:: Netwoman ::

:: Monday, January 31, 2005 ::

Contradictions? Less Men Enrolling

The Gender Gap: Women's dominance has schools courting males

By Laura Fasbach - Knight Ridder-Tribune News

When Nicole Egnatowicz moved into her coed dorm at Ramapo College four years ago, it didn't take her long to notice there was something lacking: namely, men.

The scenario was similar in the classroom.

"If there were two guys in my class that was a lot," said the 22-year-old, who graduated in December with a degree in psychology.

Of Ramapo's 5,278 students, nearly 60 percent are women. But the Mahwah, N.J., campus is hardly unique.

At colleges across the country, the gender imbalance has been growing steadily for decades as women continue to outpace men in the pursuit of higher education.

Teenage girls typically have better grades than their male counterparts, but college admissions officers say they can't stand idly by and watch the schools become mostly female bastions. And so, colleges are taking steps to reverse the trend - reaching out to high school boys through direct marketing and phone calls from recruiters and male professors.

Some universities are going even further. A few years ago, Wake Forest University in North Carolina began admitting more men to correct the gender imbalance, even though fewer males had applied. Among state universities, the University of Delaware says it sometimes lowers its expectations for promising boys who faltered in the ninth and 10th grades. And in a yet-to-be-released study, liberal arts colleges acknowledge admitting less-qualified boys to balance enrollment.

It wasn't always this way.

Consider that in 1951, 66 percent of the nation's college students were men. A half-century later, women made up 56 percent of the country's total college enrollment, according to the most recent figures from the National Center for Education Statistics. So does that mean your son could have an edge in the college application process, or that your daughter may be at a disadvantage? Yes. No. Maybe.

"In some cases we know if you are a male, you have a better chance," said Peggy Brennan, coordinator of guidance at Fort Lee (N.J.) High School, adding that the advantage would be greatest for colleges where the gender gap is the most dramatic.

College admissions officers said they are nervously watching the trend.

"There's a danger that a school faces once you go over 60 percent female or male," said Peter Goetz, a vice provost at Ramapo. "Students want diversity, and diversity starts with gender."

Some schools have worked to attract male students by adding programs that are typically of interest to them, such as business. Others, including Ramapo College, have thought about creating a football team to boost the male population.

In fact, at Penn State University, which boasts an elite football program, 53 percent of students are men. With all due respect to coach Joe Paterno, one school official said men outnumber women because of the popularity of the school's engineering and science programs.

"As women move into those fields, the gap is narrowing," said John Romano, vice provost and dean of enrollment management, adding that the Nittany Lions have as many rabid female fans as male fans.

At the University of Delaware, where women constitute 58 percent of the student body, administrators say they haven't lowered standards for male applicants outright, but they may be more lenient with high school boys.

"We see ups and downs in their academic records," said Louis Hirsh, director of admissions for the University of Delaware. "We try to be more forgiving of their transcripts in ninth and 10th grades, when males are more likely to have problems."

Having said that, the admissions director cautioned that parents with sons should not bank on receiving an acceptance letter if the student's overall academic achievement is not up to par.

"We're not at a stage where the gender gap is going to override a weak application, mediocre SAT scores, lukewarm grades or a poorly written essay," Hirsh said.

But if the gender gap continues to widen, some say it won't be long before colleges start to give male applicants special consideration.

Sandy Baum, a professor of economics at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., recently co-authored a study of admissions practices as they relate to gender at 13 liberal arts schools across the country.

Baum said the study found that schools that were once all-women and have gone coed were more likely to favor male applicants. As the percentage of women at colleges continues to rise, Baum said, other schools might follow suit.

"They are obviously looking to balance enrollment in many ways," Baum said.

Not all colleges have more women. In fact, most of the Ivy League schools still enroll more men. At Princeton University, for example, men make up 55 percent of the student body.

Schools that emphasize engineering and the sciences still tend to have significantly more Y chromosomes, too. At the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, a mere 23 percent of students are women. At Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., 26 percent are women.

But Tom Mortenson, a senior scholar at The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, said he is alarmed that men are slipping so far behind women in college enrollment. As part of his research - titled "What's Wrong with the Guys?" - Mortenson found that between 1975 and 2001, the number of bachelor's degrees earned by men increased by 5 percent. In the same period, the number of bachelor's degrees earned by women increased by 70 percent.

