Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 08:40:30 -0500 (EST)
Subject: CSWA Newsletter of 5/19/99
To: AASMAIL:;;
wellesley.edu
AAS Committee on the Status of Women
weekly issues of 5/19/99, ed. by Priscilla Benson
*** send email and addresses to aaswomenwellesley.edu ***
This week's issues:
1. Gender Gap in math achievement is GONE!
2. Job Notice for Canadians
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1. Gender Gap in math achievement is GONE!
From: "Wright, James P." jwrightnsf.gov
Note the NSF press release about the gender gap in
mathematics achievement being gone!
(Avail online at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?pr9936)
Title: S&E Degrees to Women, Minorities on the Rise, Math
Achievement 'Gender Gap' is Gone
Date: May 5, 1999
Media contact: May 5, 1999
Joel Blumenthal NSF PR 99-36
(703) 306-1070/jblumentnsf.gov
Program contact:
Joan Burrelli
(703) 306-1777/jburrellnsf.gov
S&E DEGREES TO WOMEN, MINORITIES ON THE RISE,
MATH ACHIEVEMENT " GENDER GAP " IS GONE
The number and proportion of women and minorities
enrolled and earning undergraduate and graduate science and
engineering [S&E] degrees continues to increase, while the
number of white men doing so is decreasing, according to a
National Science Foundation [NSF] report released today to
Congress.
Between 1982 and 1994, the percentages of black,
Hispanic and American Indian students taking many basic and
advanced mathematics courses doubled.
And the 1996 National Assessment of Educational
Progress [NAEP] mathematics assessment results showed that
the " gender gap " in mathematics achievement has, for
the most part, disappeared, says Women, Minorities, and
Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 1998,
a report by NSF's Division of Science Resources Studies
[SRS].
Despite these gains, women, minorities, and persons
with disabilities remain underrepresented in science and
engineering fields, said the ninth in a series of
Congressionally mandated reports on the status of women and
minorities in science and engineering. The report for 1996
spurred U.S. Rep. Connie Morella [R-MD] to sponsor a bill
establishing a " Commission on the Advancement of Women and
Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology
Development. "
The bill became Public Law 105-255, and the
Commission held its first meeting April 14. At that
meeting, NSF Director Rita Colwell said the Commission has a
" vital " role in achieving a collective goal of
crafting " a new strategy and a new direction for human
resource development in science and engineering. "
Women, Minorities, and Persons with
Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 1998 documents
both short- and long-term trends in science and engineering
education and employment. It does not endorse or recommend
any policies or programs. Among its findings:
Asians were 3 percent of the population, and 10
percent of the S&E workforce in 1995. Blacks, Hispanics and
American Indians made up 23 percent of the population, but
only 6 percent of the S&E workforce.
Students with disabilities take fewer science and
mathematics courses, have lower grades and achievement
scores, and are more likely to drop out of school than
students without disabilities.
Women scientists and engineers are more likely than
men to be employed in computer or mathematical sciences,
life sciences and social sciences; and less likely to be
managers if they work in business. Women Ph.D. scientists
and engineers are more likely to work at elementary and
secondary schools and two year colleges, and less likely
than men to be tenured.
The percentage of disabled scientists and engineers
out of the workforce is three times those without
disabilities. Working scientists and engineers with
disabilities perform the same type of work as those without
disabilities, and earn virtually the same salary.
-NSF-
The complete report is available on the NSF website at:
www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf99338
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2. Job Notice for Canadians
From: Chris Wilson cdwastro.caltech.edu
Department of Physics and Astronomy
The University of Manitoba
Tenure-track Assistant Professor
position in Astronomy and Astrophysics
The Department invites applications for a full-time, tenure-
track Assistant Professor position, from candidates who are
eligible to be sponsored for a Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council (NSERC) University Faculty
Award (UFA) (subject to final budgetary approval).
Consideration of applications will begin immediately and
close on September 1, 1999.
We are looking for an enthusiastic person with:
a PhD in any area of astronomy or astrophysics;
a strong academic record;
exceptional promise for independent research; and,
a strong commitment to teaching.
To be eligible for the NSERC UFA, and therefore our
position, you must be:
a woman holding a Ph.D. or expecting to have completed
all the requirements for such a degree, including thesis
defense, by Sep. 1, 2000; and,
a Canadian citizen, or a permanent resident of Canada, as
of Nov. 1, 1999.
If you are interested, please consult the complete
announcement at
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/science/astronomy/staff/tr
ack2000.html
(Submitted in shortened form by Chris Wilson, McMaster
University)
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End of CSWA Newsletter for 5/19/99