In a Washington Post editorial today, Christina Hoff Sommers argues that President Obama’s suggestion that Title IX—which requires equal funding for men’s and women’s school athletics programs—could be used to advance parity for women in science and engineering fields should [...]
Despite significant gains over the years in the number of young women pursuing science and engineering degrees, the upper echelons of scientific research are still a boy’s club. A piece in today’s Science Times explores new research into why women are underrepresented in certain scientific fields, along with a federal push to use Title IX to expand and ensure equity in research departments.
Economic research on the creative power of groups demonstrates that teams composed of smart people alone may not generate innovative solutions to technical problems. According to Scott Page, diversity within those groups leads to a diversity of problem-solving approaches and drives the power to innovate.
Innovation
Scientific inquiry proceeds most fruitfully when sufficient funding is spread across a complexity of disciplines to a diversity of researchers.
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.