Capt. Judy L. Smith

Women have made incredible strides since the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted in 1920 and most of the strides have been in the workplace.

One of those important workplaces is the military. And I will be talking about the strides that women have made in the military during our upcoming women’s program on March 13. There are additional programs on Women’s History on March 19 and 26.

Women continue to come a long way in all sectors, though a look at women’s earnings over the past 20 years shows a mixed picture of progress when it comes to wages earned. Women’s inflation-adjusted earnings have increased nearly 14 percent since 1979, whereas men’s have declined by about 7 percent. But while women’s earnings have improved relative to men’s, full-time working women found themselves making only about 76 percent of what men earned in 1998, especially when only high school education is factored in as the constant among wage earners. Earnings for women with college degrees, however, shot up almost 22 percent over the past two decades while, for women without a post-secondary education, there was little advancement.

We can draw from those statistics that post-high school education is as paramount for women as it is for men. It is extremely important to women employed full time in professional specialty technological occupations as statistics show that women earned approximately $1,000 more a month than women employed in any other major occupational category. Within this occupation group, women working as physicians, pharmacists, scientists and engineers had the highest median earnings.

We will be focusing on women employed in professional specialties this year at Naval Support Facility Dahlgren as there will be two seminars on the ‘‘Importance of Networking.” Featured in the Seminar are Dr. Donna J. Dean who will speak about women in science on March 19th at the Aegis Training and Readiness Center auditorium and Dr. Rosalyn S. Hobson who will speak about the Society of Women Engineers at ATRC on March 26.

Dr, Dean is currently a senior science adviser with Lewis-Burke Associates LLC. She is responsible for developing strategies and providing advice and counsel to clients that enhance their successful participation in federal biomedical and other research program. Prior to joining Lewis-Burke, Dr. Dean was a senior scholar in residence at the Nation Academy of Engineering of the National Academies and senior Adviser for engineering to the Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH), focusing on policies and projects at the interface of engineering and the health and life sciences. With over 27 years experience as a senior federal government executive, Dr. Dean brings extensive knowledge, understanding, and experience in research and science policy across the entire range of biomedical related areas. Dr. Dean has also been a pivotal leader on scientific and technical workforce issues (such as the Federal Interagency Commission on the Advancement of Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science, Engineering and Technology) and in women’s health (co-chair of the Committee to establish the 21st century women’s health research agenda.)

Dr. Hobson is currently an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research interests include artificial neural networks, biological modeling, improving science, technology, and engineering programs through the introduction of service learning, and developing K-12 curriculum. Dr. Hobson has authored several papers on service learning in engineering. She has worked with programs focused on increasing the diversity and number of students in engineering through her service on the boards of Inroads and the Richmond Area Program for Minorities in Engineering. Dr. Hobson has received several teaching awards, including the American Society of Electrical Engineers’ Frontiers in Education New Faculty Award and the Janice A. Limpkin Educator of the Year Award.

Still, as women have made significant headway in the general workplace, there is a pressing need for more women like Drs. Dean and Hobson in science and engineering. The current trend in science and engineering shows that, according to 2001 Current Population Survey (CPS) data, only one out of 10 employed engineers is a woman, while two of 10 employed engineering technologists and technicians were women. Among engineering specialties, industrial, chemical, and metallurgical⁄materials engineers were the only occupations in which women were more highly represented than the overall percent of total women engineers.

Among natural scientists, women represented 51.6 percent of medical scientists and 44.4 percent of biological and life scientists, but accounted for a smaller portion of geologists and geodesists (24 percent), physicists and astronomers (7.7 percent). Employment of women has lagged in most of the high-tech occupations that show promise for future growth. Software and hardware providers have gained acceptance as mechanisms for preparing high-technology workers for employment opportunities in the field. The challenges for women are to find more pathways into high-tech occupations, and into opportunities in the new certification universe. They also need to enter high-tech occupations in greater numbers.

As we focus on Women’s History Month, I urge all of you to take advantage of the opportunities to learn more about the strides women have made and to attend the two seminars focusing on women in science and engineering.