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The Leaky Pipeline

The Leaky Pipeline. Gender Barriers in Science, Engineering and Technology. Women in S&T. Women are underrepresented at every level of science and technology. They are ‘under-educated, have fewer credentials, are under-employed and clearly under-promoted’ around the world. Some statistics.

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The Leaky Pipeline

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  1. The Leaky Pipeline Gender Barriers in Science, Engineering and Technology

  2. Women in S&T • Women are underrepresented at every level of science and technology. • They are ‘under-educated, have fewer credentials, are under-employed and clearly under-promoted’ around the world

  3. Some statistics • In the US, only 29% of women in SET full-time teaching positions are tenured, compared to 58% of men. • In Germany only 6% of full professors are women; the number of women in influential science bodies ranges from 0-10% • In Japan, women make up 6.8% of PhD students in physics, and 7.1% in engineering

  4. Data for some developing countries • The percentage of women researchers in Brazil ranges from 20-29% in natural sciences, 53% in health sciences, and 52% in biology related research • In Egypt, women constitute 28.9% of faculty members in medicine, 13.9% in veterinary medicine, 25.4% in sciences, 13.7 in agriculture, and 9.4 in engineering

  5. Leaky pipeline • “Leaky Pipeline” = attrition of women and girls at every level of S&T • There is a large discrepancy between enrolment of women students at undergraduate level, and rate of promotions and tenure for women faculty members • MIT: in 1994 only 8% of faculty in the School of Science were women • 15 out of 194 faculty

  6. Gender ratios in US neuroscience programmes, 1988-1992

  7. Points/Avenues of Attrition: • sociocultural attitudes • education • academic positions • science and technology professions • S&T development and transfer

  8. Sociocultural attitudes • Men outnumber women in Asia: • Amniocentesis, discrimination, neglect, poor health and nutrition, religion

  9. Sociocultural attitudes • Illiteracy: Women comprise 543 of the 854 million illiterates in the world – 63% • Girls constitute 2/3 of children without access to basic education • S&T subjects not considered “suitable” for girls • Girls leave school for marriage, domestic chores, pregnancy

  10. Primary and secondary education • Teachers’ preconceptions about girls’ abilities • Children’s preconceptions about who is a scientist • Stereotypes • Differing perceptions of ability and self-confidence • Education investments tend to be reserved for boys

  11. Primary and secondary education • Girls enjoy different approaches to science: • Practical, hands-on • Environmentally and socially applicable • Application to their lives

  12. Tertiary level S&T • Third World Organisation for Women in Science (TWOWS) 1995 study of its 1,387 members:

  13. Science education trends • Women tend to enroll in non-science courses at tertiary levels • Strong misogynous messages • Strong masculine image of S&T: language, approach, images • Girls as “connected knowers” do not relate to idea of distanced, disinterested observer

  14. University and research • Women’s maternal role considered to clash with academic requirements • Tenure • Two career families • Old boys’ networks, interaction with male colleagues • Citation of women’s work

  15. University and research • Attitudes to “appropriate” work and behaviour for women • ‘Pushy and bitchy’ or ‘assured and persuasive’ • Melissa Franklin, Harvard University • Double standard for performance • Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, physicist

  16. S&T Employment • “Micro-inequities’, invisible barriers to women’s equal entry to and participation produce a ‘chilly climate’ for women and girls in S&T • Attitudes of male interviewers • Women tend to be assigned to less powerful committees, possess fewer budgetary resources, and are placed in less-centrally located offices • Less access to the ‘old boy’ networks and decision making

  17. Chilly Climate • Less access to mentors and role models; • Harassment • Gender differences in communication and working styles • Gender gap in salaries between men and women in most countries • In all countries of the world, women are generally the last hired and first fired.

  18. S&T development and transfer: Meeting the needs of society • After decades of S&T interventions in development, women’soverall positionhas declined relative to men, and women have become disproportionately poor in relation to the men in their communities. • Women’s S&T activities in their daily work is overlooked • They engage in 60-100% of agricultural production activities in the developing world

  19. Meeting the needs of society • Informal sector in non-agricultural GDP is between 45 to 60 percent, and women make up at least half of workers in the sector (often more) • New technologies tend to be directed at men, marginalizing women • When technologies improve women’s production and increase income, children’s well-being improves, school enrolment rises, birth rates decrease and environmental conservation increases.

  20. Strategies, programmes and policy • Education • Decrease illiteracy of girls and women • Curricula which is gender- and context-appropriate, and which is oriented to the interests of girls and women • Mentors, advisors and role models • www.mentornet.org • www.mentorgirls.org • Distance learning • Educate teachers

  21. Tertiary education • Assistance to women students with children: • University of Auckland : scholarships, childcare subsidies • University of Indonesia: campus housing • Mentor, mentor, mentor • Korea: Engineering school placed in women’s university • Women-focused courses and academies • Carnegie Mellon University

  22. University positions • MIT study and followup (1999) • Women on hiring committees • Equal access to research funds • Equal pay • Flexible tenure criteria • Refresher courses, re-entry scholarships • Professional networks

  23. S&T Employment • Alternative work arrangements for domestic responsibilities for both men and women • Hiring and promotion criteria that value family responsibilities • Policies against discrimination and harassment in the workplace • Training and advancement programmes which target women • Ericsson Equal Opportunities Award

  24. Gender disaggregated data • Baseline requirement - little collected globally • GAB/UNESCO Toolkit on Gender Indicators in Engineering, Science and Technology • http://GSTGateway.wigsat.org • Southeast Asia Regional Workshop on Gender, Science and Technology, 2001 • WIEGO: Women in Informal Employment • www.wiego.org

  25. Resources • Education and Careers • Gender and Science and Technology Association (GASAT) • Education Development Centre • Association for Women in Science (AWIS) • Education and Human Resources, AAAS • Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS) • International Organization of Science and Technology Educators (IOSTE) • Global Alliance for Diversifying the Science and Engineering Workforce

  26. Resources • Policy • Gender Advisory Board, UNCSTD • http://gab.wigsat.org • UNESCO Chair in Women, Science and Technology in Latin America • Once and Future Action Network (OFAN) • Gender Task Force, ITU

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