It is the best of times, and it is the worst of times.
At Harvard’s fourth National Symposium on the Advancement of Women in Science, it was clear why female scientists need to keep meeting like this.
The proportions of women in many scientific fields, notably computer science, are not just low but falling. Some major funding organizations have done little to advance the cause of women in science. And work-at-home scientists, even those on the cutting edge of space exploration, still have to explain to their husbands at the end of the day why the children’s toys are strewn all over the living room.
On the other hand, participants described field after field as being in a “golden age” of one kind or another.
Students at the symposium included sophomores Anna Chen (from left), Christina Li, Lucie Guo, and Xianlin Li. 
