Women Scientists in Industry and Government: How Much Progress in the 1970's?: an Interim Report to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (1980)

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PART 1 DOCTORAL WOMEN SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS IN INDUSTRY Federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination in employment first appeared in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was not until 1971, however, that government contractors were required to develop written affirmative action plans containing goals and timetables. In 1972, Title VII was amended to cover all private employers of 15 or more persons — regardless of whether or not they receive federal funds — in addition to public institutions. The threat of losing government contracts due to failure to comply is a real one. To date, the Labor Department has debarred 21 firms from federal contracts for this reason. To what extent have these pressures affected the rate of hiring and advancement of women scientists and engineers? If special efforts are being made towards more equitable employment, one would expect to find: (i) an increasing proportion of the pool of qualified women among new hires, (ii) a narrowing of salary differences, and (iii) growing numbers of women in management positions. In this section of the report, we will examine recent trends in the employment of women doctorates in private industry — their employers, work activities, salaries, and other characteristics. The mileposts for measuring progress will be 1973 and 1977 since these are the earliest and most recent years for which reliable longitudinal data are available. The data are derived from the National Research Council's 1973 and 1977 surveys of doctorate recipients (see box on page 3). Included are Ph.D. scientists and engineers in the labor force who earned doctorates in the period since 1934. Business and industry employment figures shown here exclude individuals who are self-employed. Supply of Women Ph.D.s The proportion of women among new science and engineering Ph.D.s has risen sharply in recent years to a 1977 level of 10 percent in physical sciences, 20 percent in biosciences, and nearly 30 percent in social sciences (Figure 1.1).

FIGURE 1.1 Percent ol doctoral degrees in science and engineering awarded to women, 1970-1977. 30 CO z LU Q. o LJJ £T LU cr o o o Q o o o cr LU Q. 20 10 Social Sciences Physical Sciences Engineering 1971 1977 1973 1975 YEAR OF DOCTORATE SOURCE: Survey of Earned Doctorates, National Research Council Employment Trends A quarter of all male scientists and engineers with the Ph.D. but only seven percent of such women held positions in industry in 1977 (Table 1.1). The pattern is similar among the most recent Ph.D. graduates, and although the proportion of women going into industry has increased since 1973, it is still under 10 percent. This differential is largely due to the fact that relatively few of the women Ph.D.s are in engineering and physics — fields which together account for about 40 percent of the doctorate- level jobs in industry.

TABLE 1.1 Doctoral scientists and engineers by employment sector and sex 1973 Employment 1977 Employment Men Women Men Women All Ph.D.s Number 185,800 14,700 236,800 24,200 Z Business/industry 24 5 26 7 Academe 57 72 55 68 U.S. government 96 85 Other employers 10 17 11 20 New Ph.D.s* Number 26,400 3,000 22,500 4,400 Z Business /industry 22 5 25 9 Academe 56 73 52 64 U.S. government 9 3 8 3 Other employers 13 19 15 24 *Earned doctorate 1-2 years prior to employment survey. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council Utilization by Field All companies that have federal contracts are required to submit annual reports to the Department of Labor on their affirmative action programs. Such reports as a rule include the percent of women employees compared with their proportion in the available pool. An industry- wide analysis of this sort is shown in Table 1.2. Among doctorate-1evel personnel, the rate of industrial employment of women scientists is less than half their rate in the Ph.D. work force. The discrepancy between percent of women employed in industry and the percent availability is largest in the life sciences, with the greatest discrepancy occurring in medical sciences. It is interesting to note, however, that in physics and engineering, which are major feeder fields for industry, the percent women matches their representation in the doctoral pool.

