Although more and more women are entering science and engineering fields, there remains a significant gap between genders compared to other professions. According to the National Science Foundation, in 2000, only 20 percent of bachelor's degrees in engineering were awarded to women. Excluding life sciences, women fail to earn half the bachelor's degrees in many areas of science, even though they comprise the majority of students on college campus.

The goal of the program is to acknowledge and investigate the many facets of this complex policy issue. Topics investigated will include societal and other forces discouraging women with scientific abilities, the implications of the gender gap in science and technology as related to science and society in general, and potential solutions to this problems, as well as obstacles that may be encountered.