The Athena Factor: keeping wise women happy.

Pre-college programs encourage girls to consider a science major. The percent of science, engineering and technology (SET) PhDs going to women has risen steadily, now at 46% in biological sciences and 31% in chemistry. They're putting in years to prepare for SET careers. What happens after they graduate?

It's grim. For those who take jobs in multinational corporations, a recent study by the Center for Work-Life Policy and the Harvard Business Review showed it's a revolving door. Despite a promising start, more than half the women leave, especially in their late 30s.

While CEOs like Bill Gates plead for more work visas to import international talent, there's a better solution, said Dr. Laura Sherbin, VP of the Center for Work-Life Policy (CWLP) and co-author of The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering and Technology (2008). "The talent is here in our own back yard," she told WIHE.

The Athena study

Needs of parents in the workforce are a research focus for CWLP. Sherbin heads up their survey research. Two of their most influential reports were Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-hour Workweek (2006) and Off Ramps and On Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success (2007).

In academia women face the crunch when the road to tenure collides with the biological clock. It's easy to assume the grass in the private sector is greener. But highly qualified women are leaving multinational corporations in droves. Christine Poon recently retired from a top position at Johnson & Johnson to become dean of the Ohio State University's Fisher School of Business.

Alcoa, Cisco, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and Pfizer sponsored CWLP's research into the careers of qualified women in SET fields. They called it "The Athena Factor" for the Greek goddess of wisdom.