Professor Martin-DeLeon is known in the international scientific community for her work in the area of andrology, a scientific discipline concerned with male reproductive health. Her current work aims at providing the means to develop a male contraceptive that is totally dependable and to offer help to infertile men who want to produce children.
A 1996 nominee for the Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Award Professor Martin-DeLeon further enhanced her already formidable reputation when she received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony on January 10 this year.
Professor Martin-DeLeon’s lecture titled Increasing the Caribbean’s human capital in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: The pivotal role of mentoring examines the role of “a vibrant scientific enterprise” which are key to the realization of the knowledge-based society and economy of the 21st century are “greatly dependent on innovations and technological advances.” In this interview The Guyana Review published the second of two parts of an edited version of Professor De Leon’s lecture.
Part 2
Gender Gap in the Student population in Tertiary Educational Institutions
However, amid all these advantages in the Region, a major concern has emerged: the tertiary educational institutions have gender distributions that are greatly skewed and are not in sync with the demographics in the region. The most recent data from representative institutions reveal an alarming lack or paucity of males bachelor’s level. For example, the ratio of males to females entering Engineering at UWI is 2.74: 1 and 3.8:1 at University of Technology in Jamaica, and remains high in favour of males in Pure and Applied sciences, although somewhat diminished. On the other hand in Medical/Health sciences, a reversed trend is seen with male to female rations of 1 :2.44 and 1 :2.20 at the University of Guyana and the UWI, respectively.
The deficiency of females at the bachelor’s level in Pure and Applied sciences and Engineering dissipates at the postgraduate level where there is a 1:1 ratio for full-time students pursuing graduate degrees. Intriguingly, it re-emerges again at the professional level when the demographics of the Teaching or Instructional faculty are analyzed. For example at the UWI Mona campus, for the Teaching faculty (who in many ways serve as role models) the distribution is 1:1 in the Medical sciences, but in the Pure and Applied Sciences it is 2: 1 in favor of males.
Several conclusions can be gleaned from these data:
1) Despite the preponderance of female students entering tertiary institutions, females have a disproportionately low representation in the Pure and Applied Sciences and Engineering, unlike the social sciences.
2) Females who enter Pure and Applied Sciences and Engineering at the bachelor’s level compete favourably for postgraduate positions and graduate in proportions equal to, or higher than, those for males. This suggests that the females who enter these fields perform as well as or better than males.
3) As academic professionals, females appear to be underrepresented in the Pure and Applied sciences, despite their success in completing postgraduate programmes. This would suggest a need for role models and for mentoring of faculty, particularly during the early stages of their careers.
Since male students enter these Caribbean institutions in lower proportions than females, and since females are underrepresented in Pure and Applied Sciences and Engineering, the findings indicate that both pursue scientific careers in lower proportions than they are represented in the population.
Similar trends exist in the U.S., so the Caribbean region is not unique in this respect. Similarly, the Region is not unique with respect to the preponderance of females in the Health or Medical sciences, as well as Healthcare providers in the workforce. Pertinent to this is a recent book by Professor Carol Black dealing with the feminization of medicine in Britain.
Analysis of the Basis of the Gender Gap in Pure and Applied Sciences How might these gaps be explained? Why do far fewer women pursue Pure and Applied Sciences and engineering majors at the tertiary level? It should be noted that a recent international study concluded that worldwide girls are not worse at mathematics than boys, even though boys are more confident in their math abilities. The study showed that girls from countries where gender equity is more prevalent, are more likely to outperform boys in mathematics assessment tests. Thus social and environmental factors appear to be responsible for gender differences in math and science performance. Consistent with this, are the findings of a report by the American Association of University Women indicating that stereotypes that suggest that boys are better than girls in math, negatively affect performance. That report noted that gender differences in self-confidence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM subjects) start in middle school and increases thereafter, with girls being less confident in their math and science abilities. Importantly the report showed that when teachers and parents provide encouragement and nurturing to girls, stressing that their intelligence can expand with experience and learning, they perform better on math tests and are more likely to continue their studies in math.
