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Where Are the Women Professors?

Posted August 05, 2009 7:30 AM

Because fewer women with math or science PhDs stay in academia than men, students are "losing the perspective that women can bring to scientific problems." A recent survey of top-tier research universities has Scientific American asking the question, "Why aren't more women tenured science professors?"

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Anonymous Poster
#1

Re: Where Are the Women Professors?

08/06/2009 9:10 AM

I don't care if the Prof. is a man a woman or something in between. I want one that clearly speaks and writes engish in complete gramatically correct sentences. I am tired of third worlders, hillbillies, bostonians. new yorkers that can't pronounce the words they use as well as Barrack Obama or Larry King.

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#2

Re: Where Are the Women Professors?

08/06/2009 12:43 PM

I think the original post has some bad data from too narrow a slice of view. Where I work all of the physics and chemistry professors are female. Our science and technology department is in the area of 75% female.

Perhaps top tier schools don't hire younger people because tenure keeps the old guard around too long.

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#3

Re: Where Are the Women Professors?

08/06/2009 8:48 PM

Both my college educations, Industrial maintenance & Electrical Engineering, had female professors and I liked having women as teachers.

I have no problem with women teaching or holding any position of power or authority for that matter and even find the issue rather ignorant sounding myself. When I was in college both times many students and myself did have a general problem with many tenured teaching staff overall. Many were rude arrogant and just poor educators as shown by their actions. The non tenured professors had student reviews at the end of every semester for every class but the colleges never had student assessment reviews of the tenured professors and their classes. I think the tenure system is far more detrimental than a women teaching. Keeping a few bad apples because of system politics or policies is doing far more harm to universities overall ratings with students far far more than the male to female ratio of the teaching staff.

The women professors I had were intelligent and resourceful. Plus some were much easier on the eyes than the old grey haired goats ever could have been! Far less people in todays world put any real concern as to who does what in a profession. The man or women issue has mostly played it self out. Its sort of like the black or white issues from decades ago. Today most could care less but still there will always be pockets of stupidity and ignorance that will hold on to every bit of what ever it is that makes them feel and believe in such a way.

My dads generation seems to still think there is a defined role as that women cant be intelligent and good leaders. He and many others of his generation have shown my generation how horribly wrong their narrow view of leadership roles is just by observation of their own actions. I believe its why my generation doesn't not differentiate between the genders so much when it comes to job title or responsibilities. We have seen by example that not all men are good leaders and that many women are far more capable than many men in the same positions.

My grand parents had the Black Vs white issue. My parents generation had the man Vs women issue. My generation seems to be dealing with a piece of paper that says your qualified and capable Vs actually being qualified and capable to do a job.

We have gotten past race and gender and are now looking at new things to separate the leadership positions over. I see more overall concerns coming from my generation relating to a persons skills justifying ther position rather than their gender or race. Just because you have a degree or a piece of paper saying you can have a certain type of job doesn't mean you are actually knowledgeable or capable enough to actually be there and we know it.

Race or gender we don't care. Capable or not we do care and are starting to question it more and more every day regardless of profession, position, or title.

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#4
In reply to #3

Re: Where Are the Women Professors?

08/06/2009 10:04 PM

Outstanding! GA

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#6
In reply to #4

Re: Where Are the Women Professors?

08/08/2009 9:10 PM

Thanks! Sort of thought I got slightly off on this one. I just take education and persons actual qualifications issues rather seriously.

My college educated EE experience was a dismal let down (loads of fluff and little usable EE) and I have seen far to may people with 'a piece of paper' doing horrible work because of not actually being able to do the job their 'piece of paper' says they can do. They too are all fluff and no working knowledge.

Both of these topics seem to be common questions or issues with people in my generational vicinity. 25 -40 years of age. We see far to much money being spent on lame educations that don't serve us when we graduate. And then go to work for company's or businesses loaded with inept or flat out unqualified personnel in positions with high pay and power even though they have a general lack of practical experience, knowledge or the general mental working capacity needed for the positions they hold.

For us its simply not a man or woman issue at all.

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Anonymous Poster
#7
In reply to #6

Re: Where Are the Women Professors?

08/17/2009 1:09 PM

As a woman engineer, I have found that we do tend to approach problems in a different way and I think having women instructors would be beneficial. I find that combining approaches and ideas generated by a mixed group (male/female, engineer/user, etc) will always give you the best solution.

My issue is more with the fact that the instructors need to have a PhD in order to teach but don't have to have any experience in teaching. In order to teach in a primary school you have to have a teaching certification. However, in secondary schools you have to have the "piece of paper". I agree with the person that said that it would be nice to have instructors that can speak fluent english. However, it would be even better to have ones that actually know how to teach!

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#5

Re: Where Are the Women Professors?

08/07/2009 9:01 AM

Many years ago I knew a male Professor of Electrical Engineering who had a female PhD student. She wondered about her job prospects. His advice was approximately this:

The federal government requires that contractors attempt to hire women. Female PhDs in E.E. are scarce. You could write to prospective employers offering to appear for a job interview for $X thousand dollars, and they would pay you, because they have to document their efforts to recruit women. If you did one interview a week, you would make more than you could by actually working.

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