单项选择题
When Amber Post started graduate school in physics at Princeton, her goal was the same as her male colleagues’: a teaching post at a major university. Now with her Ph.D. just a year away, Post is thinking instead about working for a policy-marking agency in Washington. Although Princeton, with Shirley Tilghman as the president, is welcoming to female scientists, Post senses that her reception in the larger academic world might be chillier. At famous universities, the percentage of women earning doctor’s degrees in science and engineering is considerably higher than the percent-age of women professors—which means that a lot of talented women Ph.D. s like Post leave campus for jobs in government or industry instead of climbing the teaching ladder.
Stopping this female brain drain has been a challenge for years. At a recent academic conference, Harvard president Lawrence Summers suggested that women aren’t succeeding because they lack ability in math and science by nature. His comments drew immediate criticism. Indeed, scientists have uncovered some differences in male and female brains, but it’s unclear how these differences affect talent.
Summers proposed two other possible problems for women: the conflict between work and life, and absolute prejudice against women (which he seemed to dismiss). Many women scientists blame these two problems for the lack of women professors. Junior teachers need to spend their 20s and 30s on research and publication. Those are the same years when women have children. Time is an enemy for women in other professions, especially law and medicine. But while women doctors and lawyers benefit from lots of successful role models, academic science continues to belong to men chiefly. "The atmosphere isn’t compelling or welcoming, "Post says. "Too many of my female friends drop out of graduate programs simply because the environment is disappointing, not because they can’t handle the math. "
Even against this background, there has been some progress. More universities are pushing hard with stepped-up recruitment efforts and trying hard to assist staff members with young families. But ultimately, the best remedy against prejudice would be more women on top, like Princeton’s Tilghman.
A.his own attitude towards women scientists
B.his recent study on women’s weaknesses
C.the latest findings about human brains
D.the conventional opinion about talents