Leading presidents criticize Summers

In a joint statement released Thursday, President Tilghman and two other university heads criticized recent remarks by Harvard University President Lawrence Summers for reinforcing negative gender stereotypes and called on universities across the country to increase support for women in science.

The 700-word statement was co-signed by Stanford University president John Hennessy and Massachusetts Institute of Technology president Susan Hockfield — both scientists — and came three days after Tilghman pledged at a faculty meeting to make Princeton the "Ellis Island" for women scientists.

"Speculation that 'innate differences' may be a significant cause of underrepresentation by women in science and engineering may rejuvenate old myths and reinforce negative stereotypes and biases," the presidents wrote.

Summers came under fire last month for suggesting that biological factors may partly explain the gender gap in science faculty at top universities.

The joint statement grew out of an e-mail conversation among the three presidents in late January, Tilghman told The Daily Princetonian.

"We felt a statement from three presidents who were also scientists might be helpful in framing the national debate around why it is important that women participate in the scientific enterprise," Tilghman said in an e-mail Thursday.

In their statement, the presidents sought to refocus public attention.

"The question we must ask as a society is not 'can women excel in math, science and engineering?' — Marie Curie exploded that myth a century ago — but 'how can we encourage more women with exceptional abilities to pursue careers in these fields?'" the presidents wrote.

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Noting increasing competition from abroad and lagging academic performance at home, the presidents wrote, "It is imperative that we tap the talent and perspectives of both the male and female halves of our population. Until women can feel as much at home in math, science, and engineering as men, our nation will be considerably less than the sum of its parts."

Much of the gender imbalance stems from cultural rather than biological factors, Tilghman said.

"A great deal of social science literature has been done to show that discrimination, whether intentional or unintentional, played a large role in the low numbers of women [in science]," she said.

Tilghman, Hennessy and Hockfield recommended improved teaching methods, stronger mentors, higher expectations for women students and an academic environment more amenable to women faculty with children.

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"Colleges and universities must develop a culture, as well as specific policies, that enable women with children to strike a sustainable balance between workplace and home," they wrote.

The statement also noted encouraging progress in recent decades, citing statistics from the National Science Foundation that the proportion of doctoral degrees in engineering awarded to women has risen to 16.9 percent in 2001 from 0.3 percent in 1966.

"Our three campuses, and many others, are home to growing numbers of women who have demonstrated not only extraordinary innate ability, but the kinds of creativity, determination, perceptiveness and hard work that are prerequisites for success in science and engineering, as in many other fields," the presidents wrote.

In 2002, Tilghman, Hennessy and Hockfield represented their respective institutions at a landmark meeting at MIT, where they pledged to work toward the equitable treatment of women in science and engineering.

Following that meeting, Tilghman launched a task force on women at Princeton, which led to the appointment of psychology professor Joan Girgus as assistant dean of the faculty to oversee gender equity.

Last week, following a flurry of media coverage and criticism, Summers launched two similar task forces at Harvard.

The task forces will offer suggestions by the end of this academic year, for implementation by the fall.

For some female professors frustrated by Summers' comments, the presidents' statement Thursday was a welcome move.

Harvard chemistry professor Cynthia Friend said it is "fantastic that these three academic leaders are sending a positive message to young women and to women scientists and engineers," and that she is "pleased that they are taking a stand on this important issue."

"I was sorry my institution was represented by President Summers' remarks in January and was deeply disappointed by them," Friend added.

Girgus called the statement "terrific."

"President Tilghman has been extremely interested in this subject and has written about it and talked about it for many years," she said. "These are things she feels very strongly about."

Hennessy and Hockfield were unavailable for comment Thursday.

Includes reporting by Princetonian Staff Writer Rachel Rothschild.