Off balance!
Women are underrepresented

A summary of ideas expressed at the SET-Routes international conference “Women in Science: The Way Forward”

Patience is fine, but we have to set some limitations LESLEY YELLOWLEES

More then half of the European student population is female (1). But women hold only 15% of full professorships, ranging from 9% in Belgium to 21% in Finland. Representation of women at the top levels of industry is similarly low. Clearly the gender gap is not closing at the rate one would expect given the increase in the percentage of female university graduates and PhD holders. In other words, a large percentage of our higher education graduates are not reinvesting their skills in the economy.

Can we afford this waste of talent? The optimistic view is that, over time, the numbers of men and women in higher positions will equalize as modern practices increase fairness and more women who enter the bottom of the career chain move upwards. But at the current rate this may take decades. The pessimistic view is that the gender gap in higher ranks will not decrease because the success rate for women is lower than that of men at every step on the career ladder.

There is not one clear single cause for the under-representation of women, there are many different causes tied to one another. ISABEL BEUTER

Are there differences?
Men and women are largely similar

Populist books promote a view of insurmountable differences between men and women apparently explaining why men and women achieve differently— thereby reinforcing traditional stereotypes. Recent scientific literature however reports that the differences between men and women are very small in 80% of measurable traits.
[Hyde JS (2005) The Gender Similarities Hypothesis. American Psychologist 60: 581–592].

After having done a lot of meta analyses on gender differences in psychological variables, it was becoming very clear to me that all these stereotypes about enormous gender differences in psychological characteristics and ability are just not well founded in the scientific data. JANET HYDE

These differences are so small and so limited that they are unlikely to significantly impact the  success of either men or women in professional life. There is greater variation within each sex than there is between them. The differences in traits that can be considered to be of primary importance in intellectual discourse, such as maths or language performance, are very small. And those traits where a difference is detectable ­ physical aggression, motor performance, measures of sexuality and spatial rotation abilities ­ cannot directly explain the scarce number of women in higher positions.Pervasive negative gender stereotypes The self-fulfilling prophecyWe continue to adhere to gender stereotypes that harm women’s self-esteem and self-belief. Most of us, men and women alike, have unconscious stereotypes that make us associate men with careers and women with families. These stereotypes traditionally evolved in order to help society function. 

Rosalind Barnett, Brandeis University, USA: I believe that girls’ disinterest and lack of confidence in their ability to succeed in math and science has its roots in their very early years. To a huge degree girls’ disaffection is related to their own perception of their ability to succeed in math and science, not to their actual ability. ROSALIND BARNETT

On the other hand, the same stereotypes place men and women in specific roles, thereby blocking societal change. These stereotypes, are passed on from generation to generation, making it difficult to break free of them.

As a result of stereotyping, girls are not expected to perform well in maths and science in school. Consequently, girls’ self-confidence in these subjects is diminished. In the manner of a self-fulfilling prophecy this leads to fewer women pursuing the study of the “hard” sciences.

Breaking the stereotype barrier 
As members of society, we have to become aware of our biases if any real changes are to take place.Data suggest that our social environment has a large effect on how our unconscious biases and stereotypes are formed and expressed. Role models can influence the expression of these stereotypes.

The Way Forward
What can be done to increase the participation and career prospects of women in the sciences?

Funding agencies and institutions have an important role to play in promoting best practice to address gender bias at the institutional level.

The most efficient way that we got the mostly male department chairs to attend our workshop on gender equity was via the funding agencies. The funding agencies twisted their arms and got them to attend. GERLDINE RICHMOND

Small programmes that address the specific needs of women can help to bridge the gap but it is institutional culture that has to change. It is within institutions that talent is fostered and young scientists are inspired and encouraged to follow a research career path…or not!Some of today’s best practice examples have been highlighted in the UK by the Athena Award, in the USA they are supported by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE programme. These activities have developed effective means that promote institutional change.

The actions that promote change should be gender neutral and create better professional and employment environments for men and women. Both men and women benefit from good practice; however, women in particular are adversely affected by bad practice LESLEY YELLOWLEES

These initiatives are highly successful because they improve the working conditions for both men and women. Raising people’s awareness of the stereotypes that they hold and making them aware of their rights helps to level the playing field.The ways that workImproving working conditions and bringing equality to the workplace should benefit both men and women and allow us to take advantage of the intellectual resources of ALL of society.The best initiatives are therefore those that work to expose and combat gender bias both in professional and family environments and create a fair and supportive environment at home and in the work place.