Women in science

2002/03/10 Mendiburu, Joana - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Historia
• Etika

As March 8 approaches, among other things, some references and data on the presence of women in the labour market are being published. In addition, although the situation is said to change year after year, the truth is that every year the same complaints are heard. And the scientific and technological field is no exception.

In most cases, women work as assistants in laboratories.

However, in the United States and Europe, since 1981 and 1999 respectively, initiatives have been launched to measure and promote the presence of women, which has allowed us to know the evolution of recent years.

Measuring the presence of women, first step

As has been said, gender in statistics has been taken into account in the United States since 1981. This data is collected by the National Science Foundation, which reports on a certain frequency the number of scientific and technological positions occupied by women in Congress.

According to these data, both men and women who complete their scientific studies find work in similar proportions in the industrial sector. For example, about half of women and men studying physics find work in the industrial field. In contrast, recruitment in trade is higher among men, with 67% of men scientists and 49% of women scientists. More women work in education than men. However, differences in studies are more noticeable than in the labor sectors. In fact, there are fewer engineers or physicists than men.

In Europe they began to work much later to measure the female presence and achieve equality between men and women. In 1999, the report entitled "In the European Union: Promote equality between men and women for the benefit of all." This report clearly shows that in all areas of the university the number of women decreases year after year. Consequently, it was emphasized that science is lost by people of great capacity.

As for the distribution of jobs, the main imbalance is in the senior positions. Women hold less than 10% of these positions, although half of university graduates are women. In the words of cellular biologist Nancy Lane, "in the UK in all branches of science and in the field of engineering and technology, the female presence is 3-4%." In other countries the figures are similar. For him, "they advance, but customs need a lot of time to change." The European report highlights that women are still discriminated against when appointing higher positions.

Mari Curie received two Nobel prizes: the first in 1903 for his work on radiation and the second in 1911 for isolating the radio.

On the other hand, we cannot forget that in many countries women still have no right to study and therefore cannot start working in the field of science or in the rest of the countries and break the imbalance.

Agents and consequences

In both the United States and Europe, the reports highlight the same causes and consequences of this imbalance. As for the monthly prize, there are big differences in both the United States and Europe. In 1997 the average monthly premium of female scientists or engineers was 47,000 dollars (58,750 euros), which is approximately 20% less than that of men (58,000 dollars or 72,000 euros). The main reasons for this difference are two: for women to focus more on education and the social sciences and not to settle in high positions. In addition, among students who finish their studies in five years, women earn only 83% of the monthly male award.

In some areas these differences are more notable than in others. In the areas of computer science and mathematics, for example, women earn 12% less than men, while in the social sciences the difference can become 24%. Like men, women earn more in computer science and less in life sciences.

In all branches of science the presence of women is 3-4%.

On the other hand, the European report denounces that most of the research grants that are distributed in Europe are aimed at single people without children, which closes the doors of research to all mothers.

Finally, the report mentions that after a prolonged period of suspension (for example, after maternal discharge) there are difficulties to reintegrate into the research team. This is due to the frequent incorporation of technological material into research centers.

Consequently, men continue to dominate science in all areas. By occupying most of the top positions, in the media men are the most cited and society believes that scientific and technological research is male work. In addition, women participate very little in scientific policy. The commissions that set the priorities of the European Union and the member countries are composed of men, so, as in the rest of the labour markets, the presence of women in science will require time to equate with that of men.

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