Women Seek Equity
in Science and Engineering
BY SARAH WYATT

In the winter of 1998, Tracey Claybon arrived in Dallas from her hometown of Lufkin, Texas, ready to begin her career as a computer engineer. Armed with a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma University, where she studied computer engineering and geology, Claybon spent several months seeking work. But when she turned up for interviews, she was often directed to a position in telephone technical support, often considered a low-paying dead end for women seeking viable careers in information technology.

Claybon, a Cherokee Indian and African-American from a low-income family, persisted. She eventually was hired as a technician lead at Earthlink, but found her opinions were often dismissed by the largely male management. In 2001, she moved to the more progressive Austin to work as a mainframe operator for Apple, a position she enjoyed until the company downsized, a turn that some allege disproportionately affected female staff.
She finally settled in Seattle in 2006, taking a technical documentation position at Microsoft. While she misses her native Texas, she believes the move to the Pacific Northwest was professionally affirming for her as a woman and minority. "In Seattle, technical employers give women more training opportunities so we can upgrade our skills," she says. "Women, especially women of color, are taken more seriously in the field by employers. They assume we have a brain here."
While a student, Claybon was involved with the student chapter of Society of Women Engineers (SWE), a group renowned for providing support, networking and mentorship opportunities for female students majoring in technical professions. "There was a tenured male professor in the engineering school who made it clear that he thought women should be at home," Claybon comments. "We warned each other about him."

Increasing the Numbers
Data collected by Joan Burelli, a statistician with the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency in Arlington, Virginia, found the STEM fields that especially indicate a shortage of women include the aerospace, electrical and mechanical engineering specialties. Only 15% of aerospace engineering bachelor's degrees are awarded to women. In both electrical and mechanical engineering, women comprise only 13% of undergraduate degrees conferred.
African-American women account for 34% of all African-American bachelor's degree recipients in science and engineering fields. Native American and Asian American women account for 27% of science and engineering degrees in their racial groups, while white women have an 18% showing. "Among minorities, African-American women fare best," Burelli says. According to Burelli, the mathematics and chemistry majors show the most promising gender equity. Women accounted for 47% of mathematics bachelor's degree recipients in 1995, and of chemistry recipients, 42%.
Programs encouraging Native American women to pursue faculty positions in STEM disciplines are limited but promising, asserts Jenny Kurzweil, an editor for Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). "One of the best known programs for Native American women seeking internships and careers in science and engineering is at the University of Montana at Bozeman," Kurzweil says.
Few women in STEM disciplines are finding their way into academia, according to SACNAS member Dr. Donna Nelson, Cherokee, professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma. Her landmark 2004 study, A National Analysis of Diversity in Science and Engineering Faculties at Research Universities estimated the percentage of women among full professors in STEM disciplines ranged from only 3% to 15%. Her research also located no African- American, Hispanic or Native American tenure-track women professors at the top 50 computer science departments in the country.
Dr. Nelson's 2007 report, A National Analysis Of Minorities in Science And Engineering Faculties at Research Universities, notes a gradual increase in gender equity in academia, but discouraging trends in Native American and Hispanic placement. In the top 50 chemistry and math academic departments, the percentage of Native American and Hispanic faculty among assistant professors is lower than among associate professors, indicating a decline in hiring these groups.

Alternative Approaches
For some Native American women who work in technical professions, the path to success was indirect rather than by targeted academic and professional programs.
When Cynthia Bater, Shawnee, entered Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1981, she intended to use her mathematic aptitude to major in accounting. The growing information technology program piqued her interest. "The information technology field was a relatively new one when I went to college. So, at that time I think they just wanted bodies and interest in it," Bater says. "I took a programming class and found that I liked it," Bater continues. "After that, I found that by adding just a few classes I could minor in information systems. Then it was just a few more classes to get a major."
Graduating in 1985 with a double major in accounting and information systems, Bater's work was primarily in the accounting field for the decade following. Currently, she combines her mathematic and technical talents as a programmer of accounting software. Bater sees room for improvement to the status of Kansas women in her profession.
"It's definitely a male-dominated field," Bater says. "You have to be more on your toes and up on the current technology for the men to take you seriously. I've seen other females give a non-researched answer to a problem and the men just smile, nod and turn to someone else."

The Road Ahead
In September, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) introduced H.R. 3514, the Gender Bias Elimination Act of 2007, to reduce gender bias against women in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The bill will authorize federal agencies to conduct workshops to eliminate gender bias for women in STEM occupations and educate members of academic review panels and university department chairs about methods that minimize the effects of gender bias in evaluations.
"As America struggles to keep up in the global economy, it's imperative we refrain from eliminating a key component to our success. We must work harder to carve out a place for women in science and technology," explains Representative Johnson in an official statement.
Betty Shanahan, executive director and CEO of SWE, emphasizes that while attracting women to STEM occupations is a challenge, retention and advancement are also concerns. Networking and mentoring, career advantages that men have long recognized as important, are vital for the advancement of women in the field. Addressing differing interpersonal communication styles between genders can also assist in positive workplace interaction. "We're attracting women to science and engineering," Shanahan states. "Now we have to ask, how do we retain them?"

Sarah Wyatt, Choctaw, is a freelance travel and lifestyle writer. She has been published in Texas Monthly, Mother Jones and Theater Magazine. Wyatt is a member of the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA).