The UW-Madison Oral History Project is interviewing women in various scientific fields to document their experiences in a largely male-dominated field.
Joyce Coleman, project assistant, said she was sparked to enter the project because of personal interest. She focused on the change through the last few decades, particularly after affirmative action was put in place in the 1970s.
Evelyn Howell, a professor of landscape and architecture and a participant in the interviews, recounted her experience positively as the first woman in her department during the '70s.
\People really were very helpful to me. They accepted me as a colleague very well and I didn't feel particularly excluded or discriminated against,"" Howell said.
""I really got to know a lot of students, particularly women students, because I was the only woman for them to talk to,"" she added.
Mara McDonald, an administrator in the department of ecology, reported negative experiences going into a scientific field in 1992.
""I was the first female post [doctorate] in molecular systematics at the Smithsonian and I was put to ordering supplies and equipment, so my male counterpart could hit the ground running,"" McDonald said.
She added he was hired for a similar job at $12,000 more, but he did not even have a bachelor's degree.
Lorraine Meisner, a cytogenetics professor, said women have to work harder to get the same respect as men.
Another problem facing women in science is trying to receive tenure in a male-dominated field at a time when they are ready to have children.
Caitilyn Allen, associate professor of plant pathology and women's studies, said the university has reconciled this problem by giving both women and men time off from their tenure for having children.
Allen also addressed well-meaning policies that led to female discrimination.
For example, anti-nepotism laws prevented employers from favoring hiring members of the same family. This prevented couples that were both scientists from getting jobs at the same university.
""So, the husband gets a job and the woman gets to work in the corner for no pay,"" Allen said. ""She has children and then she has nothing.""
McDonald and Howell expressed eagerness in getting involved with the project to improve the way women are viewed in the field of science.
Howell said she thinks the timing of the project is good because she has seen a lot of progress in her department but adds there is room for improvement.
""I think that the more issues are talked about and looked at, the more individuals look at what is actually happening,"" Mcdonald said.
