Just like you always knew in your heart-of-hearts, we women chemists are rare. We’ve been crunching some numbers, and doing some extrapolating. And it all adds up to one thing: We’re exceptional. Just how exceptional? Well let’s see!
- 154.7 million - The number of women in the United States as of Oct. 1, 2008. The number of men was 150.6 million. For a grand total of 305.3 million people in the U.S.
- 100,000 – The approximate number of chemistry Ph.D.s awarded over the last 75 years.
- 1 in 3000 (.03%) of people in the United States today are Ph.D. chemists.
- 34 percent – The percentage of female Ph.D. chemists in the United States today.
- 1 in 9000 (.01%) of people in the United States today are female Ph.D. chemists.
See, now doesn’t that make you feel unique? You have worked so hard to get where you are. You have put up with sexist lab mates. You survived a male-stacked dissertation committee. And every other degrading depressing form of gender discrimination. And you made it!
C’mon, admit it. You’re special.