Abstract
This study was conducted to compare women’s and men’s retrospective perceptions of the mentoring they received during their training and career development in chemistry. Participants were 455 graduates (135 women) who received doctoral degrees from 11 top US chemistry programs over a 5-year period (1988–1992). In 2003, graduates completed surveys of undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, and initial employment experiences. In line with Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent et al., Journal of Vocational Behavior 45:79–122, 1994), which posits that perceptions of barriers can affect career decisions, results suggest that women perceived that they received less mentoring than men at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral levels of training, likely related to gender differences in eventual career success. Possible interventions at the individual and institutional levels are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albert, K. A., & Luzzo, D. A. (1999). The role of perceived barriers in career development: A social cognitive perspective. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 431–436.
American Chemical Society (2000a). ChemCensus 2000: Analysis of the American Chemical Society’s comprehensive 2000 survey of the salaries and employment status of its domestic members. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
American Chemical Society (2000b). Women chemists 2000: Women in industry: A report from the American Chemical Society. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
American Chemical Society (2002). The early careers of chemists: A report on the American Chemical Society’s study of members under age 40. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
Blashfield, R. K., & McElroy, R. A. (1989). A benchmark analysis for personality disorder research: Studies using clinicians. Journal of Personality Disorders, 3, 174–179.
Brennan, M. B. (1996). Women chemists reconsidering careers at research universities. Chemical & Engineering News, pp. 6–16 (June 10).
Brown, S. D., & Lent, R. W. (1996). A social cognitive framework for career choice counseling. The Career Development Quarterly, 44, 354–366.
Byrum, A. (2001). Women’s place in ranks of academia. Chemical & Engineering News, 79, 98–103.
Cole, J., & Singer, B. (1991). A theory of limited differences: Explaining the productivity puzzle in science. In H. Zuckerman, J. R. Cole, & J. T. Bruer (Eds.) The outer circle: Women in the scientific community (pp. 277–310). New York: W.W. Norton.
Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine (2001). Enhancing the post-doctoral experience for scientists and engineers: A guide for post-doctoral scholars, advisers, institutions, funding organizations, and disciplinary societies. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Farley, J. (1990). Storming the tower: Women in the academic world. In S. Lie, & V. O’Leary (Eds.) Women professors in the USA: Where are they? (pp. 194–207). New York: Nichols.
Fox, M. F. (2003). Gender, faculty, and doctoral education in science and engineering. In L. S. Hornig (Ed.) Equal rites, unequal outcomes: Women in American research universities (pp. 91–109). New York: Kluwer.
Fox, M. F., & Stephan, P. E. (2001). Careers of young scientists: Preferences, prospects and realities by gender and field. Social Studies of Science, 31, 109–122.
Gilbert, L. A., & Rossman, K. M. (1992). Gender and the mentoring process for women: Implications for professional development. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 23, 233–238.
Gumbiner, J. (1998). Professors as models and mentors: Does gender matter. Psychological Reports, 82, 94.
Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61, 505–532.
Kaplowitz, M. D., Hadlock, T. D., & Levine, R. (2004). A comparison of web and mail survey response rates. Public Opinion Quarterly, 68, 94–101.
Kuck, V. J. (2001). Refuting the leaky pipeline hypothesis. Chemical & Engineering News, pp. 71–73 (November 19).
Kuck, V. J., Buckner, J. P., Nolan, S. A., & Marzabadi, C. H. (2007). A review and study on graduate training and academic hiring of chemists. Journal of Chemical Education, 84, 277–284.
Kuck, V. J., Marzabadi, C. H., Nolan, S. A., & Buckner, J. P. (2004). Analysis by gender of the doctoral and post-doctoral institutions of faculty members at the top fifty ranked Chemistry departments. Journal of Chemical Education, 81, 356–363.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., Brenner, B., Chopra, S. B., Davis, T., & Talleyrand, R., et al. (2001). The role of contextual supports and barriers in the choice of math/science educational options: A test of social cognitive hypotheses. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48, 474–483.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79–122.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., Schmidt, J., Brenner, B., Lyons, H., & Treistman, D. (2003). Relation of contextual supports and barriers to choice behaviors in engineering majors: Test of alternative social cognitive models. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 458–465.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., Sheu, H., Schmidt, J., Brenner, B. R., & Closter, C. S., et al. (2005). Social cognitive predictors of academic interests and goals in engineering: Utility for women and students at historically black universities. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 84–92.
Lent, R. W., Hackett, G., & Brown, S. D. (1999). A social cognitive view of school-to-work transition. The Career Development Quarterly, 47, 297–311.
Long, J. S. (2001). From scarcity to visibility: Gender differences in the careers of doctoral scientists and engineers. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Long, J. S., & Fox, M. F. (1995). Scientific careers: Universalism and particularism. Annual Review of Sociology, 21, 45–71.
