Women are still not equally represented in many careers in technology and science. Young women possess equal abilities in scientific skills in the elementary schools, but their enrollment in science related classes diminishes as they enter high school and college. This creates an accumulated disadvantage which deters success in science and technology classes in college and graduate school. Sex role stereotyping and negative teacher behaviors affect young women's attitudes about potential for success in careers that have been stereotyped as masculine. On the other hand, role modeling has been found to be an important means to encourage young women to choose careers in technology and science. The intention of this study was to identify, by using the WWW, women who are currently employed in technology related careers, or training for employment in technology related careers, and to identify the effects of role models on their career choices and career persistence. A Professional Women's Directory was located using a web search, and women who indicated technology as a part of their profession were identified. The Role Model survey developed by Smith in 1983 was modified for this group, and sent by E-mail to a randomly selected subset of the total list of women in technology. This report summarizes the results of the responses to that survey, and suggests some implications for teacher and scientific professionals planning and instruction.

      Career choice, for many individuals in our society, is a sociological issue. (Brooks-Gunn & Schempp-Matthews, 1979). We tend to imitate what we see that we find pleasing; at an early age we grasp objects that our parents, teachers, or other important individuals place within our reach; we find pleasure in playing the games that we see our family and friends playing. Many young people choose careers by that for which they believe they or their parents can afford to finance training. Some choose careers based primarily on how much time they want to have for family and leisure activities, especially young women (Richmond-Abbott, 1983).

      For women who are currently in careers which relate to science or technology, the path to success is filled with many obstacles. Despite the affirmative action efforts for more than fifteen years, women are still grossly under represented in the physical sciences, equivalent positions in academia, and in some areas of the country, in technology careers requiring a degree in computer science. (Computer World, 1996). Esler and Esler (1996) report "It is also true that relatively few females venture into the technically oriented professions such as medicine and engineering. Females currently represent only about 10 percent of engineering professions" (p. 173). Moreover, eighteen percent of all physicians are women (Fast & Fast, 1995).

      Role modeling is a sociological area of influence which can be used to encourage young women to choose science and technology related careers in greater numbers (Smith, 1983).  Educators have an important influence on this area, both positively and negatively. Research has shown that young women must be encouraged in science and technology careers by the time they reach their middle school years, in order to acquire a sufficient science and mathematics background. Science careers require adequate mathematics and science background for the student entering an engineering or physical science course of study. Girls, who are discouraged from taking mathematics and science courses in middle and high school, reach college with an accumulated disadvantage (Smith, 1983).

      In pre-college academic preparation, recent research continues to show that classroom teachers favor male students over female students in science classes, providing more attention and direction to male students, addressing male students more frequently by name, and interrupting female students more often than male students. When female students are praised, it is more often for their behavior or appearance, whereas males are praised predominantly for their academic performance. (Esler & Esler, 1996)

      It has been shown that when elementary teachers perceive their female students' abilities to be less than that of their male counterparts, despite what those abilities are, girls' performance and aspiration toward science careers decrease significantly. (Shepardson & Pizzini, 1992). In effect, these teachers are serving as negative role models because they discourage their female students from finding their maximum skills and potential. Conversely, hands-on activities in science, exemplary science teachers, and authentic assessment methods in science education, have been shown to reinforce and maintain girls' abilities in science, and to increase the percentage of girls' choices of science and technology related careers (Kahle, 1985).

      When preparing teachers to teach science in the elementary school, Abruscato (1995) noted:

"the image of the scientist held by the most people is a stereotype (of a male). . . .If you really believe that all children should have an equal opportunity to receive the best possible education, you have an obligation to correct sex-role stereotyping. . . . The persistence of these falsehoods (of sex-role stereotyping) injures our future because in discouraging some from careers in science and technology, we may lose great discoveries that will improve our lives." (p. 9)

      The purpose of the survey conducted in this study was to investigate the opinions and experiences of women who are currently employed in a technology related career, in order to assess the effect of role modeling on their career choice and career persistence. Role modeling for technology and science careers has been researched in high school and college aged women, but not yet examined in those women who are already in science and technology careers. (Cole, 1979; Smith, 1983). The Internet was chosen as the mechanism for identifying women currently working in science and technology related careers.

      The author hoped to find the Internet an effective tool for contacting these individuals and for reporting the results of the survey, and as a method for using new technology to deal with an issue very important in science education. The study is a step in continuing research on Role Modeling begun in 1983 by the author, and to serve as a pilot effort for further research surveying high school students of both genders and of multiple ethnic backgrounds, and the influence of role modeling on their career choices (Norby & Mitchell, 1997).

      For this survey to collect data on issues relating to women in technology careers, the author located a "Professional Women's Directory" on the World Wide Web, using the Yahoo search engine. The search was conducted on the term "Women." The author then selected names from the directory which had listed technology as their area of employment or interest. One hundred names were randomly selected from that list. The author developed a short survey on Role Models and Career Choices, based on a previous questionnaire used with high school girls. (Smith, 1983).  This survey can be seen in Figure 1.

