OPINION: We need more women scientists, and there’s a lot more universities can do about it

The U.S. currently does not have enough scientists to compete as a global leader in emerging high-tech fields.

Despite our national deficit in scientists, less than 30 percent of professors in STEM fields in the U.S. are women, even though women earn 40 percent of all doctorates in science, technology, engineering and math.

Each year, the federal government budgets billions of dollars for research and development, and gives much of the money to universities and research laboratories that train and support STEM researchers.

That funding is the lifeblood of scientific discovery, and it is imperative that the federal government demand more from institutions that are pushing women out of the sciences.

Many of the women who earn STEM degrees trickle out of academia after receiving years of government investment in their specialized training. Many leave mid-career, when they are at their technical peak for producing breakthrough research.

With a few small changes, we can provide adequate support for women in the sciences — and boost long-term scientific achievement.

We might then see an explosion in original thought and discovery at universities, and ultimately, a greater return on taxpayer money — a winning proposition for everyone.

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Historically, some of the greatest scientific innovations and technologies were developed with the support of government research funds, from artificial intelligence to diabetes treatments and the detection of gravitational waves.

Over the last 40 years, we’ve made tremendous progress in welcoming more women into STEM at a young age. In many fields women now outnumber men in undergraduate and graduate programs.

Yet as women progress in academia, they are often asked to carry a heavier workload than their male colleagues in terms of committee service, departmental service and mentoring duties. They also carry a heavier load in terms of care for family members and young children because they have to.

These extra duties, whether seen or unseen, coupled with subjective assessment criteria like “fit within the department,” make it harder for women to make the case for tenure and promotion.

Not surprisingly, only 44 percent of female tenured professors are mothers, while 70 percent of male tenured professors are fathers. And women professors, especially women of color, are still underpaid relative to their male colleagues with similar publication records.

Clearly, the vestiges of academia’s sexist history still haunt us. The most common reasons women leave academia are because of harsh workplace climates riddled with harassment, sexual assault, discrimination and dysfunctional leadership.

Workplaces in the nonprofit research sector tend to be more hospitable places for women, with organizations like Howard Hughes Medical Institute, for example, offering affordable child care and pre-K education. The share of public academic institutions offering child care services declined by 14 percent from 2004 to 2019. Colleges aren’t doing enough.

Similarly, unlike most business entities in the U.S., universities are seldom accountable for the actions of their employees. In the very setting where harassment is most harmful — the education of young people — harassers face few consequences.

The result of all this: incredibly talented and capable women are being pushed out of academia.

Take one example: Katalin Karikó, the 2023 Nobel Prize laureate in medicine. When the world was scrambling to discover a remedy for Covid, it was her research that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against the virus.

By the time she received the recognition she deserved, however, after years of rejection from funders, journals and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, Kariko had moved into the private sector.

My own journey in scientific research began as a participant at SSP, a summer science enrichment program for high school students run by a nonprofit organization. I worked as a NASA-funded researcher for 10 years before becoming a professor at Brown University. I eventually stepped away from academia because it was not a supportive arena for doing what I love: scientific research and mentoring young people.

I have since found opportunities to continue these activities with supportive and caring colleagues at SSP, where I now serve as chief academic officer.

There is a lot that universities can do to improve working conditions for women. These changes include equally sharing departmental service loads, providing onsite, university-operated day care and preschools and creating formal and standardized policies for spousal and partner hires and leave for family care or the arrival of a new child.

Related: STUDENT VOICES: We need more women in STEM fields, and we have ideas for making that happen

These changes must be enacted alongside a shared understanding that such policies should be available to all and are integral to maintaining the equity that universities claim to seek.

Government funders of academia, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NASA, wishing to make serious progress in equity and inclusion, could withhold grants to universities that refuse to engage in these simple measures — especially those that protect professors with a proven track record of abuse and sexual harassment. Congress should provide additional support.

Universities need to know that they must do a better job in equity or risk losing federal funding.

This is ultimately a question of good finances and good science. Either we invest in our best or we force them out.

At SSP, I aim to equip the strong, bright, motivated high school teens I mentor with all the skills they will need to thrive in academia and achieve their career goals. I hope that the university and grant systems will enact changes to make the academic landscape more hospitable to these students, allowing their creativity, talents, interests and contributions to support the greater good.

We should not suppress half of the intellectual talent of our nation. Women must be supported. We cannot afford not to.

Amy Barr Mlinar is a planetary scientist and chief academic officer of SSP International.

This story about women and STEM was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for our Higher Education newsletter.

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