DOCSLIB.ORG

Women in Computer Sciences in Romania: Success and Sacrifice

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Women in Computer Sciences in Romania: Success and Sacrifice Journal of International Education and Leadership Volume 4 Issue 2 Fall 2014 http://www.jielusa.org/ ISSN: 2161-7252 Women in Computer Sciences in Romania: Success and Sacrifice Kelly Ward Washington State University Cornelia Dragne Independent Scholar Angelina J Lucas Washington State University The purpose of this article is to more fully understand the professional lives of women academics in computer sciences in six Romanian universities. The work is exploratory and relies on a qualitative framework to more fully understand what it means to be a woman academic in high-tech disciplines in a second world economy. We conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews and reviewed a number of documents to create a context for the major social and political changes in Eastern Europe that affected the professional journeys of women academics in Romania. Results convey the ways in which gender, technology, and higher education are bound together by a multiplicity of conscious and unconscious inclusionary and exclusionary practices at universities. Findings also suggest that further research is needed on the theoretical underpinnings and practice of gender equality in Romanian higher education institutions. Women academics in computing face a complex interplay of discouraging factors, including severe financial austerity and the masculine domination of the disciplines, necessitating the establishment of structures and mechanisms to foster honest debate around the dilemma regarding equality of opportunity or equality of outcome. Keywords: Women in Computer Sciences; Women Academics; STEM; Romania A growing body of literature on gender equality faculty in science, technology, engineering, and in science points to an imbalance in the number, mathematical (STEM) disciplines. seniority, and influence of women and men in Historically in Romania, as in other Eastern the scientific professions. Some fields are European countries, women’s participation in heavily staffed by women, while others seem the STEM professions has exceeded 30%, which less female-friendly. In the government sector of is considered by some to be the mark of a the European Union (EU-27), equivalent critical mass (Trauth, 2007). However, the lack numbers of women and men work in the of studies with a focus on women, combined humanities; yet only 27% of researchers are with the lack of a feminist movement in that women in Engineering and Technology, while country has left a gap in our understanding of women account for 59% of graduates, they only how increased participation has shaped one’s account for 18% of full professors (She Figures, experience. Moreover, for more than two 2009). These figures highlight the need to decades, the study of education has been identify the successes and sacrifices of female removed from universities, necessitating studies Women in Computer Science Ward, Dragne, & Lucas on academic life in ‘general and gender 2010). Academic departments follow a number relations’ within higher education in particular. of organizational practices based on gender The purpose of this study is to explore assumptions and beliefs that are culturally women’s participation and understand the embedded (Williams, 1995). For example, experiences in the fields of computer sciences in technology and engineering are generally Romanian universities. The experience of considered to be related to masculinity, due to women in these fields is of particular interest for perceptions about the stable image and culture of three reasons. First, the world of computer engineering, and because the male represents the science is traditionally dominated by male- stereotyped image of ‘an engineer and a centered perspectives and a masculine ethos, scientist’ in the work force (e.g., Carter and which contributes to the marginalization of Kirkup 1990; MciIlwee & Robinson 1992; women in these spheres (Harding, 1986, 1991; Mellström 1995; Faulkner 2000). Researchers Longino, 1990; Keller, 2001; Hubbard, 2001; argue that STEM fields are powerful institutions Hoonakker, Carayon, and Schoepke, 2006). The with reinforced levels of equity in the society second is that information technologies and (Fox, 1999). Therefore, women suffer computer sciences are deeply connected with a proportional discrepancies, in turn reinforcing nation’s economic and democratic aspirations. inequity in work experiences at all stages of Third, the critical mass of woman faculty in training and career development (Nolan, Romanian higher education in Computer Buckner, Marzabadi, & Kuck, 2008). Some Sciences makes for a fertile ground to study experiences related to differential treatment may gender in a historically male field. look meager at the start, but compound over time, creating large gaps between groups that Theoretical background lead to negative outcomes such as job dissatisfaction and higher turnover (Preston, Extant literature offers multiple perspectives 2006; Spector & Jex, 1998; Valian, 1999). on the causes of female under-representation in Women may also find that their opportunities STEM fields. Some of the widely studied factors are limited when they are treated as if they are include bias against female science students invisible, when their contributions are (Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham & marginalized, or when they are detached from Handelsman, 2012; Etzkowitz, Kemelgor and the informal social networks of their laboratories Uzzi, 2000); beliefs about innate intelligence or departments (Becker, 1990; Committee on the (Dweck, 2006) and differences in how males Participation of