The survey was then sent to those women selected from the "Professional Women's Directory" via their E-mail addresses. Twenty-one individuals responded making for a response rate of 21 percent. When the author received the responses, the results were tabulated and percentages were calculated to allow the results to be summarized.

Figure 1

I found your name during a WWW search of the Women's Professional Directory of Women in Technology. I am preparing a survey on Women In Technology for a seminar in Instructional Technology at the University of Wyoming. My research interests lie in gender issues for science and technology careers. If you would send me an E-mail with the answers to the following questions, before Nov. 30, I would be most grateful. I will send you a copy of my survey results if you so request (Specify E-mail or snail mail).

QUESTIONS:

1) What was the single most important influence on your interest and achievements in science or
     technology?

2) Do you think role models help women pursue and achieve successful careers in technology?

3) How would you define "role model"?

4) Is the gender of the role model important?

5) What was your age when you chose a career in science or technology?

6) a) Was your mother employed in a scientific/technology career?

    b) Was any other family member employed in such a career?

7) Any comments on women in scientific and technical careers?

8) (Optional demographic data)

    What is:

     a: Your Age

     b: Your Geographic Location

     (North, South, Midwest, Northwest, Southwest USA, or outside the continental US)

     c: Educational level

     (Some College, A college degree, Informally Educated, Technical School, More than one
      college degree)

     d: Marital Status:

        (Single, Never Married, Divorced or widowed,  Married, Living with significant other but
         not married.)

Thank you for your responses to this questionnaire.

      Question 1, What was the single most important influence on your interest and achievements in science or technology?,  required a descriptive answer. The answers included individuals, male or female, such as the respondent's father, who frequently was in a technical field himself, an older sister, or a characteristic of the respondent, such as "insatiable curiosity," need for economic independence, or fun playing with technical projects. One respondent indicated that her father was a nurse, and that he had been especially helpful in encouragement to seek a goal which might not be typical of her gender.

      For Question 2,  Do you think Role Models help women pursue and achieve successful careers in technology?, 90 percent of the individuals who did reply, responded that a role model was important in influencing them to choose and maintain an interest in a career in science or technology. The results of this survey paralleled the results of the author's doctoral dissertation, which showed that young women who choose science and technology related careers are much more likely to have identified a role model in their life (Smith, 1983). It is of especial interest to note that Smith found that the gender of the role model is not as important as is the positive nature of the interaction between the role model and the young woman. The important quality of the role model was that she or he was positive, encouraging and supportive in the relationship with the young woman.

      The following is a selected, more extensive answer to Question 2, and illustrates the need to provide role modeling in technology and science career areas where young women are still a small minority of the total population in that area:

" Most certainly. I have spent 5 semesters in Engineering classes with an average of 3 women out of 30 in a class. None of my professors are female. Very few show concern for gender issues. It is difficult for me to attend classes regularly. Though I am capable of excelling, I feel apathetic about the learning process. Sometimes attending labs makes me physically sick. The only thing that keeps me going is my pre-membership in our local AAUW (American Association of University Women) chapter. Seeing these women, where they are in their lives, how strong they are, consistently inspires me to pull through."

      For Question 4, Is the gender of the role model important?, 86 percent of the respondents believe that the gender of the role model is not important, although a few said that they believe that it helps to see women in roles where men have traditionally been the only examples.

      In response to Question 5, What was your age when you chose a career in science or technology?, most of the respondents made the decision to pursue a career in science or technology when they were in their early teens. However, one remarkable respondent indicated that she made her decision when she was sixty years of age, reminding us that lifelong learning implies that we can become accomplished in new areas later in life than traditional stereotypes would suggest!

      For Question 6a, Was your mother employed in a scientific/technology career?, only 19 percent of the respondents replied that their mothers had been employed in a scientific/technology career. This reflects a continuing practice that started at the end of World War II, in the United States, when women were sent back home to make room for the returning male work force (Historical Statistics of the U.S., Part 1, 1970). When the work force needs technical labor, then women have been encouraged into work, but when males are available, only a few exceptional women are able to maintain employment in traditionally male dominated, higher paid fields.

      In response to Question 6-b, Was any other family member employed in such a career?, 71 percent of the respondents answered that they had had another family member who had been employed in a science/technology related career. Of those who answered yes, three said that the gender of that person was female. Twelve reported a male family member in a science or technology related career.

      Question 7 asked for general comments on the topic of women in scientific and technical careers. What follows is a noteworthy, verbatim quotation from one woman's answer:

"Yes. I believe that there are still a great number of men in scientific and technical careers that don't respect their female coworkers or employees. However, I find that this respect can be earned through hard work, dedication, and fighting for what you deserve - without making personal attacks. I think too many women in the workplace feel that they deserve respect just because they are present and accounted for. No woman is owed a career or career advancement. The men earn theirs, we must earn ours. And if there are still some men who create a hostile environment, then we file a formal complaint, talk to their supervisors, and if that doesn't work... find another job. I want equal rights, not special rights."

