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Sociologist to speak at UH about lack of women in STEM fields

Dr. Jennifer Glass's lecture will explore the reasons as to why women are kept out of the STEM field. | Courtesy of CLASS

Jennifer Glass’s lecture will explore the reasons as to why women are kept out of the STEM field. | Courtesy of CLASS

Recent findings show that many women are staying out of STEM careers. Jennifer Glass will analyze the entry and retention of women in STEM occupations from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today at the UC Theater.

Glass is the Barbara Bush Professor of Liberal Arts in the Department of Sociology and Research Associate in the Population Research Center at the University of Texas – Austin. She received her bachelor’s in social science from New College of Florida and both her master’s and Ph.D. in sociology from University of Wisconsin – Madison.

“UT sociologist Jennifer Glass is presenting some of the findings from her research,” said Melissa J. Carroll, a UH media relations representative. “A tremendous number of women now get degrees in STEM disciplines, but over half leave their field within 5 years following graduation and poor working conditions and hostile climate seem to be more of the culprit here than lack of interest among women or work-family issues.”

Glass serves as the Vice President of the American Sociological Association and on serves on the Board of Directors and as treasurer on the Council on Contemporary Families. She has published more than 50 articles and books on work and family issues, gender stratification in the labor force, mother’s employment and mental health, religious conservatism and women’s economic attainment. Her work has appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Journal of Marriage and the Family, Journal of Health and Social Behavior and Demography, among others.

The lecture will include a report on recent research findings on the recruitment and retention of women in STEM fields within the U.S. and discuss challenges for continued progress and barriers to change.

This lecture is free to the public and is sponsored by CLASS and Friends of Women Studies.

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