Last March, a statistical report issued by MIT admitted subtle gender bias had created unequal treatment for the school's tenured women faculty in the sciences.

This weekend, in the first annual National Symposium on the Advancement of Women in Science, prominent women scientists argued that discrimination was present not only in statistics, but also in the attitudes of their male colleagues.

The conference, hosted by Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe (WISHR) and held in Maxwell-Dworkin Hall, attracted over 100 students, faculty and community members.

In the opening speech Friday afternoon, Helen C. Davies recounted the challenges she and her colleagues faced when they established the Association for Women in Science (AWS) 27 years ago. A professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania, Davies is now National President of AWS.

"Women have to be 2.2 times more productive than their male counterparts in order to reach the same level of success," Davies said, citing a 1997 study in Nature conducted by the Swedish medical council.

Davies spoke on the importance of networking among women in scientific careers. She warned against the self-defeat that causes isolated women in a department to drop out of the profession.

Shirley Malcolm, who serves on the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, gave the next keynote address on current and future problems for women in science.

As the only African-American woman in her classes as an undergraduate, Malcolm began to question the presence of women minorities in science, now called the double bind.