Figure 5-23 



Women as a percent of total science and 

 engineering doctorate recipients, by field, 

 1965-74 



(Percent) 

 30 



20 



Social sciences 



— '^^ 



Engineering 



JHLJ^-^LMJ^LHJM-H-^lJ 



Physical sciences 



J L 



1965 '66 -67 '68 '69 '70 '71 '72 '73 '74 



' Includes environmental sciences. 

 SOURCE: National Academy of Sciences. 



advanced degrees in science and engineering, as 

 reported by the Office of Education, also 

 increased markedly, by 73 percent overall 

 between 1966 and 1972. In 1972 (the latest year 

 for which data are available) women represented 

 varying proportions of the total enrollments of 

 each of the fields below. 



Proportion of women enrolled for 



advanced degrees, by field, 



1966 and 1972 



Percent of total 



Field 1966 1972 



All science and engineering fields ... 13 19 



Social sciences 24 31 



Life sciences 20 24 



Mathematical sciences 18 22 



Physical sciences 8 12 



One factor which may affect the participation 

 of women in science and engineering is the 

 substantial difference in salary levels for men 

 and women in science occupations. Among 

 doctoral scientists and engineers, the 1973 

 median salary for women ($17,600) was 17 

 percent lower than that for men ($21,200). 

 Women's salaries are consistently below men's 

 at each age level, but the gap widens con- 

 siderably after age 40. ■'^ 



Racial minorities in science and engineering 



Information concerning the racial identifica- 

 tion of members of the scientific community has 

 been made available only in recent years. Data 

 are presented here concerning the racial com- 

 position of the national pool of scientists and 

 engineers, the characteristics of minority doc- 

 toral scientists and engineers by field, and the 

 representation of minority students in each field 

 of graduate science study. 



Caucasians represent the predominant por- 

 tion of all scientists and engineers (96 percent); 

 those of Asian background account for over 2 

 percent. Blacks comprise about 1 percent, and 

 other nonwhites (e.g., American Indians) the 

 remainder (figure 5-24). 



The field of mathematics has the largest 

 proportion of racial minorities (8 percent), 

 followed by the physical sciences (6 percent) and 

 the life sciences (6 percent). Blacks have the 

 highest level of participation in mathematics, 



■>" Doctoral Scienttils and Engineers in the U.S.. 197} Profile, 

 National Academy of Sciences, 1974. 



140 



