“The Congress finds the following:“(1) According to the National Science Foundation’s 1996 report, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering—“(A) women have historically been underrepresented in scientific and engineering occupations, and although progress has been made over the last several decades, there is still room for improvement;
“(B) female and minority students take fewer high-level mathematics and science courses in high school;
“(C) female students earn fewer bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in science and engineering;
“(D) among recent bachelors of science and bachelors of engineering graduates, women are less likely to be in the labor force, to be employed full-time, and to be employed in their field than are men;
“(E) among doctoral scientists and engineers, women are far more likely to be employed at 2-year institutions, are far less likely to be employed in research universities, and are much more likely to teach part-time;
“(F) among university full-time faculty, women are less likely to chair departments or hold high-ranked positions;
“(G) a substantial salary gap exists between men and women with doctorates in science and engineering;
“(H) Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans continue to be seriously underrepresented in graduate science and engineering programs; and
“(I) Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans as a group are 23 percent of the population of the United States, but only 6 percent are scientists or engineers.
“(2) According to the National Research Council’s 1995 report, Women Scientists and Engineers Employed in Industry: Why So Few?—“(A) limited access is the first hurdle faced by women seeking industrial jobs in science and engineering, and while progress has been made in recent years, common recruitment and hiring practices that make extensive use of traditional networks often overlook the available pool of women;
“(B) once on the job, many women find paternalism, sexual harassment, allegations of reverse discrimination, different standards for judging the work of men and women, lower salary relative to their male peers, inequitable job assignments, and other aspects of a male-oriented culture that are hostile to women; and
“(C) women to a greater extent than men find limited opportunities for advancement, particularly for moving into management positions, and the number of women who have achieved the top levels in corporations is much lower than would be expected, based on the pipeline model.
“(3) The establishment of a commission to examine issues raised by the findings of these two reports would help—“(A) to focus attention on the importance of eliminating artificial barriers to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and minorities in the fields of science, engineering, and technology, and in all employment sectors of the United States;
“(B) to promote work force diversity;
“(C) to sensitize employers to the need to recruit and retain women and minority scientists, engineers, and computer specialists; and
“(D) to encourage the replication of successful recruitment and retention programs by universities, corporations, and Federal agencies having difficulties in employing women or minorities in the fields of science, engineering, and technology.