Women and Science - Bridging the Math / Science Gender Gap

A few summers ago, when a long-distance friend observed we'd both be on Cape Cod at the same time and invited me to see her lab at Woods Hole, I thought, "Yawn." As a writer and a word person, I regarded science as dry and dull, but I felt I owed her a visit. So I went, hoping an obligatory 3O minute tour of the facilities would demonstrate a sufficient amount of polite interest in her research. My goal was to pull her away from the lab quickly so we could enjoy a long, leisurely lunch.

Three hours later, I had to be dragged out of there. Instead of being dry and dull, her work at the MBL - the Marine Biological Laboratory, the oldest private marine laboratory in the Western Hemisphere - was so enthralling I felt envious. In posing questions, coming up with research methodologies, and analyzing the results of her experiments, she essentially made her living at grown-up 'play.'

I discovered one of life's best-kept secrets that day: Science is fun. It's challenging, it's engaging, and those who make a living out of scientific inquiry absolutely love what they do. And I wondered why I never thought to pursue a degree in science.

Visiting my friend reminded me of one of the best gifts I received as a child - a microscope set. The first thing I looked at was a strand of hair. Black, thick, but with scales that made it seem rough. I spit on a slide and looked at that, then pricked my finger and smeared blood on the glass. The world that opened up to me at high magnification was extraordinary in its beauty and diversity.

The highlight of my scientific inquiries occurred when I brought home a jar of pond water and filled an eye dropper. Every drop had creatures with whirring cilia and bobbing bodies that scurried here and there. Under the microscope, that slide turned into a limitless universe of life.

I once heard it said that we are all born as little scientists, and learn through a series of personal experiments involving the world around us. How many of us have been driven crazy by the endless 'whys' that pepper a child's conversation? Despite how it seems, that 'why' phase doesn't last forever. When does it stop, and why?

And of greatest concern to me is this why: Why do girls start to see science as boring and too much work?

The answer to this question may reveal where the gender gap in math and science begins, and why it widens as we move through adolescence and adulthood.

I haven't been in touch with my scientist friend in years, but I did get the opportunity recently to interview to one of the world's most renowned microbiologists about women and science. She's as passionate about communicating her love of science to girls and young women - and helping to structure environments where women are welcome - as she is about her work.

Talking to Dr. Blackburn reminded me of how, upon visiting my friend's lab at Wood's Hole on Cape Cod, I was blinded by science - by the spark of excitement and the energy of pursuing what you love. What we need to do is help women scientists communicate that excitement, bridge the gender gap, and encourage the innate curiosity in all of us.

To quote Dr. Blackburn, it will take 'your good science mind' and mine - applied to the dilemma of the work/life balance - to come up with ways to enable and support more women to study, teach, and do research in science, and make the lab as commonplace a work environment for women as the kitchen.

Photo: Teenage college students Jenny Suo and Anna Devathasan conduct an experiment.
© Sandra Mu/Getty Images