(Press-News.org) COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Female professors are almost 50 percent less likely than their male counterparts to be invited to join corporate scientific advisory boards (SABs) and start new companies mainly because of gender stereotyping, says University of Maryland researcher Waverly Ding, an assistant professor of management at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Beliefs that women lack leadership and business savvy, and are not capable of helping new ventures attract investment, block their advancement in these areas, she says.
Ding, with co-authors Fiona Murray of MIT and Toby E. Stuart of University of California Berkley, draw this conclusion from survey data and related statistics from the biotech industry and 6,000 U.S. scientists whose careers span 30-plus years. The study, "From Bench to Board: Gender Differences in University Scientists' Participation in Corporate Scientific Advisory Boards," appears in a recent issue of Academy of Management Journal.
The study controlled for the scientists' professional accomplishments, social networks, employer characteristics and proxies for subject interest in commercial science.
"Women are available," says UMD's Ding. "The numbers are there. They just are not being selected." In the data sample's final year (2002), women comprised about 30 percent of about 6,000 PhDs from U.S. universities or research institutions, but just 7 percent (49 of 720) of those scientists served on SABs of 511 U.S. biotech firms. She says this percentage never exceeded 10.2 during the study's 1972-2002 window.
Though her data appears to be the latest available that's specific to the SAB gender breakdown in the biotech industry, Ding says she suspects the percentage of female SAB members serving biotech firms falls below the overall, 12.6-percentage of women on U.S. corporate boards in 2012 (according to an independent study: http://info.gmiratings.com/gmi-ratings-2012-women-on-boards-survey/).
But, she says, academia can effectively counteract the inequity.
"University scientists have helped create at least half of the publicly traded biotech firms operating today, and our data shows a female professor is most likely to draw a science advisory board invitation by tapping into her school's technology transfer office," says Ding. "Biotechnology founders strongly gauge an SAB candidate's reputation and quality of his or her network in determining that individual's business savvy."
But not all institutions formally support such offices – even though they "provide an ideal means for academic administrators to raise the profile of their high-performing female scientists," she says. "Networking by way of technology-transfer offices can be useful in promoting the research of women faculty and brokering connections between them and influential members of the entrepreneurship and investment communities."
She concludes the influence factor is a major issue, since gender bias appears most active in high-profile companies backed by high-status venture capitalists. "When female scientists do receive invitations to join boards, they generally come from small start-ups with limited financial backing."
Further measuring the effects of specific areas of research interest and individual career aspiration on the SAB gender gap can deepen the understanding this issue and help erode gender inequity more broadly at the corporate leadership level, says Ding. "Our nation's continued preeminence in science and technology will depend on engaging the best and the brightest, regardless of gender."
###
Media Contact: Waverly Ding, co-author: wding@rhsmith.umd.edu.
An electronic version of the research study is available to media on request. Contact Greg Muraski at gmuraski@rhsmith.umd.edu.
Stereotyping prime obstacle to women in commercial science
Cracking glass ceiling starts with academic leaders, tech transfer offices: UMD researcher
2013-03-12
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Autistic children may be at greater risk of suicide ideation and attempts
2013-03-12
Children with an autism spectrum disorder may be at greater risk for contemplating suicide or attempting suicide than children without autism, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.
"We were looking at suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among children with autism versus those that didn't have autism," said Angela Gorman, assistant professor of child psychiatry, Penn State College of Medicine. "What we found is that there were some risk factors that were much more greatly associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts than others."
The ...
Digital records could expose intimate details and personality traits of millions
2013-03-12
New research, published today in the journal PNAS, shows that surprisingly accurate estimates of Facebook users' race, age, IQ, sexuality, personality, substance use and political views can be inferred from automated analysis of only their Facebook Likes - information currently publicly available by default.
In the study, researchers describe Facebook Likes as a "generic class" of digital record - similar to web search queries and browsing histories - and suggest that such techniques could be used to extract sensitive information for almost anyone regularly online.
Researchers ...
Less sleep leads to more eating and more weight gain, according to new CU-Boulder study
2013-03-12
Sleeping just five hours a night over a workweek and having unlimited access to food caused participants in a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder to gain nearly two pounds of weight.
