ON POSSIBLE STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE THE
SITUATION OF WOMEN IN PHYSICS
L. Meza-Montesa and A.M. Cettob
a Instituto de Física, UAP, Apdo. Postal J-48 Puebla, Pue. México 72570
b Instituto de Física, UNAM.
ana@fisica.unam.mx
A recent report of the National Commission on
Women (Conmujer, a governmental institution) in Mexico,[1]
draws attention to the crucial age at which the gap between genders in
education starts: at eleven years the highest
percentage of women abandon
school. In contrast, at higher educational levels female desertion becomes
smaller than male. Thus, in graduate programs 41 % are female students on the
average, the figures being considerably lower in the natural sciences. The
National System of Researchers (SNI), a governmental institution that grants
fellowships according to individual accomplishment in scientific work,
includes 28% female members, with only
14% in the fields of Physics and Mathematics.
Certainly, the issue is not just one of
numbers; it is one of opportunities and of the wealth of potential that women
provide. As in other fields of human activity, an increased female
participation in science should make a difference not just for women but also
for science.[2]
In Physics, 9% of the faculty
members are women, according to the Ibero-American Catalogue of Programs and
Human Resources.[3] In the case
of Mexico, out of these approx.170 women, 22, 46 and 108 have bachelor, master
and Ph.D. degrees, respectively. The global trend in the geographical
distribution is neatly reflected: the scientific community is concentrated in
the capital, with 110 of these women working in Mexico City, while 24 of the 49 centers include only one or no woman
physicist at any level.
The figures are definitively
critical, however the proportion can be more favorable than in some other
countries. Two factors may contribute to this: first, some fields are
relatively new in our country. Historical facts, such as political instability
and lack of institutional interest in science, did not allow the development of
scientific centers in the past. Physics
as a professional career started
basically when the first Institute of Physics was founded in 1938 and
one year later the first school was created, both in UNAM, in Mexico City. The
first attempt in the provinces took place in 1950. This means that physics has
developed within a more contemporary, liberal environment, with less sexist
bias and preconceptions than is found in countries with a longer tradition.
Another possible factor can be our educational system, for basically most of
the high school programs include science courses, even if the student does not
take it as a major field. This fact allows women to test their capabilities and
discover that they can afford to follow a scientific career. Of course, a
deeper analysis is necessary but these reflections can give some insight on the
cultural differences in the participation of women in physics.
Recently some efforts to confront
gender inequality in science and find ways to overcome it have taken place.
Since 1990, the bulletin Supercuerdas (Superstrings) for women in
science, published in Mexico, has served as a means to establish contact with
colleagues from other institutions in the country and in Latin America, and as
a forum for the analysis and debate of problems encountered by women in
science.[4]
Strategies have been suggested to increase the
participation of women in scientific jobs, such as: guaranteeing equal
opportunities in education, providing professional orientation, and reviewing
the evaluation of work to provide equality; and campaigns to modify traditional
roles have been developed by Conmujer and several other groups. Further,
institutional actions are in progress, like the one initiated by the SNI,
namely the extension of the membership period by an additional year for
scientists who got pregnant, as a recognition that this circumstance has a
negative impact on their productivity.
Nevertheless, we have to work out
several aspects, some of which are closely related to our specific circumstances,
particularly the social situation. A recent regional meeting has discussed some
of the issues at length.[5]
Let us emphasize some of them: lack of support to physicists with children
keeps them in a marginal situation, young students do not have access to
childcare services and very often this reduces their possibility of fulfilling
requirements to obtain a fellowship, the attitude of our male colleagues is
still sexist, etc. Very importantly, the way science is taught in elementary
and high school and the biased expectations of school teachers and parents
towards girls vs. boys, are seen to negatively influence the female
choice of scientific careers.
Conferences like the present one
give us an opportunity to exchange experiences and collectively try to find
ways to improve the situation. As an example of the importance of such actions,
we recall the five regional preparatory UNESCO meetings that produced an input
for the World Conference on Science, which is now reflected in the commitments
of governments and institutions contained in the Conference documents.[6]
It is very important to organize events as this one since, as said before, a
significant part of us develop our activities in a gender-imbalanced
environment. Panels with men participation on topics as the ones considered in
the Conference may contribute to make our colleagues more sensitive to these
issues, reflect on them and change their attitude.
International campaigns (like the ones organized by UNESCO and UNIFEM on gender equality, for example the contest ‘Children Views on Science in the XXI Century’) have an influence on the population. They can be more specifically devoted to attract young females and promoting women scientists, and should be reinforced with activities of local female scientists. Recommendations to governments and monitoring are always helpful; international actions give strong support to national activities.
[1]
Programa Nacional de
la Mujer-SEGOB, México. http://www.datasys.com/conmujer
[2] A.M. Cetto. Papel de la mujer en la transformación de las ciencias: una óptica
diferente. Reprinted in Supercuerdas 11-12
(2001), p. 9.
[3] Catálogo Iberoamericano
de Programas y Recursos Humanos en Física. Sociedad
Mexicana de Física-FeLaSoFi, México 2001. This Catalogue includes data on the
major bachelor and graduate programs and research centers in Latin America and
Spain.
[4] Supercuerdas, issues nos. 1 – 12 (1990-2001). This
bulletin is an independent publication that serves the Latin American branch of
the Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS). http://www.arce0.fciencias.unam/supercuerdas.html
[5] Women, Science and Technology in Latin America: Diagnosis and
Strategies. Regional UNESCO Meeting, Bariloche, Argentina, 1998.
[6] Science for the Twenty-first Century – A new commitment. Documents of the UNESCO-ICSU World Conference on Science. http://www.unesco.science.org/science/wcs
(Se publicará en el libro de reportes que editará
IUPAP)