Babies and Science

Are babies to blame for the lack of women in the sciences? Or are the low numbers due to a lack of interest in science on the part of women? Mary Ann Mason explores the issue of women in the sciences. She claims that despite the fact that laws such as Title IX have been in place since the 1970s, it is only recently that people have discovered that the sciences may still be a problem for women. While evidence of gender discrimination in this field is not difficult to find, some claim that the quality of this evidence is questionable. The evidence also puts forth a conflicting picture. For example, the book, The Sexual Paradox, suggests that women simply aren't in the sciences because they lost interest in the field. In contrast, Mothers on the Fast Track claims that women are discriminated against. To support this claim, the individuals the authors interviewed were candid about the messages they received from their advisers and departments when it came to babies. Babies are verboten.

Even though female scientists are discouraged from having families, their male counterparts receive a different message. For males, getting married and having kids is the key to academic success; for women, this same formula often equals the end of their academic science career. Mason argues that solid policies related to family leave, childcare, etc. are needed to help women combat this discrimination. While policies are a positive first step, they are meaningless if the unwritten rule in the department is that they are not meant for anyone to use.

Only the "Best" Scientific Work

This article, which highlights the work of Dr. Ioannidis (an epidemiologist at Ioannina School of Medicine, Greece) and his colleagues, suggests that research published in the top journals may be wrong. After reviewing 49 articles that had been cited by more than 1,000 other scientists, Dr. Ioannidis discovered that the findings of almost one-third had been refuted. Further, he notes that there is a bias toward positive rather than negative findings. One example can be seen with recent research on antidepressants - studies that showed positive results from these drugs were published, whereas those that showed negative results were not.