WOMEN IN OCEANOGRAPHY

Oceanography, Science, and Academia Women Making a Difference BY NANCY MARCUS

Oceanography is a multidisciplinary pendix 4). These data are similar to other ogy, respectively (Table 1). In ocean-re- fi eld offering a range of career opportu- scientifi c fi elds (as shown in Table 1). lated fi elds, women received 41 percent nities for the diversifi ed workforce that Nevertheless, the fi eld of oceanography of the bachelor’s degrees in Academic exists today. Professionals conducting has come a long way from the days when Year 2001 (Table 1). This is a substan- research or teaching about the oceans women weren’t even allowed on board tial increase compared to 1967 when women received only 10 percent of the bachelor’s degrees in Earth, ocean, and The representation of women in professional atmospheric sciences (National Science positions in oceanography, particularly at the highest Foundation, 1998). I have no doubt that levels in academia is, however, still highly skewed. one reason for this improvement has been the establishment of specialized programs to encourage the participation are employed in focused, research-ori- ships to conduct research. This article and retention of women in math, sci- ented oceanographic institutions, and examines some of the factors affecting ence, and engineering disciplines. an array of academic institutions from the participation of women in science, Today, I am the Director of Florida Doctoral/Research Extensive universi- and particularly oceanography. State University’s Women in Math, Sci- ties to community colleges, industry, ence, and Engineering (WIMSE) pro- and government. The representation PROGRAMS TO ATTRACT AND gram, a residentially based learning of women in professional positions in RETAIN WOMEN IN SCIENCE community for undergraduate women oceanography, particularly at the highest During the past three decades, the num- interested in pursuing a career in one of levels in academia is, however, still highly ber of young women earning bachelors these fi elds (more information available skewed (Table 1). For example, data col- degrees in math, science, and engineer- at http://www.fsu.edu/~wimse/). Liv- lected from 86 universities and four-year ing has grown substantially and out colleges with ocean-related programs paced young men (National Science Nancy Marcus ([email protected]), is indicate that in 2002, women comprised Foundation, 1998, 2004). Nelson (2005) Chair and Robert O. Lawton Distinguished 9 percent of the full professors, 18 per- reports that in the year 2000, women Professor and Mary Sears Professor of cent of the associate professors, and 30 received an impressive 47, 48, and 58 Oceanography, Department of Oceanogra- percent of the assistant professors (U.S. percent of the bachelors degrees awarded phy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Commission on Ocean Policy, 2004, Ap- in chemistry, mathematics, and biol- FL, USA.

Th is article has been published in Oceanography, Volume 18, Number 1, a quarterly journal of Th e Oceanography Society. Copyright 2005 by Th e Oceanography Society. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this article by photo- copy machine, reposting, or other means without prior authorization of Th e Oceanography Society is strictly prohibited. Oceanography Vol.18, No.1, Mar. 2005 51 Send all correspondence to: [email protected] or Th e Oceanography Society, PO Box 1931, Rockville, MD 20849-1931, USA. ing learning communities have become fi elds such as chemistry, math, biology, and Princeton University had done in quite common on the campuses of large and oceanography could be doing a bet- the last decade. Following a meeting with universities, especially in the last decade. ter job; it is evident that a pool of poten- FSU’s provost during the summer 2001, They are typically organized around a tial women candidates exists for post- the Task Force on the Status of Women theme, and class sizes for students en- doctoral and faculty positions in these Faculty at Florida State University was rolled in the program are usually small, fi elds. The lack of women could be due to established, and I was asked to be the allowing for professors to use interactive various factors including not getting pro- chair (more information available at and cooperative learning approaches in moted and tenured and women choosing http://ocean.fsu.edu/~nancy/TaskForce/ their teaching. Other common features other professional opportunities. index.htm). of the programs, which are designed The Task Force included faculty to attract and retain women in science, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY (women and men) from four colleges include research internships, exposure TAKES ACTION (Arts and Sciences, Social Sciences, Busi- to female role models, and mentoring. Several senior women faculty, concerned ness, and Communication). Dr. Mary Although we are only in the fourth year that women were not being promoted Stutzman, Director of the Survey Re- of our program, to date our WIMSE and tenured at Florida State University search Laboratory, College of Social students have a higher retention rate in (FSU) at rates comparable to men, urged Sciences and her staff, assisted us. After math, science, and engineering majors the creation of a task force to study the meeting several times to formulate an than their peers who live in the general issue, as other institutions such as the approach for our work, we convened residence halls or who live off-campus as Massachusetts Institute of Technology small focus groups to identify issues of fi rst-year students (Marcus, unpublished data). In addition to residentially based programs, numerous colleges and uni- versities offer other specialized programs to attract and retain women students Table 1. Percentage of Women at Various Stages in the Academic Pipeline for Selected Scientific, Mathematic, and Engineering Fields in science, math, and engineering fi elds (e.g., the Women in Science and Engi- B.S. Ph.D. Assistant Associate Full neering [WISE] programs at both the degrees degrees Professors Professors Professors University of Washington [http://www. Astronomy1 32.7 20.6 22.0 16.5 9.5 engr.washington.edu/wise/]; and at the Civil Engineering1 24.5 18.7 22.3 11.5 3.5 State University of New York, Stony Physics1 21.4 13.3 11.2 9.8 4.6 Brook [http://www.wise.sunysb.edu/]). Despite the enthusiasm and interest Chemistry1 47.3 31.3 21.5 20.5 7.6 in science expressed by women at the Mathematics1 48.2 27.2 19.6 13.2 4.6 undergraduate level, the percentage of Biology1 58.4 44.7 30.2 24.9 14.8 women that pursue graduate study de- 2 clines as evidenced by the data shown in Ocean-Related 41 37 30 18 9 Table 1. This leak along the educational Oceanography3 39 pipeline continues after graduation, Marine Science3 58 though some scientifi c fi elds (e.g., engi- Earth, Ocean, 33 neering, physics, and astronomy) are do- Atmosphere3 ing a good job of hiring women in pro- 1Data from Nelson (2005). portion to the number of women earning 2Data from Appendix 4, U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (2004). Ph.D.s (see Table 1). On the other hand, 3Data from Hoffer et al. (2004).

52 Oceanography Vol.18, No.1, Mar. 2005 concern to all faculty. We then developed WHERE ARE THE WOMEN GOING? see more women faculty in my depart- a written survey that was distributed to The results of Robin Bell’s study at Co- ment and university because I think that all tenure track faculty. Having only stud- lumbia University (see article this is- our students—both women and men— ied copepods for 25 years, I was not pre- sue) indicate that some women who are short-changed by their absence, pared for a study of humans and gained receive their doctoral degree from major as evidenced by research. Trower and a new respect for this type of research! geoscience programs choose not to apply Chait (2002) reported that having more In addition to the survey, we queried the for positions at comparable institutions. women faculty leads to greater success of institution’s databases to obtain informa- While I would like to see more women women students in the future, for exam- tion on the composition (rank, gender, on the faculties of our Doctoral/Research ple, seeking advanced degrees. It is true and ethnicity) of the faculty dating back Extensive universities, this may not hap- that many more women attend coedu- to 1996, salary, and recipients of univer- pen until the academic culture under- cational institutions compared to wom- sity awards and honors. We also exam- goes change (see below for suggested en’s colleges. However, if they attend a ined the responses of FSU faculty to the changes). On the other hand, people who women’s college (where the proportion University of California at Los Angeles’s choose to apply the training in ocean- of women on the faculty is greater than Higher Education Research Institute ography that they receive at a research at coeducational institutions) they are (UCLA/ HERI) national surveys that institution in other educational settings much more likely to pursue an advanced were conducted at FSU in 1995 and 2000. should be valued and encouraged. degree than their counterparts at co- All of the information was collated into a I was