From Inside Higher Ed:

WASHINGTON — The landscape of scientists and engineers is certainly a lot more diverse than it was 20 years ago, but serious gender gaps remain. That was the consensus here at a hearing of the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Research and Science Education Tuesday. The hearing focused on finding ways to attract more female science students.

The fact that women are underrepresented in a number of STEM fields shows itself in the proportions of degrees granted to each gender. In 2006, women earned 58 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, but only 20 percent of computer science bachelor’s degrees, 21 percent of physics degrees and 20 percent of engineering degrees, according to data from the National Science Foundation. The same data also found that on the whole, women hold more than half of science and technology degrees, with women earning 77 percent of psychology degrees, 62 percent of biological sciences degrees, and 54 percent of social sciences degrees

Read the complete article at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/07/22/stem