A new study shows the number of female faculty members in scientific fields nationwide is considerably less than the number of male faculty members.
Two female researchers at the University of Oklahoma conducted the study, “A National Analysis of Diversity in Science and Engineering Faculties at Research Universities,” on the top 50 research universities in various fields. The results show a significant disparity between the numbers of male and female faculty members.
Overall, the study showed that between 1993 and 2002, 30.2 percent of assistant professors in the biological sciences were women. Only 20 percent of the overall female faculty in biology was female, and the number of female faculty in math, science and engineering departments ranged from three to 15 percent.
The study included figures from the LSU System, which includes the Baton Rouge campus and the University’s other campuses throughout the state.
According to the report, there are three female tenured or tenure-track female chemistry and chemical engineering faculty members, five female physics faculty members and one female civil engineering faculty member in the LSU System.
College of Engineering Dean Pius Egbelu said the college currently has six female tenured or tenure-track faculty out of a total of 125 faculty members.
Faculty members earn tenure status after six years at the University. Once tenured, faculty members have more academic freedom to pursue research interests.
Kevin Carman, interim dean of the College of Basic Sciences, said the college has 20 tenured or tenure-track women out of a total faculty of 144.
Out of 55 faculty members in the biological science department, Carman said 10 of those are women. The geology and chemistry departments have three female faculty members each, and the computer science and physics departments have two female faculty members each.
Despite the small number of women in these departments, Carman said these statistics are a substantial improvement from a decade ago.
Carman said the college has encountered several highly qualified female applicants in its recent and current faculty searches, and expects the number of female faculty members to increase in the upcoming years.
Egbelu said he would like to have more female faculty members in the college, but pointed out that overall, there are few women in the advanced levels of engineering, and there is strong competition to get those women to come to LSU.
Egbelu said the college does not have any specific program to attract female faculty members, but encourages those women who are interested to apply for faculty positions.
Julia Chan, an assistant professor of chemistry, said support from fellow professors makes the working environment a comfortable one.
“Essentially, I don’t think it makes too much of a difference to be in a male-dominated field if you have supportive male colleagues, which I do,” Chan said.
Chan said although women are receiving doctoral degrees in the sciences, many are not choosing to pursue careers in academics.
Chan said one hypothesis is that the lack of maternity-leave policies at some universities may discourage women from applying for those positions.
In addition, Chan said the lack of women in those fields may reflect the fact that those positions require balancing research, teaching and family life.
Carman said it has become important in today’s world to consider other aspects of faculty members’ lives.
“One thing we can do to improve our ability to recruit faculty, both men and women, is to look for creative ways to find accommodations for spouses of faculty we are trying to hire,” Carman said.