He contends that the decline could have greater implications for society, from affecting the work force to creating a shortage of eligible men whom college-educated women would want to date or marry.

Mortenson said the solution is not easing admissions standards, but rather trying to motivate and inspire boys in the classroom as early as kindergarten.

"The boys are starting to tune out and give up in the middle-school grades," Mortenson said. "We're going to have to engage boys on their terms. Hopefully we can do this without displacing girls."

Well, the men might not be enrolled in the Arts - but we can certainly find them at the match, science and tech programs....

:: Netwoman 1:30 PM [+] ::
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Mommy Blogs

From Clancy's Blog.


This article seems to miss the point about blogging, the communication process and what blogs are really about...

Mommy (and Me)By DAVID HOCHMAN

"Now about 40,000 people log on to read about Ms. Armstrong's efforts to break her daughter's binky habit and of her concern about swearing in front of Leta. Like most parent bloggers, Ms. Armstrong steals time at the computer when the child is napping, after the baby sitter arrives and late at night. She said she blogs at least 15 hours a week. "Dooce probably saved my life," she said. "The writing and voice I had let me hold onto part of the original and old Heather, something that being a mother and the depression couldn't take away."

Missing from this article is the sense of connectedness that bloggers get from their (parental) community. It's a hot topic yes. Parenting is hard, yes. But it's more about sharing and validation too. This article just makes it seem like parents are just blogging for attention and looking for the rewards of popularity and a possible book deal. ack.

:: Netwoman 9:42 AM [+] ::
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Gender Imbalances in the Sciences

Caltech faculty reflects gender imbalance in sciences
By Kimm Groshong , Staff Writer

PASADENA -- Whether or not Harvard University President Lawrence Summers meant to suggest that women's brains are innately less suited than men's to study science and mathematics, comments he made this month along those lines have elicited a large and swift response.

Since then, much has been said about the lack of hard data to support the view that physical differences in men's and women's brains lead fewer women into the scientific arena.

And, as the New York Times has reported, "despite the desire for tidy and definitive answers to complex questions, researchers warn that the mere finding of a difference in form does not mean a difference in function or output inevitably follows.'

But if one puts physiological differences aside, the question remains why do fewer women than men pursue careers in math and science?

When academics get together to discuss that question as it relates to institutions of higher learning, they focus on "the pipeline,' said Anneila Sargent , a Caltech professor of astronomy.

They're not talking about an Oahu surfing locale, but rather the career route from the level of an undergraduate major in science to graduate student, postdoctoral research scholar, junior faculty member and finally, tenured faculty member.

"Why are women dropping out of the sciences?' Sargent asked. "It's something that we really, really feel we have to be worried about.'

Sargent chaired the Committee on the Status of Women Faculty at Caltech, formed in October 1999, which reported in December 2001 that "the proportion of women on the professorial faculty should be increased significantly.'

Since then, all six of Caltech's academic divisions have worked to pro-actively recruit female scientists for postdoctoral and faculty positions and to make women at all levels more aware of available resources.

But this year, the numbers look remarkably like they did when the committee originally collected its figures.

Today, women constitute 12 percent of the prestigious institute's 283 faculty members.

At the time of the report, that number stood at 11 percent.

But some at Caltech note that seeming stagnancy does not reflect the number of offers that have been made to women and turned down, nor the fact that some female faculty members have left while others have arrived.

"I think that there is a continued, slow but definite improvement,' said Alice Huang, a senior counselor in External Relations and an associate in biology at Caltech. "Women are much more visible here now. ... I know, for instance, that we now have many more women who hold named chairs.'

Nonetheless, the pipeline problem holds true at Caltech. Women make up more than 30 percent of the institute's undergraduate students. The numbers slowly drop off from there with women making up 28 percent of graduate students and about 23 percent of postdocs. And then there is a large plunge to 34 women in a pool of 283 faculty members.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, females comprise 43 percent of undergraduates, 30 percent of grad students and 18 percent of the faculty.

During a May 2004 update on gender equity, President David Baltimore said that while Caltech was in line with peer institutions, progress in increasing female faculty was still slower than desired and continued to be a point of concern nationwide, according to his special assistant, Miriam Feldblum.

Erin Schuman, a professor and executive officer in neurobiology at Caltech and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said that in speaking with her female students, she has learned that many are worried about balancing intense careers like her own with family life.

