The fifth annual Center for Public Leadership’s (CPL) Leadership Conference attracted female leaders and scholars from across the country to discuss issues facing women in positions in politics, academia, and business this week-end.

Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (KSG) hosted “Leadership 2006” from March 8 to 11, which included a keynote speech by University President Lawrence H. Summers, who spoke on the importance of women’s leadership.

However, at the well-attended “Women in Science” panel on Friday, chaired by Evelynn M. Hammonds, professor of the History of Science and of African and African American Studies and Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity at Harvard, Summers’ name was not mentioned.

Hammonds gave a historical account of women in the sciences and indicated that although the number of women getting bachelors in the sciences has been increasing since 1966 and even surpassed the number of males in 2001, the trend has not occured at the senior ranks. She also highlighted the struggles that women of color have faced in the sciences.

Hammonds suggested that universities should “develop effective ways to encourage women of different backgrounds to continue their work in the sciences.”

“Faculties need to understand the merits of all kinds of diversity,” Hammonds said.

Also on the panel was Alice C. Hogan, a fellow at the Women and Public Policy Program at the KSG and director of the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE program, an initiative designed to address the under-representation of women in academic science and engineering, particularly at the senior ranks.

“ADVANCE’s primary goal is to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce,” she said.

—Staff writer Giselle Barcia can be reached at gbarcia@fas.harvard.edu.