Women, 2003; Etzkowitz et al., and females think (Ceci & Williams, 2007); 1992, 2000; Sonnert & Holton, 1995; Stage & accumulated disadvantage (Zuckerman, 1989); Maple, 1996). adverse effects of tokenism (Kanter, 1977); The literature also offers culture-based gender role stereotypes and schemas (AAUW, perspectives for under-representation of women 2010; Ceci &Williams, 2007; Valian, 2000); in STEM fields. For instance, past research gendered universities and the normalization of shows that women and men experience male working styles including “ideal worker” academic structures and cultures differently. norms (Currie, Thiele & Harris, 2002; Drago, Women are generally less satisfied with their 2007; Eisenhart & Finkel, 1998); implicit bias positions than their male colleagues, in terms of (AAUW, 2010); opinions that environments and the quality of colleague interactions and support cultures are unwelcoming to women (Fabio, (Bilimoria, Perry, Liang, Stoller, Higgins & Brandi & Frehill, 2008; Sonnert & Holton, Taylor, 2006; Trower, 2008) as well as 1995); choice/opting out (Diekman, Brown, departmental climate (Callister, 2006), culture, Johnston, & Clark, 2010); and the challenges of and fit in their departments (Trower, 2008). balancing both work and family (Ward & Wolf- Extant research also reveals a culture of bias Wendel, 2012). against females by both genders. For example, Research suggests that scientific excellence Moss-Racusin (2012) identified that male and is a social construction that is open to several female science faculty at research-intensive biases, including gender bias (Husu & Koskinen, universities perceive female students as less 2 Women in Computer Science Ward, Dragne, & Lucas competent and less worthy of being hired as Feminist Critique of Science and Technology laboratory managers than identical males. They and the Glass Ceiling Theory also found that male and female faculty offer A feminist critique of science and female employees a lower starting salary and technology breaks from Western philosophical less career mentoring. Ecklund, Lincoln, and traditions by including non-white and non-male Tansey (2012) showed that gender voices. It posits that science and technology still discrimination is a decisive factor of a woman constitute both a masculine kingdom and an either to not pursue careers in science at all or instrument of domination and with such choose biology over physics. Regardless of their perspectives tend to exclude women (Keller, own gender, scientists “used gender reasoning 1982). A comprehensive review of the literature that stressed innate differences between men and on women in academia in computer sciences women as well as personal choices to explain revealed two salient, interconnected themes: that the gender composition differences” (p. 710) in women constitute a minority (under- biology and physics. representation), and that the disciplinary culture Research also suggests that national cultures is masculine. The feminist critique of can affect the cultures of academic departments information technologies contends that one of (e.g., Hofstede, 1991). Organizations function in the main reasons for women’s low participation a national context, and are guided by theories of in computer sciences is that the field is imbued the nation's scientists or dominant minds with cultural views, attitudes, and norms that do (Hofstede, 1994). Hence, in an academic setting, not appeal to girl’s cognitive development STEM departments are susceptible to the (Miller, 2005; Rosser, 2005). When women influence exerted by national culture because enter such careers such as computer sciences they operate in the same context. Hofstede found they find themselves needing to make extra that the differences in national culture rest on effort to acculturate themselves to its masculine four dimensions: power distance, uncertainty ethos in order to succeed. avoidance, individualism, and masculinity.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Darwin and the Women
    COMMENT BOOKS & ARTS division of the “eight-hour husband” work- ing outside the home and the “fourteen-hour wife” within it. Feminist intellectual Charlotte Perkins Gilman drew on Darwin’s sexual- TTMANN/CORBIS selection theory to argue that women’s eco- BE nomic dependence on men was unnaturally skewing evolution to promote “excessive sex- ual distinctions”. She proposed that economic and reproductive freedom for women would restore female autonomy in choice of mate — which Darwin posited was universal in nature, except in humans — and put human evolutionary progress back on track. L LIB. OF CONGRESS; R: TIME LIFE PICTURES/GETTY; Darwin himself opposed birth control and Women’s advocates (left to right) Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Antoinette Brown Blackwell and Maria Mitchell. asserted the natural inferiority of human females. The adult female, he wrote in The EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY Descent of Man (1871), is the “intermediate between the child and the man”. Neverthe- less, appeals to Darwinist ideas by birth-con- trol advocates such as Margaret Sanger led Darwin and one critic to bemoan in 1917 that “Darwin was the originator of modern feminism”. Feminism in the late nineteenth century was marked by the racial and class politics the women of the era’s reform movements. Blackwell’s and Gilman’s views that women should work outside the home, for example, depended on Sarah S. Richardson relishes a study of how nineteenth- the subjugated labour of lower-class minor- century US feminists used the biologist’s ideas. ity women to perform household tasks. And Sanger’s birth-control politics appealed to contemporary fears of race and class ‘sui- wo misplaced narratives dominate physician Edward cide’.
