Sandra K. Martin Research Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Forest Service
Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6410
U.S.A.
Voice (509)335-9182
FAX (509)335-7862
Government agencies, universities, and private companies that form the employment infrastructure in the natural resource professions adhere, to varying degrees, to the policy that men and women are equal, and similar in all aspects relevant to the professions. Separate arenas of investigation have led to the opposite conclusion; there are gender-related differences in people. Individuals respond to their environments differently, based on gender, and societal response to individuals is biased by gender. The culture of science is one sub-society that responds differently to men than to women, and recent scholarship documents some of the results of this gender bias. The natural resource professions are scientifically oriented. Women represent 15% or less of employed natural resource professionals in the United States (varying by discipline) but representation is increasing over time. However, as the proportion of women increases in the natural resource professions, real sexual integration will not occur if the norms of the professions continue to be masculine. The context of the professions must change also, and the conscious inclusion of feminine value systems will humanize the professions for all.
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