Mapping the Maze: Getting More Women to the Top in Research: This is a report by the European Commission's expert group on Women in Research Decision Making. It identifies and describes nomination and appointment procedures, obstacles and funding limitations that women have to overcome in order to achieve top academic and research positions. It also reviews the procedures of evaluating and promoting researchers to senior positions. Featured are examples of good practice at national and institutional levels.
Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering-An Executive Summary: This report is highly recommended! It explains that eliminating gender bias in academia requires immediate overarching reform. The recommended actions will help to improve workplace environments for all employees. The book has been authored by the Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and
Women in Science- the Missing Links: Are women destined to be scientists? They are holding more and more positions in laboratories and universities. But even if the proportion of women participating in science increases, they are still far from playing on an even field with their male colleagues. These collections of the articles taken from the UNESCO Courier looks at some of the challenges facing women scientists and ways to redress them.
International Foundation for Science (IFS)
is an NGO (Non-governmental organisation) founded in 1972. Its Mission is to contribute towards strengthening the capacity of developing countries to conduct relevant and high quality research on the sustainable management of biological processes, as well as relevant social and economic aspects, important in the conservation, production and renewable utilisation of the natural resources base. IFS supports young developing country scientists who have the potential for becoming the future research leaders and lead scientists in their nations.Does Bias in Science Hold Back Women?: This is an article by Cecily Cannan Selby in which she argues that how individual scientists define "good" science can influence their evaluation of others. Evaluation of candidates not fitting their scientific stereotype can suffer. In the article, she quotes Nancy Hopkins 20001 MIT Women Faculty report, "It all comes down to prejudice and discrimination in the evaluation of talent", and argues that there can be scientific, as well as gender, bias and prejudice influencing evaluation of talent. The article was published by FASEB (Federation of Societies of Experimental Biology) Journal, Volume 20, July 2006.
InterAcademy Council Report: Women for Science: Realizing that the low representation of women in science and engineering is a major hindrance to global capacity building in science and technology, the InterAcademy Council formed an Advisory Panel on Women for science with the mandate to review previous studies, provide examples of effective projects already implemented, and issue a set of actionable recommendations addressed particularly to the world’s science and engineering academies. The recommendations and action items developed through the work of this Panel are presented in this report.
MentorNet: According to Carol B Muller, the Founder of MentorNet, "Until women are fully represented in the fields of science and engineering, society is losing out on the talents of a vast number of potential contributors. Academic institutions are losing out. Corporations are losing out. Individuals are losing out. We all lose out."
MentorNet is a non-profit e-mentoring network that addresses the retention and success of staff in engineering, science and mathematics, particularly, but not exclusively, women and other underrepresented groups. Also offered is MentorNet News, a free monthly electronic newsletter.
Systers: An informal organization for technical women in computing. Founded in 1987 by Anita Borg who also wrote an article justifying why it's a female-only network (Why Systers?), Systers now has over 2,800 members across 53 countries (as at September 2005), and is affiliated to the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology. The twin mission of the Institute: to increase the impact of women on all aspects of technology and to increase the positive impact of technology on the world's women.
Association of Women Engineers, Technicians and Scientists in Uganda (WETSU): WETSU's mission is to promote girls and women's participation in engineering, scientific and technological education and work so as to enhance development and uplift the status of women.
4,000 Years of Women in Science: "How long have women been active scientists? Actually, how long have people been active in science? The answer is the same for both women and men — as long as we have been human." For a full perspective on women in science from ancient times to present ,visit this site, maintained by retired scientist, Dr Sethane Horward. See also a series of March 2005 newsletters from Tolerance.org entitled Women, Science, Harvard and History, as well as Women in Science: 5,000 Years of Obstacles and Achievements, a paper by Patsy Ann Giese.
Arab Network for Women in Science and Technology: A network for Arab women scientists was launched in Bahrain in February 2005 to promote gender equality in science in the Arab world.
Society of Japanese Women Scientists: Formed to encourage mutual support and friendship among Japanese women scientists, facilitate the exchange of knowledge in various fields of academic research and promote world peace.