TABLE 1.2 Percent doctoral women employed in industry and percent available, 1977 Total Ph.O.s in industry No. women industry Z Women industry Z Women in Ph.D. labor force Field All fields 61,500 1,700 31 10Z Engineering, math & physical sciences 49.100 900 2 4 Mathematics 1,100 50 4 7 Computer sciences 2,900 100 3 7 Physics 3,900 80 2 2 Chemistry 17,100 500 3 6 Earth sciences 2,800 70 2 4 Engineering 21,300 100 1 1 Life sciences 8.500 400 5 13 Agricultural sciences 2,600 20 1 2 Medical sciences 2,400 100 4 13 Biological sciences 3,500 280 8 16 Behavioral & social sciences 3.900 400 9 18 Psychology 1,800 200 ii 23 Social sciences 2,100 200 8 14 SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council Profile by Industry Overall, industrial R&D personnel who hold science and engineering doctorates increased by an estimated 8,900 in four years from 37,200 in 1973 to 46,100 in 1979. Women represented six percent of the net increase. Of the manufacturing companies, the electrical equipment industry recorded the largest proportion of women among net R&D growth — 11 percent — although it sustained one of the lowest rates of growth of R&D personnel over this period (Table 1.3).1 The most striking under-representation of women scientists and engineers in R&D appears in the fastest-growing industrial sector, "other nonmanufacturing" companies, which grew at an annual rate of 14 percent in number of Ph.D.s employed in R&D, but in which only 3.6 percent of the additional personnel were women. This sector includes companies engaged in such activities as agriculture, mining, finance, and wholesale and retail trade — fields in which few women scientists are found (with the possible exception of retail trade). 1The "electrical equipment" industry includes companies whose gross revenues are chiefly from electrical and communications products, such as AT&T, General Electric, and Westinghouse, etc. Industry groups are defined by the Standard Industrial Classification of the Office of Management and Budget. 10

TABLE 1.3 Four-year growth in R & D personnel who hold science and engineering doctorates by industry group, including increase in numbers of women Doctoral R & D Personnel 4-Year Growth Industry Average Annual 1973 1977 Growth (1973-77) No. of Women as Z Total Women of Increase Group2 Total employed 37,209 46,088 5.5Z 8,879 531 6.0Z Classifiable companies 34,974 43,410 5.6 8,436 525 6.2 Manufacturing 32,253 39,603 5.3 7,350 461 6.3 Chemicals 7,751 9,353 4.8 1,602 98 6.1 Electrical equipment 6,085 6,858 3.0 773 86 11.1 Pharmaceuticals 3,206 4,297 7.6 1,091 77 7.1 Petroleum and refining 3,343 3,900 3.9 557 35 6.3 Instruments 2,259 3,118 8.4 859 40 4.7 Other Manufacturing 9,609 12,077 5.9 2,468 125 5.1 Services 1,682 2,066 5.3 384 39 10.2 Other non-manufacturing 1,039 1,741 13.8 702 25 3.6 Non-classifiable companies 2,235 2,678 5.0 443 6 1.3 'includes individuals whose primary work activity is management or performance of research and development. 2Standard Industrial Classification. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council Women Managers Before examining salary differentials between men and women, it is important to consider possible differences in types of positions held. The available data on doctoral scientists and engineers in industry do not indicate the level or kinds of responsibility involved or experience required. Nor do many positions in industry lend themselves to classifica- tion into well-defined categories such as occur in academic and government jobs. The information at hand allows us to categorize jobs by industry group, primary work activity, and salary. Some major differences in work activities for men and women are evident from Figure 1.2. Men are twice as likely as their female colleagues to be in managerial positions — a difference which we will discuss later with reference to their comparative salaries. Within R&D activities, basic research employs relatively more women scientists and development relatively more men. 11

FIGURE 1.2 Primary work activities ol doctoral scientists and engineers in industry, 1977. Men SOURCE: Survey ot Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council The 18 percent of women scientists and engineers in management (R&D and other) in 1977 is actually lower than the comparable statistic of 20 percent for 1973, although the difference is not statistically significant. For both men and women, the proportion who were managers dropped between 1973 and 1977, but the 2-to-1 ratio remained constant (Table 1.4). TABLE 1.4 Percent of doctoral scientists and engineers in industry whose primary work activity is management, 1973 and 1977 Men Women Z Managers 1973 1977 40.3 37.2 20.0 18.1 SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council 12

