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| Royal Society University Fellowship Scheme: success rates of female applicants |
Statistics for the Royal Society University Fellowships Scheme show a sharp decrease in successful women over the years. President of the Royal Society, Paul Nurse, responds in a public statement: Gender balance among University Research Fellows.
Emma Watson, United Nations Women’s Global Goodwill Ambassador, delivers a speech urging men to join in the struggle for gender equality at a special event for the HeForShe campaign at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, 20 Sep 2014.
Women make up almost half of mathematics undergraduates, but winning the highest accolade of the profession, the Fields Medal, has proved to be a battle. Sam Howison of the Guardian discusses the reasons in the article: “A woman finally wins the Fields Medal after 50 years. Why did it take so long?“
Maryam Mirzhakani, Professor at Stanford University, is the first woman to win the Fields Medal, the highest honour accorded a mathematician, in the history of the award.
Some quotes from Ian Sample’s article in the Guardian, “Fields Medal mathematics prize won by woman for first time in its history“:
“Although women have contributed to mathematics at the highest level for a long time, this fact has not been visible to the general public. I hope that the existence of a female Fields medallist, who will surely be the first of many, will put to bed many myths about women and mathematics, and encourage more young women to think of mathematical research as a possible career.”
~ Sir Tim Gowers, Cambridge University
“The social barriers for girls who are interested in mathematical sciences might not be lower now than they were when I grew up. And balancing career and family remains a big challenge. It makes most women face difficult decisions which usually compromise their work”
~ Maryam Mirzhakani, Stanford University
“Maths is a hugely rewarding subject, but sadly many children lose confidence very early and never reap those rewards. It has traditionally been regarded as a male preserve, though women are known to have contributed to its development for centuries – more than 16 centuries if we go back to Hypatia of Alexandria.
In recent years around 40% of UK undergraduates studying maths have been women, but that proportion declines very rapidly when we look at the numbers progressing to PhDs and beyond. I hope that this award will inspire lots more girls and young women, in this country and around the world, to believe in their own abilities and aim to be the Fields medallists of the future.”~ Frances Kirwan, Oxford University
Read more at www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/13/fields-medal-mathematics-prize-woman-maryam-mirzakhani
Outline:
1. Being mistaken for the secretary
2. Being mistaken for the tea lady
3. Being called a “good girl”
4. Being accused of menstruation when voicing a firm opinion
5. Being asked if ‘a man is available instead’
6. Having an idea ignored only to be repeated by a male colleague five minutes later to interest and applause
7. Being asked about childcare plans
8. Being considered a ‘maternity risk’
9. Being accused of ‘baby brain’
10. Avoiding wandering hands
Gender Equality should be Part of Basic Science Training
– See more at: http://www.scidev.net/global/gender/opinion/gender-equality-should-be-part-of-basic-science-training.html#sthash.ql4Ix7bh.dpuf
07/01/2014 – Chris Strowers / Panos
“Consider an architect’s training. Part of it involves learning the technical requirements for buildings, the codes and standards established by the profession as well as those required by law. For example, one would never imagine that an architect’s training is adequate if she has not learned about the legal requirements associated with disability access.
Now take this model and transfer it to science. Like other aspects of science — such as research integrity — that constitute core values, norms and behaviour, gender equality should be part of any scientist’s basic training. It should also be part of the culture and ethos of science. “
Now take this model and transfer it to science. Like other aspects of science — such as research integrity — that constitute core values, norms and behaviour, gender equality should be part of any scientist’s basic training. It should also be part of the culture and ethos of science. – See more at: http://www.scidev.net/global/gender/opinion/gender-equality-should-be-part-of-basic-science-training.html#sthash.ql4Ix7bh.dpuf
Now take this model and transfer it to science. Like other aspects of science — such as research integrity — that constitute core values, norms and behaviour, gender equality should be part of any scientist’s basic training. It should also be part of the culture and ethos of science. – See more at: http://www.scidev.net/global/gender/opinion/gender-equality-should-be-part-of-basic-science-training.html#sthash.ql4Ix7bh.dpuf
Source: www.scidev.net/global/gender/opinion/gender-equality-should-be-part-of-basic-science-training.html
Source: www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/lean-out-the-dangers-for-women-who-negotiate
Quotes:
“Attempting to negotiate can make anyone seem less nice, Bowles repeatedly found. But it’s only women who subsequently suffer a penalty: people report that they would be less inclined to work with them, be it as coworkers, subordinates, or bosses. The effect is especially strong, Bowles has found, when people observe women who engage in salary negotiations.”
“… when, despite the odds, women find themselves in leadership positions. Female leaders who try to act in ways typically associated with male leaders—assertive, authoritative, directive—are seen far more negatively than males.”
“One new study even suggests that some of the discrimination effects in the workplace aren’t the result of bias against women so much as bias in favor of men. It doesn’t matter what personal characteristic we’re talking about—gender, race, social background. Like attracts like. In-groups reward their own.”
“What we’ve found is that ambiguity facilitates the potential for gender effects and for stereotyping people. It leads people to preconceived notions … transparency has the opposite effect. It’s a healthy way of changing things without having to change the world.”
“No social-science study can tell a woman what to do in any particular negotiation. The variables are too complex. And to suggest that women should be wary of asserting themselves in the workplace would be like telling Rosa Parks not to sit in the front of a bus. But, for now, any negotiation in which gender is involved remains a careful, precarious balancing act.”
Source: www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/women-leadership-companies-equality-jobs
Quotes:
“A compelling new study shows that top global companies in Asia, Europe and the US have advanced little beyond mere tokenism when it comes to placing women in leadership roles.”
“Men hold 83% of the executive committee positions within top US companies, leaving 11% of women in staff roles and 6% in line roles. In Europe’s top 100 companies, the situation for women was even less promising. Men hold 89% of executive committee jobs; women hold 6% of staff roles and 5% are in line roles. The gender balance was even worse in Asia, where men hold 96% of senior roles, leaving 3% of women in staff roles and 1% in line roles.”
“If companies want to balance, those in power must lead the change, reframe gender balance as a business not a women’s issue. … Not advancing women into leadership roles is sad for the women talent, but also tragic for the company which faces an unfortunate loss of talent, creativity and innovation.”
“We need a new model for leadership that eliminates the depressing syndrome of ‘the second’ and instead places greater value on those who lead more with emotional intelligence than with ego,” he adds. “Who says that coming top is the best and only option for all aspiring leaders?”
Global Trends on Gender Ratios in Science & Engineering
– Explore the global landscape of female researchers (Data obtained 25/03/2014)
– Poor nations lead the way in gender equality in research (27/05/2014)
Source: www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/technology/technologys-man-problem.html
Quotes:
Among the women who join the field, 56 percent leave by midcareer, a startling attrition rate that is double that for men, according to research from the Harvard Business School.
A culprit, many people in the field say, is a sexist, alpha-male culture that can make women and other people who don’t fit the mold feel unwelcome, demeaned or even endangered.
Computer science wasn’t always dominated by men. “In the beginning, the word ‘computers’ meant ‘women,’ ” says Ruth Oldenziel, a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands who studies history, gender and technology. Six women programmed one of the most famous computers in history — the 30-ton Eniac — for the United States Army during World War II.
But as with many professions, Dr. Oldenziel said, once programming gained prestige, women were pushed out.
… (read more at the source.)