very disturbed and discouraged educational schools (Trower and Chait, written report that we issued in fall 2003. to read the commentary, “Ditch the Boy- 2002). According to the recent report We also issued a companion document friend” in the October 1, 2004 issue of by Hoffer et al. (2004), 70,368 of the that summarized the major problems and The Chronicle for Higher Education. The students who received doctorates be- suggested potential solutions. The report author is anonymous, but apparently the tween 1999 and 2003 had received their and summary document are available on recent recipient of a Ph.D. in oceanogra- bachelor’s degree at a Doctoral/Research the FSU’s web site at http://survey.coss. phy. She reports the words of wisdom she Extensive university, and 46 percent of fsu.edu/TaskForce/. was given by a senior faculty member in these students were women. On the oth- Despite a general perception that her department. If she wanted to do “real er hand, of the 17,102 students receiving the representation of women in academia research” she should not have children doctorates had received their bachelor’s had improved, our data showed that the and she should stay away from teaching degree from a baccalaureate liberal arts overall percentage of women on the FSU jobs because that would be a waste of her college, 55 percent of these students were faculty in 2002 (29 percent) had hovered talents. Apparently, it doesn’t take too women. In the baccalaureate liberal arts at that level for seven years. Almost a de- many other people like this senior fac- category, the top 20 producers accounted cade without improvement! Hence, the ulty member to drive people away from for 5,853 students receiving doctoral de- results of the Nelson (2005) study and careers in oceanography at research uni- grees, and of those students, 61 percent the article in The Chronicle for Higher versities and into what has been dubbed were women. Five of these top 20 bacca- Education, “Where the Elite Teach, It’s the “alternative career tracks” of four-year laureate liberal arts schools are women’s Still a Man’s World” (Wilson, 2004) have colleges, government, or consulting. Un- colleges (Smith, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, not surprised me. Sadly, the situation at fortunately, we still equate “alternative” Barnard, and Mt. Holyoke). Even though FSU is not unique for Doctoral/Research with “not good” or “failure.” How lucky the absolute numbers are smaller, if you Extensive universities. Another article in for the students at four-year colleges to attend a women’s college, you are more this issue of Oceanography (O’Connell learn from these bright women, as point- likely to go on to obtain a doctorate than and Holmes) presents data for units (uni- ed out by Borst and O’Shea (2004). a woman at a coeducational institution- versity departments and whole organiza- The gain of these institutions is our al, large or small. tions dedicated to ocean science) in our loss. As a faculty member at a Doctoral/ fi eld and the results are no different. Research Extensive university, I want to

Oceanography Vol.18, No.1, Mar. 2005 53 NEXT STEPS become burned out. Professor, and the danger exists that they Now is the time for institutions catego- • Recognizing the accomplishments of will never be promoted. Although such rized as Doctoral/Research Extensive faculty is another issue that deserves people may go on to productive careers universities and comparable institutions attention as it ultimately aff ects pro- in administration, in all likelihood they to take some bold steps and examine motion and salary raises. Our study at cease being active faculty researchers and their academic culture. FSU revealed that women faculty were academic role models for young women. • Policies on family leave need to be not being nominated for key awards They are essentially lost from the aca- examined and more fl exibility intro- despite outstanding records of accom- demic pool before ever reaching the rank duced into the tenure clock. However, plishments. Administrators must take of Full Professor and represent another Bhattacharjee (2004) reports that steps to ensure that all faculty deserv- leak in the pipeline. instituting policies allowing for stop- ing recognition are considered for page of the tenure clock may not be awards. Alternatively, consideration OCEANOGRAPHY EDUCATION suffi cient because of the “fear factor.” should be given to including the pos- AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN If there is a fear that stopping the ten- sibility of self-nomination for certain OCEANOGRAPHERS ure clock is viewed