Luzzo, D. A., & McWhirter, E. H. (2001). Sex and ethnic differences in the perception of educational and career-related barriers and levels of coping efficacy. Journal of Counseling and Development, 79, 61–67.
Marasco, C. A. (2003). Numbers of women nudge up slightly. Chemical & Engineering News, pp. 58–59 (October 27).
Marzabadi, C. H., Buckner, J. P., Nolan, S. A., & Kuck, V. J. (2005). Gender patterns in training and career paths of doctoral students from top-ranked chemistry departments. Paper presented in Nature/Nurture: Women in academe (C. Marzabadi, Chair). Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (MARM/ACS), Piscataway, NJ, May 24.
McWhirter, E. H. (1997). Perceived barriers to education and career: Ethnic and gender differences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50, 124–140.
National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics (2001). Characteristics of doctoral scientists and engineers in the United States: 2001. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.
National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics (2002). Science and engineering doctorate awards: 2002. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.
National Science and Technology Council (2000). Ensuring a strong U.S. scientific, technical, and engineering workforce in the 21st century. Washington, DC: National Science and Technology Council.
Nauta, M. M., Kahn, J. H., Angell, J. W., & Cantorelli, E. A. (2002). Identifying the antecedent in the relation between career interests and self-efficacy: Is it one, the other, or both. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 290–301.
Ochs, L. A., & Roessler, R. T. (2004). Predictors of career exploration and intentions: A social cognitive career theory perspective. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 47, 224–233.
Preston, A. (2004). Leaving science. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Preston, A. (2006). Women leaving science jobs: With special attention to chemistry. In C. H. Marzabadi, V. J. Kuck, S. A. Nolan, & J. P. Buckner (Eds.) Dissolving disparity, catalyzing change: Are women achieving equity in chemistry. New York: American Chemical Society (ACS) Books.
Riordan, C. A., Manning, L. M., Daniel, A. M., Murray, S. L., Thompson, P. B., & Cummins, E. (1999). If I knew then what I know now: A portable mentor for women beginning professorial careers in science and engineering. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 5, 29–52.
Rosser, S. V., & Zieseniss, M. (2000). Career issues and laboratory climates: Different challenges and opportunities for women engineers and scientists (Survey of Fiscal Year 1997 POWRE Awardees). Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 6, 95–114.
Schlegel, M. (2000). Women mentoring women. American Psychological Association Monitor, 31, 33–36.
Schneider, A. (2000). Female scientists turn their backs on jobs at research universities. The Chronicle of Higher Education, pp. A12–A14 (August 18).
Sharpe, N. R., & Sonnert, G. (1999). Women mathematics faculty: Recent trends in academic rank and institutional representation. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 5, 207–217.
Thile, E. L., & Matt, G. E. (1995). The Ethnic Mentor Undergraduate Program: A brief description and preliminary findings. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 23, 116–126.
Tullo, A. H. (2006). Women in industry: Women post gains in the chemical company executive suite but not in the boardroom. Chemical & Engineering News, pp. 22–23 (July 24).
Valian, V. (2000). Why so slow? The advancement of women. Cambridge, MA: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
Valian, V. (2005). Raise your hand if you’re a woman in science. Washington Post. Retrieved on February 3, 2007 from www.washingtonpost.com/wp/dyn/articles/A46421–2005Jan29.html (January 30).
Acknowledgement
This work was supported primarily by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences (SG-02-072). We also are grateful for the financial assistance of the Rohm & Haas Company and the financial and other assistance of the Survey Subcommittee of the ACS Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs. In particular, we would like to acknowledge Eli Pierce, past-President of the ACS, for his support of our study in the form of letters to the participating institutions and doctoral graduates, and Christine Pruitt, Assistant to the ACS President, for her efforts in facilitating the participation of the ACS in this study. We also thank our university, as well as the 11 participating universities, particularly their faculty members, department chairs, deans of science, alumni offices, and doctoral graduates in chemistry who assisted us in this study. Finally, we are most grateful for the thoughtful comments from colleagues with respect to our questionnaire, and for the conscientious work of our many research assistants: Samuel Adjei, Prunella Booker, Tamoya Buckley, CelyMarie Cabezas, Krystal Cooper, Anisha Hume, Maribel Munoz, Elizabeth Przybylinski, Niva Rao, Anthony Ritacco, Daniel Spezzacatena, Julianna Vroman, and Elizabeth Winberry.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nolan, S.A., Buckner, J.P., Marzabadi, C.H. et al. Training and Mentoring of Chemists: A Study of Gender Disparity. Sex Roles 58, 235–250 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9310-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9310-5