    [Show full text]
  • Mothers in Science
    The aim of this book is to illustrate, graphically, that it is perfectly possible to combine a successful and fulfilling career in research science with motherhood, and that there are no rules about how to do this. On each page you will find a timeline showing on one side, the career path of a research group leader in academic science, and on the other side, important events in her family life. Each contributor has also provided a brief text about their research and about how they have combined their career and family commitments. This project was funded by a Rosalind Franklin Award from the Royal Society 1 Foreword It is well known that women are under-represented in careers in These rules are part of a much wider mythology among scientists of science. In academia, considerable attention has been focused on the both genders at the PhD and post-doctoral stages in their careers. paucity of women at lecturer level, and the even more lamentable The myths bubble up from the combination of two aspects of the state of affairs at more senior levels. The academic career path has academic science environment. First, a quick look at the numbers a long apprenticeship. Typically there is an undergraduate degree, immediately shows that there are far fewer lectureship positions followed by a PhD, then some post-doctoral research contracts and than qualified candidates to fill them. Second, the mentors of early research fellowships, and then finally a more stable lectureship or career researchers are academic scientists who have successfully permanent research leader position, with promotion on up the made the transition to lectureships and beyond.
    [Show full text]
  • Objectivity in the Feminist Philosophy of Science
    OBJECTIVITY IN THE FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requisites for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Karen Cordrick Haely, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2003 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Louise M. Antony, Adviser Professor Donald C. Hubin _______________________ Professor George Pappas Adviser Philosophy Graduate Program ABSTRACT According to a familiar though naïve conception, science is a rigorously neutral enterprise, free from social and cultural influence, but more sophisticated philosophical views about science have revealed that cultural and personal interests and values are ubiquitous in scientific practice, and thus ought not be ignored when attempting to understand, describe and prescribe proper behavior for the practice of science. Indeed, many theorists have argued that cultural and personal interests and values must be present in science (and knowledge gathering in general) in order to make sense of the world. The concept of objectivity has been utilized in the philosophy of science (as well as in epistemology) as a way to discuss and explore the various types of social and cultural influence that operate in science. The concept has also served as the focus of debates about just how much neutrality we can or should expect in science. This thesis examines feminist ideas regarding how to revise and enrich the concept of objectivity, and how these suggestions help achieve both feminist and scientific goals. Feminists offer us warnings about “idealized” concepts of objectivity, and suggest that power can play a crucial role in determining which research programs get labeled “objective”.