Examining work activities by field (Table 1.5), we find that the principal job functions for men and women are most dissimilar in the life sciences. About 40 percent of the male scientists, but only 15 percent of the females, are engaged in management of R&D.2 In both the life and social sciences — fields with relatively large proportions of women Ph.D.s — men are also about twice as likely to be employed as consultants. TABLE 1.5 Primary work activities of doctoral scientists and engineers in industry by field and sex, 1977 Primary work activity All Engineering, math. , and physical sciences Men Women Life sciences Men Women Behavioral and social sciences Men Women fields Men Women Total 59,844 1,692 48,198 910 8,126 413 3,520 369 Total reporting activity 59,038 1,657 47,705 893 7,954 411 3,379 353 Management of R&D 27. 7Z 13.5%* 26.6% 14.4% 39.3% 14.8%* 16.0% 9.3% Basic research 6.7 14.8 * 6.8 14.9 * 7.1 18.2 * 3.9 10.5* Applied research 25.5 29.3 26.6 36.2 18.0 24.1 28.3 17.8 Development 16.3 7.0 * 19.0 11.4 5.9 3.4 2.2 0.0 Management, other 9.5 4.6 * 9.2 4.5 9.4 4.4 14.4 5.4* Consulting 4.2 3.9 * 3.4 3.0 5.4 2.2 12.1 7.9 Sales /market ing 2.6 1.9 2.3 0.6 4.1 2.2 3.2 4.8 Prof, services to individuals 1.5 6.0 * 0.7 1.6 2.8 7.3* 9.2 15.6 Technical writing 1.5 7.1 * 1.0 4.3 * 2.7 10.9 * 4.5 9.9 Production/inspection 2.0 4.0 * 2.0 2.8 2.7 6.6 * 0.4 4.0* Other 2.5 7.9 * 2.3 6.4 * 2.6 5.8 5.7 14.7 *Sex difference is statistically significant at the .05 level. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council. Most marked is the difference between men and women primarily engaged in technical writing and in "other" nonclassified work activities. About 15 percent of all industrially employed women scientists and engineers are in these two categories, and they are more than three times as likely as men to hold such positions. The undefined work category presumably includes such functions as staff work and other internal support services, e.g. libraries, which are often not viewed as central to a company's business. 2The estimated percents in management of R&D and their corresponding sampling errors are: men, 39.3 + 1.5 percent; women, 14.8 + 3.4 percent. 13

What about promotions to management positions between 1973 and 1977? Is there evidence that women scientists and engineers moved into managerial slots at a greater rate than did male Ph.D. personnel over this period? Table 1.6 shows that about one in six of the women on R&D staffs (non- management) in 1973 was promoted to management positions by 1977 as compared with slightly more than one in five of their male counterparts. However, the difference is not statistically significant. In addition, it should be noted that the data are not segregated by age, which may be a factor in rate of promotion. TABLE 1.6 Promotions of doctoral R&D personnel to management of R&D, 1973 to 1977, by sex 1973 1977 Number on R&D staff Estimated Z in (non-management) management of R&Da Hen 21,636 412 20.4 17.6 (+1.0) (±3.7) Women Based on those responding to both the 1973 and 1977 surveys. MOTE: Estimated sampling errors are given in parentheses. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council Salaries3 Median industry salaries for men and women scientists and engineers differed by nearly 20 percent as of 1977. Undoubtedly, some part of the observed salary differential is attributable to the relatively higher numbers of women among recent Ph.D.s. For this reason, salaries will be analyzed separately for the older Ph.D.s — those who earned degrees in the period 1934-1957; the mid-career group, 1958-1969 Ph.D.s; and three groups of recent doctorates — those who earned degrees in 1970-1972, 1973-1974, and 1975-1976." We will also examine salary differences when controlled by number of full-time equivalent years of experience. 3Annual salaries were reported for February 1973 and February 1977. About 95 percent of the survey respondents provided salary information. Medians were computed for full-time employed persons only. Self-employed individuals are excluded. "*It is recognized that these groupings only partially control for salary differences due to cohort. However, because of the small numbers of women in industry, a finer break-out by year of doctorate would not afford reliable estimates of median salaries. 14

