they are less capable, less on top of the class
work, and perhaps the only ones having dif-
ficulty with the material. The message to stu-
dents is that the less effort needed for navi-
gating the system, the more savvy you are.When women enter a system in the sciences
that has been developed for and has worked
well for white men for years, they often get
the message that they are outsiders—not that
they are overtly unwelcome, but that they
don’t know the rules. Having guides, advi-
sors, older peers, and faculty who validate
their concerns and work with them to find
learning strategies that work for them are all
essential. Note that this applies as well to
men, and that many men also leave the sci-
ences for reasons having little to do with
changes in interest or a lack of ability. More
women, proportionately, leave perhaps
because the system is not designed to induct
them into the adult world of women as much
as it is, as suggested by Seymour and
Hewitt,^2 an extension of the system that
young men have been experiencing their
entire lives. Perhaps the “underlying cause of
women’s difficulties lies in the structured
incapacity of the traditional science, math,
and engineering system to meet the educa-
tional needs of a diverse student popula-
tion.”^2 Indeed, many similar issues impact
minority students and scientists.
However, college and university faculty,
both men and women, are not the sole expla-
nation for why women leave science. Indeed,
many faculty men and women are encourag-ing young women to continue to pursue their
interests in biology careers and to consider
and pursue careers in secondary and higher
education and research. Nearly 50% of the
undergraduate degrees in the biological sci-
ences are awarded to women; so, many
women are not switching to other majors,
despite the challenges of working within the
biological sciences. Indeed, nearly 50% of the
graduate student population in biology are
women and 40% of the awarded Ph.D.’s in
the biological sciences go to women. But if
women are only 26% of the life sciences labor
force, then where are these women going?
Three recent articles in Scienceaddressed
what happens to women during the develop-
ment of their professional careers.3,4,5Many women choose careers considered
“alternative” (read, “non-research” ) because
they find them more compatible with having
a family, more intellectually rewarding, even
more financially remunerative and personal-
ly satisfying than independent research
careers. Men now are catching on to these
alternatives as well. When a larger number of
men and women with advanced degrees in
the biological sciences enter business, law,
journalism and the media, environmental
work, consulting, primary and secondary98 CAREER ADVICE FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS
Women are more likely to
internalize criticism and
negative feedback as indicators
that they are less capable.Many women choose careers
considered “alternative” (read,
“non-research” ) because they
find them more compatible with
having a family, more
intellectually rewarding, even
more financially remunerative
and personally satisfying than
independent research careers.