Why do women enter the Health and Medical sciences in equal or greater numbers than males and steer away from physics, engineering and technology? Studies seem to implicate two major factors. The first is differential cognitive strengths and weaknesses among boys and girls.
Researchers have found that generally boys perform better on tasks that involve spatial orientation and visualization, and on certain quantitative tasks that use these skills. On the other hand, girls outperform boys on tests that rely on verbal skills as well as others involving memory and perceptual speeds. Of great relevance is the finding that one research study in which first-year engineering students took a course to improve their spatial-visualization skills, more than three-quarters of the females who took the course remained in the school of engineering, compared with about one-half of the women who did not take the course. It seems clear that “genetics is not destiny” and experience and learning can improve the performance of females if there are cognitive differences and increase the numbers who enter and succeed in the STEM fields.
The second factor that influences the rate at which females enter the STEM fields has to do with values. Again, a University of Michigan study showed that for girls and boys who are confident in their math abilities, values more than skill guided their choice of a science career. both boys and girls who were people-oriented tended to choose college majors in the biological sciences—-medicine, environmental sciences or social sciences—-rather than the mathematically-based sciences such as engineering, physics, or astronomy. Interestingly, in that study math self-confidence, while stronger in boys than girls, played a more minor role in the selection of college majors and careers than previously thought. Girls seem to avoid mathematical-based careers based on their evaluation of the ultimate utility of the mathematics and how much they valued working with, and for, people. In the survey many girls saw science as a solitary pursuit that should be avoided and placed a higher value on English, while boys ranked the utility of math more highly.
Mentoring as a Means of addressing the Gender Gap and Increasing Caribbean Student’s Pursuit of Scientific Careers These observations have provided us with information that puts us in a position to change the culture. Institutions of higher education could attract more female students in the fields of physics and computer science and STEM-related areas by making small adjustments, such as providing a broader overview of these fields at the introductory level and stressing their application in a variety of ways. Along with an alteration in the method of instruction and the curricular content, mentoring will be required to reverse the current trend and to increase the number of students who choose scientific careers. It is imperative that attention be given to mentoring and that changes be instituted. The Caribbean does not have a choice.
If we are to fully develop and sustain a knowledge-based economy, the option of having untapped talents does not exist. Both boys and girls should be mentored at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels to increase the numbers pursuing and succeeding in scientific careers. The Region will never be able to provide the workforce necessary to maximally develop its natural resources and to generate technological advances if it uses only a fraction of its talents. Linus Pauling, the well-known Nobel laureate once said: “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of them.” We need to engage all of our talented students and this does not occur by spontaneous mentoring, but by positive mentoring. In a recent address to the people of the U.S., President Barack Obama launched the “Educate to Innovate” initiative while honouring mentors when he said:
“Whether it’s improving our health or harnessing clean energy, protecting our security or succeeding in the global economy, our future depends on reaffirming America’s role as the world’s engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation…… “And that leadership tomorrow depends on how we educate our students today, especially in math, science, technology, and engineering. “ This statement brings into sharp focus the importance of education in the STEM fields and the pivotal role of mentors. As it is for its neighbours to the north, so it is for the Caribbean region, and particularly so if the Region is to develop its unique perspectives.
Exactly, what is mentoring? Mentoring (which is not teaching, but is often done by teachers) is devoting time to promoting another person’s career. It protects and nurtures and is a powerful natural human relationship with a lasting legacy. To quote Wright and Wright: “By not mentoring we are wasting talents. We educate and train, but don’t mentor.” For some time now the corporate world has realized the value of mentoring which has been shown to increase productivity. More recently, in the academy it is now becoming crystal clear that scientific discoveries and technological innovations, resulting from an increase in the STEM workforce, are buttressed by a foundation of positive mentoring.
