A review of causes for the relative unequal participation of women in science, engineering and technology and initiatives

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Current literature reveals that men and women do not participate in the science, engineering andtechnology (SET) sector on equal grounds – not qualitatively (access) or qualitatively (ease ofparticipation). It is important that women have access to and actively participate in science; they makeup more than half of the world's population and gender equality enhances a country's economicgrowth and competitiveness. Furthermore, the focus should extend further than advocating for equalaccess to SET to actively promoting increased participation by women. Women bring a distinctivequality to SET precisely because of their gender. They are able to increase overall SET participationnumbers and positively contribute to the quality and agenda of science. This study used the pipelinetheory and lifecycle approach as theoretical bases to investigate the causes for unequal participationand reviewed initiatives aimed at increasing and facilitating the participation of women in SET.Identified causes include unequal access, male-dominated nature of science, tensions of reconcilingprofessional and private life, differences in recognition and reward, and lack of female representationin leadership. The primary methodology used was a documentary analysis study design, consistingprimarily of desktop literature searches and categorization. An initiative summary framework wasused to summarise and code 123 identified initiatives into an initiatives summary database. Findingswere both positive and negative. The study found that women in many cases are on equal footagewith their male counterparts and can manage a healthy work-life balance if provided with thenecessary support but many women still describe a male-dominated work environment that isexclusionary. Findings indicate that, although decreasing, there is still gender bias in recognition andreward and that female scientists underutilise financial rewards. Women in SET do not receive equalpay for equal work and there is a distinct lack of female representation in SET leadership bodies suchas academies of sciences, scientific boards and publication boards of academic journals. The most common modes of intervention are policy interventions, gender mainstreaming, advocacy and interestgroups, and provision of training and support. The majority of initiatives are aimed at bringing aboutchange at a national/policy level and are driven primarily by government and academia with academiaplaying an important middleman role - assisting and guiding government in the design and roll-out ofpolicies on the one hand and meeting the human resource needs of industry on the other. Althoughgovernment and academia have done well in driving initiatives that increase the participation ofwomen in SET at both school and tertiary level, more needs to be done by industry to drive thefacilitation of participation. There are very few initiatives addressing the retention of women in SET;this is linked to the lack of attention to returners as a specific target group. The study concludes thatthe majority of countries are succeeding in closing the participation gap in terms of access orhorizontal gender equality, but that vertical segregation (focusing on recognition, reward andadvancement), although acknowledged, remains a mostly unaddressed challenge.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University