Where are the mothers in academic science?

American science is facing a critical shortage of female academics. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, women comprise only 37.5 percent of tenured faculty at American universities. The fraction of women drops precipitously among professors in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). For example, the American Institute of Physics reports in its 2010 survey of Physics Degree-Granting Departments, that only 14 percent of tenured physics faculty members are women. The statistics are even more abysmal for married mothers of young children.

Unfortunately, this trend is unlikely to reverse itself soon: despite a decade of concerted efforts to encourage the full participation of women in STEM fields, the number of women receiving bachelors' degrees in these areas has actually dropped since 2005. As a result, an even a smaller pool of qualified female candidates will be available for faculty jobs in the future.