The Science Glass Ceiling: Academic Women Scientist and the Struggle to Succeed

In 1996 several female faculty members at MIT released a shocking report charging institutionalized discrimination at the university. They revealed some alarming facts: there were 22 women and 252 male faculty, and men and women of equal rank and seniority were routinely given disparate forms of compensation, all favoring the men, from better pay to more lab space to more research assistants. These revelations rippled through the halls of academia and made everyone take a closer look at similarly respected science institutions. In 2001, the administrations at all of the major science and technology universities knew they had a major problem to deal with. In this timely and invaluable study, Sue Rosser chronicles the plight of women faculty across the country noting the difficulties, double standards, and backlash that they routinely face. Interviewing some of the country's top female scientists about their research and the routine barriers faced, she came up with suggestions and solutions for changingthe science and technology culture at universities in order to establish a more level playing field.

Sue V. Rosser is Dean of Ivan Allen College and Professor of History, Technology, and Society at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is formerly a Senior Program Officer at the National Science Foundation.