"It's evident when I talk to people who have made the decision to leave the academic track' that this dilemma is weighing on them, she said. "A lot of them don't think it will be easy to be a competitive academic if they'd also like to have a family,' added Schuman, herself a mother of three.

Caltech has made strides to foster a feeling that help is available for studying and working parents.

Candace Rypisi, director of the Caltech Women's Center, said her organization supports "women's academic and professional success throughout the pipeline as well as supporting individual needs throughout campus.'

The center, often in conjunction with the Worklife office at Caltech, hosts workshops, discussions and lectures pertaining to subjects that affect women. It also sponsors several mentoring programs for women at different phases along the pipeline.

Rypisi said the balance of work and family "is absolutely an issue that our students are thinking about and trying to come to decisions about how they want their careers and lives to be. It helps that there are models of people on campus and nationally who have done it well.'

That's one way the small number of women faculty members may discourage students and scholars from remaining in science.

"If you see lots of people around you doing it, or people just above your station doing it, it seems much more attainable to you than if you feel you have to be out there forging some unknown territory,' Schuman explained.

Making the environment comfortable for women also includes ensuring equity of pay scales.

Huang, who originally began looking at women's issues at Caltech because she had noticed a discrepancy in pay for men and women at other institutions, said that discrepancy has significantly decreased at the institute since 1999.

"I think that for some people, there seems to be a small but consistent difference and they worry about that,' she said. "But compared to other institutions, I see that as inconsequential.'

And for the future, she said, "I think you need to continue to focus on the issue and make sure that there's no recidivism of any kind. Unless we continue to push hard on this effort, it's likely to just get forgotten.'

:: Netwoman 9:35 AM [+] ::
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Nature vs Nurture Debates

Lots of things happening in the media since Harvard's scandal. Right now we are seeing the debate between nature vs nurture - are women 'naturally' less suited to science and tech, or is it part of the socialization process. Good to see this debate surface so that it can be put on the table for discussion.

Encouragement, not gender, key to success in science - San Fran Chronicle

"Harvard President Lawrence Summers' suggestion that women are innately less qualified than men to succeed in math and science careers has raised an outcry not only among women, but also among the nature versus nurture set. Surely, shifting from the debate about women's abilities to a constructive discourse about educating women to be leaders in their chosen fields -- especially in areas like the sciences and engineering -- is long overdue.

Summers' remarks have fanned the flames about women's capabilities -- whether they have the right stuff to succeed -- not only in gray matter, but also in ambition, stamina and priorities. For centuries, this debate has challenged women's capacity for success. Are women born with the intelligence to succeed? That question has already been answered: Yes. So let's move on.

With an economy increasingly based on technology, and our future defined by science, we must maximize the talents of all. Women and girls bring unique perspectives, experiences and strengths to bear on the challenges our society faces.

We have made progress. In the 1970s, girls comprised approximately 25 percent of the Science Talent Search national finalists, and in 1999, they constituted 45 percent. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, girls took top honors in the Intel Science Talent Search.

But we still have far to go. Unlike men, women in science and math face a series of barriers in their careers. Women drop out of the sciences at almost every significant transition: after high school, after their freshman year in college, between undergraduate and graduate school and between graduate school and work. Too many women in the pipeline leave before they have the chance to prove their worth.

Women who continue on the path face the ubiquitous glass ceiling, as a 2001 report from the National Council for Research on Women, "Balancing the Equation," demonstrates. In academia, discrimination and traditional academic practices inhibit women's progress to the top. While the number of women science professors continues to rise, relatively few reach leadership positions. Despite the fact that women have been earning more than one-quarter of the Ph.D.s in science for the last 30 years, fewer than 10 percent of today's full professors in the sciences are women, according to the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, the wage gap persists; figures from the National Science Foundation show that in 2001, women working in computer and mathematical science fields earned $72,500, compared to $85,000 for men.

In the sciences, a seven-year study published in the American Economic Review found that women in the United States are twice as likely as men to leave occupations related to science and engineering to pursue careers in other fields. The study is consistent with the experiences of prominent women scientists who met at Mills College in 1994 to discuss the advancement of women in science. Their report challenged all sectors of society -- industry, business, educational institutions, legislatures and government agencies -- to develop strategies and practices that help, rather than hinder, girls and women from pursuing their scientific interests.

If women are dropping out of the sciences twice as fast as men, it is no wonder that politicians and industry leaders proclaim the need to hire math and science professionals from outside the United States. Before we can honestly talk about the need to outsource, we have to examine how we are keeping half the nation's talent from entering and advancing in these disciplines.

We need systemic change and a long-term commitment to advancing women in the sciences, beginning in kindergarten and continuing throughout women's careers. For instance, in elementary school, programs that provide cooperative, hands-on learning are ideal for developing and maintaining girls' interests in the sciences. Girls also benefit from cross-disciplinary programs in which courses such as computer science are related to girls' interests in subjects including health, the environment and the arts. We must invest in scientific and technological literacy, provide resources for teachers to develop their science careers, and encourage parents to promote their daughters' interests in science.

The National Science Foundation recommends that universities appoint women professors to influential committees, where they will be visible as role models, and provide mentoring to women graduate students, instructors, researchers and assistant professors early in their careers. These recommendations parallel what needs to be done in math and science industries: promote capable women to senior decision-making positions, provide role models and offer more opportunities for learning from mentors.

College and university presidents have a wonderful opportunity to use their offices as bully pulpits to encourage women in science. So it is disappointing when the leader of a renowned academic institution expresses views that discourage half his students from confronting the existing obstacles to access and advancement. It's time to move from controversy to change. Actions supporting the success of women and girls in math and science, rather than poorly supported theories that discourage them, will enrich women's lives, as well as the nation. "

:: Netwoman 9:29 AM [+] ::
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Institutional Sexism

Harvard chief defends views on women in science
Last Updated Wed, 19 Jan 2005
CBC News

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - The president of Harvard University is defending remarks he made Friday suggesting that innate differences between the sexes could help explain why fewer women succeed in science and math.

Lawrence Summers also questioned what role – if any – discrimination plays in keeping female scientists and engineers from advancing their careers.
Harvard University President Lawrence Summers (AP file photos)

Summers, who prefaced his remarks by saying he was not speaking for Harvard, said women with children are reluctant to put in the 80-hour work weeks needed to advance to top positions in math and science.

In a statement released Monday night, Summers stood by his comments and denied that he suggested women lack the ability to succeed at higher levels in science.

"I did not say that, nor do I believe it," he said.

Nancy Hopkins, a Harvard graduate and professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who once led an investigation of sex discrimination at MIT, walked out of the conference during Summers's speech.

Hopkins said Summers was "pompously" presenting biased views that the conference had spent the first half of the day trying to refute.

About 50 American academics participated in the economics conference on diversifying the science and engineering workforce.

The Boston Globe first reported Summers's remarks on Sunday, but no transcript or recording was made.

Summers later described his remarks to the Globe, saying "it's possible I made some reference to innate differences."

He said people "prefer to believe" that the reason there are fewer women in science and engineering is due to social factors and discrimination, "but there are things that need to be studied."

Summers said he was trying to provoke debate and his remarks were made "in the spirit of academic inquiry." The organizer of the conference said he told Summers to be provocative.

Summers previously faced criticism because the number of women offered senior positions at Harvard had dropped each year of his three-year presidency. Last year, four out of 32 tenure offers in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences went to women.

Research shows girls excel in math and science until they reach Grade 6, but social and environmental factors hold women back, said mathematics Prof. Susan Ganter, executive director of the Association for Women in Science in the U.S.

Responses:

Anger at lecturer's sexist remarks
January 19, 2005

HARVARD University's president has raised howls among US academics for suggesting innate differences between the sexes may be why fewer women succeed in science and maths careers.

Lawrence H. Summers cited as an example one of his daughters, who as a child was given two trucks in an effort at gender-neutral upbringing.

Yet, he said she named them "daddy truck" and "baby truck", as if they were dolls.

At a conference last week, Mr Summers questioned how great a role discrimination played in keeping female scientists and engineers from advancing at America's elite universities.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology biologist Nancy Hopkins, walked out in protest.

"It is so upsetting that all these brilliant young women [at Harvard] are being led by a man who views them this way," she said.

Five other participants in the National Bureau of Economic Research conference, including Denice Denton, chancellor designate of the University of California, also said they were offended.

Ms Denton described Mr Summers' speech as "pompous lecturing".

Mr Summers, a former treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton defended his comments.

He told the Globe newspaper he had had only mentioned hypotheses based on the scholarly work assembled for the conference and had not expressed his own views.

