"Peripheral and subversive": Women making connections and challenging the boundaries of the science community

Researchers continue to report the underrepresentation of females in the sc ience professions (AAUW, 1992; NSF, 1999; Vetter, 1992). Investigators have illuminated many factors that contribute to the insider status in the scie nce community of some groups and the peripheral/outsider status of women an d girls (Brickhouse, 1994; Delamont, 1989; Harding, 1991; Schiebinger, 1989 ). Some research has shown that supportive science networks have had a posi tive influence on women's participation and retention in science practices( AAUW, 1992; Keith & Keith, 1989; Kreinberg & Lewis, 1996: Varanka-Martin, 1 996). In order to provide a better understanding of the role social capital plays in women's legitimate participation in science, I draw upon the find ings of a qualitative study that examines the valued capital, ways, and pra ctices of a support group for women working in the sciences at an academic research institution. Findings from this study indicate how women 1) were g iven little access to powerful networks in science that would provide them with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, skills, and resources necessar y to be legitimate in the traditional sense, and 2) encountered many obstac les in their attempts to develop networks and make such connections between themselves and other women. Findings also indicate that, despite these imp ediments, the support group provided a meaningful and resourceful network t hrough which they developed a critical perspective of legitimacy as they so ught to make explicit the "culture of science." Participants not only emplo yed the traditional methods of scientific inquiry, but also acknowledged an d valued the voices and experiences of those from nondominant groups. They constructed a new discourse that was inclusive of diverse voices, created n ew career pathways, and developed a vision of mentoring that facilitated fe males' development of a critical view of the science community and their le gitimate participation. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.