departNumber of professors ments of six universities 1,400 have no more than one in 1,200 10 women in the profes1,000 sorate, and they go a long 800 way to dragging the aver600 age down. Together, these 400 six universities are the aca200 demic home of 156 chem0 istry faculty members, 2000– 01– 02– 03– 04– 05– 06– 07– 08– 09– of whom 13 are women. 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 They are the University of ■ Full, male ■ Associate, male ■ Assistant, male ■ Full, female ■ Associate, female ■ Assistant, female Chicago, Cornell University, and Johns Hopkins NOTE: Data are from the 33 universities that have appeared for the past 10 University, along with years on the National Science Foundation’s list of the 50 biggest spenders on chemistry research. three Georgia schools: SOURCE: C&EN surveys Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Georgia, the past 10 years; the number with six or which has only one woman on more women has leapt from four to 18. ISOLATION DIMINISHES its 26-member faculty, giving it For years, groups looking at underDepartments with six or more women increase as the lowest proportion of womrepresented populations in academic scithose with fewer than three decline en among the 50 schools. ence have kicked around a “critical mass” During the decade that hypothesis. It goes like this: Women will Number of departments 25 C&EN has compiled data on tend to be marginalized and their con■ 0–2 ■ 3–5 ■ 6+ women’s representation in cerns may be more likely to be unvoiced 20 the top 50 chemistry departor overlooked in departments where they 15 ments, some universities have comprise less than 15%—a critical mass— appeared on the list or dropped of women. The hypothesis was discussed 10 off, but 33 institutions have apin the National Academies report “Beyond 5 peared on every list. These 33 Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential chemistry departments, which of Women in Academic Science and Engi0 2000– 01– 02– 03– 04– 05– 06– 07– 08– 09– are identified in the table, proneering” (C&EN, Sept. 25, 2006, page 18). 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 vide a reliable, long-term source This year, 27 of the top 50 departments NOTE: Data are from the 33 universities that have appeared for the of trend information. have achieved critical mass, and if the past 10 years on the National Science Foundation’s list of the 50 bigC&EN used the data from proposition holds, they are likely better gest spenders on chemistry research. SOURCE: C&EN surveys the 33 universities to determine workplaces for women than departments whether women’s representathat lack this level of representation. ■
chemistry faculties for 10 years now, and for each of the past six, we have counted an average increase of one woman per 100 faculty members at the top 50 universities. Slow progress, to be sure, but predictable. For the 2009–10 academic year, this increase translates to a total of 281 women, or 17% of a total faculty of 1,685. For 2008–09, women accounted for 16%, or 263 women among 1,662 faculty (C&EN, Dec. 22, 2008, page 40). Each year, C&EN has surveyed schools identified by the National Science Foundation as having spent the most money on chemical research. This year’s top 50 list was compiled on the basis of NSF data for 2007, which are the most recent available. The schools were contacted by e-mail and asked to provide the number of female and male tenured and tenure-track faculty holding full, associate, or assistant professorships with at least 50% of their salaries paid by the chemistry department in the 2009–10 academic year. All but one department replied, and its data were collected from the departmental website. In terms of numbers and proportion, Purdue University, which also has the larg-
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WOMEN IN ACADEMIA, 2009–10
Among the top 50 universities, women held the greatest share of chemistry professorships at Purdue and the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
INSTITUTION
FULL PROFESSOR TOTAL WOMEN %
Akron, U of Arizona State U Arizona, U ofa Buffalo, U at California Inst. of Tech.
