Careers of Women in Science:
Issues of Power and Control
Conference, April 7-8, 2001 on the Clark Kerr Campus, UCB
Call for Papers (PDF)
This is a conference intended to expand diversity in the scientific workforce by encouraging the participation of young women, and particularly young women of color in pursuing scientific careers. It combines a broad recruitment conference coordinated with schools and organizations for high school girls and undergraduate women with a scholarly conference analyzing the extent to which women have obtained power in scientific employment situations and control over their working life. It will be focused in the following way.
The scholarly conference: To examine how successful women have been in various scientific and technical careers requiring a Ph.D. in terms of the extent to which they have they entered positions of power and prestige in their respective areas. The idea is to examine and analyze the structures which essentially govern/influence the structure of science such as academic departments, industrial research and development, schools, federal scientific agencies, national labs, scientific journals, scientific policy organizations and the extent to which women participate in powerful positions within these.
The recruitment conference: To encourage the greater participation of young women and especially women of color in scientific careers by combining a program of analysis with one of personal stories of how UC women Ph.D.s, particularly those of color, shaped their careers and why, and to have present many of the organizations which support girls and women in science to provide information about careers, science programs, support, access, etc. The speakers in this section are largely drawn from a current research project on minority success in science and engineering Ph.D. programs in the UC system which looks at those receiving Ph.D.s between 1980 and 1990. The speakers have up to 20 years experience in the workforce and have much to say about their careers and personal choices.
Both parts are integrated throughout by combining in panels broken down by either large disciplinary area or special topic in which two analytical papers will be presented, one or two papers on the speaker's experience as a scientist. Panels will be chaired by distinguished women scientists, one already planned includes one of the very few female Deans of Engineering, Denice Denton, U. of Washington. In separate areas organizations such as AWIS, WEPAN, Society of Women Engineers; the women's sections of ACS, APS, AMS, etc., campus student organizations, and admissions advisors are invited to staff booths to provide information for young women. In another area demonstrations of Mentor Net, Systers and other e-mail groups will be located along with video and other technological demonstrations.
The conference brings together high school girls from all over the Bay Area and is planned in conjunction with University outreach programs such as The Berkeley Pledge, Expanding Your Horizons/Math Science Network, and numerous science and engineering faculty from northern Californian campuses. It will be video taped and available to participants to be used as they wish. The papers and presentations will be edited and published as a scholarly book. Around 300 attendees are expected, speakers from all over the United States.
Organized by Anne MacLachlan, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UCB and Lorna Erwin, Department of Sociology, York University, Ontario with the cooperation of Marcia Linn, School of Education, UCB
If you are interested in being on the mailing list for the program and registration materials please send an e-mail to Anne MacLachlan maclach@uclink4.berkeley.edu.
