Harvard University President Lawrence Summers' recent remark that women may have less innate scientific ability than men has focused public attention on the issue of women in math and science. University administrators say Brown is working hard to close the gender gap in math and science, but some students say they have not yet seen the results.
"Nationwide, there are fewer women represented in the sciences in general and in the physical sciences in particular. That's a historical trend. It's getting better, but not at the same pace as other fields," said Brenda Allen, associate provost and director of institutional diversity.
The University's efforts to diversify the sciences include recruiting female faculty, Allen said.
About 30 percent of Brown's current faculty is female, Allen said. Though she did not know the percentage of females in math and science, she said it was lower than in the humanities or social sciences.
David Targan, associate dean of the college and dean for science programs, said of Brown, "In general, the numbers have been very low, but there has been significant improvement."
Allen said diversity considerations are a part of every hire.
"We work with all departments on issues of diversity. Every hiring plan is thought through to try to figure out ways to more strategically reach a diverse pool," she said, adding that methods of diversifying pools include identifying better opportunities for advertising and contacting people who may know of minorities interested in a position.
"We go out of our way to make sure that we have the most diverse pool of applicants that we can possibly get," she said.
The University's Target of Opportunity program, which allows departments to bypass the normal hiring process and specifically solicit "extraordinary" candidates, frequently brings in minorities, Allen said.
As the University tries to attract women to join the faculty, it also works to keep women in math and science as undergraduates.
"The pipeline for faculty members needs to be increased. That means you have to start at the colleges to encourage women and make it a user-friendly, conducive area to study," said Sheila Blumstein, professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences.
Some students say they have encountered a culture in the sciences - particularly the physical sciences - that is discouraging to women.
Women who come to Brown thinking that they want to concentrate in areas such as physical sciences or computer science often find the climate of round-the-clock intensity unwelcoming, said Kathryn Spoehr, professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences.
Blumstein said, "I think the questions that we've been trying to answer are, what are the reasons (that women are less likely to participate in math and science)? Could it be the fact that the departments are largely male? Could it be the way the interactions in labs and classrooms occur? Is it simply that women have had less exposure than men, and the expectations are set low from high school on?"
Jenny Paul-Rappaport '05.5, who transferred to Brown from Occidental College to study physics, said she has found that most of her physics professors at Brown "had little interest in teaching and very little interest in encouraging students. I'd come to office hours when I was excited about the material, and they were totally uninterested. Several comments have been made about how my questions have been stupid."
"I had a professor specifically use me as an example because he knew I didn't know the answer as I had gone to him in office hours the day before. He knew I didn't understand it, and he used me as an example in class. It was humiliating ... I had never seen him call on any men like that. If they didn't know the answer, he would just move on," she said.
"There is no reason why physics can't be a fun, encouraging thing. It is an amazing field, but the professors make it frightening," she said.
Suz Tolwinski '05, a physics concentrator, said "it is pretty easy to sense if a professor is uneasy that there is only one woman in the class. For some, there is no issue at all, but for others, you can tell they are a little uncomfortable."
Tolwinski, who said she is the only female physics concentrator in her graduating class, said she has been the only woman in several of her physics classes.
"It never really bothered me until last year when there were a couple incidents in my classes that made me aware that this was an issue and made me start thinking about my dual identity as a physicist and a female," she said.
In one such incident, Tolwinski offered a question that challenged the professor and the class. After exploring the question for the rest of the class, the professor thanked a male student sitting near her for thinking of the question, Tolwinski said.
Not all students say math and science professors are unwelcoming.
Alison Hwong '05.5, a neuroscience concentrator, said she has found the department of neuroscience "a bit unique in that the department is very cooperative and encouraging."
"The neuroscience department is very much about collaboration. It is a very friendly department, and they are really encouraging people to study neuroscience," she said.
One reason Hwong thinks the department of neuroscience is so successful in creating an open environment is that it has worked to make its introductory course, BN 1: "The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience," very friendly and accessible, she said.
"They've put some really stellar professors teaching introductory neuroscience, and they're consistently teaching that course," she said.
Administrators say the University is working to improve the culture in math and science.
"On the classroom level, after class, at office hours, at labs, both men and women need to play close attention to this issue," Targan said.
Allen said the Office of the Dean of the College is leading "curriculum transformation workshops," which bring faculty together to look critically at the relationship between diversity and curriculum, pedagogy, labs, and climate. Last semester, the workshop focused on the humanities and social sciences. The physical and life sciences are targeted for this semester, she said.