negatively by one’s awards and honors. The discipline of oceanography devel- colleagues, then women and men may Our study showed that of the faculty oped with a particularly strong, single- not take advantage of such an option. who undertook administrative posi- minded devotion to research. Refl ect- • Potential bias in the review of tenure tions, a greater proportion of the women ing back on my days at the Woods Hole binders must be acknowledged and served in these positions as associate Oceanographic Institution in the 1970s steps taken to improve the transpar- professors whereas the men in these ad- and 1980s, it appeared to me that most ency of the process. A very novel ap- ministrative positions were generally full of my colleagues, particularly the senior proach to this problem is the ADEPT professors. The reason for this difference scientists, cherished being able to devote web-based tool developed at Georgia is most likely that institutions wanting essentially all of their time to research. Institute of Technology under the to increase the number of women serv- Interestingly, Trower and Chait (2002) auspices of the NSF ADVANCE pro- ing in administrative positions must suggest that “single-minded devotion to gram (http://www.adept.gatech.edu/ expand the pool of potential candidates professional pursuits” is a reason why download.htm). The ADEPT instru- by including those at the rank of Associ- greater diversity has not been achieved in ment was developed “to assist users ate Professor. While institutions are to be our top academic institutions. in identifying forms of bias in evalua- commended for recognizing the need for When I was President of the Ameri- tion processes in order to achieve fair including women in administrative po- can Society of Limnology and Ocean- and objective evaluations.” Attention sitions, there are several pitfalls, mostly ography (ASLO) from 1995-1996, such to these issues will open the door for for the women. Administrators holding single-minded devotion/attention to greater participation. the rank of Associate Professor generally research was also evident in the mis- • Department chairs must take steps will not have the breadth of experience sion of the society and other compa- to protect new untenured faculty, es- with the operations of their institutions rable scientifi c organizations. I sought to pecially women, from excessive com- as their more senior colleagues, nor will broaden the scope of the ASLO’s mission mittee assignments. Too often women they likely receive the same level of re- to include a focus on education (after become overburdened with service spect as a Full Professor holding their all many of the members held positions activities as institutions strive for gen- position—especially from another Full as university faculty where there was a der balance on committees. The result Professor! In addition, it is likely that responsibility to teach as well as be ac- is that women at the assistant profes- those who become involved with ad- tive in research), so I set this as one of sor level run the risk of not obtaining ministration as an associate professor my goals. We began by offering two tenure and women at the higher ranks delay their promotion to the rank of Full workshops at the 1995 annual meeting

54 Oceanography Vol.18, No.1, Mar. 2005 in Reno, Nevada. One focused on the use teaching students at all educational levels particularly on the faculties of Doctoral/ of emerging computer technologies in about the oceans. Research Extensive institutions. undergraduate courses and the second You might be wondering why I di- led by Ms. Cheryl Dybas, focused on “al- gressed into this discussion of education REFERENCES ternative careers in the aquatic sciences” and ocean sciences. During the last two Bhattacharjee, Y. 2004. Family Matters: Stopping tenure clock may not be enough. Science 306: (Dybas, 1995). This was followed with decades, most scientifi c professional so- 2,031-2,033. more workshops and special sessions at cieties have recognized the importance Borst, C. and D. O’Shea. 2004. Liberal-Arts Col- leges and the Female Scientist. The Chronicle subsequent annual meetings. of having a mission that extends beyond for Higher Education, March 5, 2004. Letter to In 1997, a special section on educa- research. Annual meetings and publica- the Editor. De Wet, C.B., G.M. Ashley and D.P. Kegel. 