Biomaterial Database

Geographic mobility of scientists: sex differences and family constraints. 1996

K A Shauman, and Y Xie

Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-1382, USA. kima@umich.edu or yuxie@umich.edu

Women scientists are much more likely than men scientists to be in two-career marriages. This study examines the argument that the higher prevalence of two-career marriages among women scientists presents a significant impediment to their geographic mobility. Three hypotheses are developed and tested. First, scientists in two-career families are less likely to migrate than scientists in one-career families. Second, the effect of two-career marriages on the probability of migration differs with gender; women are affected more negatively. Third, the effect of children on the probability of migration differs with gender; women are affected more negatively. The empirical work uses a data set of doctoral scientists extracted from the 5% Public Use Microdata Sample from the 1990 census. The first two hypotheses are not confirmed by the empirical results, but we find evidence supporting the third. Family constraints on women scientists' careers generally appear to be weak, but become acute when they have children.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009790	Occupations	Crafts, trades, professions, or other means of earning a living.	Vocations,Occupation,Vocation
D011156	Population Density	Number of individuals in a population relative to space.	Overpopulation,Population Size,Underpopulation,Densities, Population,Density, Population,Population Densities,Population Sizes
D011157	Population Dynamics	The pattern of any process, or the interrelationship of phenomena, which affects growth or change within a population.	Malthusianism,Neomalthusianism,Demographic Aging,Demographic Transition,Optimum Population,Population Decrease,Population Pressure,Population Replacement,Population Theory,Residential Mobility,Rural-Urban Migration,Stable Population,Stationary Population,Aging, Demographic,Decrease, Population,Decreases, Population,Demographic Transitions,Dynamics, Population,Migration, Rural-Urban,Migrations, Rural-Urban,Mobilities, Residential,Mobility, Residential,Optimum Populations,Population Decreases,Population Pressures,Population Replacements,Population Theories,Population, Optimum,Population, Stable,Population, Stationary,Populations, Optimum,Populations, Stable,Populations, Stationary,Pressure, Population,Pressures, Population,Replacement, Population,Replacements, Population,Residential Mobilities,Rural Urban Migration,Rural-Urban Migrations,Stable Populations,Stationary Populations,Theories, Population,Theory, Population,Transition, Demographic,Transitions, Demographic
D002322	Career Mobility	The upward or downward mobility in an occupation or the change from one occupation to another.	Career Ladders,Clinical Ladders,Job Ladders,Clinical Ladder,Ladder, Clinical,Ladders, Clinical,Career Ladder,Career Mobilities,Job Ladder,Ladder, Career,Ladder, Job,Ladders, Career,Ladders, Job,Mobilities, Career,Mobility, Career
D005190	Family	A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children.	Family Life Cycles,Family Members,Family Life Cycle,Family Research,Filiation,Kinship Networks,Relatives,Families,Family Member,Kinship Network,Life Cycle, Family,Life Cycles, Family,Network, Kinship,Networks, Kinship,Research, Family
D005260	Female		Females
D005783	Gender Identity	A person's concept of self as being male and masculine or female and feminine, or ambivalent, based in part on physical characteristics, parental responses, and psychological and social pressures. It is the internal experience of gender role.	Gender,Gender Identities,Identity, Gender
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man