Gender Diversity in the Geosciences: Current Status and Future Trends
Abstract
Since 1995, the proportion of women in the American Geological Institute's Directory of Geoscience Departments has risen from 12% of the entries to 14.2% (exclusive of administrative assistants). Separated into type of institution, there is a greater proportion of women at Museums (17.5%), Bachelor's-granting institutions (17.2%), and non degree-granting academic institutions (16.5%), but these percentages drop when marginal positions, such as "Lecturer", "Instructor", "Adjunct" and "Cooperating Faculty" are excluded to 14.0% (Museums), 15.9% (B.S.-granting institution). The institutions with the lowest proportion of females are the State Geologic Surveys (12.6% female), followed by Ph.D.-granting institutions (12.8% female). Fifteen Ph.D.-granting institutions in the United States still have no females on their faculty. These numbers contrast poorly with the proportion of women receiving B.S. or M.S. degrees in the geosciences over the last 10 years (34 B.S.%/30% M.S. in 1996) and with the proportion receiving the PhD. (24% over the last 10 years; 30% in 2000). There is a significant loss of women between the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, and between the Ph.D. degree and a tenure-track position. Women reach or exceed their overall average in four subdisciplines of the geosciences: paleontology, geochemistry, general geology, and oceanography. Women are most under-represented in engineering geology, followed by economic geology, planetology, soil science, geophysics, and hydrology. Within these subdisciplines, women exceed their overall average in geomagnetism and paleomagnetism, ground water and surface water studies, soil biochemistry, and meteorite study. Most women in tenure-track positions at degree-granting institutions are currently Assistant Professors while most men are Full Professors. The proportion of women hired into Assistant Professor positions has increased over the last five years, from 22% hired 5 to 10 years ago to 25% hired 1 to 5 years ago. These data indicate that women are beginning to approach being hired at the same proportion in which they receive PhD degrees in the geosciences. Despite common myth, women are not getting "all" of the new Assistant Professor positions; they remain under-represented at every academic rank, at every type of institution. At the current rate of increase, we expect women will not achieve parity in the geosciences for another 40 years.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2002
- Bibcode:
- 2002AGUFM.U72C..03H
- Keywords:
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- 6399 General or miscellaneous