Growing Participation of Women in Physiology: 1987-2002
Susan M. Barman, PhD, Michigan State University;
Carole M. Liedtke, PhD, Case Western Reserve University

As originally published in The Physiologist
Volume 46, Number 1, February 2003, page 1, 3-5

(In order to view the tables and graphs within the article, please go to http://www.the-aps.org/publications/journals/tphys/images/tphys2x03.pdf. 

    In 1987, APS published a book entitled: History of the American Physiological Society: The First Century, 1887-1987 (1). In Chapter 14, Toby A. Appel, Marie M. Cassidy, and Elizabeth Tidball chronicled the involvement of women in the Society, as well as in academia, during that period. The article painted a rather dismal picture, with very few women having had a significant role in the functions of the Society. In this year when only the second woman has taken rein as President of the APS (Barbara Horwitz), we (past and current Chairs of the Women in Physiology Committee) would like to provide an update on the increased participation of women in the Society during the 15 years since publication of the above cited book. This article also provides information on how members of APS (both men and women) can become more involved in the Society and to help shape its future.

Membership in APS
    After admitting the first woman (Ida Hyde) to the Society in 1902 and the second (Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald) in 1913, there was a modest increase in the number of women elected to membership over the next several years (see Tables 1 and 2 of Ref. 1). Women accounted for 12.3% of APS membership by the early 1920s, but then fluctuated between 4.9 and 11.3% of the membership through 1984. As shown in Figure 1, since that time there has been a slow but steady increase, such that currently 19.9% of APS members are women. 

    It is expected that women will account for an even higher percentage of APS membership in the near future, as currently 38% of the “student members” are female. This likely reflects the fact that many graduate programs have experienced an increased ratio of female to male trainees; in fact, women accounted for 41% of PhDs in Physiology awarded in 2000 (4). An important goal of the Society is to assure that young members—both men and women—remain active participants as they progress in their careers. One way to do this is to help these young individuals feel “ownership” in the Society by including them on committees, symposia, and other key functions of the APS. The newly revised Career Mentoring Program, which is organized and managed by the Women in Physiology Committee, is one example of the efforts of APS members to assist young physiologists of both genders to be adequately prepared as the physiologists of the future. Information on this program can be found at http://www.the-aps.org/education/mentoringprogram/.

APS Governance
    With the exception of Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen who was elected to Council in 1971 and then served as President of APS in 1976, no other women served on APS Council during its first century of existence (1). 

    Election to APS Council and Presidency is a multi-step process that allows the general membership of the APS to have a say in who is chosen for these leadership positions. First, in the fall of each year, the entire voting membership of the APS (all regular members) is asked to bring forward names of individuals who they think would do an admirable job of serving the Society as President-elect and Councillor. Second, each of the voting members of the Nominating Committee (i.e., Chairs of the 12 APS Sections) is then asked to select from these lists two names in nomination for President-elect and three for Councillor. As the third step in the process, the Nominating Committee meets at APS headquarters in December to finalize a ballot based on this “short list.” Strengths and weaknesses of each of these candidates is discussed by members of the Nominating Committee, and after a series of votes, two individuals are identified as candidates for President-elect and five individuals as candidates for Councillor. The fourth and final step in the selection process is a mail ballot distributed to the voting membership.

    As is typical, in the 2001-02 voting cycle, only a small percentage of the eligible APS members participated in the first and fourth steps. The initial request for nominees resulted in a list containing 102 names for President-elect and 172 names for Councillor. These lists included 10 women for President-elect and 19 women for Councillor, or roughly 10% of the individuals nominated. This is considerably less than the percentage of the APS membership that are women. The final ballot included one woman as a nominee for Council. Only 1,416 of over 7,500 regular APS members participated in the election of officers that was conducted by mail ballot in early 2002 (3).

