Harvard Professor Elizabeth Spelke spoke to a mostly-female Braker 001 audience as Tufts celebrated International Women's Day yesterday.
The lecture, entitled "Is Science a Man's World? Gender, Math and Understanding Nature" was the kick-off event of Tufts' Women's Week.
Associate English Professor Modhumita Roy gave a brief welcome and history of Women's Day, which has been celebrated annually since 1910. Roy described her own feelings on this particular Women's Day as "peso- optimistic."
Although she said that "nowhere in the world can woman claim to have all the same rights and privileges as men," she still sees hope for the future.
Spelke, an expert in human cognition and cognitive development, drew on her fields in her speech, which explored gender's role in mathematic and scientific scholarship.
According to Spelke, there are numerically "rather few women on the Harvard faculty, particularly in mathematics and science."
Spelke recounted that embattled Harvard University President Larry Summers, whose resignation will be effective at the end of this academic term, said that this disparity could be attributed to three different possibilities: discrimination, biological differences in aptitude and biological differences in motives. Spelke then examined each factor in depth.
She said that many, would be quick to say that discrimination is no longer an issue: "It certainly seems as if we don't consciously discriminate based on gender." But she asserted that "despite conscious commitment to equality, discrimination exists."
Spelke cited several studies supporting this claim. For example, in a study of letters of recommendation for medical schools, letters for male students were found to be "stronger [and] longer" than those for females.
Spelke also spoke of a personal experience with an implicit attitude test designed by a colleague. In the test of word associations, Spelke said, "I was about twice as fast to associate 'woman' with 'home' [as with] 'science,'" results very similar to those of most others who took the test.
Unconscious discriminatory attitudes such as these may deter women from
pursuing careers in science, Spelke said. But she also said that "if discrimination is the only barrier, it won't last."
As for biological differences in aptitude, Spelke cited additional research that ultimately demonstrated that "males and females are equally good at learning math."
According to Spelke, girls and boys take an equal amount of difficult math classes in high school - and girls tend to do better.
Spelke also offered an explanation as to why people think the sexes differ cognitively: In complex situations, "males and females tend to prefer different strategies," she said, but she added that, on the whole, the two genders are "more cognitively
similar than different."
Next, Spelke looked at the question of motives, exploring the question of why women or men elect or decline to enter the math and science fields.
Though she admitted it was a lesser-researched field than the other areas upon which she spoke, Spelke said that in adults, there "are differences in expressed motives [for going ahead in science]."
She said these differences could have "biological causes or social causes."
Spelke hypothesized that collaborative work and investment in family - characteristics associated with women - are hardly incompatible with a career in science or math.
Spelke said that in science, "real intellectual work is done in spurts," leaving ample time for family life.
Drawing from personal and anecdotal experience, Spelke added, "the heart of science is not tied to a time clock or particular place." She said she has "found a rhythm of intense intellectual work and family time."
But why are there still so few women in math and science?
"I don't think we have the final answer," Spelke said.
In conclusion, Spelke said she thought the reason was "cultural, not biological." Looking towards the future, she predicted that "the landscape of science will have more women."
