This disparity does not appear to stem from any of the sociological
factors that might
distinguish women from men in current society; rather, the prevailing model is that women suffer from an accumulation of smaller disadvantages, which together result in longer time to tenure or to promotion to a full professorship, less pay compared with that for men who have similar credentials, and diminished representation at the
top echelons of scientific society (Sonnert and Holton, 1996; Valian, 1998).