FIGURE 1.3 Median salaries ol doctoral scientists and engineers in industry by cohort and sex, 1977. DOLLARS lthousandsI 1 3 15 20 25 30 35 4 I I 1 I I ~~l 1934. 1 1957 Ph.D.s 1 1958- 1969 Ph.D.s 1 1970- 1972 Ph.D.s 1 | 1 1 Mtn 1973- ] [_ j Wotrwn 1974 Ph.D.s 1 1975- 1976 Ph.D.s As shown in Figure 1.3, the pay differential for men and women has been greatly reduced for the most recent Ph.D.s, based on 1977 data. Otherwise, the salary disadvantage for women scientists and engineers in industry remains substantial. Men typically earned $7,500 more than women among older Ph.D.s and $4,000 more in the mid-career group. For mid-career scientists and engineers, the salary gap was markedly wider in 1977 than in 1973 (Table 1.7). 1934 - 1957 Ph .D.s 1958 - 1969 Ph. D.s 1970 - 1972 Ph. D.s Men Women Dlff. Men Women Dlff. Men Women Dlff. All fields 1973 $28,100 $22,300 20. 6X $22,800 $20,500 10. IX $18,700 $16,300 12. 8X Engineering, math., 1977 37,700 30,000 20.4 31,400 27,500 12.4 26,800 24,000 10.4 physical sciences 1973 27 , 700 22,100 20.2 22,700 20,400 10.1 18.700 16,400 12.3 1977 37,400 * — 31,300 27,200 13.1 26,800 23,500 12.3 Life sciences 1973 28,900 * _ 23,100 19,700 14.7 17,700 14,800 16.4 Behavioral & social 1977 37,800 •. — 32,000 26,900 15.9 25 ,600 22,300 12.9 sciences 1973 * • — 27,700 • — 20,200 17,500 13.4 1977 * * * * 29,800 30,400 + 2.0 TABLE 1.7 fcdlan annual salarlea of doctoral scientists and engineers in industry* by field, cohort and sex, 1973 and 1977 *Data unreliable; estimated sampling errors are greater than + $2,000. NOTE: Only those full-time employed are included. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council 15

In all fields, the salary patterns demonstrate a growing differential with length of experience (Table 1.8). Among industrially employed physical scientists and engineers with 0-2 years experience, women earned about $700 or three percent less than their male colleagues. However, for those with the full-time equivalent of 15 years experience or more, the differential in pay increased to nearly 20 percent or a dollar difference of about $6,000. The salary gap is widest for life scientists. This may stem partly from the considerable under-representation of women managers in the life sciences, as noted on page 12. Due to the sex differences in work activities in all fields, not only the life sciences, we will next compare earnings within primary job functions, and examine any remaining discrepancies. TABLE 1.8 Median salaries of doctoral scientists and engineers in industry by field, full-tine equivalent years of experience, and sex, 1977 Field and no. of years experience Men Women Diff. All fields* 2 years or less 3-5 years 6-9 years 10-14 years 15-19 years 20-24 years 25 years or more $21,000 23,000 26,800 30,300 33,100 35,400 37.600 $19,500 20,900 25,400 28,200 27,200 28,400 * 7.11 9.1 5.2 6.9 Engineering, math., and physical sciences 2 years or less $21,200 $20,500 3.31 3-5 years 23,000 21,600 6.1 6-9 years 26,900 24,600 8.6 10-14 years 30,300 25,700 15.2 15-19 years 32,700 26,800 18.0 20-24 years 35,000 28,300 19.1 25 years more more 37,500 30,400 18.9 Life sciences 2 years or less $19,300 * — 3-5 years 22.900 $20,500 10.51 6-9 years 25,700 23,100 10.1 10-14 years 30,300 * ~ 15-19 years 35,800 * — 20-24 years 36,200 * — 25 years or more 37,600 28,200 25.0 17.8 19.8 •Data unreliable; estimated sampling errors are i $2,000 or greater. +The behavioral and social sciences are included in "all fields" but are not shown separately due to relatively large sampling errors. NOTE: Only those full-time employed are included. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council 16

