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CHAPTER 2
THE SUPPLY OF WOMEN DOCTORATES
Since the turn of the century, the numbers of Ph.D.s awarded to
women have increased continuously and, in the last decade, very steeply.
This trend has been overshadowed in some periods, especially between
World War II and the mid-1960s, by the steep rise in male Ph.D.s which
resulted in large measure from the broadened educational participation
of men made possible by the G.I. Bill and its successors after the Ko-
rean and Vie tnar. wars. While a few women were also entitled to such
benefits, over 97 percent of the World War II veterans who received such
aid were men. About one-quarter of all science Ph.D.s graduating in
1950 had received primary financial support from the G.I. Bill (Harmon,
1968~; in 1981, 4-9 percent of new male science and engineering Ph.D.s
and 0-.5 percent of women reported support from this source (Summary
Reports, 1981~. As a consequence, in part, of this disparate support
pattern, the proportion of Ph.D.s granted to women in each decade reached
an historic low in the 1950s and did not again match or exceed the pre-
vious high levels of the 1920s and 1930s until the last decade (Figure
2.1~. The likelihood is considerable that the significantly lower avail-
ability of financial aid for women rather than the frequently cited baby
boom was primarily responsible for their relative and temporary decline
in the Ph.D. pool.
The numbers of women earning Ph.D.s in the sciences have increased
steadily since 1970 while the numbers of men have declined (Table 2.1~.
Overall Ph.D. production peaked in 1973 and has stabilized in the last
few years at around 18,000 per year. In the life and social sciences,
total numbers of Ph.D.s continued to rise during most of the 1970s,
which can be attributed entirely to the increase in female doctorates.
The physical sciences have witnessed a substantial decline in doctoral
production since 1971; the additional numbers of women graduates have
not been large enough to offset the drop for male graduates from 5400
to 3600 annually.
Total production of engineering doctorates has also been declining
since the early 1970s, although not as steeply as for the physical
sciences. The number of women earning Ph.D.s in engineering is, despite
a high rate of increase, still very low--only 100 women in 1981, compared
2.1
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with nearly 2400 men. However, a dramatic surge in female enrollments
in engineering schools is now taking place. ~ The time lag before this
increase can be expected to appear in the supply of women doctorates
is 8-9 years, and thus at a date in the l990s. 2
In 1981 the percentages of women among new doctorates awarded
were: physical sciences, 12 percent i engineering, 4 percent i life
sciences, 26 percent; and social sciences, 36 percent. For all science
and engineering fields combined, nearly 4, 400 women earned Ph. D . s in 1981,
representing 23 percent of the new recipients
Minority women in s cience
Of the 4,359 women receiving doctorates in science and engineering in
1981 , 595 were minority group members (Table 2.1A), of whom Asians were the
. . .
largest single group-- 313 . Many of these women are presumably foreign
citizens who completed graduate school with temporary visas and are
returning to their home countries. (Fifty-six percent of recent Asian
Ph. D.s are foreign citizens with temporary visas. 3) Among Asian women
doctorates a relatively high proportion graduated from physical sciences
and engineering departments. Fifteen percent of the recent women Ph.D. s
in the physical sciences were Asian.
Black women made up only 4 percent of all women receiving Ph. D. s
~ n science and engineering in 1981. Their numbers have increased
from 67 to 161 since 1974, 4 the first year for which data are available.
Institutional origins
A previous report of this Committee noted that women scientists
receive thei r graduate training in roughly the s ame mix of institutions
as men. 5 Table 2. 2 repeats the analysis with information for the most
recent doctorate recipients. In the majority of fields, the proportions
iThe percent of women in freshmen engineering classes was: Fall 1973,
4. 7 percent; Fall 1977, 11.1 percent i and Fall 1981, 15. 8 percent.
(Engineering Manpower Commission, unpublished data)
Those entering college in Fall 1981 who complete the BA and go on to
graduate school will receive the Ph. D. in approximately 1991.
3Sy;rerson, 1981, p. 38.
4Doctorate Records File, National Research Council, unpublished data.
5 Climbing the Academic Ladder, p. 31.
~ . .
2.2
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of men and women Ph.D.s who had graduated from highly rated departments5a
are similar. In physics, women are somewhat less likely and in micro-
biology and psychology, somewhat more likely than men to have earned
their doctorates from prestigious departments. The only field showing
a substantial sex difference among 1976-1980 PhoD.s is mathematics:
46 percent of the men, compared with 37 percent of the women received
their graduate education from a highly rated department. It would be
instructive to examine the distribution of recent men and women
doctorate recipients for the 27 mathematics departments rated as
"distinguished" or "strong" to determine whether this pattern is
explained by a scarcity of women students in particular departments,
or whether this statistical bias exists throughout the group.
