women and science

This google doodle came out earlier this year, on the birthday of the scientist Dorothy Hodgkin:

 

How can we encourage more girls to study science?

Fifty years ago Dorothy Hodgkin was the first, and still the only, British woman scientist to win a Nobel Prize. Schools are working ever harder to attract girls to science, but do they have the right formula? Susan Watts reports

After the Nobel Prize ceremony in 1964, 50 years ago today, in which her work on crystallography was recognised, Dorothy Hodgkin is reported to have said that she would have preferred not to have had such a fuss made about her gender.

“The situation in which I find myself will, I very much hope, not be so uncommon in the future that it will require any comment or special treatment, as more use is made of the many gifts which women share equally with men.” Half a century later, Dorothy Hodgkin is still the only female British scientist to have won a Nobel Prize.

These days there’s a great deal of energy channelled into persuading girls to take science at school. So is the day-to-day working environment any better for women in science?

How can we encourage more girls to study science? - Education - News - The Independent


Hodgkin remains the only British woman to have ever won one of the science Nobels, which she was awarded in 1964, but the British press were unable to forget her gender. The Daily Mail reported at the time: "Oxford housewife wins Nobel", while the Telegraph wrote: "British woman wins Nobel Prize – £18,750 prize to mother of three."

Dorothy Hodgkin: The only British woman to win a Nobel science prize gets a doodle | Technology | The Guardian

Years later, and women are still under-represented in the world of science:

There are six times more men than women working in the fields of science, technology and engineering, so it stands to reason that there won't be an equal amount of role models available to women considering entering the professions, to rectify this the Medical Research Council has produced a book celebrating great scientific achievements made by women in the past 100 years.

100 years of scientific breakthroughs - by women | Society | The Guardian


Why women are under-represented in science and engineering

Confidence, stereotyped language and visiblity: Julia King explains five factors that hold women back

Words are powerful. Everyday we hear scientists are 'he', hairdressers are 'she'. Photograph: Guardian

Julia King

Monday 20 October 2014 11.28 BST

Comments25

1. Confidence

From early school days to a career, confidence matters a great deal. When we start gender conditioning in childhood, by labelling dolls for girls and Lego for boys, for example, the seed is planted that hands-on, practical activities are not for girls. We are also sending them the message that, when it comes to these activities, society has no confidence in them.

Evidence shows that for a successful career confidence matters as much as competence. This disappoints me. Quality should be noticed without having to shout about it. In my experience, female peers feel the same way too and this influences and drives their behaviour: if they do a good job, this will be noticed and promotion will come when they are ready. They also tend to underestimate their abilities and predict they will do worse in tests than they actually do. On average, men exhibit the opposite traits.

When an Institute of Leadership and Management survey of UK managers asked them how confident they felt, 50% of female respondents reported self-doubtabout job performance and careers, while less than 30% of men gave similar responses. This is the “impostor syndrome” at work: the feeling “I got here by accident; I am not really up to this job.”

2. Language

Words are powerful, and feeling excluded by language can have a lasting cultural impact. We hear it every day in generalised speech without questioning it: scientists are “he”, engineers are unwaveringly men. For example, students hear careers advisers or teachers talking about he the welder and she the hairdresser all the time. With our unconscious bias towards male and female jobs, we make women in science and engineering invisible.

A 2011 study by the Institute of Physics called It’s Different for Girls found that independent girls’ schools sent four times more girls on to do A-level physics than co-ed schools. The lack of male versus female subjects may well have been a factor in this increase.
Advertisement

In the workplace the language women use and identify with inadvertently holds them back too. Women tend to use more cautious, less aggressive language, and often apologise for what they are about to say, eg “This isn’t quite my subject area, but perhaps you might consider …” This can be interpreted as weakness and makes what they say easier to dismiss or ignore.

3. Visibility

Whether we like it or not, we are all product of our upbringing and surroundings. To understand that science and engineering careers are realistic options, women need to see the evidence that those they identify with, people like them, can and do succeed. They also need to know that the people around them see science and engineering as valid choices for them.

Role models are really important, even though the messages may be subliminal. I’m not just talking about seeing female experts on TV – although they are certainly a positive influence – I’m also talking about the influence of parents, family members, teachers and peers.

If parents see science and engineering jobs as good career options for their daughters, it follows that their daughters will too. If schools reinforce the message and provide more information and advice, young women are able to make positive, informed choices. If employers make the workplace more accessible to women we retain women in science and engineering careers. This could develop into a virtuous circle, with mums in science or engineering jobs becoming role models to their children, and companies playing their part by contributing to students’ careers experience in school.

4. Feminism

I’m talking about the kind of feminism Emma Watson’s rightly supported in her now famous UN HeForShe speech. If we as a society aim for equality in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers and stop thinking in terms of a gender divide, we can start to even up the balance to the benefit of individuals and businesses.

The women’s business council report makes the point that while women need work, work also needs women. By equalising the labour force participation rates of men and women, the UK could increase GDP per capita growth by 10% in 2030.

5. Catch-22

Unfortunately there is a catch to all this. Imagining that women overcome the many cultural barriers we’ve created to enter STEM careers, in my opinion women are penalised for being “too confident”, whereas it’s acceptable behaviour in their male colleagues. We need to change this too.

At the Women in Science symposium at Cambridge University’s Murray Edwards College, it was great to hear young sixth form girls presenting their ideas and solutions, alongside experts. Their involvement in these issues is the key to turning a corner on points 1–4 and to finally getting rid of catch-22.

Aston University’s vice chancellor Professor Julia King is regularly called upon to advise government on education and technology issues. She was also involved in the Women in Science symposium at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge.
Why women are under-represented in science and engineering | Women in Leadership | The Guardian

But there are changes happening:
The Institute of Physics blog » Blog Archive Physics departments recognised for reducing gender inequality - The Institute of Physics blog - The Institute of Physics blog - physics news, physics views, physics events and physics blogs

And there are organistions pushing for change:
Welcome to WISE - WISE
.
.
.