Many people assume that women students who have broken out of traditional roles for women enough to enter science or engineering faculties at university must be open feminists. Such was the assumption of Marc Lepine. This seems rarely to be the case for undergraduates. When women are greatly outnumbered by men students, they cope best if they go along with what the men say. When women engineering students were massacred in Montreal in December 1989, other women students in engineering were quick to disavow that they were feminists. Some students even implied that feminist "aggressiveness" was partly to blame for the killer's action (13).

In our study of women graduate students in science, engineering, computer science and mathematics at four Canadian university, Shelly Beauchamp and I have found that only 39 percent of 225 respondents to our questionnaire considered themselves feminists (14). Even non-feminists may be sensitive, though. One in molecular biology writes that "there are one or two scientists working in related fields to mine that I could not work with due to my perception of their attitudes towards women, especially women in science.

Though Jane must have a thick skin to allow her to put up with insensitive attitudes towards women, she must also have an ASSERTIVENESS that allows her to cope with incidents of personal sexual harassment. In one Study, 50% of undergraduate women suffered such incidents, mostly from other students, while 61 % did so as graduate students, mostly from professors (15). Jane must be ready to refuse to tolerate sexual harassment, and to report it if necessary. assertiveness may also be a response to sexist behaviour in the classroom, though Jane will have to balance in her mind the gains from sticking up for her self and other women against the loss of her professor's goodwill.

If she undertakes research at university, Jane will be best served if she is CREATIVE. In our ongoing study of women scientists and research, Shelly Beauchamp and I find that graduate students may choose topics of especial interest to women, and carry them out in a way they feel is feminine--i.e. taking great care with their data, preferring to observe rather than manipulate experimental subjects, and trying to observe broad patterns, and patterns of interest to society, in their results. Their methods may go against the way research is usually done, so they may have to spend time hunting for a suitable supervisor or persuading a supervisor to see the research in a new way.

Finally, Jane should think seriously about her future as a scientist. Like many young women, scientists have to decide whether they will have children, and if they do, who will care for them on a daily basis. Men usually assume their wives will look after any children; the wives who accept this responsibility have to figure out how to make their commitment work. Many women engineering students feel that when the time comes they will work part-time or in the home while their children are young (16).

In reality, it is difficult to do this when it may jeopardize your career in science. If you are a professor, you may be able to work part-time and keep up with technology in your field, but this is more difficult if you work for a company or for the government. In fact, most scientists who have earned their doctorates have spent little or no time outside the work force, except perhaps for short maternity leaves or because they could not find a job (17).

One aquatic ecology student says that her graduate studies and career are affected in many indirect ways. "For example: choice of husband who is supportive of my career and shares equally in child care, association with friends and colleagues with similar interests and values." A wildlife ecology graduate student who has decided to leave academia writes "A person can't make it in the current system unless they give up all other aspects of their life (besides research) or so it seems. And I am not willing to do that." More women than men, at least in engineering, have made a decision not to marry and not to have children (18).

If Jane is a high achiever in science and mathematics in high school, she is more likely than other women to enter such non-traditional disciplines at university. She is also more likely than men to switch out of them again (19). Such women perceive their education in these fields differently than do men and are more negatively affected by it, which is not surprising because traditional male fields were set up for men by men.

If Jane Deer is to succeed in science and engineering she must be prepared to overcome obstacles that are not present for men. Only she can decide if the effort is worth it. If universities want to attract and retain top potential scientists such as Jane Deer, they must modify their structure and programs accordingly.