Women, Academia and Science: some facts and ideas

In general, I have interest about the issue of gender in today’s society, but I had not related it to the world of education and academia, so I’ve started to document myself. To begin with I found a couple of interesting ideas, both interrelated.

The first one is the Matilda Effect, which says the women scientists often get less credit than a comparatively male researcher, even if their work is similar.

And the second idea is what it is suggested by some very interesting statistics about women and academia, referred to STEM fields of knowledge (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics):

• Female students’ global share in higher education is 41% in natural sciences and 21% in engineering (UNESCO, 2010).

• Women’s share of doctoral degrees in engineering and science:
  • Republic of Korea         16% – 44%
  • European Union           33% (overall)
  • USA                                  21% – 31%
  • Japan                              12% – 27%

• 27% of researchers in STEM sciences are women (OCDE, 2008):
  • Argentina, 51%, has the highest proportion in the world of women researchers. Argentina is in fashion: A Pope, a Queen, a Soccer Star and Gender Friendly in Academia!
  • USA, 41%. 30% professors.
  • Europe, 34%
  • Brazil, 25%
  • Japan, 14%

• Researcher, publications and patents women ratios (Naldi et al, 2005):
  • Spain:                36%, 27% y 11%
  • Italy:                   33%, 26% y 6%
  • France:              31%, 25% y 9%
  • Sweden:            31%, 18% y 5%
  • UK:                     28%, 16% y 6%
  • Germany:          24%, 14% y 4%

And this is in Higher Education, where most of it is funded by governments, which are supposed to take care of these gender questions…

Many solutions are proposed medium term, as making STEM education friendly to women or changing policies to increase women’s share in research (Schiebinger, 2010), but I wonder if web 3.0. tools for academics may be part of the solutions, helping to balance women’s familiar and academic life.