Science

People deny science because they think it conflicts with their personal identity

Pleading innocense

The main driver of climate science denial is political ideology. Some people don't like the solutions to climate change that involve regulation of polluting industries. Not liking the solutions, they deny there's a problem in the first place.

But a new report suggests that few women teaching computing and engineering courses, and social pressure to not propagate female stereotypes in the workplace are partly to blame.

We all hold gender biases, shaped by stereotypes in the wider culture, that affect how we evaluate and treat one another. Several findings detailed in the report shed light on how these stereotypes and biases harm women in engineering and computing.

Women only account for only 8 percent of computer software and 10 percent of computer engineering degrees awarded to women in 2010. Graduation rates for female computer science-related majors have declined for the past 15 years, stagnating at 18 percent from 2008 to 2013.

The good news is: The number of women teaching college-level computer science or engineering has actually increased in the past decade.

Women seem to also have trouble getting and keeping jobs in the computing industry. In the four years after women graduate, barely one in four female graduates get jobs in their major, the report said. Fewer women, 28 percent, stay in computing in the first four years after graduation compare to double the number of men, 57 percent, who work in the field.

The exodus of women could be attributed to hostile workplaces, where combating microaggressions social pressures that science and math are for men, pushes them out.

Problem Solving

Women reported accountability as their number one personal and professional value. The fact that they are leaving in greater numbers than men shows that they have less tolerance for unfair practices that inhibit their ability to achieve excellence.

Many women leave jobs for family reasons. They are seeking flexible hours and the ability to telecommute from home.

Once they learned all they could at a job they seek new jobs with more responsibility or where they can improve their skills.

People want to work with great leaders, managers and coworkers.

People want to feel that they are empowered to do their best. If they arje not it is difficult to grow.

President Bush quite correctly said that we explore space for purposes of scientific discovery, economic benefit, and national security.

We want to stand out. This behavior is rooted in our genes.

We all want to explore and see whats out there beyond what they see all the time.

We all want to leave something for the next generation.