A variety of theoretical explanations have been forwarded to explain women’s consistent under-representation in academic scientific disciplines, and each has generated empirical evidence that support hypothesized dynamics.  A long tradition in the sociology of science illuminates the role that ascribed and acquired characteristics play in the social stratification of academic scientific careers; models stemming from this tradition constitute the “baseline” case in this analysis, first to replicate prior findings, and then to compare individual-level explanatory models with those that incorporate contextual models.  The empirical analysis of this project focuses on research extensive universities in the United States, which train the majority of its doctoral scientists.  The United States provides an excellent case for examining variation in outcomes because the lack of a robust federal framework means that policy innovations occur at the state and university levels.  In general, policy making in the United States is not as ambitious as the gender mainstreaming projects of the European Union, leaving most policy innovation to occur at the level of individual universities.

The hypothesis to be tested with this work is simple: The more comprehensive the range of family-friendly policies and practices in universities, the more likely women faculty will have positive career outcomes, and the smaller the gap between men’s and women’s achievements.