    On a very positive note, since 1987, 10 women have been elected by the membership to serve on Council (Table 1). Each year two individuals are elected to Council; thus, these 10 women reflect approximately 30% of the those chosen by the voting members to serve on Council. And in 2001 Horwitz was chosen as President-elect, becoming only the second woman in the history of the Society to compete successfully for this position. Each of these women attained these significant roles in governance of the Society by first being active participants in their Sections and/or by serving on one or more of the major committees of the Society. These kind of activities are required of any APS member (male or female) to gain the recognition needed to first have their name appear on the ballot and then to ultimately win the election.

Committee Representation
    As women have begun to comprise a greater proportion of the Society membership (see Figure 1), one would expect that they would also have a greater role in the various activities of the APS. This indeed is the case when one considers membership on APS Committees. It was not until 1961 that a woman was appointed to an APS Committee (1). That year, Louise H. Marshall began an eight-year service on the Education Committee. In the 1960s, only two other women— Ingrith Deyrup-Olsen (Education) and Neena B. Schwartz (Program Executive Committee)—served on APS Committees. The 1970s saw an increased participation of women on Committees, likely influenced by a Task Force on Women in Physiology formed in 1973 (5). During the 1970s Beverly Bishop and Helen Cecil were appointed as Chairs of Membership Advisory and Animal Care and Experimentation Commit-tees, respectively. They were the first women to serve as Chair of an APS Standing Committee.

    Since 1987, there has been a marked increase in the appointment of women on APS Committees. In all, 106 women have been appointed by APS Council to serve on one or more committees. Table 2 shows the participation of women on 20 APS Committees in the past 15 years. Twenty-five women have been appointed by Council to serve as Chairs of these committees. Thirty-two women have served on more than one committee, with five serving on three or four committees. Certain committees have had considerable representation by women. Not surprisingly, the Women in Physiology Committee falls into this category. In addition, the Career Opportunities, Committee on Committees, Education, and Membership Committees have also seen a solid core of women serving. On the other hand, two major committees, Finance and Publications, have not had significant representation by women. 

APS Sections
    One place where women have taken a prominent role in recent years is by service on the 12 APS Section Steering Committees. The current rosters show that 23 women serve on these steering committees, including three as current Chairs (Jeanne Seagard, Neural Control of Autonomic Regulation; Susan Wall, Renal; Penelope Hansen, Teaching). In addition, past Chairs serve as ex officio Steering Committee members, and women serve in this capacity on five of the 12 sections. With the increasing roles of the sections in the functions of the Society, notably in programming of the Spring meeting, APS members can actively participate in Society functions by working with the Section Steering Committees. Persons interested in working with APS in this way should contact members of the Steering Committees that represent their research interests and volunteer to become involved in their activities. Many of the Section Steering Committees now include a student/fellow member. This offers a great way for young APS members to take an active role in the functions of the Society. Information about the 12 APS sections can be obtained at the following web site: http://www.the-aps.org/sect_groups.htm.

APS Journal Editors    
    Although many women served on editorial boards and as Associate or Section Editors of APS Journals before the 1990s, no woman was selected to the prominent role of Editor-in-Chief until then. Mary Ann Farrell-Epstein served as an Editor of a series of articles entitled "Modeling in Physiology" that were published in various APS Journals from 1991-97. In 1992, Hansen became Editor of Advances in Physiology, a position she held until 2001. In 1996, Kim Barrett began a six-year tenure as Editor of AJP: Cell. Each year since 2000, another woman has been appointed as an Editor of an APS journal. They are: Susan Hamilton (Physiological Reviews, 2000-present), Dee Silverthorn (Advances in Physiology, 2001-present), and Eve Marder (Journal of Neurophysiology, 2002-present). 

Women Physiologists in Academia
    Information on the increasing numbers of women enrolled in doctoral programs and serving as faculty in basic science and clinical science departments at medical schools in the US can be found in a recent article by Frank and Matyas (2). As pointed out by these authors, women account for 41% of the total doctoral degrees awarded in physiology in 2000. Also, the percentage of women physiologists serving as faculty at US medical schools has risen from 14% in 1989 to 20% in 2000. The numbers specifically for departments of physiology show that the percentage of women has increased from 14 to 22%. Nonetheless, the data show that at every faculty rank, compared to their male cohorts, proportionately fewer women were tenured or on track for tenure. 