      The final questions on the survey were intended to obtain demographic data. The average age of the respondents was 38, with the maximum being 60, and the minimum age 21. Respondents included individuals from the northeastern United States, the South, the Midwest, two individuals at University of Wyoming who are students in the physical sciences, both graduate and undergraduate, and three from outside the United States -- Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
      A spectrum of educational levels were represented, including the 21 year old undergraduate, and a Ph.D. who is also a "docent". Most of the respondent's degrees were in Engineering or physical and biological sciences, with one reporting a bachelor's and master's degree in business. Responses to the question on marital status included individuals who are single, one who indicated that she is planning never to marry, married, married with children, and living with significant other but not married.

      As previously mentioned , the percentage of responses to this survey was small, in part due to the time frame for returning replies. One respondent requested that the author fax her the survey, as her computer screen "scrolled too fast" for her to respond by E-mail. Other factors include the time of year (Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays), when many individuals are not reading their E-mail and responding immediately, and, of course, the fact that this was a voluntary survey. Possibly the respondents were self selected to some extent by feeling more confident with the technology than those who did not respond. The good news is that there is a directory of professional women where individuals in technology can be identified, and where individuals can find support, information and inspiration, hopefully even some form of validation. Communication can help resolve feelings of isolation, and provide the assurance that other women are finding careers that allow them to fulfill their potential.

      Technology can provide us as educators with many ways of encouraging and supporting all students to achieve their chosen goals, even if they do choose a non-traditional field. The World Wide Web facilitates sharing of information, finding sites that are gender neutral, and removing barriers which may exist in one's work place or educational institution. Women have opportunities in the computing world, which has not been in existence long enough for the "Old Boys' network" to exclude them. Being an expert with technology has nothing to do with physical ability, so that any capable student, regardless of gender or ethnic background, can find opportunities to practice her or his skills and achieve her or his academic promise.

      It is important to note that men can be effective role models just as well as can women. Surveys on role modeling indicate that the young person is affected positively by someone who is "nice, caring", supportive, energetic, and has a positive attitude towards my abilities and opportunities. The gender of the role model is not a critical factor. (Norby & Mitchell, 1997). With a knowledge of these important characteristics, programs which allow engineers and scientists to present talks in schools should be encouraged, especially allowing for some small group interaction between the engineer/scientist and the young people in schools. When women are currently under represented in science and technology professions, men who are working in those professions are needed to provide inspiration and information for the potential engineer/scientist.

      Colleges should encourage and emphasize support organizations for young women who are entering non-traditional technology and science careers. Dresselhaus et al. (1994) state:

When encouraging retention of women in the physical sciences, "it is not enough for faculty members to give good lectures and engage in world-class research. As educators, faculty members must also be concerned about providing a welcoming and supportive environment for their colleagues and their students. Constructive attitudes, a caring approach, open communication channels between faculty and students, and good will can go a long way toward enhancing successful outcomes for (women) students and young faculty members. (p. 1393)

      Abruscato, J. (1995). Teaching children science - A discovery approach. Fourth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

      Brooks-Gunn, J., and Schempp-Matthews, W. (1979). He and she - How children develop their sex-role identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

      Butts, D. (1981). A summary of research in science education - 1979: Searching the learning context of the undergraduate collegian. Science Education, 65(4),September, 398-411.

      Cole, J.R. (1979). Fair science - Women in the scientific community. New York: The Free Press (Macmillan).

      Dresselhaus, M.S., Franz, J.R., & Clark, B.C. (1994). Interventions to increase the participation of women in physics. Science, 263(5152), March, 1392-1393.

      Fast, T.H. & Fast, C.C.(1995).  The Women's Atlas of the U.S New York: Facts On File.

      Historical Statistics of The U.S. - Colonial times to 1970 - Part 1. (1970) U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

      Kahle, J.B. (1985) Retention of girls in science: Case studies of secondary teachers, in: Women in Science: A Report from the Field.  J.B. Kahle, ed. Philadelphia: Falmer Press.

      Norby, R.F., & Mitchell, R.C. (1997). The investigation of role models and high school students' career choices in science and technology in an Illinois school district. Unpublished manuscript. The University of Wyoming,  Laramie, WY.

      Richmond-Abbott, M. (1983). Masculine and feminine - Sex roles over the life cycle. New York:Addison-Wesley.

      Shepardson, D.P., & Pizzini, E.L. (1992). Gender bias in female elementary teachers' perceptions of the scientific ability of students. Science Education, 76(2), 147-153.

      Smith, R.F. (1983) The Investigation of Role Models and Women's Choices of Science Related Careers. Doctoral Dissertation. Atlanta: Georgia State University.

About the author...

Dr. Rena Faye Norby is a temporary instructor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. She was a visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Florida Atlantic University, Davie Florida, in 1995-1996, and received her Ph.D. from Georgia State University in Secondary Science Education. She was a faculty member at North Georgia College, Dahlonega, Georgia, before moving to Wyoming in 1986. Her work experience outside of academia includes more than twelve years as a computer programmer and systems analyst. Her current research interest include issues of educating to encourage non-traditional students in science and engineering careers, and effects of cooperative learning in facilitation science instruction in high school and college.

To get to the top of this page, click here.

To get back to the current issue of the EJSE, click here.

To get back to the EJSE's Archive page, click here.