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Women in Science
- 1. Women in Science Issues and Challenges in Gender (In)Equality in Science & Engineering Higher Education Eleni Kaldoudi Associate Professor, Democritus University of Thrace – Greece & Member of the Committee Women in Medical & Biological Engineering (WiMBE) International Federation of Medical & Biological Engineering (IFMBE) Current status and trends in the career development of Biomedical Engineers PHASETOMO Seminar, Varna, Bulgaria, April 8, 2013
- 2. SHE Figures - EU Gender in Research and Innovation: statistics and indicators a series of 4 reports published every 3 years by EU currently: SHE Figures 2012 published in March 2013 incorporates data up to 2010 http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she-figures
- 3. She figures 2012 (data up to 2010) in 2010 in EU-27 women: 45% of all employed persons women: 53% of employed university graduates only 32% of scientists & engineers are women women in research remain a minority: 33% women of all researchers in EU-27 (2010) proportion women researchers in EU-27 (2010) 40% women in Higher Education 40% women in Government Sector 19% women in Business Enterprise Sector
- 4. She figures 2012 (data up to 2010) the proportion of women researchers is growing faster than that of men women: 5.1% growth annually for 2002-2009 men: 3.3% “ still, proportion of researchers ‰ of total labor force male:12‰ female: 7‰
- 5. proportion of female researchers, 2009 EU-27 mean = 33% Bulgaria = 48% Greece = 36% LU = 21% source: She Figures 2012, EU Commission, p. 26
- 6. women/men in academia source: She Figures 2012, EU Commission, p. 88 & 114 EU-27, 2002/2010 20% of Grade A in academia are women, but just 10% of universities have a female rector
- 7. women/men in science & engineering academia source: She Figures 2012, EU Commission, p. 89 EU-27, 2002/2012
- 8. EU-27 mean = 20% Bulgaria = 26% Cyprus = 11% proportion of women in Grade A, 2002-2010 source: She Figures 2012, EU Commission, p. 91
- 9. numbers are not always that clear ... numbers show that universities contain gendered hierarchies of power most men with power and most women without however, literature reports a growing view among academic policy makers & academics that gender discrimination is not an issue in higher education ! Source: P. Cotterill, G. Letherby, Editorial, Women in higher education: Issues and challenges, Women’s Studies International Forum , vol.28 , 109–113, 2005
- 10. senior women academics say… qualitative study amongst UK university senior women academics older women were more sensitive to the subtle homosocial culture, attitudes and norms in the university younger women relied more on a meritocratic approach to their careers, seemingly less aware of the institutional gendered power relations neither group showed signs of collective working or networking in the interests of themselves or women in general Source: S. Ledwith and S. Manfredi, Balancing Gender in Higher Education A Study of the Experience of Senior Women in a `New' UK University, The European Journal of Women's Studies , vol. 7, 7-33, 2000
- 11. design for women vs. women mentoring Nebraska University 1999-2003, Project Muse Empowering Women for Life-Long Success through Computer Expertise initially, with the aim to empower women undergraduates by teaching them technology in single-sex environments findings: empowerment came from peer-tutoring and informal workshops impact came from a computer-lab, where students would become experts and teach peers the lab became a place for socializing Source: L. Fuller, E.R. Meiners, Project Muse: Today’s Research, Tomorrow’s Inspiration, Frontiers, A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 26(1), 168-180, 2005
- 12. men’s patriarchal support system UK University qualitative research + literature evidence men interviewed revealed, (but not necessarily openly acknowledged) that the help, support and encouragement of significant men were crucial elements of their own career progress in contrast, within this research group no woman experienced such opportunity (but some reverse cases were reported) Source: B. Bagilhole ,J. Goode, The Contradiction of the Myth of Individual Merit, and the Reality of a Patriarchal Support System in Academic Careers : A Feminist Investigation. European Journal of Women's Studies , vol. 8, 161, 2001
- 13. men’s patriarchal support system findings: 1. women presume that someone is going to speak on their behalf, their good work will be recognized and rewarded (they believe in true merit, not self-advertisement) 2. the academic profession does not supply adequate support and guidance for women Source: B. Bagilhole ,J. Goode, The Contradiction of the Myth of Individual Merit, and the Reality of a Patriarchal Support System in Academic Careers : A Feminist Investigation. European Journal of Women's Studies , vol. 8, 161, 2001
- 14. women/men in science & engineering academia source: She Figures 2012, EU Commission, p. 89 EU-27, 2002/2010 ~1:10 in Grade A ~2:10 in Grade B
- 15. so, can women in academia still hope for a transition from surviving to thriving ?