    Currently, nine departments of physiology in the US and Puerto Rico are headed by women. This number has not changed markedly in recent years. Information that was not available from APS resources is whether other female APS members are Chairs of other basic science or clinical departments or directors of major programs within US universities. 

Female Recipients of APS Awards
    The two most prestigious awards offered by the APS are Physiology In Perspective: The Walter B. Cannon Award Lecture, which is awarded to an outstanding physiological scientist, domestic or foreign and The Henry Pickering Bowditch Award Lecture, which is awarded to a regular member, under 42 years of age, for original and outstanding accomplishments in the field of physiology. These two lectures are highlights of the annual Experimental Biology (EB) meeting. Although the award winners are selected by the President-elect and President, respectively, nominees for the awards are solicited from the general membership. Members are strongly encouraged to help these APS officers identify outstanding physiologists.
The Cannon Award has been given annually since 1983, but as of 2002, no woman has been a recipient. A list of all of the Cannon Award winners can be found at the following web site: http://www.the-aps.org/awards/society/awd_cannon.htm.
The Bowditch Award has been given annually since 1956. Before 1993, only one woman (Bodil-Schmidt Nielsen, 1957) was the distinguished recipient of this lectureship. Since then, three women have received this Award. They are, Claire M. Doerschuk (1993), Barbara Block (1995), and Kim Barrett (1996). A list of all of the Bowditch Award winners can be found at the following web site: http://www.the-aps.org/awards/society/awd_bowditch.htm.

    Since 1994, each of the 12 sections of the APS has sponsored a Distinguished Lecture at the annual EB Meeting. To date (through EB 2003), only 10 of the 118 lectures have been given by women. Nearly half of the sections (Cardiovascular, Environ-mental & Exercise Physiology, Gastrointestinal, Renal, and Water & Electrolyte) have yet to designate a female as the recipient of their Distinguished Lectureship. On the other hand, three of the sections (Central Nervous System, Endocrinology & Metabolism, and Neural Control of Autonomic Regulation) have twice selected a woman as their Distinguished Lecturers. APS members are encouraged to submit names of individuals to be considered for these awards to members of the 12 APS Section Steering Committees. A list of all the Distinguished Lecturers can be found at the following web site: http://www.the-aps.org/awards/society/awd_distinrecip.html.

Closing Remarks
    As indicated at the opening, women played, at best, a modest role in the functions of the APS during its first 100 years (1). Clearly this situation has turned around, and more and more women are assuming key positions in the Society. The authors are optimistic that the growth will continue as the APS flourishes in its second hundred years. Over the course of the next year, it is our aim to interview several of the women who were mentioned in this article and who have paved the way for other women to gain roles in the governance and committees of the APS. Highlights of these interviews will be included in future issues of The Physiologist. 

******

We are very grateful for the invaluable assistance of APS staff, most notably Linda Allen, Linda Comley, Melinda Lowy, and Margaret Reich who helped us gather facts regarding participation of women in the APS. 

References
1. Appel, T.A., Cassidy, M.M., and Tidball, M.E. Women in Physiology. In: History of the American Physiological Society: The First Century, 1887-1987, edited by J.R. Brobeck, O.E. Reynolds, and T.A. Appel. American Physiologi-cal Society, 1987.
2. Frank, M. and Matyas, M.L. The status of physiologists and physiology at US medical schools. The Physiologist 45: 179, 184-192, 2002.
3. Horwitz, B.A. 155th Business Meeting. The Physiologist 45: 179, 193-199, 2002
4. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics. Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2000. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation, 2001 (NSF 02-305, Author, Susan T. Hill).
5. Tidball, M.E. A brief history of the Task Force on Women in Physiology (APS). The Physiologist 23: 12-13, 1980.

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