Masters degrees grew from 14 percent women in 1966 to 31 percent in 1989 and Doctorates more than tripled in percent growing from only 8 percent in 1966 to 28 percent in 1989. The same type of growth has not happened in the industrial work force. Many women choose to go into life sciences, social sciences and behavioral sciences, which lead to careers in government and academe more often than in industry. But this does not account entirely for the lack of women in industrial science and engineering positions. A great contributor is the continued perception that science is a male dominated area.
Many factors contribute to women being excluded from industrial jobs.
One is allegations of reverse discrimination, where women are put in an uncomfortable position because coworkers believe that they only got the job because they are a women. Finally, industrial companies are often not receptive to work-family issues where men are though to be more open to putting work before family. Of course, there are many people who still feel that women simply are not as able in the sciences as men, and therefore doors will remain half closed. If you enter a situation with a certain belief, and very strong feelings that your belief is fact, there is little that can change you mind. In fact, almost any information presented to you can and will be turned around until you believe it supports your belief.