The reader wishing more detailed data on both doctoral and bacca-
laureate origins of male and female Ph.D.s is directed to the report.
A Century of Doctorates. The appendices provide a unique listing of
individual institutions ranked as Pho Do producers within field and sex
for various time periods.
Age at Ph.D.
Among recent doctorates in science and engineering, women typically
complete their degrees at about the same age as men--31.0 for women and
30.3 for men. The median age at receipt of the doctorate varies widely
according to field, with chemists and sociologists at the low and high
ends of the range for both sexes (Figure 2.2~. The only disciplines
showing a marked gender difference are medical sciences and engineering.
In medical sciences, females are typically older than males
receiving doctorates in the same year, with median ages of 33~7 and
30.3 respectively. An earlier report analyzing the graduates of the
last 15 years noted that the standard deviations of age at Ph.D. are
greater for women; the age spread for women in medical sciences was in
fact greater than for any other science field, and was noticeably
skewed at the upper age ranges,6a suggesting that for a portion of
these women there are forces at work which have slowed their academic
progress compared with their male counterparts. One might be quick to
attribute this observation to marital or family constraints. However,
5aBased on reputational ratings of graduate faculty, as reported in
Kenneth D. Roose and Charles J. Andersen, A Rating of Graduate Programs,
American Council on Education, Washington, D.C., 1970.
6 Harmon, 1978.
6aIbid., p. 53.
2.3
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FIGURE 2.1 Percent (and number) of science and engineering doctorates
granted to women by field and decade, 1920-1979
Physical Sciences
30
O~ 25
~n
20
15
c~
o
IL
o
10
~ 5
z
u~
O
LLJ
L1J
o
O 25
llJ
~:
LL
c~
r ~N ~) t~
O oo
C ~CD
_ _
r ~
oo
C~
_ _
. r~
1 1 1 1 1 1
O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ 0m 0=
~ N ~) ~ ~ d lD LO CO CO r- 1-
a) a) C5) ~ a) CO C5) a) CO C5) a) o)
Life Sciences
30
15
10
5
_ _ _ _ _
00 ~co 00 00
(D ~
r ~r ~0
_ _ _
_ _
o
o
-
o
1 1 1 1
0 ~ 0 ~ 0 cs
C~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (D C9 ~ r~
SOURCE: Doctorate Records File,
Englneerlng
LL
~ 30
o
o
25
cn
~ 20
~:
o
c~
~O 10
LL
o
15
~ 5
z
u~
c~
LL
LLJ
o
o
30
25
~n
~,\
~u
o
o
~ 10
IL
o
z
LL
~O
U]
O o) O a) O a) O a) O a) O a)
c~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ c~ co ~ r~
C5) ~ CD
Social Sciences
_ _
~0
co oo
_ _
-
o
-
-
o
~D
-
-
c~
-
l
1 1 1 1
0 ~ 0 ~ 0 cs) 0 ~ 0
c~ c~ ~ ~ ~ ~t ID LO CS
C53
National Research Council
2.4
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TABLE 2.1 Number of science and engineering doctorates awarded by sex and
field, 1970-1981
Total
science
& engrg.
.
Physical Engi- Life Social
. . . .
sciences neerlng sciences sciences
... .
WOMEN
1970 1,660 320 15588737
1971 1,995 341 15715924
1972 2,173 367 227311,053
1973 2,542 382 468681,246
1974 2,730 384 338671,446
1975 3,005 403 529501,600
1976 3,167 420 549591,734
1977 3,298 430 749571,837
1978 3,530 439 531,0831,955
1979 3,861 496 621,1942,109
1980 4,099 502 901,3422,165
1981 4,359 502 991,4432,315
MEN
1970 16,545 5,308 3,419 3,989 3,829
1971 17,506 5,398 3,483 4,360 4,265
1972 17,431 5,171 3,481 4,221 4,558
1973 17,079 4,929 3,318 4,140 4,692
1974 16,400 4,592 3,114 3,967 4,727
1975 16,069 4,454 2,950 3,955 4,710
1976 15,646 4,089 2,780 3,921 4,856
1977 15,025 3,949 2,569 3,816 4,691
1978 14,442 3,754 2,370 3,808 4,510
1979 14,401 3,803 2,428 3,887 4,283
1980 14,072 3,612 2,389 3,983 4,088
1981 14,303 3,666 2,429 4,Ol8 4,190
aFiscal year is used throughout the tables in this chapter. Fiscal
1980, for example, represents the period July 1, 1979 through June
SOURCE: Syverson, 1981, p. 4.
