Women in Science and Technology Policy Project (WiSP)

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The Women in Science and Technology Policy Project is a collaboration between two areas at the Humphrey School, Women and Public Policy and Science, Technology and Public Policy, Boston University and Georgia Institute of Technology. The project is funded by a three year $420,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Featured by NSF program directors as a project that they are most excited about in recent NSF agency meetings, this project is unique in that it is funded by NSF’s Science and Technology Studies Program and Science of Science and Innovation Policy Program, with special matching funds from the Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences office.

Project Summary

The purpose of this study is to examine the presence and influence of women in science and technology policy at the federal level. While many studies examine the presence and influence of women in the conduct of natural science and engineering, none, to our knowledge, considers those in positions that influence science and technology (S&T) policy. Our goal is to look beyond numerical representation of women in these roles to better understand (1) the positions individual women and cohorts of women hold within the S&T policy field; (2) how structures, culture and the “gender ethos” of government science and technology organizations affects the “spirit, aspirations, perceptions of, and opportunities for individual women” (Kenney, 1996); and finally (3) how the presence of women has an impact on the organizations and field within which they work. The main proposition is that who makes decisions about science and technology policy matters, particularly since it can be argued that “scientific knowledge is negotiated...and its content depends on how negotiating authority is distributed.” (Cozzens and Woodhouse, 1995) Thus, this study investigates whether gender distribution among S&T policymakers affects federal decisions about scientific research and development, such as those concerning oversight of the results of science and technology or investments in S&T funding initiatives. The study also examines organizational structures, attempting to discern relationships between female participation rates and influence in particular S&T agencies and the organizational structures and processes involved in policymaking at those agencies. As part of the study, we will quantify the changing distribution of male-female participation in leadership roles at S&T policy-making institutions using a descriptive personnel database. We will use focus groups and interviews to gather qualitative evidence bearing on correlative and potentially causal relationships between organizational context, gender proportionality, and their influences on S&T policy production.

For more information contact the research team:

At the University of Minnesota, Kaye Husbands Fealing khf@umn.edu; Jennfir Kuzma kuzma007@umn.edu; or Debra Fitzpatrick dfitzpatrick@umn.edu

At Boston University, Laurel Smith-Doerr ldoerr@bu.edu

At Georgia Institute of Technology Susan Cozzens scozzens@gatech.edu