性别偏见Stymies妇女职业在STEM中 - 联合国

[SYDNEY] While women play a critical role in science and technology, women career scientists still face gender bias, accounting for only 28 per cent of engineering graduates and 40 per cent of graduates in computer science and informatics, according to a UNESCO report.

2月11日，第六届联合国国际妇女和女子科学妇女日期，UNESCO发布了一章gendertitledTo be Smart, the Digital Revolution will Need to be Inclusivefrom its science report scheduled for publication in April.

The chapter highlighted that women are not benefitting fully from employment opportunities open to highlyeducatedand skilled experts in cutting edge fields, such as artificial intelligence. Also, women founders of start-ups struggle to access finance, and in largetechcompanies they remain underrepresented in both leadership and technical positions.

Anjana Singh, former head of the Central Department of Microbiology atTribhuvan Universityin Kathmandu, Nepal, who had to face several challenges at home and at work to reach the top post notes that women face distinct impediments during the three developmental stages when it comes to joining science, technology,engineeringand math (STEM) courses.

“In childhood and adolescence, male stereotypes about STEM, parents’ expectations of daughters focussing on household works, peer norms, traditional culture and lack of fit with personal goals make girls shy away from STEM fields. In emerging adulthood, feeling unfit in STEM classes, outnumbered by male peers and lacking female榜样make women avoid STEM majors or leave at mid-career level,” Singh tellsscidev.net。

“Evidence-based programmes and policies can remove obstacles for girls and women in the fields of STEM. We need flexible workplaces and more female role models,”

Anjana Singh, Tribhuvan University

“In early to mid-adulthood, subtle gender bias in hiring and promotion, biased evaluation of scientific work, non-inclusive department environment, finding difficulty managing work/home responsibilities, and difficulty returning after a family-related pause undermine the retention of women in STEM,” she adds.

Globally, only 33.3 per cent of researchers are women despite representing 45 and 55 per cent of students at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels of study and comprising 44 per cent of those enrolled in PhD programmes, according to theUNESCO Institute for Statistics。The ‘glass ceiling’ remains an obstacle to women’s careers in academia and the gender gap widens as women progress in their careers.

Singh, who is a member of theNepal Academy of Science and Technology，，，，which has less than 17.5 per cent female academicians, says perseverance without losing hope is the key to achieving success. “Evidence-based programmes andpoliciescan remove obstacles for girls and women in the fields of STEM. We need flexible workplaces and more female role models,” Singh tellsscidev.net。

性别stereotypes and gender-based inequalities worldwide continue to steer many girls and women away from careers in science, technology and创新。本章指出，女性研究人员往往具有较短，薪水较低的职业。他们的工作在备受瞩目的期刊中的人数不足，并且经常通过晋升。

“Even today, in the 21st century, women and girls are being sidelined in science-related fields due to their gender. Women need to know that they have a place in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and that they have a right to share in scientific progress,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a media release.

根据总部位于阿姆斯特丹的BOLDDATA的数据，只有2.9％的女性在ICT行业担任首席执行官职位，全球2.7％的制造公司由妇女领导，这一数字在建筑行业中降至1.4％，至0.005per cent in the oil and gas industry.

“Woman CEO’s bring special focus on the value of the social aspects and cultural dimensions in science, technology and innovation. No country can afford to waste the talent of half of its population. It has been demonstrated that when women contribute to研究与开发，创建的解决方案更加多样化，更具社会相关性。” Bolddata的首席执行官Daan Wolff告诉scidev.net。

这件作品由Scidev.net的亚太桌子制作。