2.5
year
30, 1980.
OCR for page 21
TABLE 2.1A Number of science and engineering doctorates awarded in 1981 by
sex, racial-ethnic group, and fielda
Total,
Racial-ethnic science Physical Engi- Life Social
group & engr. sciences peering sciences sciences
WOMEN
TOTAL4,359502991,4432,315
White3,499371581,1461,924
Asian313773112679
Black16111--42108
American Indian8----26
Puerto Rican194--510
Mexican201--316
Other Hispanic741332533
Other ~ unknown26525794139
MEN
TOTAL14,3033,6662,4294,0184,190
White10,3882,6761,3413,0793,292
Asian1,917552773357235
Black4355859135183
American Indian23249~
Puerto Rican2610556
Mexican9813183136
Other Hispanic337596913673
Other & Unknown1,079296160266357
aNon-U.S. citizens with temporary visas are included.
SOURCE: Doctorate Records File, National Research Council.
2.6
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Percent of science and engineering doctorates awarded to men and
women from highly rated departments,a for selected fields,
1970-1980
Total doctorates awarded,
Percent from
Year and field all departments ~ hly rated departmentsa
of doctorateWomen Men Women Men
1970-1975
Mathematics612 6,722 42 46*
Physics282 8,225 39 46*
Chemistry1,110 10,786 45 45
Biochemistry748 2,932 42 44
Microbiology534 1,797 40 29*
Psychology3,974 10,147 39 32*
Anthropology556 1,251 55 52
Sociology896 2,759 47 40*
Economics383 4,876 49 39*
1976-1980
Mathematics569 3,719 37 46*
Physics263 4,640 41 48*
Chemistry1,038 6,805 44 45
Biochemistry768 2,340 39 42
Microbiology512 1,220 34 30*
Psychology5,731 9,386 29 25*
Anthropology798 1,167 43 41
Sociology1,147 2,157 36 38
Economics467 3,628 39 39
Based on ratings of "distinguished" or "strong" graduate faculty, as reported
in Kenneth D. Roose and Charles J. Andersen, A Rating of Graduate Programs,
American Council on Education, Washington, D.C., 1970.
*Sex difference in percent from highly rated departments is statistically
significant at .05 level.
SOURCE: Doctorate Records File, National Research Council
2.7
/
OCR for page 23
FIGURE 2.2 Median age at Ph.D. by field and sex, 1981 science and
engineering doctorates
. ,
Field ~
Doctorates
~a~emato
PhYsics
Chemistry
~ .
carte
Sciences
Eying
Agricultural
Sciences
Medical
Sciences
Biological
Sciences
PSYchoIOgV
Economics
SociolOgY/
Anthropology
2g5
2g
I 1 Women
Men
I I I I I 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
20 22 24 2G
SOURCE: Syverson' 1982' PEe 5 3-56 e
2.8
28 30 32 34
.1
2g.G
2g.1
28.4
~0 ~
^~.w
2g.g
31.1
2g.0
30.6
30.s
~1 o
~ .
go . ,
303
2g.5
2g,S
31.7
31.2
30.1
31.0
33.5
33.0
OCR for page 24
only 47 percent of the new women Ph.D.s in medical sciences were
married, a somewhat lower proportion than in chemistry, where the female
graduates are comparatively young at the time of Ph.D.
It is probable that this large age differential arises from
different field distributions by sex within the medical sciences (see
also p. 2.9 and p. 3.2~; more than a quarter of the women in these
fields obtain Ph.D.s in nursing, and are likely to have spent some
period of time in professional practice before undertaking doctoral
work. Such a conclusion is also supported by the fact that 72 percent
of the women but only 55 percent of the men have taken a master's degree
In engineering the sex pattern is reversed: women typically
receive their Ph.D. at a considerably younger age than do men. Here
an explanation for a sex difference is not apparent, especially since
the women are more likely to have switched into engineering from other
baccalaureate fields, a pattern which would be expected to have prolonged
their graduate study.
The significance of sex differences in age at receipt of the Ph.D.
is not entirely clear in any case; traditionally, earning the doctorate
at an early age has been seen as an indication of high interest, motiva-
tion, and ability. However, even cursory inspection of the median
BA-to-Ph.D time lapse by field and sex for different institutions (see
Harmon, Table 42) shows very wide variations among the leading univer-
sities; the difference in median time lapse between two institutions of
equal eminence is frequently greater than the sex difference in either
one. Such variations may be accounted for by differing
policies among institutions with respect to residence requirements,
financial support, TA duties, and other factors. Thus sex differences
in age at receipt of the doctorate can be influenced markedly by
differential sex distributions among specific departments even within
given categories of quality.
