Today I read two articles on the experiences of women in science:

First, via Shakespeare’s Sister, a post from Cocktail Party Physics, “things are often not what they seem to be…”.

…The program to which we were writing had a goal of teaming graduate science and engineering students with K-12 teachers, so we had recruited a few graduate students — all of whom happened to be female — to come and work with the kids.  We didn’t set out to get women students, those were just the students who were interested in participating.  Our goal was to see what the students learned about the process of science in their quest to make a bulb light with just a battery, a bulb and a single piece of wire.    

About halfway through the process, as I’m standing there watching with a smile as bulbs are lighting and students are saying “cool” and smiling about how they understand science, Gayle approaches me.  

“Guess what?” she asks.  “The students don’t believe you’re scientists.”

Next up, via Hoyden About Town, “Why ‘Female’ Science Professor?”

In the URL of my blog, I am simply “science-professor,” but the pseudonymous name I use as a blogger is “Female Science Professor.” Why the extra adjective? Does it matter in my work as a scientist and a professor that I am female?

Many times it does. In fact, when I first started using the moniker, my reasons were a bit cynical. I had been so often reminded by colleagues, in their words and actions, that I was different from the “regular” (read: male) science professors, that I decided to use the extra adjective to describe myself.

Read ’em both.