CNN/Reuters reports the results of a study led by a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that women continue to be discouraged from pursuing careers in the sciences by male chauvinist piggery.
From the article:
Women trying to make it as scientists face bias, hostility and a lack of respect that all combine to hold them back, a team of researchers reported Thursday.
These barriers both frighten women away from scientific careers and block the women who try to succeed, the researchers report in Friday’s issue of the journal Science.
“There is still a lot of covert and overt hostility toward women,” said Jo Handelsman, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the team.
“Some of it is outright illegal behavior, but most of it is subtle. It makes women feel undervalued and not respected.”
If supposedly well-paid, well-educated men in prestigious jobs continue to hold on to these attitudes, then what hope do women have to better themselves in the trades, or in other non-traditional occupations?
I’m writing to Professor Handelsman to see if she has a clue about this, since it absolutely mystifies me. I’ll let you know if she answers.