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TABLE IIG-13
CHANGE IN PERCEPTION OF PROBLEMS FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND
MATH FROM FALL TO SPRING BY GENDER
Issue:
(Females, Mean Factor Scores)
Discriminatory attitudes toward women on part of
teachers or others in scientific fields generally
Discriminatory attitudes toward women on part of
teachers or others in scientific fields at Rowan
Women cannot be as competitive as science classes
require
Long years of formal preparation needed
View that women in science or technical fields are
unfeminine
Lack of encouragement from teachers or
counselors a
Lack of encouragement from family or friends a
Lack of information about careers in scientific field
Women's lack of confidence that they can handle
the work
Lack of female role models in scientific field
Possible conflicts between career and family
responsibilities
(n)
% Decreased
Perception of
Problems
% Increased
Perception of
Problems
33.8 22.5
25.9 8.6
14.8 9.8
23.3 15.0
19.7 11.5
23.0 24.7
21.3 13.1
42.6 16.4
23.0 19.7
44.3 16.4
31.1 14.8
a The wording of these questions was changed slightly from Fall to Spring, which may account for some of the
difference in response.
We wanted to know whether the female students became more attuned to problems of
women in the field because of their experiences in internships or in jobs in the field of
engineering (that is, their contact with the world of engineering outside of Rowan). The
results suggest the contrary (Table IIG-14): students who did not have jobs in engineering
were likely to perceive more problems for women in SEM than the students who did have
IIG-261