L'Oreal USA Convenes Congressional Briefing on Issues Affecting Women in Science

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) New York, NY – October 18, 2010 – New national research reveals that the vast majority -- a whopping 98 percent -- of female scientists know a female colleague who left the field because she could not overcome the professional barriers she encountered. The study exposes a multitude of obstacles facing female scientists today which contribute to the significant underrepresentation of women in important scientific fields. To explore the issues affecting the advancement of women in science and the public policy changes that might address them, L’Oréal USA, in partnership with DISCOVER magazine convened world-renowned experts to brief Congress on the subject.

• Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary, Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education

• Dr. Shirley Malcom, Head of Education and Human Resources, American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS)

• Pr. Joan Steitz, Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University

• Pr. Sara Seager, Ellen Swallow Richards Professor of Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Sheril Kirshenbaum, Author of Unscientific America and Science Blogger for Discovermagazine.com (Moderator)

• 61 percent of female scientists who participated in the study have personally struggled balancing life and career

• More than half of female respondents (52 percent) have experienced gender bias

• More than one in three female scientists who participated in the survey (37 percent) faced barriers in having/raising children 

• Half of all female respondents (50 percent) cited challenges with child care support as a major barrier for individuals working in the science field

• Nearly all women who participated in the survey (98 percent) know a female colleague who left the science field because she encountered barriers to her professional success

• Balancing life and career and having/raising children were cited as the top two reasons why female colleagues left their science careers

• Female respondents cited gender biases as the reason why female colleagues left the field almost twice as frequently as male colleagues (47 percent of females vs. 24 percent of males)

• Females respondents were less likely to be married or in a long-term relationship than men (78 percent of females vs. 91 percent of males)

• Female respondents were much less likely to have children than their male counterparts who participated in the survey (53 percent of females vs. 77 percent of males)