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TABLE XXXIII-B.-NUMBER AND PERCENT OF SCIENTISTS IN THE DOCTORATE RECORDS FILE (1930–69) FOUND IN THE NATIONAL FACULTY DIRECTORY FOR 1971–72[4], RA SIGNIFIES ROOSE-ANDERSON RATING

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TABLE XXXIII-C.-NUMBER AND PERCENT OF SCIENTISTS IN THE DOCTORATE RECORDS FILE (1930–69) FOUND IN THE NATIONAL FACULTY DIRECTORY FOR 1971-72[4], RA SIGNIFIES ROOSE-ANDERSON RATING

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There is much less information available concerning women scientists employed by the government than for those in universities and colleges. Table V gives the distribution by grade of women in the federal service showing the sharp decline in numbers of women at the higher grade levels. Figure 2 gives the distribution by grade and sex of the staff at NIH. Table XXXIV gives the division of Ph.D. Physicists by sex, type of employer and primary work activity. The women physicists employed by the government are seen to constitute a smaller percentage in management than in research. Since the highest grade levels are management positions, this implies that the women are at a lower median grade than the total sample. This has the interesting consequence that the median salary for doctorate physicists in government research positions is higher for women than for men ($17,500 vs. $17,000) [14], probably due to the

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The information for women scientists in industry is also rather sparse. Figure 3 gives the occupational distribution of all men and women employed in industry also showing a low percentage of women in managerial positions. Table XXXIV

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women remaining at these levels and accumulating seniority and the men being promoted into management (median salary $26,000) [14]. This is the only subcategory where women physicists have higher median salaries then men. Table XXXV gives the number and percent of economists in the federal service by grade and sex. Here again the women are seen to be at a lower median grade.

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GRADE LEVELS OF FULL TIME GS (CIVIL SERVICE) STAFF AT NIH

February 1, 1971

gives the division of Ph.D. physicists in industry in 1970 and only one woman is found in a managerial position. The survey of the Committee on Women in Physics identified four Ph.D. women in industry in 1971 who were in managerial positions [14], a difference explainable by the time interval between the two studies and the difference in sample. However, it is not only true that there are very few highly placed women physicists in industry, it is also a fact that there are very few Ph.D. women physicists at any level in industry. For fields where industrial employment of women involves substantial numbers (see Table XXI) there may be an appreciable number of women at higher levels even if the percentage is relatively small.

TABLE XXXIV.-NUMBER AND PERCENT OF PH. D. PHYSICISTS BY SEX, TYPE OF EMPLOYER AND PRIMARY WORK ACTIVITY, NATIONAL REGISTER OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL PERSONNEL, 1970.[13]

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TABLE XXXV.-NUMBER AND PERCENT OF ECONOMISTS IN THE FEDERAL SERVICE BY SEX AND GRADE, OCTOBER 1971, AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION. [21]

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Note: Median grade for all male economics staff: GS-13; median grade for all female economics staff: GS-11

FIGURE 3.-Occupational Distribution of Men and Women in Industry in 1968. [23]

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The overall impression conveyed by these statistics is that of small percentages, although not always of small numbers. However, if the selection criteria used to define a given sample are "full professor in at a major university" then the numbers also become very small. There are signs that this may change in the next two decades. The academic affirmative action programs have started to increase the number of women in the lower ranks of the faculty. Similar programs in industry and government will also effect increases there, but again mainly by an influx of young women scientists. This should encourage the further increase in the percentages of women achieving advanced degrees in science and the percentage going into engineering and medicine. From this point of view affirmative action can be thought of as a pump priming operation. Once the patterns of the past are destroyed and women have equal opportunity and encouragement to flow into the professions with men, the need for affirmative action will vanish.

At present, however, the pattern visible is still very largely a legacy of the past and affirmative action is a necessity of the present. Therefore, the question of how one may interpret statistics such as those presented in this paper must be considered. In the case of positions relevant to the women who have recently received their degrees, the number available could be taken to be approximately equivalent to the number of degree receipients. However, this is an assumption that would not meet with universal acceptance. For example, many would argue that the number of women in the group from which faculty for the highest ranked institutions would be selected is a fraction of the total number of women similar to the fraction of men who are in the equivalent group. However, this ignores the fact that there is much greater pre-selection in the case of the women, both with respect to determination and ability. Figures 4 through 6 illustrate this

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point. They are taken from a study of high school ability patterns and give profiles of the high school performance of three groups of scientists by sex and marital status at the time of receiving their doctorate. The performance is based on grade point average (GPA) in four fields, rank in the graduating class, and a standardized ability test score. In all categories, the women are higher than the total sample. A profile was not given for other physical sciences or engineering since it was felt that the size of the samples made the data unreliable. However, for these fields and for medicine, it is reasonable to predict a similar result.

Since the women degree recipients are a group whose pre-selection criteria are different from those of men, it is not correct to assume that the percentages qualified for various positions are the same as the equivalent percentages for men. For present purposes then, a better assumption is that the number of women degree recipients in the group from which candidates for a given position would be drawn is approximately the total number in the sample.

FIGURE 4. Profile of Bio-Scientists by Sex and Marital Status at Doctorate, on Six High School Variables. [24]

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