He already faced criticism because the number of senior job offers to women at Harvard had dropped each year of his three-year presidency.

Others:
China News

Harvard President Apologizes Again for Remarks on Gender
By SARA RIMER New York Times
Published: January 20, 2005

With the unabated furor over his recent remarks suggesting that women may not have the same innate abilities in math and science as men, Harvard's president, Lawrence H. Summers, issued a two-page apology to the Harvard community late last night.

"I was wrong to have spoken in a way that has resulted in an unintended signal of discouragement to talented girls and women," Mr. Summers said in a letter that was posted on his Harvard Web site.

"Despite reports to the contrary, I did not say, and I do not believe, that girls are intellectually less able than boys, or that women lack the ability to succeed at the highest levels of science," Mr. Summers wrote.

It was his third public statement in three days about his remarks at a conference on women and minorities in science and engineering last Friday, with each statement becoming stronger and more apologetic. His remarks have dominated the discussion on the Harvard campus and beyond, with female academics, alumni and donors expressing concern over his leadership.

Mr. Summers, an economist and a former treasury secretary, acknowledged that he had been hearing plenty of reaction himself. "I have learned a great deal from all that I have heard in the last few days," he wrote in his statement. "The many compelling e-mails and calls that I have received have made vivid the very real barriers faced by women in pursuing scientific and other academic careers."

He wrote in the letter that he had attended the conference, held by the National Bureau of Economics, "with the intention of reinforcing my strong commitment to the advancement of women in science, and offering some informal observations on possibly fruitful avenues for further research."

However, he added: "Ensuing media reports on my remarks appear to have had quite the opposite effect. I deeply regret the impact of my comments and apologize for not having weighed them more carefully."

Mr. Summers emphasized earlier this week that he had been deliberately provocative in his statements at the conference.

Cynthia Friend, the chairwoman of Harvard's department of chemistry and chemical biology, called Mr. Summers's apology "important" and "welcome."

But Professor Friend, who was for about 20 years the only woman in her department at Harvard, said that the apology did not erase Mr. Summers's remarks at the conference. "The problem is you can't take it back," she said.

Nancy Hopkins, a biology professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was at the conference and was so upset by Mr. Summers's remarks that she walked out. "I applaud what he is saying now," she said last night, responding to Mr. Summers's letter. "But I still remain deeply concerned that someone could say the things he said last Friday."

More Here and here.

:: Netwoman 1:51 PM [+] ::
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Women miss out on research funds

Friday, January 21 2005 by Deirdre McArdle
Report

The Women in Technology and Science group has called on the government to correct what it says is an imbalance in research funding.

In the latest report -- "Getting the Balance Right in Irish Science" -- from Women in Technology and Science (WITS), the group has called for minimum gender targets and the introduction of measures which would encourage women to remain in scientific research and block what WITS terms the "leaky pipeline."

Between 2001 and 2003 Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) distributed EUR316 million to researchers in Ireland. WITS claims that only EUR30 million, or less than 10 percent, of this went to women researchers. This figure would be higher, WITS believes, if more women were in senior positions and could apply for SFI grants.

In an attempt to retain women in the area of scientific research WITS is proposing the introduction of a junior scholarship scheme to attract young women students into engineering and a return-to-work fellowship scheme for researchers.

"What we need are initiatives to make science and research much more attractive, accommodating and welcoming to women. Key to this are measures that promote flexible working, such as childcare facilities," said WITS chairperson, Dr. Ena Prosser. "If the government is really serious about promoting women in science, then it will introduce tax breaks for childcare costs."

WITS has also called on SFI to set minimum gender targets whereby at least 20 percent of research grants are allocated to women researchers, with the hope that this would rise to 40 percent in due course. Ideally WITS would also like to see at least 40 percent of SFI's review and assessment panels being chaired by women.

The recent appointment of Professor Jane Grimson to chair the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology (IRCSET) was welcomed by WITS who have also welcomed the EUR1 million Women in Science and Engineering initiative, announced recently by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheal Martin. The scheme, to be administered by SFI, will fund fellowships and scholarships aimed at improving the recruitment and retention of women in science, engineering and technology research.

:: Netwoman 1:06 PM [+] ::
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Women In Action

Isis International-Manila is a feminist NGO dedicated to women's information and communication needs. We document ideas and visions, create channels to communicate, collect and move information, and network and build links. We focus on those advancing women's rights, leadership and empowerment in Asia and the Pacific. With connections in over 150 countries, we also keep up with changing trends and analyses concerning women worldwide.