The study, performed in collaboration with the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, suggests that sufficient sleep could help battle the obesity epidemic.
"I don't think extra sleep by itself is going to lead to weight loss," said Kenneth Wright, director of CU-Boulder's Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory, which led the study. "Problems with weight gain and obesity are much more ...
Study: 'Virtual' house calls comparable to in-person care for people with Parkinson's disease
2013-03-12
A small study of 20 people with Parkinson's disease suggests that "virtual house calls" using Web-based video conferencing provide clinical benefits comparable to in-person physician office visits, while saving patients and their caregivers time and travel.
"It appears we can use the same technology Grandma uses to chat with her grandson to provide her with valuable medical care in her home," says study leader Ray Dorsey, M.D., M.B.A., an associate professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "If this proof-of-concept study is affirmed, the ...
New add-on drug may improve memory in people with moderate Alzheimer's disease
2013-03-12
SAN DIEGO – A new drug may improve memory problems in people with moderate Alzheimer's disease, according to a phase IIa study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013. The drug is called ORM-12741.
The drug is the first to target a specific subtype of adrenergic receptors (alpha-2C) in the brain, which are believed to be involved in modulation of brain functions under stressful conditions, or the "fight or flight" response. For the clinical trial, 100 people with moderate Alzheimer's ...
Global consensus on concussion in sport
2013-03-12
An international panel of concussion experts has provided new guidelines on evaluating and treating concussions during sporting events and in clinical settings.
Dr. Willem Meeuwisse, a physician, researcher and leader of the University of Calgary Brain Injury Initiative with the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI) and the Faculties of Kinesiology and Medicine, co-chaired an expert panel and co-authored the document entitled "The Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport; the 4th International Conference on Concussion ...
Men in same-sex marriages are living longer, according to new study
2013-03-12
The mortality rate for men in same-sex marriages has dropped markedly since the 1990s, according to a Danish study published online today (Tuesday) in the International Journal of Epidemiology. However, same-sex married women have emerged as the group of women with the highest, and in recent years, even further increasing mortality.
Denmark implemented the world's first national law on registered same-sex partnerships in 1989. Mortality was markedly elevated among people in same-sex marriages for the first several years after this, but since 1996, with the advent of effective ...
Sildenafil for heart failure does not result in significant improvement in exercise capacity
2013-03-12
Among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (a measure of heart function), administration of sildenafil for 24 weeks, compared with placebo, did not result in significant improvement in exercise capacity or clinical status, according to a study published online by JAMA. Some studies have suggested that phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (a class of drugs that includes sildenafil) may improve cardiovascular function. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Cardiology's annual Scientific Sessions.
Heart ...
Combination therapy for heart failure does not reduce risk of CV death or rehospitalization
2013-03-12
Among patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; a measure of how well the left ventricle of the heart pumps with each contraction), initiation of the medication aliskiren in addition to standard therapy did not reduce cardiovascular death or HF rehospitalization at 6 or 12 months after discharge, according to a study published online by JAMA. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Cardiology's annual Scientific Sessions.
"Inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone ...
Kids exposed to millions of tobacco images/messages every week on prime time UK TV
2013-03-12
UK children are being exposed to millions of tobacco images/messages every week on prime time television, indicates research published online in Tobacco Control.
Smoking and other tobacco content frequently feature in films marketed to kids, which is known to spark their interest in starting to smoke, say the authors.
More stringent curbs on tobacco imagery in the TV programme schedule could help curb uptake among young people, who spend an average of 2.5 hours in front of the box every day, they suggest.
The authors analysed the weekly content of all five free to ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained
Less intensive works best for agricultural soil
Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation
Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests
Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome
UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership
New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll
Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025
Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025
AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials
New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age
Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker
Chips off the old block
Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia
Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry
Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19
Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity
State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections
Young adults drive historic decline in smoking
NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research
Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development
This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack
FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology
In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity
Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects
A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions
AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate
Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative
Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine
[Press-News.org] Stereotyping prime obstacle to women in commercial scienceCracking glass ceiling starts with academic leaders, tech transfer offices: UMD researcher