    [Show full text]
  • Women's Careers in Biomedical Sciences
    JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S HEALTH Volume 26, Number 5, 2017 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2016.6012 Women’s Careers in Biomedical Sciences: Implications for the Economy, Scientific Discovery, and Women’s Health Jennifer L. Plank-Bazinet, PhD,1 Misty L. Heggeness, PhD, MPP, MSW,2 P. Kay Lund, PhD,3 and Janine Austin Clayton, MD1 Abstract While women have been well represented in medical school and biomedical doctoral degree programs, they do not comprise half of academic medicine faculty positions. Furthermore, there is a significant paucity of women in academic medicine leadership positions, as evidenced by the fact that only 16% of dean positions at United States Medical schools are filled by women. In this commentary, the authors review the state of women in academic medicine and argue that increased representation of women in the academic workforce will lead to economic gains, increased scientific discovery, and improvements to women’s health. Keywords: women in science, careers, academic medicine, women’s health, scientific discovery, biomedical research workforce, gender and economic development or the past decade, approximately half of medical more attractive and hospitable for women academics. There- Fschool graduates and doctoral degree recipients in the fore, the paucity of women in senior leadership roles may dis- biological sciences have been women.1,2 Despite this gender courage younger women from advancing. A study by Carrell parity in degree recipients, an underrepresentation of women et al. provides evidence that having female
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Sexism in Academia
    Gender and Education ISSN: 0954-0253 (Print) 1360-0516 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cgee20 Women, know your limits: cultural sexism in academia Heather Savigny To cite this article: Heather Savigny (2014) Women, know your limits: cultural sexism in academia, Gender and Education, 26:7, 794-809, DOI: 10.1080/09540253.2014.970977 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2014.970977 Published online: 24 Oct 2014. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 2227 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 26 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cgee20 Gender and Education, 2014 Vol. 26, No. 7, 794–809, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2014.970977 Women, know your limits: cultural sexism in academia Heather Savigny* The Media School, Bournemouth University, Weymouth House, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK (Received 9 July 2013; accepted 25 September 2014) Despite the considerable advances of the feminist movement across Western societies, in Universities women are less likely to be promoted, or paid as much as their male colleagues, or even get jobs in the first place. One way in which we can start to reflect on why this might be the case is through hearing the experiences of women academics themselves. Using feminist methodology, this article attempts to unpack and explore just some examples of ‘cultural sexism’ which characterises the working lives of many women in British academia. This article uses qualitative methods to describe and make sense of some of those experiences.
    [Show full text]
  • DIGEST September 2011 Edition
    DIGEST September 2011 Edition --GenCen Events List of gender- and LGBTQ-related courses being offered Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 GenCen Colloquia Series, September 30, October 21, November 18 GenCen/CASID Friday Forum, September 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, 11, 18, December 2 The Struggle of Kurdish Women in the Face of Kurdish Law and Traditions, September 22 Ties that Bind: Toxic Pollution, Urban Brownfields and the Embodiment of Class and Gender in Post-industrial Southeast Chicago, September 26 Locating Gender and Disability within Women's and Disability Rights Discourses in India, September 28 Roundtable Discussion of Aime Ellis’s If We Must Die: From Bigger Thomas to Biggie Smalls, October 14 MSU Events Career Services for Students (Student Services Building) Student Employment Opportunities at www.MySpartanCareer.com Weekly OISS Coffee Hour, Fridays Undergraduate Research Workshops, September 29, October 4, 18, 24, November 1, 9, 16 Community Conversations and Reflections on a Decade of Change. Highlight: October 6 National Depression Screening Day, October 6 Global Focus Photo Competition, Entries due October 7 CLACS Fall 2011 Seminar Series. Highlight: October 19 Global Opportunities Fair and Conference, October 19 LGBT Resource Center, Open Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm ReCUR call for student editors Undergraduate Application for Admission to Teacher Preparation Program, available through November 23 Support Gender Neutral Housing at Michigan State University Petition Other Events Conferences and Workshops MI H2Objective Conference: Research Shaping Michigan's Water Future, Wayne State University, September 29-30 Cultures of Exile: African Globalities in the Age of Transnationalism, University of Kansas, October 6-8 2nd Annual Conference of the Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature Department University of Minnesota, October 14-15 Calls for Papers THINKING GENDER 2012: Graduate Student Research Conference, February 3, 2012, UCLA.
