Female scientists view gender discrimination as a major reason for pursuing careers in biology rather than physics

Updated on: Thursday, October 25, 2012

Scientists have solved the mystery behind women opting for careers outside hard sciences, citing gender discrimination as a major reason.

Researchers from Rice University claim, both male and female scientists view gender discrimination as a major reason women choose to pursue careers in biology rather than physics.

The new study surveyed 2,500 biologists and physicists at elite institutions of higher education in the United States.

Researchers also interviewed a smaller scientific sample of 150 scientists about the reasons they believe there are gender differences in scientific disciplines.

Lead study author and principal investigator Elaine Howard Ecklund, an associate professor of sociology, said, "The distribution of women and men across various science-related occupations has long drawn both popular and scholarly attention."

"In our research, we're interested in how scientists explain the different proportions of men and women in biology and physics," Ecklund said.

The study's key finding is that both male and female scientists view gender discrimination as a factor in women's decision not to choose a science career at all or to choose biology over physics.

However, the two sexes still have differences in opinion about when discrimination occurs.

"During interviews, men almost never mentioned present-day discrimination, believing that any discrimination in physical science classes likely took place early in the educational history (primary school), which they believe explains women's predisposition to biological sciences," Ecklund said in a statement.

"However, female scientists believe that discrimination is still occurring in present-day universities and departments," she added.

Regardless of gender or discipline, approximately half of all the scientists interviewed thought that at some point in women's educational lives, they are discouraged from pursing a career in physics.

Other reasons scientists gave to explain the different numbers of women that pursue biology when compared with physics include mentorship of students in the fields of biology and physics and "inherent differences between men and women".

One female scientist said, "I think women want to have more of a sense that what they are doing is helping somebody. Maybe there are more women in biology (because) you can be like, 'Oh, I am going to go cure cancer'."

Whereas women often explained sex differences between the disciplines using reasons of emotional affinity, men stressed neurological differences as being responsible for personal choices.

The study was published in the journal Gender and Society.

Female scientists view gender discrimination as a major reason for pursuing careers in biology rather than physics

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