Open AccessComment on “Academic specialties in U.S. are shifting: Hiring of women geoscientists is stagnating”
Author(s) -
Steinmetz John C.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2004eo060004
Subject(s) - salary , state (computer science) , government (linguistics) , competition (biology) , political science , state government , balance (ability) , demographic economics , psychology , public administration , economics , law , local government , mathematics , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , algorithm , biology , neuroscience
The analysis of hiring trends of women by Holmes et al. ( Eos , 28 October 2003, p. 457) is a useful contribution to our understanding of employment practices in the geosciences. While their findings indicate that “state geological surveys hired the lowest proportion of women with Ph.D.s in the geosciences; only 8% of hires in the last 10 years were female,” some explanation for this observation is necessary lest state surveys be seen as less than anxious to hire women. Two‐thirds of state geological surveys are within state agencies (the balance are affiliated with academia),and state government jobs are notoriously lower‐paying. State surveys are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit qualified female geoscientists at all levels because of salary competition from academia and industry. Additionally and since employees tend to remain with state surveys once employed, the prospects for job openings and career advancement are limited for either gender.