Underrepresentation in the Real World

More on Enrolling Female Students in Science and Engineering

“…The failure of girls and women to pursue science is more likely a product of their nature and free choice, so they should be left undisturbed. As Chubin shows, such a view is not grounded in evidence (Chubin 2009; see also National Science Foundation 2008).…”

“…It is acknowledged, explicitly or implicitly, by the arguments Bouville dismisses that there are persistent stereotypical beliefs about women that discourage their participation in non-traditional areas such as science, and there is substantial evidence to support this as well as extensive critical discussion of that evidence (Chubin 2009). Advocates of outreach programs and policies to increase the enrolment of women in science and engineering think that the historical exclusion and hostility to women leave a burden on these disciplines to show that these fields no longer practice unfair treatment (that is, not giving women who do choose to pursue science worse treatment than their male counterparts).…”