Lawrence Summers on Women in Science: In mid-January 2005, Lawrence Summers, President of Harvard University (USA), made a speech where he suggested that innate differences in sex may explain why fewer women succeed in science and maths careers. To read more on the debate sparked by his remarks, including Summers' verbatim transcript, Harvard's response and the University's subsequent Task Force Reports on women and science, visit this WISELI site (Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute, University of Wisconisn, USA). Also highly recommended is a Washington Post article by Jennifer Frey entitled A Woman's Place is in the Cosmos. The 17th March 2005 article profiles Vera Lewin and her remarkable family which has nurtured three consecutive generations of women scientists in different fields.
L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science: This joint partnership was created in 1998 to help bridge the gender gap in science. Every year, five regional awards are given to internationally recognize exceptional contributions by women to science and technology. There are also 15 annual fellowships for women in science.
South African Reference Group on Women in Science and Technology: SARG aims to achieve greater equality between men and women by bringing a gender equality perspective into everyday policymaking, and by complementing the more traditional approaches of promoting gender equality, such as legislation and positive action. According to SARG, the contribution of outstanding women in scientific research has not been fully recognised, resulting in inequity and a lack of prominent women scientists as role models. To counter this problem, South Africa's Department of Science and Technology has created various types of recognition awards to celebrate "Women in Science".
Science and Society in Europe: "In most European countries, the numbers of female graduates are proportionately higher than those of male graduates. However, the scientific labor market remains male-dominated. Women face obstacles to their scientific work simply because they are women, and as a result, are under-represented in the sciences and in the decision-making bodies concerned with scientific issues. Achieving equal and full participation of women in all scientific disciplines and at all levels will enhance diversity, and promote further progress and excellence in European science. Achieving such a real and lasting change will go beyond women currently working in science, or aspiring to work in science, to help create a more inclusive European scientific research area, for the benefit of the economy and society as a whole." At this website, you will also find links to European networks for women in science, as well as the European Commission's work on mainstreaming gender in science. The website is accessible in several European languages.
International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) website is on issues relating to women and gender in fisheries, focusing on the roles of women and gender relations in fisheries. Issues discussed include: what developments have negative effects on women of fishing communities? What initiative have communities and policymakers taken to ensure a sustainable, equitable and gender-just form of fisheries development?
International Women in Science and Engineering (IWISE): Decidated to enhancing the education, status and opportunities of professional women scientists from developing countries and countries in transition.
International Network for Women Engineers and Scientists (INWISE): INWISE is a global network of organizations of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), reaching over 40 countries worldwide.
Women in Technology International (WITI): Dedicated to advancing women in technology and encouraging young women to choose careers in science and technology.
Women in Science and Engineering (WISE): An innovative program that brings together talented women and encourages and supports their studies in the sciences.
Women Engineering Society (WES): WES helps women engineers to meet and exchange ideas on common interests, training and employment
Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN): A global network of professional women engaged in agricultural and natural resource management who are committed to organizational change for gender equality and environmentally sustainable development.
Women in Science Enquiry Network (WISNET): Established to increase women's participation in the sciences and to link people in different branches of science and those working towards a more participatory and socially useful science.
Association for Women in Science (AWIS): AWIS is a non-profit professional society dedicated to achieving equity and full participation for women in all areas of science and technology. In recent years, the Association has grown to meet international challenges, serving as a worldwide resource and global network for women in science, including e-mentoring. This site also features a good list of funding sources, networking possibilities and links.
Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Technology and Trades (CCWETT): A national coalition of groups that aims to promote women in science, engineering, trades and technology, celebrate their contributiion and apply new vision to thses fields.
The Center for Women and Information Technology: The Center for Women and Information Technology established at the University of Maryland, USA, seeks to address and rectify women's under-representation in IT and to enhance understanding of the relationship between gender and IT. This site offers a collection of news articles about women and IT, curricular resources (web-based syllabi, web projects, and other online materials), and links to gender-related sites and sites focusing on women or girls and IT.
Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE): CWSE of the National Research Council serves as a national focus to advocate action for increasing the participation of women in the science and engineering workforce. CWSE also acts as an informational resource to improve understanding of the issues that affect the number of women who pursue careers in science and engineering. The site provides information on their current projects, publications, symposia on careers of women in science, and related Web links.