FlGURE 1.4 Median salaries of R&D personnel by primary work activity and years ot experience, 1977. 10 15 DOLLARS (thousands! 20 25 30 35 3-5 Years O 6-9 Years O 10-14 Years 15-19 Years I 40 n I I DOLLARS (thousands! 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 1 1 ] i 1 3-5 Years 1 MANAGEMENT OF R&D ; i 6-9 Years ^ zz 3 10-14 Years i 15-19 Years i Figure 1.4 and Table 1.9 show median salaries paid to R&D personnel in the engineering, mathematical, and physical sciences according to primary work activity, years of experience, and sex. In this analysis, the life sciences and behavioral and social sciences are not shown separately due to the small number of women on which the salary estimates would be based. Women engaged in performance of R&D (i.e., basic research, applied research, and development) with 3-5 years experience typically earned $1,000 less than their male colleagues, while for those with 15-19 years of experience, the differential increased to $5,000. Among women managers of R&D, the salary patterns were quite different, with a consistently large (20 percent) gap in pay, except for those with 15 or more years experience. 17

TABLE 1.9 Median salaries of R&D personnel in engineering, mathematics, and physical sciences, 1977 Men Women Diff. Primary work activity: Performance of R&D 3-5 years experience $23,200 $22,400 3.4Z 6-9 years 26,000 25,200 3.1 10-14 years 28,900 26,300 9.0 15-19 years 30,000 25,100 16.3 Management of R&D 3-5 years experience $23,400 $18,800 19.7 6-9 years 30,000 23,900 20.3 10-14 years 32,000 25,800 19.4 15-19 years 36,100 34,400 4.7 *Data unreliable; estimated sampling errors are greater than + $2,000. NOTE: Only those full-time employed are included. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council Educational background of women in industry Across all fields, similar proportions of men and women in industry had earned doctorates from prestigious departments. In both the EMP fields (engineering, mathematics, and physical sciences) and the life sciences, the women are significantly more likely to have received their Ph.D.s from highly rated departments while the reverse holds in the behavioral and social sciences (Table 1.10). TABLE 1.10 Recent science and engineering Ph.D.s employed in industry in 1977 Z from prestigious doctoral departments 1970 - 1976 Ph.D.s 1975-1976 Ph.D.s only Men Women Men Women All fields Engineering, mathematics and physical sciences Life sciences Behavioral and social sciences 41Z 43 35 29 41Z 49 41 24 40Z 44 28 24 38Z 55 34 11 Based on Roose-Anders«n rating of doctoral departments, published in Kenneth D. Roose and Charles J. Andersen, A Rating of Graduate Programs, American Council on Education, Washington, D.C. 1970. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council. 18

Financial support during graduate school A number of companies provide financial aid to graduate students in science and engineering departments. The extent to which women students receive such support is relevant in that it may create early ties with industry and lead to subsequent employment. Of the scientists and engineers awarded doctorates in 1976, about 800, including 80 women, had received support at some time during graduate school from company educational funds. It should be stressed that this represents less than one twentieth of all doctoral science and engineering students, so that such support is only a small contribution to financial aid. The majority of the recipients were in the physical sciences and engineering. Table 1.ll shows that in all departments but the social sciences, male and female students are about equally likely to be supported by industry funds. TABLE 1.11 Recent science and engineering Ph.D.s who received support from company educational funds during graduate school Physical New Ph.D.s who have sciences received support Men Women Engineering Men Women Life sciences Men Women Social sciences Men Women 1972 No. 310 17 379 3 77 10 90 12 X 6.2 4.8 11.4 14.3 1.9 1.5 2.1 1.2 1973 Ho. 271 12 377 2 80 10 97 15 X 5.8 3.3 11.9 4.4 2.0 1.2 2.2 1.3 1974 Ho. 235 16 341 4 75 11 90 20 X 5.5 4.5 11.7 12.5 2.0 1.4 2.1 1.5 1975 Ho. 256 19 315 3 108 20 112 15 Z 6.1 5.0 11.3 6.0 2.8 2.2 2.5 1.0 1976 Ho. 283 26 307 6 107 28 97 18 X 7.3 6.6 11.7 11.8 2.8 3.0 2.1 1.1 SOURCE: Commission on Human Resources, National Research Council, Surrmary Report, Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities, 1972-1976 reports in the series. Quality of Men and Women Ph.D.s A previous report by this Committee sought to assess the relative quality of men and women scientists at receipt of the Ph.D. Given that no objective measures of research potential exist, the Committee concluded that based on academic records, elapsed time from BA to Ph.D., and ranking of graudate departments attended, women scientists and engineers on the average are at least equal to men in quality at receipt of the 19