I have had the opportunity to witness the impact of mentoring and its ability to change the course of student’s lives. One of my teaching contributions during the last 34 years has been a non-major 100-level course entitled “Human Heredity and Development. It is a course based on the philosophy that laypeople should understand the application of science – a type of “Science for Poets”course. The course is taken mainly by freshmen majoring in almost any field except science, engineering, nursing, and agriculture, and often consists of a large proportion of undeclared students who have not yet decided on a major. Over the years, scores of initially undeclared students declare biology as a major after taking the course and some have gone on to pursue careers in science, after receiving mentoring. Some who declared biology as a major have worked in my laboratory on research projects and have gone on to obtain PhDs in Biological sciences after one-on-one mentoring. But perhaps no story is as inspiring as that of a biology major who came to my lab as a dish and glassware washer, while on the work-study programme, and was mentored and encouraged to pursue a career in science when her aspirations were made known. After graduation, I helped her obtain a Research Assistant position at the University of Pennsyl-vania and five years later, she sent me a copy of an entire issue of the journal Nature in which she had co-authored a paper. (Nature is the leading non-specialty scientific journal in which I am yet to publish.) This individual is currently the Coordinator of Clinical Research at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Recently, she wrote “I would never have considered research as a lifelong career had it been not for my mentor…She instilled the confidence and tools necessary for me to accomplish these goals.” And mentors find the relationship with the mentees very gratifying. Last Friday I received an email with a compacted PhD dissertation that was submitted to
U C Berkeley by a student who was a former mentee. She wanted me to read it. She was an English major when she enrolled in my Human Heredity and Development non-major course and later switched to an English minor and Biology major. She later went on to take the two genetics courses that I teach to biology majors and considers me to be one of her primary mentors throughout her undergraduate years and beyond.
Three years ago she wrote the following about her primary mentor “Now in my third year of graduate school at Berkeley, I can honestly say that I would not be here without her guidance and support. I am currently working in a lab where I study homology pairing and meiosis, two topics that interestingly enough, I first remember learning about in her freshman human heredity class! She has clearly had a lasting influence in my life and undoubtedly in others as well” Growth in the STEM workforce will depend on our ability to significantly increase the numbers of both male and female students who have access to mentors who can encourage and guide them in their pursuit of scientific careers. Students must be engaged as early as the primary levels and be guided by mentors who will help them visualize themselves as scientists and engineers, formulate goals, and reinforce their aspirations. This is one area where retirees in the STEM fields could play an important role as mentors. However, it is crucial that programmes and resources be made available to develop a culture of mentoring for professionals within educational institutions at all levels, to address the current need.
Immediate gains could be made with only modest investment if:
1. STEM training/mentoring workshops for teachers, and principals are implemented;
2. Teacher professional development is given an increased focus on mentoring;
3. Incentives and infrastructure are established to encourage and support discipline-based professional communities to mentor new teachers;
4. At the tertiary level, the value of mentoring is articulated in the institution’s/department’s mission statement, and faculty are mentored;
5. Workshops are instituted for mentoring strategies and evaluation techniques for university deans and department chairs; and 6. University policies are developed to reward faculty who devote time to the one-on-one mentoring, that is essential for enabling students to reach their full potential, at the same time that they are performing scholarly activities to create and disseminate knowledge.
The rewards of these mentoring initiatives would not only be workforce development with a correction of the gender bias, but also life-long productivity and a more equitable distribution of economic wealth in the society at large. (The value of equality in strengthening societies has been amply discussed over the years). It is conceivable that a correction of the gender gap in Pure and Applied sciences, by pulling from the pool of females that would pursue medicine, could also lead to a correction of the gender bias in medicine where the preponderance of women now threatens to change its practice as we now know it. With mentoring we would be killing two birds with one stone. Finally, improvement in the STEM fields would open up the Caribbean and lead to increased collaborations with groups abroad. More importantly, it could decrease or stall the rate of emigration of Caribbean scientists seeking better opportunities abroad.
Let us be proactive today in addressing the issues of gender inequality and in strengthening our mentoring capacities. With the natural talents of our Caribbean people, such an effort would reap great dividends. The sky is the limit if we reach for the stars.
Due to consideration of space we have excluded statistics contained in the actual lecture by Professor Martin-DeLeon. The full text is available on the Caribbean Development Bank website.