The Gender, Science and Technology (GST) Gateway: The Gateway is a portal to resources,organizations and programming around the Gender dimensions of Science and Technology for social development and policy. It is a website of the Gender Advisory Board, UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development, and is meant to promote understanding of these issues and serve as a knowledge map on research, programming, policy, and resources for policy makers, NGOs, agencies, and development agents. The Gateway is hosted by women in Global Science and Technology (WIGSAT) and made possible with funding from The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Global Alliance for Diversifying the Science and Engineering Workforce: The Global Alliance is committed to increasing the participation of women in the SMET (science, mathematics, engineering and technology) workforce worldwide and supporting other diverse groups including: ethnicity, age, discipline, languages, and cultures. Its primary objectives are twofold: (a) to establish worldwide collaborations with higher education institutions, corporations and government, and (b) to facilitate the development of long-term, sustainable infrastructures in science and engineering for a diversified workforce.
Hard Times for Women on the Science Ladder: The European Technology Assessment Network (ETA) produced a report on behalf of the European Commission (2001) that presents an up-to-date analysis of the issues facing women in science. The results show an alarming drop out rate of women scientists and a high degree of discrimination.
Gender Equity in Science and Technology: Does it Matter? See Geoffrey Oldham's Keynote Presentation to the Conference on Gender, Science and Technology, Montevideo, Uruguay, October 26, 2000.
The National Council for Research on Women is a USA-based oganization working on collaborative research; expanding natioanl and international networks; and building stronger links between research, policy, action and the media. The council published a report entitled, Balancing the Equation: Where the Women and Girls are in Science, Engineering and Technology, which analyzes the barriers to women's and girl's full participation in the sciences and highlights programs and policies that can overcome these obstacles.
Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS) is an independent, non-profit and non-governmental body based at the offices of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in Trieste, Italy. TWOWs offers a fellowship program for female students from sub-Saharan Africa and Least Developed Countries who wish to pursue postgraduate training leading to a PhD at centers of excellence in developing countries outside their own.
UNESCO/GAB Toolkit on Gender Indicators in Engineering, Science and Technology: The purpose of this Toolkit is to promote the collection of gender disaggregated data in scientific and technological activities for national and international policy. At the same time it is intended to promote a common approach and coordinated methods to ensure the systematic collection of gender-disaggregated data on science and technology. A clearer understanding of the national and international patterns of women's participation in scientific and technological activities and the potential role they can play should convince policy-makers of the value of mobilizing the contributions women can make to national development.
Women in Global Science and Technology (WIGSAT): This site provides a great list of resources on the topic of science and technology, such as The Leaky Pipeline: Gender Barriers in Science, Engineering and Technology, which was presented as part of the World Bank Gender and the Digital Divide Series, February 5, 2002.
Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering: This report is the tenth in a series of USA Congressionally-mandated biennial reports on the status of women and minorities in science and engineering. It documents both short- and long-term trends in the participation of women, persons with disabilities, and minorities in science and engineering education and employment.
South African Women in Science and Engineering (SAWISE): SAWISE aims to strengthen the role of women in science and engineering by raising the profile of women scientists, engineers and other related fields. The site also has information on a scholarship program for women in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Regional Secretariat for Gender Equity in Science and Technology (RESGEST): The objectives of RESGEST are to enhance the status and role of women, both as agents and beneficiaries in the development of S&T and their application to social and economic development and promote studies on their differential impact on women and men in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region, in line with program of transformation action recommended by UNCSTD in 1995. RESGEST is a Secretariat of the Gender Advisory Board of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development, and hosted by UNESCO Jakarta.
Women's Gains in Science at MIT: An interesting report by Nancy Hopkins on faculty diversity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Schools of Science and Engineering says universities step up their efforts to improve women's status in academe only in response to specific initiatives such as equity-in-hiring legislation or targeted campaigns by university administrators
UK Resource Centre for Women in SET: The Centre was established in 2004 to deliver a substantial part of the Government's strategy for women in SET (2003).The aim of the UKRC is to increase the participation and position of women in science and technology. Its mission is to establish a dynamic centre that provides accessible, high quality information and advisory services to industry, academia, professional institutes, education and Research Councils within SET and built environment professions, whilst supporting women entering, returning and progressing in SET careers.
WiTEC: European Association for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET). WiTEC aims to: increase the number of girls and women studying SET subjects and to help them progress to related careers; develop women's technical and entrepreneurial skills through training initiatives and projects; create information exchanges and networking opportunities for women in SET; promote and support research into areas relating to women in SET; support initiatives to promote the EU Gender Mainstreaming Policy; and promote regional, national and international awareness and interest in this field.
