464 



126 



OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE NEXT DECADE 



Women 



Oceano- 



graphers 



1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 



Year 

 FIGURE 4-5 Ratio of full to assistant professors (NSF data). 



assistant professor ratio is even lower for women, reflecting their 

 relatively recent entrance into the field. 



The proportion of the field made up of women increased from 

 about 3 percent in 1973 to 11 percent in 1989 (Figure 4-6A). Mi- 

 norities and foreign nationals practicing oceanography in the United 

 States showed no significant trend from 1973 to 1989 (Figures 4- 

 6B and C). 



NSF data show that from 1973 to 1989, the median age of 

 Ph.D. oceanographers shifted from the 35- to 39-year-old bracket 

 to the 40- to 44-year-old bracket. 



Ocean Studies Board Survey 



Information on the potential supply of and demand for ocean- 

 ographers is limited. Several attempts have been made to charac- 

 terize the field over the past 20 years (NRC, 1970, 1972, 1981). 



FIGURE 4-6 (See opposite page.) (A) Gender of employed oceanographers 

 (NSF data). (B) Race of employed oceanographers (NSF data). (C) National- 

 ity of employed oceanographers (NSF data). 



