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August 14, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR KRISTIN TAGHON, TO READ BIO., CLICK
HERE.
Keva, I did an extensive search for information on minority
women in the
sciences. I came up with alot of information on women in the
sciences and
minorities in the sciences, but very little on minority women
in the sciences.
I thought that perhaps, if I combined the two, you could get
a sense of minority
women. After doing the research, though, I find some conflicting
information.
Some articles show that salary gaps between men and women
are closing and are
now more indicative of education. Another shows that minority
women are perhaps
doing better than non-minority women in obtaining doctorates.
I could not find
any information on salaries of minority women and how more
educated minority
women might affect salary, or even if it does. Additionally,
it is very hard to
find studies based on data as recent as 2000, 2001 or 2002.
It must take a long
while to compile the data and glean anything from the data.
I hope you find
this interesting. Hopefully, someone else will find more on
salary. Read on.
In an article "1997 Salary Survey", the salaries
of Medical Device Professionals
are compared to previous years. I felt that this profession
could represent the
science and technology industry in part. The article states
that
"Gender is not included in the worksheet this year, suggesting
that it does not
weigh as heavily as other factors. There is still a disparity
between the
average salaries of men and women--$72,700 for men, $55,400
for women--but
factors such as education, experience, and primary job function
may determine
salary more than gender does.
Similar to survey results of 1994 and 1995, region plays a
key role in
predicting salary. This year, users of the survey worksheet
must deduct a hefty
$5930 if they work in the southern United States; their average
salary is $7200
less than the industry average. "
In short, this article states that, salary disparities between
men and women,
even in 1997, were beginning to be based more on education
and experience, than
gender. Given this, more women need to get the education to
catch up with men
in salary and position. This article includes data about women
and minorities.
http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/97/08/016.html
The following article tends to show information differently
and is based on data
from 1993, although, it is copyrighted in 2000. This article
shows the progress
of Affirmative Action (AA) and how it has opened workplace
doors and brought
better salaries for women of all colors. AA has helped to
acquire greater job
stability and occupational ambition to women and minoriites.
But, there is
still a gap in salary for women of equal experience and education.
http://www.feminist.org/other/ccri/aafact2.html
In yet, another article I found on www.feminist.org, about
women in
sports-related careers.:
http://www.feminist.org/sports/wsf_feature.asp
they quote
" This report revealed that a full-time, female communications
manager earned 86
cents for every dollar a man made in her industry in 1995.
In 2000, she made
only 73 cents on the man’s dollar (Washington Post, January
2002). Although this
study prompts more questions for explanation than causal conclusions,
it does
send a clear indication that America is not guaranteed unimpeded
progress
towards economic equality absent concerted cooperative efforts.".
But this
article represents all women, not just minority women.
From the Commission on Professionals in Science & Technology,
in an article
about minorities obtaining degrees, "Under-represented
Minorities in
Engineering, A Progress Report" by Elanor L. Babco, Executive
Directorof the
Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, studies
of populations in
S&E education.
http://www.cpst.org/Minorities.pdf
It was reported that:
"While there was an increase in the number of Hispanic
graduates of slighly more
than 1%, at the two producing institutions of Hispanic graduates,
the University
of Puerto Rico and Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico,
there was a decline
from 1999 to 2000. In addition, at California Polytechnic
University at San
Luis Obispo, there was a drop of over 30% of Hispanics baccalaureates,
mostly
women. In 2000, no Hispanic women engineering graduates were
reported -
compared to 8 women Hispanic grads in 1999."
"For African Americans, there was a drop of 16% of baccalaureates
from 1999 -
2000 at the top producer - North Carolina AT&T (from 223
to 187) and most of the
drop is comprised of African American men. There was a decline
of only one
African American woman at NC AT&T."
"It is interesting to note that underrepresented minority
women earn a higher
proportion of the engineering doctorates granted in their
racial/ethnic group
than do the white non-Hispanic women or the Asian women. In
1980, black,
non-Hispanic women earned 11.1% of the doctorates earned by
black, non-Hispanics
in engineering; by 1999, they had increased their share to
24%. Hispanic women
earned 3.7% of the engineering PhDs granted to Hispanics in
19809; by 1999,
they earned 28% while Native American women earned none of
the three doctorates
awared in engineering in 1980. But earned 2 of the 12 of the
PhDs in 1999. In
comparison white non-Hispanic women earned 5.1% of the engineering
doctorates
awarded to whites in 1980 and 16.7% of the PhDs in 1999. Asian
women earned
2.5% in 1980 and 16.9% in 1999. "
In a collection of articles from Commission on Professionals
in Science &
Technology,
http://www.cpst.org/S&E.pdf
"Scientists and Engineers for the New Millennium: Renewing
the Human Resource;
A collection of the Commissionon Professionals in Science
and Technology" Babco
and Marry Golladay collaborate and state:
"Women have increased their percent of earned degrees
in Science and Engineering
fields at all levels since 1970, rising from 28% of S&E
degrees to over 48% in
1997 at the bachelor's level. Their proportion has increased
more dramatically
at the doctorate level, where the proportion of degrees to
women in S&E fields
rose from 9% in 1970 to nearly 33% in 1997. Increases at the
master's level
have been intermediate between the bachelor's and doctorate
degree levels."
"Increases in the proportion of S&E degrees to underrepresented
minorities have
been at best gradual over the past 10 years. This group earned
under 10% of S&E
bachelor's degrees to US citizens and permanent residents
in 1989 and increased
that percentage to just under 15% of the S&E degrees awarded
to US citizens and
permanent residents in 1989, and increased that percentage
to only 7% in 1997."
"THe proportion of all S&E doctorates awarded to
underrepresented minorities is
even smaller when considered as part of the total group of
doctorates. The
proportion of doctorate degree awards to foreign citizens
is highest at the
doctorate level. U.S. citizens earned 67% of the S&E degrees
fromUS
universities in 1980 as well as 1997."
Another article in this collection by Mary Frank Fox discusses
what we know
about Education And Employment for women in science and how
this affects the
field in the future. Her findings showed that women getting
their degrees
approach the degrees in a different way than men do. She states
that
"Women are less likely to report that they are taken
seriously by faculty, and
that they are respected by faculty. Despite strong preferences
for
collaboration by both men and women students, women report
collaborating with
fewer graduate students and fewer male faculty. Women are
more likely than men
to view their relationship with their advisor as one of 'student-and-faculty'
rather than 'mentee-mentor' or colleagues, suggesting greater
social distance
for women. In outcomes, women students published fewer papers
than men in a
prior three-year period, and are less likely to report that
they will, indeed
receive their degrees."
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