"The workshop will give faculty a chance to come together as science faculty, think about what some of the issues are and collectively think about some strategies for beginning to deal more concretely with these issues," Allen said.
Blumstein agreed about the importance of changing the culture of some departments.
"It appeared as though there was a greater attrition rate for women in the sciences than for men. I think one way to deal with this is to try to change the culture with study groups or make the methods the faculty uses a little broader," she said.
But Paul-Rappaport said she does not think change can come so easily.
"In general, it's a boys club, and they like it that way. A lot of them are very traditional, and while they are told that women coming into the field is a good thing, I don't think they see it that way," she said.
Blumstein said bringing more women into departments can help to change the culture.
"It doesn't take a lot of people to start to change a culture. It requires that people who had not have had much exposure working with people who are different from them find out that they're part of the group, change the dynamics of the group and can improve the group," she said.
Another difficulty facing women in math and science is what Spoehr calls the expectation to be a "superwoman."
There is a lot of pressure on the women faculty in a department to be strong and not call upon male department chairs or senior faculty, she said.
Students face the same burden, Paul-Rappaport said.
"I felt like there was an expectation that I had to be at the top of the class to show that I deserved to be there. There were male peers in my class who were doing average, and it never seemed like there was anything wrong with that," she said.
The Women in Science and Engineering program is designed to provide support for women in math, science, and engineering, said Targan, the program's director.
Tolwinski, who is a WiSE affinity group leader for physics, helped coordinate an open forum Jan. 28 to address concerns of women in math and science. Attended by about 30 people, including undergraduate and graduate students and faculty, the two-hour session allowed both male and female students to voice their concerns.
"I think people have a lot of things to say about this and most of the time it is kept quiet and hush-hush. Providing an opportunity in which a lot of people who have these feelings can get together and talk about them opened a can of worms," Tolwinski said.
WiSE, which is funded by the Office of the Dean of the College, external grants and individual departments, tries to nurture a positive culture for women, Targan said.
Katharine Wilson '99 GS '01, WiSE program coordinator, said some 800 to 900 students each year join the group's mailing list and attend at least one event. Some 175 people participate in the program's peer-mentoring program, she said.
Paul-Rappaport said her experience in physics has made her abandon the field. Instead of attending graduate school for physics, she plans to study public policy, she said.
"The reason why I transferred to Brown is because Brown has a great department. I was really excited, and I came in with a good level of support, confidence and ambition to do this hard science track. After seeing the culture, I felt badly enough about myself and my skills. I just got shot down numerous times," she said.
But not everyone share Paul-Rappaport's experience.
"I love (physics). I do think that as I become increasingly aware of these issues, my personal enjoyment of the field is sometimes compromised by women's issues - not enough for me to quit the field, but enough for me to question whether I want to continue," Tolwinski said.
Allen said it is unrealistic to expect improvement for women immediately.
"Issues of diversity aren't at any level of comfort yet. I think Brown is putting forth a good effort to identify its problems and deal with these issues. But these are hard problems, these are historical problems and these are complicated problems," she said.
"We will take the effort to diversify one hire at a time. We have to see every success in bringing greater diversity to any department as movement toward a larger goal," she said.
Targan said leadership is a key to improving diversity at Brown.
"We have leadership from the top that is stating that (diversity) is an objective of the academic enrichment program - a program we are laser-focused on. Leadership from the top is well-known to be the most significant factor," he said.
The issue of women in math and science received increased attention after Summers, the president of Harvard, claimed at a speaking event Jan. 14 that women have less innate science ability than men.
"Larry Summers has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth," Spoehr said, calling the comment "foolish."
Targan said, "It is really a sign of a negative climate for women when the leader of an institution hasn't really bothered to find out about gender equity. That sets the tone that it is unimportant ... It is unfortunate when a leader is so misinformed and part of the problem."
The redeeming value of "the Summers debacle," Tolwinski said, is that it gave people the chance to address the issue of women in math and science. She organized the WiSE forum after hearing about Summers' comment, she said.
Targan, who participated in a Jan. 25 Democracy Now radio program discussing Summers' remark, said it has helped bring everyone together to look at the status of women in math and science.
"This is the first time that the issue has been raised to this level of attention. We have all come together with a focus on one problem that some of us have been working on for decades," he said.