Women in Action, a magazine published by Isis International-Manila, covers a broad range of issues affecting women globally, but focusing on the particular needs and concerns of women in the Global South, and forwarding a progressive perspective tempered by the experiences of the third world women's movements. Women in Action comes out three times a year.

The online version of Women in Action No. 2, 2004, issue on "Examining Feminist and Social Movements" is now available Here.

There are some good articles - have a look.

:: Netwoman 11:58 AM [+] ::
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Interesting Article - here

Putting girls into the equation
After making gains in recent years, female enrolment in math and science programs is dropping once again

Sarah Schmidt CanWest News Service Monday, January 03, 2005

Marilyn Vassell was determined to encourage her daughter's interest in math and science. Anika, 11, excelled at both, but her mother felt there were not enough cultural cues to keep the youngster interested and thinking about a career in the sciences, so she signed her up last year in the Science AL!VE girls club in their hometown of Burnaby, B.C.

"I don't know what is going on with the boys, but I know what is not going on with the girls. I'm doing what I can to open the door for her and her friends around her," Ms. Vassell said of her only child.

After gaining ground for many years in areas long known as male bastions -- math, science and engineering -- girls and young women are falling behind.

"You always think we're on a linear line of progress. It's not true. The pendulum has swung back," said Monique Frize, professor of engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Along with University of Ottawa historian Ruby Heap, Ms. Frize has just launched a three-year research project to determine what would make faculties of engineering more woman-friendly so girls like Anika Vassell will consider enrolling in engineering and building a career in the sciences.

Although women account for a significant majority of undergraduate students at Canadian universities -- about 60% -- a declining number are enrolled in engineering programs. After making gains throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the first-year enrolment trends are the most alarming, said Deborah Wolfe, director of education at the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers.

"When you start looking at the first-year going down, it's alarming. Everybody is starting to talk about it. Why is this happening and what are we going to do about it? We thought the programs [to encourage women in engineering] were working. Maybe we slacked off a bit."

At some universities, the percentage of women in first-year engineering is less than half of the percentage in total undergraduate enrolment in the faculty. For example, at the University of Ottawa, women accounted for 7% of the first-year class last year, compared to 19% in the entire undergraduate engineering program.

The gap is even larger at Dalhousie University in Halifax, where only 6.4% of the first-year class were women last year, compared to 19.4% in the undergraduate program. At the University of Moncton in New Brunswick, 6.5% of the first-year class were women, compared to 13% overall.

Ms. Frize's research project is focusing on the exceptions, to find out what these engineering faculties are doing to keep their female numbers above 20%, including McGill and Concordia universities in Montreal, Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., the University of Toronto and the University of Calgary.

Signs of trouble are surfacing well before young women consider their post-secondary education options.

The Canadian results of the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment, released jointly last month by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada, shows a significant shift in the science results.

In the 2000 test, 15-year-old girls in Canada performed slightly better than boys in science, but the margin was considered statistically insignificant (a two-point difference). Three years later, Canadian boys outperformed girls by 11 points, considered statistically significant. (Boys continue to outperform girls in math, and girls continue to outperform boys in literacy skills.)

Girls in Canada dropped a staggering 15 points in science between 2000 and 2003, compared to the marginal decrease of two points for boys. And girls' science scores dropped in all provinces, ranging from an 11-point drop in British Columbia to 26 in Quebec. The gender gap in favour of boys was considered statistically significant in Manitoba (17 points), Ontario (11 points), Nova Scotia (11 points) and British Columbia (10 points).

Despite these setbacks in science, the issue did not register on the political radar in the same way as the gender gap in reading.

Pierre Reid, Quebec's Minister of Education and chairman of the council of education ministers, focused on the persistent gender gap in favour of girls in reading and outlined initiatives in the education system to help boys improve their literacy skills.

This emphasis is part of the problem, Ms. Frize said. "It's all about the poor boys. The girls used to be slightly better [in science], but now the boys are substantially better. That's a real reversal of educational effort."

Jennifer Flanagan, head of Actua, a national organization that represents a network of groups dedicated to increasing the scientific literacy of young Canadians, puts it another way.

When Actua noticed a trend in declining enrolment among girls from 1993 to 1998, it launched a national program to increase the participation rate of girls at its day camps, including such all-girls programming as the SCIENCE AL!VE girls clubs.

