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Re: How To Recruit Women to Tech and IT Classes



At 9:06 AM -0700 8/24/00, Shapiro, Mark wrote:
Dear Steve et al.

While I also agree that there probably is no gender or cultural
viewpoint that would have meaning for basic physics, we should still make
every effort to encourage bright individuals to consider physics as a career
regardless of gender or cultural background.

Here in the United States the college population is now
approximately 60% female. Unless we do a better job recruiting from that
population, there won't be many physics departments a decade or two from
now.

But is it just females you want, or _all_ "bright individuals"? Shouldn't
we recruit (or "encourage") what we want?

Larry

Of course, but in our search for "bright individuals" we need to be
very careful that we don't send any subtle messages to women and
under-represented minority group members that they are either not
welcome, or will have a harder time of it because of the group to
which they belong. Those schools that have been successful in
attracting women into physics have had to work at it, and continue to
have to do so. Not only are there expanding opportunities for women
in the workplace (a good thing), but there is still a "male" image
that is projected by physics in general that can (and has) have the
effect of driving women away. Another problem facing women in physics
is that of rearing a family. Women who take time out from their
academic career to start a family often have a great deal of
difficulty getting back into the field. In fact, the discrimination
against women seems to have shifted a few notches to one side or the
other, away from just assuming that "women can't do physics" toward
"women can't do physics and have a family life." We need to work hard
to get around that problem.

Hugh
--

Hugh Haskell
<mailto://hhaskell@mindspring.com>

Let's face it. People use a Mac because they want to, Windows because they
have to..
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