As Chancellor Nancy Cantor sits in her office in the Tolley Administration building, she bears the honor and responsibility of being the first woman chancellor in SU history.

As the first woman chancellor, Cantor said she has been playing a large role in increasing support for females in the fields of math, science, and engineering here on campus since her arrival.

‘It’s important to give as strong and positive a message about the attractiveness of women and girls taking a part in technical fields,’ Cantor said. ‘It is such a critical issue for this society to be able to represent all of the talent pool for math, science and engineering.’

The issue of a lack of a female presence in these fields has gained national attention recently after the President of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers, made controversial statements at a conference titled ‘Diversifying the Science and Engineering Workforce’ last month.

Summers said the lack of women in math, science and engineering is due to ‘issues of intrinsic aptitude’ and women’s choice not to spend the same amount of time on their careers as men due to the desire to raise a family, not issues of discrimination.

‘My best guess, to provoke you, of what’s behind all of this is that the largest phenomenon – by far – is the general clash between people’s legitimate family desires and employers’ current desire for high power and high intensity,’ Summers said, according to the transcript of his Jan. 14 speech.

‘That in the special case of science and engineering, there are issues of intrinsic aptitude, and particularly of the variability of aptitude; and that those considerations are reinforced by what are in fact lesser factors involving socialization and continuing discrimination,’ he said.

Cantor, who is also a social psychologist, said the factors influencing women to get into these fields are more social and environmental rather than biological.

Linda Alcoff, chair of the women’s studies department, said research shows the causes for the lack of a female presence in the sciences are indeed sociological rather than natural.

‘I think a lot of us felt very aggravated,’ Alcoff said. ‘He sort of was raising a set of questions that are empirical.’

Freshman magazine major Allison Porzio said she felt Summers’ comments regarding biology were unintelligent of him to make.

‘Any average person knows women are just as capable of learning math and science,’ Porzio said. ‘There is no biological difference that makes women not have the mental capacity to learn math and science.’

Sophomore environmental studies major Arona Kessler said she felt Summers didn’t think through what he was saying before he said it.

‘We have a culture that worships science,’ Kessler said. ‘But we don’t look at where the research is coming from.’

Stephanie Coon, a sophomore mathematics major, said while she felt saying there is a lack of a female presence is only relative to where you are, Summers was homogenizing women with his statements.

‘He’s completely disregarding the entire nurture issue,’ she said. ‘He is very unjust in saying it has anything to do with biology. He’s quietly saying women are inferior to men.’

As for women’s desire and drive to work hard, Cantor said it was a little strange to be hearing such an ancient school of thought still existing in the minds of people today.

‘I find that a little ridiculous,’ Cantor said.

Cantor said in other countries around the world the participation rates of women in math and science is greater.

‘I think that is suggestive of a cultural or social explanation here in the U.S.,’ she said.

Here at SU, only 11 percent of the professors in the L.C Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science and 33 percent of the 46 professors in the School of Information Studies are women. Out of the combined 110 professors in those two colleges, only 20 percent are women, according to faculty lists on the SU Web site.

Joanna Masingila, a mathematics education professor, said she also disagrees with Summers’ comments.

‘He suggested women aren’t willing to work hard,’ Masingila said. ‘There is a whole lot in the equation that has to do with culture.’

Masingila said she has known women who have not felt welcomed in the mathematics department and sometimes experiences similar feelings herself.

‘There are times that I feel like I have to be better than men to be given the same amount of credit,’ she said. ‘Whether it is conscious discrimination or not, it is difficult to constantly be battling that.’

Cantor also said while data shows women are still doing the bulk of the family work, she does think it is possible for women to balance a career and a family.

‘It’s always a struggle,’ said Cantor, a wife and mother herself. ‘But it is very possible and plausible.’

Masingila, also a wife and mother, said women are looked down upon if they neglect their family because they are immersed in their careers.

‘Women would get a rap for neglecting their family,’ Masingila said.

Masingila said while her husband is very involved in supporting their children, she often makes decisions to participate in university activities in the late afternoon and evening or be at home with her family.

‘I think it’s important for both parents to support their children,’ Masingila said.

Alcoff said most men who have children would like to spend more time with their families.

‘They don’t have a choice,’ Alcoff said. ‘The shared workload is not a matter of choice but of necessity.’

While it is evident there is an imbalance between male and female professors in the math and sciences, Matt Grzelak, a sophomore civil engineering major said there is a slight imbalance of male and female students in engineering.

‘It’s not ridiculously out of proportion,’ he said.

He attributed the lack of a female presence to women being hesitant to enter into a field that already lacks women.

‘Maybe it is a mindset of girls that see a lack of a female presence already there,’ Grelak said.

Here at SU, Women in Engineering and Science is a learning community, lecture series and mentoring program designed to bring together women in the sciences and engineering.

But Cantor said with the right support, women can participate and succeed equally to men.

‘We can see in fields such as law, business and medicine how quickly women succeed with the right level of encouragement,’ she said. ‘It is very clear when we put our minds to recruitment we can really make rapid change.’

Cantor said it is also unfortunate the president of Harvard made such comments and that she signed onto the same statements signed by the presidents of Princeton University, Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which moved to refocus the debate away from Summers and towards the issue of women in math and science fields.

‘It is absolutely critical that people in leadership positions understand how important their messages are,’ she said. ‘We know messages matter and it is critical we think very carefully and deliberately about our messages.’

Masingila said she also agreed with the Chancellor.

‘I think it’s unfortunate he made those comments as the president of Harvard,’ she said. ‘He speaks not only for himself. It gives a message about the university.’

Alcoff said people in high-powered positions set the tone for others and said she felt his comments were entirely purposeful and his intentions were to raise eyebrows.

‘It was irresponsible of him to speak as president of Harvard in this way,’ Alcoff said. ‘He was providing an excuse and an alibi for institutions that haven’t achieved diversity.’

Porzio said she also thought it was thoughtless of Summers, someone in such a public position who is respected by much of the country, to make what she referred to as absent-minded statements.

‘I think that clearly shows his tainted view of his students as far as who can achieve what,’ she said. ‘It shows he would let minor things stand in the way of student’s ability to achieve. It could severely hurt his ability to act as president of an academic institution where achieving as much as you can is the goal.’

Published on February 23, 2005 at 12:00 pm