"I can tell you what we have felt. The feeling overall is that there isn't a problem. In fact, what gets a lot of coverage if girls have been outperforming boys in science and math, what we hear is boys are falling behind," Ms. Flanagan said.

Despite the end of overt talk about men's jobs and women's jobs, the origins of the problem could lie in persistent gender stereotyping.

Judy Lupart, an educational psychologist at the University of Alberta, recently conducted a survey of more than 1,400 students in Grades 7 and 10 scattered across four Alberta school districts. She asked about their academic choices and career plans. Ms. Lupart also interviewed parents regarding their assumptions about academic performance and career options for their daughters and sons.

The results confirmed a predominant perception among girls of having to work harder at science than boys. Girls' aversion to careers in science and information technology also grew as they aged, while boys' interest remained relatively strong and stable in Grades 7 and 10.

More interestingly, parents' attitudes reinforced these findings. "Parents essentially mirror the gender-stereotypical views of what their daughter will do and what their son will do. I imagine they're still getting the message about what are appropriate career aspirations," Ms. Lupart said.

Ms. Vassell stands apart from this pack. She has always made a concerted effort to steer her daughter toward activities that do not fit into gender stereotypes. And because she was discouraged from the sciences when she was a girl, Ms. Vassell was determined to open up possibilities for her daughter.

She just did not think it would require so much effort on her part.

"She doesn't get discouraged," she said of her daughter, "but she doesn't get the kind of encouragement I had hoped."

:: Netwoman 1:53 PM [+] ::
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Gender and Blogging

...is always a hot topic.

Clancy is starting to put together a "link" portal on debates about gender in the blogosphere. Good idea to keep track of all the debates. But it would be nice to have postings that people have made on the subject itself. I wonder if there is a way to meta-search blogs - will have to test google to see if it works.

:: Netwoman 8:58 PM [+] ::
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Fem-Tech Is Big Business

....according to Tom Peters

"Since women are spending about $55 billion a year on the latest electronics, the Technology Is A Girl's Best Friend showcase had its own awards, based on "form, function, overall ease of use, and how these products enhance the daily lives of female consumers."

Have a look at the GlamCam here. Thank goodness it has a mirror so I can check my lipstick - ACK! Does this mean I am supposed to record myself?

I prefer the Roomba - take a look at this beauty - "The Roomba Discovery Floorvac breaks through standard housekeeping conventions and offers technological advances, such as an active dirt detection system, self-charging Home Base, longer battery run time and faster charging."

:: Netwoman 8:41 PM [+] ::
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Blog basics: Learn how to keep an online journal

I am quoted in this article from Microsoft Home Magazine about Women and Blogging.

Blog basics: Learn how to keep an online journal
Start your own web blog and share your life online

By Mara Gulens

According to Merriam Webster Online, the number one word its readers sought to define in 2004 was one we've likely all heard but are just beginning to understand — that word is blog.

The online dictionary site defines a blog as a website that contains a personal journal with reflections, comments, and often, hyperlinks provided by the writer. Short for web log, a blog lets you keep information you want to share with others — words, pictures and even music — in one easy-to-locate online space, thus eliminating the need to send multiple e-mails to share your world.
Log your family life or express your thoughts

New Brunswick mom Andrea Rennick has no need to turn to the dictionary to understand what a blog is. This mother of four has been keeping a web log about her family life since 1999, "before blogs were invented and they were called online journals," she says.

Rennick's blog, A Typical Life, is built around stories about her family life and includes postings on everything from her Saturday shopping adventures, to photographs of her kids, to reminders about upcoming meetings and her stained glass classes.

"It's a space to express my thoughts, where someone listens [and where] other moms commiserate and help me figure things out," says Rennick, who spends anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour — in bits and pieces — almost every day on her blog. Rennick's family and friends, including her 88-year-old grandfather, have become regular readers of her blog.

Rennick is one of thousands of women who now share their lives and experiences through blogs. A study by market research firm Perseus Development Corp. says more women than men start blogs, and women are more likely to maintain them.
Why women blog

Blogs can keep families and friends abreast of a baby's birth, provide updates on a loved one's medical condition, make wedding planning easy and create a sense of community.

"Women plan weddings, conceptions, adoptions, detail pregnancies and work through grief and divorces in blogs," said Rennick. "Everything women get together to talk about one on one or in a group, they blog."

