"Career Choices, Promotion, and Retention of Ph.D. Women Scientists in the Scientific Workforce." Anne MacLachlan. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists: Women in a Knowledge-based Society. Ottawa. (July 2002)

PDF document (109 kB)

More information

Abstract: This paper examines the careers of 31 women who earned Ph.D.s in several SET fields from the University of California at Berkeley between 1980 and 1990. It describes their employment histories, the choices they made and why they made them, and the extent t o which they had difficulty finding the position most appropriate for their scientific interests and satisfying other criteria. It looks at organizational dynamics that conflicted with some of these women's values and needs, and how these conflicts were addressed. Most of the 31 women hold senior positions in their organizations. However, analysis of their career paths suggests that unresponsive organizational structures have resulted in the underutilization of their training and talents.