Women in Science: Career Processes and Outcomes (Paperback)

by Yu Xie (Author), Kimberlee A. Shauman (Author)
Key Phrases: math course participation, estimated gender gap, missing data indicator variables, United States, Geographic Mobility of Scientists, Science Table (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
This is a substantial piece of work on a significant topic. Recalling Karl Popper's emphasis on falsification, I am impressed with the number of important propositions the authors were able to put to rest. The melding of technical skill and cogent argumentation is remarkable.
--Otis Dudley Duncan, University of California, Santa Barbara (20040201)

Xie and Shauman skillfully analyze 17 data sets to pinpoint forces that lead fewer women than men into careers in science or engineering. Their scope is the whole life cycle - from high school to graduate school to combining jobs with families. This is the book to read on why most scientists and engineers are men.
--Paula England, Northwestern University (20060107)

This is an impressive piece of work and is likely to become the standard reference for understanding gender differences with respect to involvement in science for many years to come. The authors are to be particularly congratulated on the scope of their project in terms of the breadth of the life cycle that it covers.
--Christopher Winship, Harvard University

I have not seen any other volume that covers the career process of women as thoroughly as this investigation of how women become scientists and engineers and what causes them to leave these fields at much greater rates than men.
--Suzanne M. Bianchi, University of Maryland

Do young women take fewer mathematics and science courses in high school than young men, leaving them less prepared and therefore less likely to major in science and engineering fields in college? Is a woman with a bachelor's degree in science and engineering more likely to have begun her college career as a science major, or on a non-science track? This book, ten years in the making, offers definitive and surprising answers to these and other long-standing questions about women in science.
--Abigail J. Stewart and Danielle LaVaque-Manty (Nature )

Sociologists Xie and Shauman have prepared this detailed and scholarly study of the career paths of women in science, remarkable for the comprehensive scope of its contents as well as the detail and precision of its findings...It is the most carefully argued and well-documented investigation of both the gender differences in science and the reason women leave science presently available--an important and praiseworthy contribution.
--M. H. Chaplin (Choice )

Xie and Shauman's volume Women in Science is a source of rich and detailed empirical analyses that take a bold and justified leap beyond the pipeline model, challenging assumptions and revealing complex processes. The findings and perspective of this study also frame areas for further research.
--Mary Frank Fox (Contemporary Sociology )

Yu Xie and Kimberlee Shauman explore why so few women opt for a science career. They debunk plenty of myths. (New Scientist )

Review
This is a substantial piece of work on a significant topic. Recalling Karl Popper's emphasis on falsification, I am impressed with the number of important propositions the authors were able to put to rest. The melding of technical skill and cogent argumentation is remarkable.
--Otis Dudley Duncan, University of California, Santa Barbara (20040201) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (December 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674018591
• ISBN-13: 978-0674018594
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #255,214 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Social Research of Our Time, March 29, 2007

By	Xie's Fan - See all my reviews

In my view, this is one of the best social researches of our time. The authors know what is important and how to do it:
1. Conceptualization and research design: gender differences in science education and career outcomes are assessed and explained over life course.
2. Data Quality: almost all nationally representative datasets. Although sometimes the variables can only offer limited conceptualizations, those are the best available.
3. Statistically Analysis: Prof. Xie knows his tricks.
To recap, the study represents the state of art of quantitative social science. As a student of sociology, if some day I can work with the authors, it will be a blessing.

Having said that, I am not completely comfortable with all their conclusions. In fact, I am currently trying to qualify their statement of the non-significant influence of family of origin on gendered educational outcomes in math and science. I will share my results after I finish, hopefully during the summer.