July 2004 



G A O 



Accouitablllty Integrity Reliability 



HigMigte 



Highlights of GAO-04-639, a report to 

 congressional requesters 



GENDER ISSUES 



us4 



Women's Participation in the Sciences 2^^^ 

 Has Increased, but Agencies Need to Do 

 l\/lore to Ensure Compliance with Title IX 



Why GAO Did This study 



Title IX of the Education 

 Amendments of 1972 extended 

 protections against sex 

 discrimination to students and 

 employees at institutions receiving 

 federal assistance for educational 

 programs or activities. In the 32 

 years since Title IX was enacted, 

 women have made significant gains 

 in many fields, but much attention 

 has focused on women's 

 participation in the sciences. 



Because of the concern about 

 women's access to opportunities in 

 the sciences, which receive billions 

 of dollars in federal assistance, this 

 report addresses: (1) how do the 

 Department of Education 

 (Education), the Department of 

 Energy (Energy), the National 

 Aeronautics and Space 

 Administration (NASA), and the 

 National Science Foundation (NSF) 

 ensure that federal grant recipient 

 institutions comply with Title IX in 

 math, engineering, and science; 

 (2) what do data show about 

 women's participation in these 

 fields; and (3) what promising 

 practices exist to promote their 

 participation? 



What GAO Recommends 



In this report, we make 

 reconunendations to the 

 Administrator of NASA, the 

 Secretary of Energy, and the 

 Director of NSF that they take 

 actions to ensure that compliance 

 reviews of grantees are conducted 

 as required by Title IX. 



www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt7GAO-04-639. 



To view the full product, including the scope 

 and methodology, click on the link above. 

 For more information, contact Cornelia Ashby 

 at (202) 512-8403 or ashbyc@gao.gov. 



What GAO Found 



Four federal science agencies have made efforts to ensure that grantees 

 comply vidth Title IX in the sciences by performing several compliance 

 activities, such as investigating complaints and providing techiucal 

 assistance, but most have not conducted all required monitoring activities. 

 Agency officials at Energy, NASA, and NSF told us that they refer complaints 

 to Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where 

 they are investigated. However, only Education has monitored its grantees 

 by conducting compliance reviews — periodic, agency-initiated assessments 

 of grantees to determine if they are complying with Title IX. 



Women's participation in the sciences has increased substantially in the last 

 three decades, especially in the life sciences, such as biology. The proportion 

 of women science students has grown, but to a lesser extent at the graduate 

 level than the undergraduate level. Meanwhile, the proportion of faculty in 

 the sciences who are women has also increased, but they still lag behind 

 men faculty in terms of salary and rank. However, studies indicate that 

 experience, work patterns, and education levels can largely explain these 

 differences. Studies also suggest that discrimination may still affect women's 

 choices and professional progress. 



Percentage of Doctoral Degrees Earned by Women from 1966-2000 



Percent 

 60 



50 



40 

 30 

 20 

 10 



.-.iMKlWh 



.vOLCGlCAL 



LABORATORY 



LIBRAk ; 



1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 



~~~"^ Life sciences 



^~ ^~ Mathematics/computer science 



Source: NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates. 



'■• Physical sciences 

 ' ~ Engineering 



Data not available 

 fori 999 



We found several examples of agencies and grantees that have instituted 

 practices designed to foster greater women's participation in the sciences. 

 While some of the practices are aimed at encouraging more women to 

 pursue the sciences, others provide time off and fewer teaching duties so 

 faculty can balance work and family life. Finally, a few practices seek to 

 expand the recruiting pool for jobs in the sciences and make them more 

 attractive to a greater portion of the U.S. population, including women. 