12 26 23 22 21
2 2 6 1 2
17% 8 26 5 10
California, U of, Berkeley California, U of, Irvine California, U of, Los Angeles California, U of, San Diego California, U of, San Francisco
36 26 32 30 29
5 1 7 4 4
Chicago, U of Colorado, U of Cornell U Emory U Florida, U of
14 28 17 14 18
Georgia Inst. of Tech. Georgia, U of Harvard U Illinois, U of, Urbana-Champaign Indiana U
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR TOTAL WOMEN %
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR TOTAL WOMEN %
TOTAL
ALL FACULTY WOMEN
%
5 9 12 4 1
0 2 3 2 1
0% 22 25 50 100
2 10 7 7 5
0 6 1 1 2
0% 60 14 14 40
19 45 42 33 27
2 10 10 4 5
11% 22 24 12 19
14 4 22 13 14
7 6 7 6 6
1 1 2 0 2
14 17 29 0 33
4 7 7 18 8
2 4 3 2 3
50 57 43 11 38
47 39 46 54 43
8 6 12 6 9
17 15 26 11 21
2 5 2 0 1
14 18 12 0 6
4 5 4 4 13
0 0 0 0 4
0 0 0 0 31
3 11 8 4 6
0 2 1 2 1
0 18 13 50 17
21 44 29 22 37
2 7 3 2 6
10 16 10 9 16
28 14 19 25 16
1 0 4 5 0
4 0 21 20 0
3 7 1 5 9
0 0 0 2 2
0 0 0 40 22
9 5 5 5 10
3 1 0 0 2
33 20 0 0 20
40 26 25 35 35
4 1 4 7 4
10 4 16 20 11
Johns Hopkins U Louisiana State U Maryland, U of Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Michigan State U
15 18 20 21 24
0 2 4 4 2
0 11 20 19 8
1 8 8 5 8
1 1 1 2 1
100 13 13 40 13
2 4 6 2 4
0 3 2 1 1
0 75 33 50 25
18 30 34 28 36
1 6 7 7 4
6 20 21 25 11
Michigan, U of Minnesota, U of North Carolina, U of, Chapel Hill Northwestern U Notre Dame, U of
22 22 31 21 21
2 1 6 1 0
9 5 19 5 0
5 9 3 3 8
2 2 1 1 3
40 22 33 33 38
10 6 7 2 6
4 3 0 1 2
40 50 0 50 33
37 37 41 26 35
8 6 7 3 5
22 16 17 12 14
Ohio State U Pennsylvania State U Pennsylvania, U of Pittsburgh, U of Princeton U
25 18 20 12 15
5 2 3 1 1
20 11 15 8 7
3 7 3 8 3
1 2 0 1 1
33 29 0 13 33
10 8 5 9 2
2 0 1 3 2
20 0 20 33 100
38 33 28 29 20
8 4 4 5 4
21 12 14 17 20
Puerto Rico, U of, Rio Piedras Purdue U Rutgers U South Carolina, U of Southern California, U of
24 33 33 15 18
7 6 8 0 2
29 18 24 0 11
4 11 8 7 3
1 5 2 1 0
25 45 25 14 0
4 8 3 6 5
1 4 0 4 1
25 50 0 67 20
32 52 44 28 26
9 15 10 5 3
28 29 23 18 12
Southern Mississippi, U of Stanford U Stony Brook University Texas A&M U Texas, U of, Austin
4 16 20 39 31
1 1 3 5 1
25 6 15 13 3
2 4 4 2 6
0 0 2 1 1
0 0 50 50 17
9 3 5 7 11
1 2 1 0 4
11 67 20 0 36
15 23 29 48 48
2 3 6 6 6
13 13 21 13 13
Utah, U of Virginia Polytech. Inst. & State U Washington, U of Wayne State U Wisconsin, U of, Madison
23 18 25 15 26
1 3 3 3 2
4 17 12 20 8
3 7 2 5 4
1 2 0 2 2
33 29 0 40 50
5 4 6 8 10
2 0 1 2 1
40 0 17 25 10
31 29 33 28 40
4 5 4 7 5
13 17 12 25 13
1,095
134
272
62
318
85
1,685
281
TOTAL
12%
23%
27%
NOTE: Appointments at the schools identified by the National Science Foundation as having spent the most money on total and federally funded research in chemistry. Institutions in blue type have been in this survey for 10 years. a Chemistry and biochemistry department merged this year. SOURCE: C&EN survey
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17%