2002. tion issues was incorporated into the tions are now seen as opportunities to Biological Clocks and Tenure Timetables: Re- ASLO Bulletin. In the mid-1990s, the communicate the latest research discov- structuring the Academic Timeline. GSA Today National Science Foundation (NSF) and eries to one’s research colleagues as well (Supp): 1-7. Dybas, C. 1995. Alternative careers session attracts National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- as more general audiences. There is great more than 100 attendees at the ASLO ’95 meet- ministration began promoting a number interest in linking the latest discoveries ing. ASLO Bulletin 4(3):6. Hoffer, T.B., L. Selfa, V. Welch Jr., K. Williams, M. of science-related education initiatives in ocean science to teaching at all lev- Hess, J. Friedman, S.C. Reyes, K. Webber, and and workshops. In 1998, after attending els. Since the mid-1990s, Dr. McDonald I. Guzman-Barron. 2004. Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities: Summary Report a one-week summer workshop on in- and her colleagues have continued to 2003. National Opinion Research Center, Chi- novative approaches to teaching geosci- offer workshops on innovative teach- cago. Note: The report gives the results of data ence courses organized by Dr. Heather ing methods and preparing for a career collected in the Survey of Earned Doctorates, conducted for six Federal agencies, NSF, NIH, McDonald with support from NSF and in the geosciences (http://serc.carleton. USED, NEH, USDA, and NASA by NORC. the National Association of Geoscience edu/NAGTWorkshops/about.html). In- National Science Foundation. 1998. Women, Mi- norities, and Persons With Disabilities in Science Teachers (NAGT), I joined several of the terestingly, women have represented 45 and Engineering: 1998. NSF 99-338. National attendees to offer a condensed version percent of the attendees (H. McDonald, Science Foundation, Arlington, VA. [Online] available at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/ at the 1999 Aquatic Sciences meeting in personal communication) at these work- nsf99338/. Santa Fe, New Mexico. The workshop shops, despite the fact that women con- National Science Foundation. 2004. Women, Mi- introduced us to experiential learning stitute only 12.5% of the faculty in the norities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2004. NSF 04-317. National approaches, de-emphasized content, and geosciences (de Wet et al., 2002). I think Science Foundation, Division of Science Re- focused on critical thinking and active it is likely that public support of ocean sources Statistics, Arlington, VA. [Online] avail- able at: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/wmpd. Note: learning. These are all things they never sciences would be far less than what it Updated May 2004. taught me as a graduate student! I start- is today if oceanographic societies had Nelson, D.J. 2005. A National Analysis of Diversity in Science and Engineering Faculties at Re- ed to think about new ways to organize not broadened their missions to en- search Universities. [Online] available at: http:// the introductory oceanography course, compass education and outreach. I will cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/~djn/diversity/brief- ings/Diversity%20Report%20Final.pdf which moved me away from traditional even speculate that the infl ux of women The Chronicle for Higher Education. 2004. “Ditch lecturing. The session in Santa Fe was into oceanography that began in the late the Boyfriend.” October 1, 2004. Commentary. well attended. So, what started as an af- 1970s was responsible for this evolution. Trower, C.A. and R.P. Chait. 2002. Faculty diver- sity: Too little for too long. Harvard Magazine ternoon panel discussion in 1995 with a In agreeing to write this article it was (March-April). [Online] available at: http:// few participants who were interested in not my intent to criticize individuals, www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/030218. html. discussing new approaches to teaching departments, or institutions. I will con- U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. 2004. Appendix oceanography has now grown to several sider my time well spent if the topics 4. In: The Preliminary report of U.S. Commis- sion on Ocean Policy. Washington, D.C. [Online] contributed oral and poster sessions (see highlighted in this issue of Oceanography available at: http://oceancommission.gov/docu- schedule for the ASLO Aquatic Sciences generate discussion and, more impor- ments/prelimreport/append4.pdf. Meeting 2005; http://www.aslo.org/ tantly, solutions that lead to increased Wilson, R. 2004. Where the elite teach, It’s still a man’s world. The Chronicle for Higher Education meetings/slc2005/) on innovations in representation of women in the fi eld and 51(15):A8.

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