Johnny and Susie are kindergarten students. Both are four years old; both have only been in school three weeks. And while neither of them knows what exactly "science" is, both know it is "something a boy does."
The above is one of many studies presented last night by Susan McGee Bailey, director of the Wellesley College's Center for Research on Women, at a lecture titled "Girls and Science: Are they still shortchanged?"
Bailey presented her research, which showed that women are still under-represented in the math and sciences, to more than 200 people in Cook Auditorium last night.
According to Bailey, there were fewer women engineers in 1990 then in 1980. Currently, only 16 percent of U.S. scientists are female and the gender gap between math and science test scores among the ablest 13-year old students is increasing. Bailey said she sees this as a warning sign.
For Bailey, the main causes of a continuing lack of female participation in the math and sciences are "subtle but strong stereotypes and messages given in the classroom and society."
Bailey said her research showed it is seen as more appropriate for a boy to talk in class, demand attention and actively participate in experiments. Also, more men than women are science teachers at elementary and secondary levels, she said.
Bailey said competence and confidence in math and science are lower in girls than boys -- and while a boy will credit his academic success to ability, a girl will blame her lack of ability for any academic failure. As a result, she said, a girl's scientific achievement decreases with age.
Though women have taken more math and science classes and increased their math and science test scores in the last 20 years, more progress needs to be made, Bailey said.
One way to combat the discrepancies, Bailey suggested, is to increase female science role models and mentors for young girls. Teachers could also increase one-on-one encouragement with girls and pair them with other girls in the laboratory or in groups, she said. However, Bailey cautioned, single-sex math and science classes are not necessarily the answer.
In an interview after the speech, Shelly Roper '96 said, "I think it's really surprising and discouraging that after so much ground had been gained early in equalizing boys' and girls' test scores from the '70s to early '80s, the gap between them has been growing so steadily again over the last 10 years."
Laura Bright '96, a computer science and French major, said she has never experienced any direct discouragement in the science classes she has taken at Dartmouth.
"I've been in several classes where I'm one of only a few women, though, and it would be encouraging to have more women in the class," Bright said.
Bailey is the principal author of the 1992 report, "How Schools Shortchange Girls," which studied participation and achievement of girls in U.S. public schools. A graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Michigan, Bailey has taught in Colombia, Taiwan, the Dominican Republic and the United States.