Graduate school support patterns
Support patterns are strikingly similar for recent male and female
graduate students in science and engineering departments. Within
fields, there is very little difference in the percentages of men and
women who held research assistantships or teaching assistantships.
The most pronounced change in financial aid over recent years is the
reduced availability of fellowships, which has been found to have
affected both sexes about evenly.
Medical sciences is somewhat of an exception. The women doctorates
are twice as likely as the men (26 percent versus 12 percent) to report
7Syverson, 1981, pp. 32-35.
Ahern and Scott, 1981, pp. 6-7.
2.9
7
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
medical sciences
personal funds (i.e., own earnings, spouse's earning, or family contri-
butions) as their primary source of financial support during graduate
school.9
We noted in connection with the large age differential by sex in
this field (p. 2.3) that this probably derives from the large number
of women Ph.Dos in nursing. The large differential in financial
support may arise from the same reason; if the total support available
for research degrees in nursing is significantly less than in other
medical fields, then women in nursing are disproportionately burdened
by having to provide more of their own support.
Predoctoral employment
Male and female doctorates are nearly equally likely to be
teaching full-time prior to the doctorate,~° but only a small propor-
tion were so employed--about 4 percent in physical sciences, 6 percent
in life sciences, and 9 percent in engineering. In the social sciences,
however, as many as 23 percent of the women and 31 percent of the men
reported full-time teaching prior to receiving their degrees.
TABLE 2.3 Percent of 1977 and 1981 science and
Marital status
.
Generally speaking, women Ph.D.s are less likely than their male
counterparts to be married at the time of receiving their degrees
(Table 2~3)o For 1981 doctorate recipients, the proportion of married
women is below 50 percent in most science fields. Marriage is less
common among new Ph.D.s than it was just 4 years ago, but the decreases
are more dramatic for men than for women O
Plans after the Ph.D.
.
The Survey of Earned Doctorates obtains responses from individual
doctorate recipients on their plans for employment or further study
immediately following graduation, including the employment sector they
plan to enter, and whether they already have a definite job, or are still
seeking an appointment. The percent of new Ph.D.s with definite jobs
at receipt of the degree has been used as a barometer for the state of the
doctoral labor market, as these data are available by field on an
annual basis. The data also indicate the comparative status of men
and women graduates in obtaining employment.
Table 2.4 shows that the new women Ph.D.s are somewhat less
likely than their male counterparts to have a definite appointment at
the time of receiving the degree. For example, in the biological
sciences--a field with a substantial female component--38 percent of
the women were still seeking a position compared with 29 percent of the
men. Chemistry, with women representing one-sixth of the new Ph.D.s,
shows a similar differential: 25 percent of the women but only 16
percent of the men reported that they were still looking for employment.
Physics is the single field in which this pattern is reversed.
A longer waiting time in obtaining a first appointment may continue
to be a disadvantage in the early career years. It has been shown in
the case of humanities PhoD.s that those who are seeking but do not
have a position at the time of graduation are more likely to be
unemployed 1-2 years later (Hornig, unpublished data).
The academic sector continues to be the largest employer of
doctorate recipients. The percent of new Ph.D.s planning to have an
academic position immediately after graduation ranges from 9 percent in
chemistry to 56 percent in mathematics and may differ for men and
women (Table 2.5~. The reader is reminded that the sizeable group of
doctorates with "other plans" shown in Table 2.5 includes those taking
postdoctoral fellowships, associateships, traineeships, etc. (The
trend toward increasing numbers of postdocs is discussed in detail in
Chapter 3.) The group with "other plans" also includes those going
into government employment (8 percent of the physics Ph.D.s and 10
percent of the engineers).
2.11
TABLE 2.4 Employment prospects at time of receipt of the doctorate, by field
and sex, 1980 science and engineering Ph.D.s
Number % With ~ Still
Total planning definite seeking
doctorates employments job job
_ . _
Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men
. _ _
Mathematics 9565086508 72% 80%* 28% 20
Computer sciences 2119720166 80 79 20 21
Physics 6791829410 86 76* 14 24
Chemistry 2551283127702 75 84* 25 16
Earth sciences 6456437372 76 82 24 18
Engineering 902389771903 79 81 21 19
Agricultural sciences 10996379756 66 80* 34 20
Medical sciences 278564170263 78 83 22 17
Biological sciences 9552456280775 62 71* 38 29
Psychology 131017889931362 68 73* 32 27
Economics 10366494610 80 85 20 15
Sociology & anthropology 405566331476 64 68 36 32
Other social sciences 3471070301928 68 76* 32 24
aIncludes those Ph.D.s who at the time of receiving the doctorate, planned to
be employed as opposed to those planning to take a postdoctoral fellowship,
traineeship, etc. The numbers and characteristics of those planning post-
doctoral study are discussed in Chapter 3.
