On Wednesday, September 24, Professor Yu Tao presented her current research concerning gender differences in productivity among scientists and engineers in China and the US. Being the first to conduct such comparative research in her field, Tao presented her findings with poise and pride. She was able to hook her audience right from the literature review. She discussed how gender segregation in the work force is different in different cultures. For example in America, computer science is a male dominated field. However in Malaysia, “it’s the girls’ job” she pointed out- “since it’s an indoor profession.” “It’s the same in Saudi Arabia,” someone from the audience commented. And the engagement with the audience continued.
Tao moved on to speak about her own research. She studied the number of publications both male and female scientists and engineers had in the year 2008 in both China and the US. Some of her findings were expected and in line with what is perceived today. For example, she found that more men are married in the field than are women in both China and the US. Women are also junior in ranking to most men and have less experience than their male colleagues.
However, Tao did have some findings that were interesting and quite unexpected. For example, she found that there were gender differences in the science field in both China and the US. Women had fewer publications than their male colleagues. However, there were no gender differences in the engineering field. For these findings, Tao proposed two explanations. One, engineering is a male-dominated field. Therefore, women who do work in the field were “the best of the best,” so to speak. They are dedicated, committed, and competent and therefore, they performed just as well. Her other explanation was that a career such as engineering provides non-academic opportunities for professionals. Therefore, it brings gender equity in academia for that particular field.
Tao also found that in China, as women receive higher educations, PhDs, and degrees from top universities, the gender difference between men and women decreased. Tao also dispelled a common myth in her findings. She found that being married and having children did not show correlation with productivity. Married women with children had the same number of publications, if not more, as women without children. Tao concluded from her findings that in China, education for women will lead to gender equity in the science field.
Overall, Tao’s findings were able to grip her audience. She received question after question from the audience in response to her data, graphs, and logistics. Colleagues gave her suggestions on what her next steps should be and what other factors she can investigate. “I found the talk really interesting” says junior civil engineer Genevieve Kraidman. “People always say that women are behind in their respective fields due to familial obligations, but clearly that’s all a misconception. Us women need to stop hiding behind excuses and just go for it.”
Overall, the talk opened many eyes, and raised many questions. Further research clearly needs to be done on the topic. As Tao said in her presentation: “This is the future for research in my field.”
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