- 16. quantitative study published in 2011 quantitative study (n=1714) in USA contrary to almost all published literature, and taking into account factors such as tenure, discipline, family status and doctoral cohort, women actually have somewhat more collaborators on average than men do Source: B. Bozeman, M. Gaughan, How do men and women differ in research collaborations? An analysis of the collaborative motives and strategies of academic researchers, Research Policy, July 2011
- 17. women mentoring network ? towards effective and meaningful networking & mentoring to empower women in academia use on-line social networking services focus on women involve men focus on women mentoring use semantic technologies to suggest/enrich/enhance meaningful mentoring relationships
- 18. IFMBE - WiMBE IFMBE: International Federation of Medical & Biological Engineering since 1959 as of 2010: 130.000 members and 61 affiliated institutions IFMBE – WiMBE: Committee on Women in Medical & Biological Engineering since 2004 president: Monique Frize (Canada) website: ttp://ifmbe.org/organisation-structure/committees/women-in-mbe/
- 19. 1. The Bold and the Brave: A History of Women in Science and Engineering, The University of Ottawa Press, 2009 Books by Monique Frize 2. Ethics for Bioengineers, Morgan & Claypool, 2011. 3. The Extraordinary Life of Laura Bassi in Eighteenth Century Italy. 2013 (In print)
- 20. IFMBE - WiMBE action plans (amongst else): ensure greater inclusiveness of women in the various roles such as keynote and plenary speakers, Chairs of sessions, women receiving awards and as judges for the young presenters awards develop a database of women in biomedical engineering and sciences and identify women for high profile roles organise workshops on gender issues at major IFMBE events develop an internet-based mentor project
- 21. IFMBE - WiMBE so check WiMBE website for updates: ifmbe.org/organisation-structure/committees/women-in-mbe/ look for WiMBE workshops and events in IFMBE conferences and give us names & ideas!!!
- 22. so, just “add women and stir” ? should ensure that women’s interests, women’s ways of thinking and acting are an integral part of the scientific & technological enterprise and of the academic environment Source: Byanyima, W.,The Role of Women Engineers in Developing Countries, Daphne Jackson Memorial Lecture’, RSA Journal CXLII (5454):, 57–66., 1994
- 23. … If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman Margaret Thatcher http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/women?page=1
- 24. Eleni Kaldoudi Associate Professor School of Medicine Democritus University of Thrace Greece kaldoudi@med.duth.gr thank you!!!
- 25. Cite as: E. Kaldoudi, “Women in Science” Worksop on Current Status and Trends in the Career Development of Biomedical Engineers Marie Curie Career Integration Grants (CIG) (FP7, PCIG09- GA-2011-293846), “PHASETOMO: Development of a three- dimensional Reconstruction Algorithm for Phase Contrast Breast Tomosynthesis” Varna, Bulgaria, 8 April 2013
Editor's Notes
- Last year in MEDICON conference in Greece, Monique Frize and Nicolas Pallikarakis invited me to present the Greek reality for Women in Science and Engineering. Since then, I got the chance to look into some startling numbers and findings, and I would like to thank again both Monique and Nicolas for giving me this opportunity to get involved in this field.
- One very interesting source of information is the so-called She Figures Report series. This is an EU statistical survey on gender equality in science in Europe. There has been a series of three such surveys, one every 3 years. The last one was published in 2009 and the next one is to be published next year.
- One very interesting source of information is the so-called She Figures Report series. This is an EU statistical survey on gender equality in science in Europe. There has been a series of three such surveys, one every 3 years. The last one was published in 2009 and the next one is to be published next year.
- At the first two levels of university education (students and graduates of largely theoretically-based programmes to provide sufficient qualifications for gaining entry to advanced research programmes and professions with high skills requirements), respectively 55% and 59% of enrolled students are female. However, men outnumber women as of the third level (students in programmes leading to the award of an advanced research qualification such as the PhD that are devoted to advanced study and original research) at which the proportion of female students enrolled drops back to 48%. Indeed, women comprise only 45% of PhD graduates. The PhD degree is often required to embark on an academic career, which means that the attrition of women at this level will have a knock-on effect on their relative representation at the first stage of the academic career.
- Our idea was an immature “take the money and run” strategy in which female students would get the skills to enter the labor market and support themselves, and simultaneously they would resist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. Our proposal focused on creating a course that would give women at our institution the tools to succeed at using technology. The brochure we developed to advertise the course had photos of women, used the language—“specifically designed for women” and “targeted for women”—and cited data about the state’s need for technology workers Project Muse: Today’s Research, Tomorrow’s Inspiration L. Fuller, E.R. Meiners, Frontiers, A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 26(1), 168-180, 2005
- For the men who more usually find themselves in influential company, this process of networking, mentoring and sponsorship need not necessarily be a conscious activity.
- In reality, academic life is often experienced by women as a hostile male environment (Bagilhole, 1993; Bagilhole and Woodward, 1995) According to Ferber (1988), women tend to cite other women more than men cite women, and therefore the fewer women in a field the greater the citations gap for them. Atkinson and Delamont (1990) contended that the position for women and ‘outsider’ male scientists is therefore complex and less under their own control than is publicly portrayed. There is no easy way for academics acting as individuals to make their own work ‘weighty’ for others in the field. Success is not achieved by publishing more, or even doing better research, but through personal contacts, friendships and cooperative work with key players in the field. Women particularly find it difficult to accrue these necessary resources to perform valued professional activities. Therefore, if women continue to rely on ‘good work’ and do not self-promote, their ‘accomplishments in men’s fields remain invisible’ (Lorber, 1994: 226).
- ‘The famous strategy of “add women and stir” can only have limited results because it does not deal with the essence of the problem.’ women should ensure that women’s interests, women’s ways of thinking and acting are an integral part of the scientific and technological enterprise’ , and of the academic environment
- In politics, If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman Margaret Thatcher