Jackson GS ’86 advocates greater role for women in science

Jackson’s lecture was the opening event for Alumni Day and answered further questions after the event. Jackson was appointed head of the EPA, the federal agency that drafts environmental protection legislation, in 2008 after serving in a similar role within the state of New Jersey. The University awarded her the Madison Medal on Saturday in recognition of her career in public service.

Describing science as one of her greatest passions, Jackson said the discipline was crucial in her current policy job.

“Science is the backbone of everything we do at the EPA, the compass that guides our decisions,” she said.

Jackson described the challenges she faced as a woman in science. She was one of the only women in her department as a chemical engineering undergraduate at Tulane and as a graduate student in the same field at Princeton. While she has noticed the gradual increase in the presence of women in science during her career, she said she still sees room for improvement.

“I witnessed firsthand the changes that took place and the doors that were opened and continue to open,” Jackson said. “I hope and expect that these are just the first ripples in what will be an enormous wave.”

Jackson said that this wave would change the culture in scientific fields, bringing fresh perspectives and innovation.

“We know that new ideas lead to opportunities for our economy and for American workers,” Jackson said. “For most of history, half the team has really been sitting on the sidelines.”

Jackson also noted the importance of informing women that being both a strong woman and scientist does not necessitate giving up motherhood or a woman’s feminine side. She said the mainstream view of science often displays it as a cold, emotionless field.

“I don’t believe the solution to women scientists is to acclimate themselves to a man’s world,” Jackson said.

In an interview following the lecture, Jackson said she did not sense overt sexism while a student at the University. Yet she later added that women often approached science in a different way not accepted by society.

While Jackson said she was too focused on her schoolwork to consider changing this culture while a student at the University, she now sees an opportunity in her current position to connect science with her desire to serve.

“I think I’ve come to believe that, as more and more women enter the field and at least come to be on par then we’ll see science as a field to be more open to the idea of service, to nurturing,” Jackson said.

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Jackson said that women can bring specific issues to science’s attention that otherwise might not be addressed, especially issues of maternal health and children. She also credited women with bringing a more interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to science that is more attuned to society’s needs.

“In order to see scientific advances move from outside the lab you need to be more multidimensional,” she said. “And I think, for too many scientists it’s increasingly important that they think about being collaborative across disciplines that they wouldn’t have thought of.”

Jackson spoke not only about her position as a woman in science but also about the role of science in policy. Jackson said that if hard science is to play a role in public policy, it has to be integrated with society’s wishes in order to remain effective.

“The environment has come to a point where we can do a lot of things with technology like making cars more efficient, but we also have to think about what the American people want to buy because that’s the consumer culture,” Jackson said.

Jackson delivered her lecture in Richardson Auditorium before her fellow alumni and later answered media questions in a private session.