Needed: Teachers to Encourage Girls in Math, Science, and Technology

“If female underachievement is best measured by the many talented women in our society who look back at their lives with feelings of regret, it then becomes our responsibility to help future generations of gifted and talented females before they, too, underachieve.”

Gender differences in career paths in psychiatry

Although psychiatry has one of the highest proportions of women entering its residency programs, women have not assumed a proportionate amount of academic or research leadership positions in the field. This literature review identifies three general groups of models that explain disparities between men's and women's careers, but these do not fully account for observed differences in psychiatric practice and academic progression of women in psychiatry. Gender differences in career paths in psychiatry are not only affected by individual traits and choices, but also by economic factors. Theories based on organizational discrimination, and systems and market factors are also reviewed. No single explanatory model accounts for disparities between the careers of men and those of women. Because psychiatric practice patterns may be broadly distributed across labor sectors, more diverse career patterns are possible in psychiatry than in more constrained and traditional fields. Research on gender differences in psychiatry careers must consider not only the individual work style and choice, but also the position of individuals within the organization and the position of those organizations across the labor market.

The experience of women in undergraduate computer science

In recent years the discipline of computer science has become recognized as a male dominated field. Attempts have been made to encourage more women to participate but, have such efforts been supported or directed by the available research? This article presents a description of the current situation and reviews the existing body of research related to the undergraduate experience of women in computer science. Based on the research, some implications for computer science education are outlined. Suggestions are also given for further research needed to more completely describe the current situation and direct changes.