What is the common thread running through denim jeans, cancer and pesticides? None springs to mind, yet when chemist Tebello Nyokong describes her fascinating research, a link begins to emerge: light. A specialist in nanochemistry, Nyokong is using laser in ways that could revolutionize not only the diagnosis and treatment of cancer but also water purification. Born in Lesotho, Tebello Nyokong is Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Nanotechnology at Rhodes University in South Africa and Director of the Nanotechnology Innovation Centre for Sensors (Mintek). In 2009, she was one of the five Laureates of the 2009 L’Oreal–UNESCO Awards for Women in Science.

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The purpose of this study was to examine how institutional culture promoted or impeded the implementation of round one and two NSF ADVANCE initiatives designed to improve academic climates for women in science and engineering. This study was conducted in two phases. In phase one, 35 participants from 18 institutions were interviewed to answer three research questions. Participants identified a policy, process, or program designed to improve academic cultures for women in science and engineering fields. Participants also identified strategies that promoted the implementation of these efforts, and discussed factors that impeded these efforts. In phase two, site visits were conducted at two institutions to answer a fourth research question. How did institutional culture shape the design and implementation of faculty search processes? Policies, processes, and programs were implemented by participants at the institutional, departmental, and individual levels and included family friendly and dual career policies at the institutional level, improved departmental faculty search and climate improvement processes, and mentoring programs and training for department heads at the individual level. Communication and leadership strategies were key to the successful implementation of policies, processes, and programs designed to achieve institutional transformation. Communication strategies involved shaping change messages to reach varied audiences often with the argument that change efforts would improve the climate for everyone not just women faculty members. Administrative and faculty leaders from multiple levels proved important to change efforts. Institutional culture shaped initiatives to improve faculty search processes. Faculty leaders in both settings used data to persuade faculty members of the need for change. At one site, data that included national availability information was critical to advancing the change agenda. At the other site, social science data that illustrated gender bias was persuasive. Faculty members who were effective as change agents were those who were credible with their peers in that setting. / Ph. D.

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The following dissertation focuses on a case study that uses critical theory, social learning theory, identity theory, liberal feminine theory, and motivation theory to conduct a narrative describing the lived experience of females and their performance in two highly selective private university, where students can cross-register between school, while majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Through the use of narratives, the research attempts to shed additional light on the informal and formal science learning experiences that motivates young females to major in STEM in order to help increase the number of women entering STEM careers and retaining women in STEM majors. In the addition to the narratives, surveys were performed to encompass a larger audience while looking for themes and phenomena which explore what captivates and motivates young females’ interests in science and continues to nurture and facilitate their growth throughout high school and college, and propel them into a major in STEM in college. The purpose of this study was to uncover the lived experiences of junior and senior undergraduate female science majors during their formal and informal education, their science motivation to learn science, their science identities, and any experiences in gender inequity they may have encountered. The findings have implications for young women deciding on future careers and majors through early exposure and guidance, understanding and recognizing what gender discrimination, and the positive effects of mentorships.

At the largest university in Tanzania, University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), the gender distribution is unequal. At the University’s Department of Mathematics (DoM), the number of women ranges between 20-30 %. As a PhD degree can pose an important bridge into higher academic positions, the purpose of this study is to discern the current prerequisites for women to complete a doctoral degree at UDSM, compared to their male colleagues. The thesis is based on a field study carried out at DoM, in the spring of 2018. As such, both the formal and the perceived conditions could be examined. During the field study, both focus groups and individual interviews were held. By means of Grounded Theory, a mainly inductive method, the empirical framework obtained from the field research has guided the study and recurrent observations from the local context analysis have shaped the results. As the methodological outset for the study also draws on abductive reasoning, it results in that the analysis is concurrently theoretically guided and based on obtained data. The conclusions from the field research show that the conditions for female and male PhD students at UDSM are not equal. There are policies, quotas and other initiatives introduced in an attempt to level the playfield, however, other policies and social norms that create challenges for women in their strive for an academic career are still in motion. Among other things, as women are expected to be the primary caretaker and there are no support systems in place, the decision to start a family affects women’s studies more than men’s.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify typical patterns of career destinations for young women and men in relation to their high school science preparedness. This is an empirical structural study that documents the way high school academic capital is turned (or not) into human capital for science and engineering professions. The study uses ten years of longitudinal data on educational and career paths of British Columbia high school graduates of the Class of '88. Correspondence analysis and other descriptive statistics provide a picture of students' participation in mathematics and science senior high school courses and post-secondary academic programs. School course choices, post-secondary educational attainment, specialization fields are correlated to respondents' high school science preparedness, parental education and gender. A major finding of this study is that high school science preparedness opens greater opportunity for students to attend and succeed along abroad range of post-secondary pathways. Still, thesis findings confirm the existence of a "leaking" phenomenon along the physical sciences and engineering post-secondary pipeline, especially for women as well as men with non-university educated parents. Equity in access and outcomes is discussed in relation to respondents' possession of cultural and academic capital, and in relation to gender inequality that persists within school and post-secondary institutions, the science community and society at large. Implications for further research emerge from the literature review and the interpretation of thesis findings. Longitudinal research needs to explore more directly the reasons why many young women and men who excelled in science at the high school level depart from the science pipeline sooner or later. A major conclusion is that the "critical mass" approach that directs attention toward creating a large supply pool to feed the science pipeline by encouraging more young women to enter the field of science is still a unilateral numerical strategy, and more has to be done to improve the retention and advancement of talented women interested in science. This thesis reinforces the need for an analysis of the culture of the science community and a revision of the leaking science pipeline concept that should be replaced by a more open non-linear model of science careers.

The central query of this study is focused around questions about increasing the numbers of girls and women in science. Surveys and focused group interviews were conducted with Grade 8 and 11 girls in two rural southern Alberta high schools to obtain an understanding of the impact they feel role models have on them with respect to an interest in science and the pursuit of a science career. While boys were also surveyed for comparison purposes, the focus of the study was girls‘ perceptions. Seemingly girls are just as interested in science topics as boys until they get to high school. While boys appear to continue to study science with interest, what prevents many girls from continuing to study topics they previously enjoyed? In elementary school many teachers are female but in high school a majority of science teachers are male. Does the gender of the teacher affect girls‘ interest in science? Extending this thought beyond the classroom: does the lack of positive visible female role models in science discourage girls‘ interest in science and science careers? The answers to these questions are complex. / xiv, 247 leaves ; 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-198).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1980. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-144).