A social study of women in contemporary biological sciences

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dc.contributor.authorBurrows, Andrea C.en
dc.contributor.committeechairFuhrman, Ellsworth R.en
dc.contributor.committeememberBarker, Peteren
dc.contributor.committeememberBailey, Carol A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberFeingold, Mordechaien
dc.contributor.committeememberPaterson, Robert A.en
dc.contributor.departmentScience and Technology Studiesen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:16:49Zen
dc.date.adate2008-07-28en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:16:49Zen
dc.date.issued1991-08-07en
dc.date.rdate2008-07-28en
dc.date.sdate2008-07-28en
dc.description.abstractI interviewed women in different fields of biological science and analyzed the interview data by picking out emerging themes. I compared these themes with issues in the feminist literature and with accounts from the social studies of science. Women in biology are far from developing alternative epistemologies, but see themselves as different from their male colleagues in several important respects. They expressed the difficulties in balancing demanding scientific careers with private lives which usually include partners and often included children. At the same time, single women often face problems which married women do not. I conclude that women scientists married to scientists in different specialties may be particularly advantaged. I examined interviewees' attitudes towards collaboration and cooperation both within their laboratories and between interviewees and their scientist peers. I found women biologists frequently describing caring and non-hierarchical relationships within their laboratories. They contrast these with the ambitious and authoritarian attitudes of their male peers. They had a tendency to either work on projects only within their own laboratories. Several described difficulties experienced in collaborating with other investigators. I suggest that there are a number of factors which lead to women scientists publishing less on average than men in science. Among these are numerous competing demands upon women's time, problems with collaboration, and differing personal expectations to those of men.en
dc.description.degreePh. D.en
dc.format.extentvii, 176 leavesen
dc.format.mediumBTDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.otheretd-07282008-135540en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07282008-135540/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/38974en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLD5655.V856_1991.B877.pdfen
dc.relation.isformatofOCLC# 24956905en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subject.lccLD5655.V856 1991.B877en
dc.subject.lcshBiology -- Social aspectsen
dc.subject.lcshBiology -- Study and teachingen
dc.subject.lcshWomen in scienceen
dc.titleA social study of women in contemporary biological sciencesen
dc.typeDissertationen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplineScience and Technology Studiesen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.namePh. D.en

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