Funding STEM

From USA Today:

Reshaping a time-worn narrative isn't easy. Social revolutions rarely are, especially when you're a woman trying to break into the boys' club that is Silicon Valley.

 From the Spokesman-Review:

The nearly $600,000 grant also seeks to help advance women who are teaching in colleges and universities.

While representation in science and technology fields has improved during the past half-century, “women remain vastly underrepresented among working engineers and in many STEM fields,” said Joanne Smieja, a GU chemistry and biochemistry professor, who is leading the effort.

A 2010 study by the American Association of University Women concluded that there are three reasons for the inequality between men and women in the sciences: “Social and environmental factors shaping girls’ achievements and interest in math and science; the college environment; and continuing importance of bias, often at an unconscious level, blocking women from STEM.”

The five-year project is in its first year.

The grant money will help Smieja lead a nationwide network of 70 female faculty members from 12 undergraduate institutions in an effort to change the “current culture in STEM fields.” The project will use mentoring to encourage female faculty to advance in their careers.

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 From Nature:

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For female would-be entrepreneurs, these challenges make it difficult to pursue a potentially rewarding career path. In the United Kingdom, for example, 15% of businesses are led by women, yet women account for only 7% of entrepreneurs in science, engineering or technology fields.

“Women don't ask for opportunities and they undersell their abilities and expertise,” says Sharon Vosmek, chief executive of Astia, a non-profit organization in San Francisco, California, that supports women-led, high-growth companies in technology and the life sciences around the world. Often, she adds, women miss opportunities because they don't know how to take advantage of their scientific credentials.

When it comes to pitching business ideas, women are often less aggressive and more cautious than men — which can be interpreted as a lack of confidence, undermining the pitch. Women are also “more open to a discussion about the cons as well as the pros of a potential business — which can make an idea look less attractive to an investor”, says Joanna Horobin, president and chief executive of Syndax Pharmaceuticals in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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By Sara Hebel

Abstract

Purpose: The authors provide an analysis of sex differences in National Institutes of Health (NIH) award programs to inform potential initiatives for promoting diversity in the research workforce.

Method: In 2010, the authors retrieved data for NIH extramural grants in the electronic Research Administration Information for Management, Planning, and Coordination II database and used statistical analysis to determine any sex differences in securing NIH funding, as well as subsequent success of researchers who had already received independent NIH support.

Results: Success and funding rates for men and women were not significantly different in most award programs. Furthermore, in programs where participation was lower for women than men, the disparity was primarily related to a lower percentage of women applicants compared with men, rather than decreased success rates or funding rates. However, for subsequent grants, both application and funding rates were generally higher for men than for women.

Conclusions: Cross-sectional analysis showed that women and men were generally equally successful at all career stages, but longitudinal analysis showed that men with previous experience as NIH grantees had higher application and funding rates than women at similar career points. On average, although women received larger R01 awards than men, men had more R01 awards than women at all points in their careers. Therefore, while greater participation of women in NIH programs is under way, further action will be required to eradicate remaining sex differences.