Tracy Kennedy, a PhD candidate in the department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, believes there are clear differences in the blogging experiences of men and women. "Women tend to write more personal diaries and accounts of their lives, whereas men often do not — it's more about circulating information."
Start your own blog

Setting up a blog is quite simple. The popular Blogger, for example, will let you have your own blog up and running at no cost in literally a few minutes. Here's how:

* Log on to blogger.com and create an account.
* Create a unique title for your blog and provide a brief description that will let others know what you're all about.
* Choose your template.
* Start blogging.

But be aware that a blog needs to be updated regularly to maintain its appeal. "For a blog to be of any use it has to be constantly written to, because people need to come back to it every day or every couple of days to see what's new," says Nancy Burton-Vulovic, director of technology for DigitalEve Toronto, a global organization that recognizes and emphasizes the influence of women in the field of new media technology. "If you don't have the time or the interest to keep putting your information out there, it's difficult to keep up."

Other blogging sites include LiveJournal, Mo'time, Haloscan, QuickTopic, Bloglines and MSN Spaces, which is free to anyone with a Hotmail e-mail or MSN Messenger account. MSN Spaces will even automatically notify online contacts when a person's space has been updated.
Find a blog

Technorati, a blog-monitoring service, now tracks more than five million blogs. Jim Elve, publisher of BlogsCanada, estimates that at least 35,000 of those are Canadian and that about 14,000 new blogs are launched on the web every day.

You can find a blog on just about any topic imaginable; politics, media, specific professions and likely any personal interest you can think of. To find a blog that interests you, check out a blog directory such as Bloglines or Technorati, a search engine that keeps track of what is going on in blogosphere. For made-in-Canada blogs, head to the Canadian Blog Directory.
Blog safely

For women concerned about security issues, Rennick suggests limiting personal information. Most sites do not list a home address and many do not even provide an e-mail address. Also remember that once it's published on the web, anyone and everyone can read your blog. Keep your deepest, darkest secrets offline.

:: Netwoman 11:36 PM [+] ::
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Where was Netwoman?

Netwoman disappeared for a month, highly unusual for someone who is online everyday - all the time. No excuses other than I was incredibly swamped at the end of Term One - teaching two courses, researching, working as a teaching assistant and trying to work on the dissertation. Grading for four courses was way beyond my comfort zone.

In case anyone is interested, I am teaching two courses at the University of Toronto this term. Internet and Society, and Gender and ICT. Along with this, I am heading into the interviews for my dissertation research called "The Digital Home in Canadian Context". I am working on updating my websites now. So if you are interested, stay tuned.

Thanks for hanging in. It's nice to see that so many people came by anyway while I was away.

Happy Reading - and here's to a New Year!

:: Netwoman 10:22 PM [+] ::
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Women Leaving IT

Product Management Over Past Five Years, Annual Survey Indicates

"Our 2000 survey showed that women comprised 39 percent of IT product managers," reports Steve Johnson, Pragmatic Marketing vice president and chief instructor for the company’s top-rated courses, Practical Product Management and Requirements That Work. "This year," he continues, "only 25 percent of IT product managers are female. This is clearly a significant drop."

Hmmm, wonder why that is?

:: Netwoman 10:16 PM [+] ::
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New line of laptops made for women

Laptops combine fashion with technology.
A new line of "super thin" notebooks has the fashion tastes of women in mind. X2’s new StyleBook 2000 laptop comes in colors which include pink, pastel green, pastel blue, piano white, metallic black and silver. The laptop also comes with a matching coordinated laptop bag which comes in a choice of microfiber, faux croc, leather and suede material. The notebook's bags stay fashionable by not taking on the typical design of a laptop bag, but instead look more like an oversized purse. In fact it’s designed to hold what a purse would typically hold as well as the laptop so ladies don’t have to carry around more than one bag.

The StyleBook 2000 is under four pounds and includes a 12.1" widescreen LCD display. The laptops are powered by a Pentium M or Celeron M low-power mobile processor and feature 802.11b and 802.11g wireless capabilities as well as a 4-in-1 memory card reader. Other features include Instantplay technology which allows a user to play DVD movies, MP3 music, and photos without booting into an operating system. USB 2.0 and Firewire capabilities are also included.

:: Netwoman 10:02 PM [+] ::
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