doctorate.5 Postdoctoral training prior to employment Between 1970 and 1976 an increasing proportion of Ph.D.s in the physical and life sciences elected postdoctoral study following graduation.6 This presumably reflects the fact that fewer traditional jobs have been available in recent years. When asked whether they had held a postdoctoral appointment prior to employment in industry about 40 percent of the men in selected fields reported "yes". Postdoctoral training was far less prevalent among industrially employed women, except in the biosciences (Table 1.12). TABLE 1.12 Recent science and engineering Ph.D.s employed in industry in 1977 and percent who had received postdoctoral training, by field and sex Doctoral scientists in industry 1977 Men Women 1970-1976 Ph.D.s Z Who have held postdoc. 1970-1976 Ph.D.s Z Who have held postdoc. Field Physics 1,442 40Z (44Z) 39 13Z (+7Z) Chemistry 4,858 38 (+2Z) 283 30 (44Z) Medical sciences 797 41 («Z) 61 23 (+11Z) Biological sciences 1,386 37 (-WZ) 159 45 (+8Z) NOTE: Estimated sampling errors are shown in parentheses. SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council 5Committee on the Education and Employment of Women in Science and Engineering, Commission on Human Resources, National Research Council, Climbing the Academic Ladder: Doctoral Women Scientists in Academe (Washington, B.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1979). 6Commission on Human Resources, National Research Council, Summary Report., Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities, 1970-1976 reports in the series (Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences). 20

Industry's views of the desirability of postdoctoral education tend to be mixed. Some companies regard the additional academic training as a disadvantage in that it motivates the young Ph.D. away from applied research and may further create an aloofness that is not consonant with larger team-oriented research. Other companies prefer the greater specialization gained by the postdoctoral, particularly in certain rapidly- changing high technology fields. In the past, only a minority of corporations have actively recruited from among postdoctoral students for new personnel.7 The fact that in recent years a growing proportion of young Ph.D.s in industry have taken postdoctorals may indicate that companies are now increasing their recruiting at this level. In any case it is not clear that the generally lower incidence of postdoctoral training among women than men in industry has significant implications to their employers. Industry hiring Among recent graduates of science and engineering departments, women have been less likely than men to seek positions in industry. The reasons for this are not known, but will be explored by this Committee in a more intensive study of industrial recruitment. Data are available, however, on the number of new Ph.D.s who were looking for industrial employment, and how women fare in receiving job offers. TABLE 1.13 Number of 1970-1976 doctorate recipients seeking positions in industry and percent who had signed contracts at the time of receiving the Ph.D., by field, cohort and sex (estimated). Men Women Total planning employment in industry Have definite Job Still seeking Total planning employment in industry Have definite Still job seeking Total 16,551 79% 21% 619 SOURCE: Survey of Doctorate Recipients, National Research Council 72X 28% Field Engineering, mathematics and physical sciences 13,691 79 21 300 74 26 Life sciences 1,794 77 23 98 52 48 Behavioral & social sci. 1,066 81 19 221 80 20 Year of Doctorate 1970-1972 7,305 81 19 154 68 32 1973-1974 5,145 76 24 199 84 16 1975-1976 4,101 80 20 266 66 34 National Research Council, The Invisible University: Postdoctoral Education in the United States (Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1969), PP. 197-204. 21

