Gender and the Culture of Science

the Culture of Science. This section is considerably different from the one Science 430 published last year-in large measure because we listened to you. Among the more than 500 readers who wrote or faxed Science last year in response to the first "Women 432 in Science" section, several themes were heard repeatedly. One was that last year's section put the onus on women to succeed in science against all odds-rather than focusing on the obstacles that are raised against them. That criticism led directly to the theme of this year's issue: the culture of science. In distinctly different ways, all the articles in this issue raise the controversial question ofwhether women do science differently from the way men do it and whether, as a result, women are excluded from the inner circles of the largely male culture ofscience. Since there are few controlled studies on the subject, the question can't be answered scientifically. But it can be raised. And raise it we do. Marcia Barinaga writes about whether there is a "female style" of performing nitty-gritty scientific tasks such as running a lab and organizing a collaboration. Virginia Morell examines primatology, a case study in how gender can influence an entire discipline's research framework. Elizabeth Culotta tackles the culture of industrial research, along the way offering women key tips on avoiding female-unfriendly environments (there are still plenty ofthem out there). Joe Alper looks at why science education turns offhuge numbers ofyoung women-and looks at a handful ofprograms that reverse the process. Finally, we profile some women we think of as "Pathbreakers," who have found novel ways through the maze of gender srY and culture in science. Let us know what you think of our efforts by using the Reader Response Form on page 432. You know we're listening. )od -John Benditt, Features Editor