*Sex difference in percent with definite job is statistically
at .05 level.
SOURCE: Doctorate Records File, National Research Council
2.12
significant
TABLE 2.5 Percent of 1980 science and engineering doctorates planning
academic and industrial employment following receipt of the
Ph.D.
% planning
aced. emPloY.
% planning
indust. employ. plans
WOMEN
Mathematics65%18% 17
Computer sciences5229 19
Physics1025 65
Chemistry1433 53
Earth sciences2817 55
Engineering2842 30
Agricultural sciences3316 51
Medical sciences428 50
Biological sciences175 78
Psychology3311 56
Economics5215 33
Sociology and anthropology564 40
Other social sciences5814 28
MEN
Mathematics5515 30
Computer sciences3938 23
Physics1221 67
Chemistry841 51
Earth sciences2324 53
Engineering2342 35
Agricultural sciences4413 43
Medical sciences2110 69
Biological sciences177 76
Psychology2812 60
Economics569 35
Sociology and anthropology595 36
Other social sciences639 28
2.13
Industrial employment is, not surprisingly, highest in engineering,
computer sciences and chemistry. About 40 percent of the new Ph.D.s
in these departments report that they have or are looking for a
position in business or industry. Characteristics of male and female
Ph.D.s employed in industry are described in Chapter 5.
Labor force participation
Approximately 95 percent of the women and 99 percent of the men
who earned Ph.D.s in science and engineering in the 1970s were in the
labor force as of 1981.iOa Thus, very few women scientists--only one
in 20 of the recent Ph.D. cohorts--chose not to work. Their attachment
to the labor force is higher than is commonly believed--even among women
in the childbearing age groups.
Women now make up 12 percent of the total U.S. doctoral work force
in science and engineering (Table 2.6~. They account for only 1 percent
of the supply of all engineering Ph.D.s, 3 percent of the doctoral
physicists, 8 percent of Ph.D. chemists, 18 percent of bioscience
Ph.D.s, and as many as 27 percent of the supply of Ph.D. psychologists.
In 1981 there were nearly 41,000 doctoral women scientists and engineers
in the U.S. work force.
The majority of the women scientists are working full-time. Part-
time employment is reported by 11 percent of the women compared with
2 percent of the men, across all employment sectors. In psychology,
one in six of the women Ph.D.s hold part-time jobs while in mathematics
and engineering, only one in 13 do so. About 20 percent of the women
who were working part-time reported that they were seeking a full-time
· · 12
position.
Women scientists are more likely than their male colleagues to be
unemployed involuntarily although for both sexes the numbers are
relatively low. The 1981 unemployment rates, calculated separately by
field, remain at 1 percent or below for men, regardless of field, and
at about 2 percent for women in most fields, although unemployment
levels reach 3-4 percent for female Ph.D.s in the biomedical areas and
the social sciences.
i°aNational Research Council, Survey of Doctorate Recipients, unpublished
data.
lithe median age of the 1976-1980 women Ph.D.s at the time of the
survey was 33; 96 percent reported that they were employed or seeking
employment.
~ National Research Council, 1981 Profile: Science, Engineering, and
Humanities Doctorates in the U.S., Table 1.10. (forthcoming)
.
frigid., The unemployment rate is the ratio of the number who were
unemployed and seeking work to the number in the labor force.
2.14
TABLE 2.6 Number and percent of women doctoral scientists and engineers
in the labor force by field, 1981
BY FIELD OF DOCTORATE:
Number of Women as $s
BY FIELD OF EMPLOYMENT:
Number of Women as %
women of total women of total
. . . .
All science &
engineering fields 40,852
12.0
35,569
11.5
Mathematics1, 4828.11,1658.4
Computer sciences1788.25716.9
Physics8322.95472.9
Chemistry3,7697.82,7587.2
Earth sciences5884.98005.2
Engineering5041.07161.4
Agricultural sciences4533.03662.5
Medical sciences1, 78917.03,58217.6
Biological sciences10, 39218.28,30917.8
Psychology12,25726.910,43727.1
Economics1,153- 8.49008.3
Other social sciences7,45519.55,41818.1
SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council
2.15