    [Show full text]
  • World Bank Document
    Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized PARTNERING FOR GENDER EQUALITY WORLD BANK GROUP GENDER 2017 Public Disclosure Authorized TRUST FUNDS PROGRAM REPORT This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specifically reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality ................................................................ 3 Activities in 2017 .............................................................................................. 6 Improving Human Endowments ................................................................. 7 Removing Constraints for More and Better Jobs ......................................... 9 Removing Barriers to Women’s Ownership
    [Show full text]
  • Girls in Science and Engineering Was Published in September 2003
    frontCover 4/17/07 11:49 AM Page 1 NEW FORMULAS FOR AMERICA’S WORKFORCE 2 GIRLSIN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IntroTOC_04 4/17/07 11:53 AM Page 1 IntroTOC_04 4/17/07 11:53 AM Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION • WHY THIS BOOK? CHAPTER ONE • CHANGING STEREOTYPES 01 Reaching Parents of Elementary and Middle School Girls 02 Making Teamwork Work for Women 02 Gender Segregation in Engineering and Math/Computer Science 03 Radio Series Tells the Stories About Girls and Women in Science 04 Think Again . Girls Can! 05 Challenging Gender Stereotypes With Computer-Based Social Models 05 The Image of Engineering 06 Improving Girls’ Self-Efficacy With Virtual Peers 06 Developing a New Scale to Evaluate Students’ Attitudes 07 Social Context and Gender Differences in STEM 08 Predicting What Keeps Women in STEM 08 Media Literacy Training for Middle School Students 09 CHAPTER TWO • GIRLS AND THE TECHNOLOGY GAP 11 Computer Science Computing and Mentoring Partnership 12 Can Robotics Keep Girls in Science? 12 Girls Creating Games: Increasing Middle School Girls’ Interest in Technology 13 Tech Team 14 Girls as Education Software Designers 15 Computer Programming for Middle School Girls 16 Hear Our Voices and the Computer Clubhouse 16 Girls and IT: A Promotional Video 17 Tech Savvy 18 Programming With a Purpose 19 CHAPTER THREE • FOSTERING EARLY INTEREST IN SCIENCE 21 The Case of Missing Human Potential 22 Science on Patrol 22 Girls in Science 23 Discovery Under the Hood 24 Explanatoids and Click! the Urban Adventure 24 SciGirls From DragonflyTV 25 Bringing
    [Show full text]
  • (STEM) Within Higher Education: a Regional Case Study
    Understanding why women are under-represented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) within Higher Education: a regional case study Michael Christiea*, Maureen O’Neilla, Kerry Ruttera, Graham Younga, Angeline Medlanda aUniversidade de Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Austrália *[email protected] Abstract Participation rates of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is comparatively low and their attrition rates high. An obvious solution is to attract more women to study such subjects. In 2016 the authors undertook research to find out why so few women enrolled in STEM subjects and investigate ways of increasing their recruitment and retention in this area. The informants in our study were enrolled in a tertiary preparation course as well as nursing and education programs. A critique of the literature was used to develop a survey that informed focus group and interview schedules which were used in collecting data. Our study found that many of the factors that hindered women from applying for STEM courses twenty years ago still apply today and recommends actions that can help increase recruitment of women into STEM and assist their retention and graduation in those areas of tertiary education. Keywords Diversity in STEM. Sustainability in STEM. Gender Balance. How to cite this article: Christie, M., O’Neill, M., Rutter, K., Young, G., & Medland, A. (2017). Understanding why women are under-represented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) within Higher Education: a regional case study. Production, 27(spe), e20162205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0103-6513.220516 1. Introduction Twenty years ago Hanson (1996) argued that although female students have demonstrated interest and aptitude in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), they were under represented in STEM subjects at both secondary and tertiary levels of education.
    [Show full text]
  • Girls and Women in STEM: a Review of Interventions and Lifespan Developmental Considerations for Increasing Girls’ and Women’S Participation in STEM