One measure of their success is whether they have a definite job at the time of receiving the doctorate. Table 1.13 shows that 79 percent of the men had definite jobs at the time of Ph.D. compared with 72 percent of the women. It should be underscored that the figures are based on graduates who reported they were seeking positions in industry — men or women who were looking for other kinds of positions or who expected to be unemployed are not included. A greater success in receiving early offers is particularly evident for men in the life science fields. About three-fourths of the male Ph.D.s but only one-half of their female counterparts had definite commitments. If we examine selected cohorts, there appears to have been a relative improvement in employment prospects for women who earned degrees in 1973 and 1974, followed by a sharp decline for the 1975-1976 women graduates. Summary and Discussion Despite a rise in the proportion of recent women Ph.D.s employed in industry between 1973 and 1977, women are still less than three percent of all doctoral scientists and engineers in industry. In several fields, their rate of industrial employment is less than half that of their availability in the doctoral work force. The average increase in women's R&D employment — six percent — matched the average industrial rate of growth in R&D personnel during this period, greatly exceeded it in the electrical equipment industry, and fell far short of the growth in "other nonmanufacturing" industries. The primary work functions of men and women differ significantly. Women are much more likely than men to be engaged in research and in "other" activities, and men are twice as likely as women to be managers. Salaries of female scientists and engineers are lower than those of males, by percentages ranging from about three to almost 25 percent in various fields and levels of experience. The salary differences remain when earnings are controlled by primary job function, and are larger for managers than for research personnel. These salary differentials increased from 1973 to 1977, and remain large for all but the most recent hires. The evidence cited in this report suggests that despite the similarity of women and men doctoral scientists in terms of educational background and quality, women are less readily recruited and hired for industrial positions. There are thus a number of important indications that despite affirmative action requirements which now go back nearly ten years, male scientists are hired earlier and paid more. The differences become most marked in the life sciences, where the pool of doctoral women is relatively large. This is in contrast to the situation in academe, where the fields 22

of mathematics and chemistry were found to be least receptive to advancement of women, as documented in an earlier report of this Committee. With the information available at present, we can do little more than speculate about the reasons for these considerable differences. Does the small proportion of women doctorates who seek industrial employment reflect in some measure a perception that such positions will not be congenial or rewarding? We know very little about the specific factors involved in such employment choices and decisions for both men and women. For example, are women scientists less attracted to year-round employment due to family responsibilities? Does work location or individual mobility play a larger role here than in academic employment? Are women scientists in industry more likely than those in academe to be married, and thus to be especially constrained in their choices? We also have no information about the extent to which companies maintain explicit or implicit anti- nepotism policies (which are known to have a disproportionate impact on women), or whether they recruit through open advertising in all cases. Further, the relatively isolated location of some major research laboratories may make them undesirable for two-career couples, who are known to prefer the multiple choices available in metropolitan areas. These issues underscore the need for information on the marital status of women scientists in industry. Given that there are considerable differences among industries in the degree of utilization of women scientists and engineers, there may also be some companies which are markedly more successful than others within the same industry in recruiting, hiring, and promoting women. Undoubtedly, in some cases such successes result from particular affirmative action efforts. It is also possible that some companies have developed a tradi- tion of more equitable employment without such stimulus. The sex differences in hiring rates and salaries which persist suggest that affirmative action mandates are not enforced at professional levels in industry, but a firm conclusion of this sort must await a more detailed study. The fact that women are such a small fraction of the doctoral work force in industry implies that they are widely scattered but does not preclude the possibility that they are concentrated in a few companies in certain specialized work functions which are typically lower-ranking and lower-salaried. At any rate, the available data do not indicate the reasons for the differences we find in employment, work activities, and salaries for men and women Ph.D.s in industry. 23