A common belief is that there are few — or even no — women in mathematics and related fields. Some statistics reinforce this view, and some counter it. For example:
• Women take 10 percent of the Advanced Placement tests in Computer Science AB, but 50 percent of the tests in Statistics.
• Women earn 18 percent of PhDs in physics, but 46 percent of PhDs in biological sciences.
• Women comprise 18 percent of network and systems administrators, but 62 percent of accountants and auditors.
Mathematics itself is somewhere in between. Women now earn 48 percent of undergraduate degrees in mathematics, up from 40 percent in the 1970s. About 30 percent of the PhDs in mathematics go to women — three times the proportion of the 1970s.
These percentages are reflected in university mathematics departments. A recent survey found that, in PhD-granting mathematics departments, women were 22 percent of the tenure-eligible faculty; that is, they were 22 percent of those who could eventually become full professors.
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