    Girls and Women in STEM: A Review of Interventions and Lifespan Developmental Considerations for Increasing Girls’ and Women’s Participation in STEM Kaite Yang, Ph.D. Katherine G. Awad, Marissa M. Gramaglia, Ryan J. Kelly, Sabrina E. Kopec, Nicholas J. Luzio, Katrina T. Neptune, Morgan J. Pfau, Jenna L. Purviance Stockton University This report was prepared for the U.S. Department of State, Office of Science and Technology Cooperation, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs “Who Run the World? Girls (& Women) in STEM” Diplomacy Lab project. Correspondence concerning this report can be directed to Dr. Kaite Yang, Department of Psychology, Stockton University, 101 Vera King Farris Drive, Galloway, NJ, 082015, USA, [email protected]. Research assistants for this project: Nicole Foresta, Megan Donath, students of PSYC 2201 Adolescence (William Arnold, Adilia Balderas-Perez, Aydan Barr, Randi Berry, Kyndall Brooks, Liam Camey, Emily Carbone, Andrew Castle, Kallie DeRose, Taylor Dungan, Kierre Fenderson, Shannon Frankenfield, Katherine Gomez, Margaret Jinks, Yei Kargbo, Brianna Lally, Thuy Lam, Julian Londono, Caroline McCoy, Deanna Molinaro, Brett Morrice, Adam Munsick, Bethany Nemsdale, Madison Noordeloos, Yesenia Pacheco, Sabrina Parin, Jackson Pritchett, Chantal Ramirez, Samantha Rodriguez, Andrea Tammaro, Macie Wareham, Maryn Westfall) stockton.edu 2 Girls and Women in STEM Table of Contents Girls and Women in STEM: A Review of Interventions and Lifespan Developmental Considerations for Increasing
    [Show full text]
  • HIDDEN HISTORIES: Women and Science in the Twentieth Century
    VIRTUAL CONFERENCE HIDDEN HISTORIES: Women and Science in the Twentieth Century Heidelberg & Bucharest, 7-8 & 14-15 May 2021 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Prof. Andrea Pető (Central European University) Prof. em. Mariko Ogawa (Mie University) Picture: Science Museum, London ORGANIZERS REGISTRATION Dr. Amelia Bonea & Dr. Irina Nastasă-Matei [email protected] This event was made possible by the generous support of the German Research Foundation (DFG). CONFERENCE PROGRAM Friday, May 7, 2021 10.00-10.30 Welcome Amelia Bonea & Irina Nastasă-Matei 10.30-12.00 Session 1: Laboratory cultures Chair: Amelia Bonea (University of Heidelberg) Kathryn Keeble (Deakin University) Breaking down the barriers at Cambridge in the 1930s: Reinet Maasdorp’s experience at Rutherford’s Cavendish Laboratory Susmita Mukherjee (Syamaprasad College, Kolkata) Dr. Bibha Chaudhuri (1913-1991): A star is born in the horizon Anna Horstmann (Ruhr-University Bochum) Women in the laboratory: Femininity and gender relations in the German chemical industry between 1900 and 1990 Anna Mazanik (Medical University of Vienna) Female scientists in early Soviet virology and tick-borne encephalitis research 12.00-13.00 Lunch 13.00-14.30 Session 2: Women and scientific exploration Chair: Laura Demeter (University of Bologna) Sara Albuquerque (University of Évora) & Sílvia Figueirôa (University of Campinas) Ladies on the map: The case of a manuscript of the 19th century Emilie Dotte-Sarout, India Ella Dilkes-Hall & Sylvie Brassard (University of Western Australia) Ladies in a ‘Boys Club’: Investigating women’s contributions to Pacific archaeology during the first half of the 20th century Iia A. Shuteleva (Bashkir State Pedagogical University) The first women archaeologists in Russian provincial archaeology Raphaëlle Rannou (École du Louvre) French women in Near Eastern archaeology 14.30-14.45 Break 14.45-16.15 Session 3: Gender inequality and scientific careers Chair: Irina Nastasă-Matei (University of Bucharest) Daria Bochkova (Higher School of Economics, St.
    [Show full text]
  • Women in Science and Engineering: Politics of Gender Ibironke Lawal Virginia Commonwealth University, [email protected]
    Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff ubP lications VCU Libraries 2007 Women in Science and Engineering: Politics of Gender Ibironke Lawal Virginia Commonwealth University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/libraries_pubs Part of the Engineering Commons, and the Library and Information Science Commons American Society for Engineering Education Downloaded from http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/libraries_pubs/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the VCU Libraries at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff ubP lications by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AC 2007-2250: WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING: POLITICS OF GENDER Ibironke Lawal, Virginia Commonwealth University © American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Women in Science and Engineering: Politics of Gender Abstract Because they are fewer than men in science and engineering, women are generally said to prefer arts and humanities. But to some analysts, the reason for the low percentage of women in science and engineering may be due to innate mental and psychological differences between them and men. Others contend that women have the capacity to excel in any profession and that their fewness in science and engineering can be attributed to other factors. They urge educational institutions and employers to develop programs and specific policies that would allow women to strike a better balance between the demands of work and those of family. One may then ask: was the absence of equitable programs and policies responsible for the predominance of men in certain professions in the past? Or is it a genetic difference that prevents many women from specializing in these professions? This paper examines the gender gap in science and engineering; the proposed theories that exist and the validity of the theories.
    [Show full text]