The Hindu Business Line : Women scientists zindabad!

Women of science: President Pratibha Patil and Union Minister Kapil Sibal seen felicitating Dr Vijaylakshmi; Dr Sangita Mukhopadhyay and Dr Sujatha Sharma.

Dr Sangita Mukhopadhyay

Dr Sujatha Sharma

Deepti Priya Mehrotra

When Dr Al-Gazali, a professor in Clinical Genetics and Paediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, was recently presented a L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award in Paris, she addressed the issue of under-representation of women professionals in the field of science.

A long distance away, in India too similar concerns were voiced at a national-level conference held in Delhi. Titled ‘Showcasing Cutting-Edge Science by Indian Women Scientists’, at this conference speakers highlighted the need to nurture women scientists. In India women have less than five per cent membership in various scientific academies.

Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said only 15 per cent of scientists in India are women. “So far we have developed in science and technology a stratified system in which men are favoured with career advancements at the expense of women. We must create a competitive, yet cooperative, gender-inclusive, knowledge-based society.”

Perhaps this is easier said than done. In India, women head only two of the 60 autonomous institutions under the ministry. The two-day meet held in March — attended by around 1,000 delegates — was described by agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan as “a wake-up call for drawing the attention of policymakers, academicians and scientists to the vast untapped potential available in our country for harnessing creativity and entrepreneurship of women for shaping our scientific destiny.”

Creating equal opportunities

The conference had no dearth of suggestions and recommendations. Here is a list:

Relaxation of age limit for women candidates

Provision of crèches

Longer paternity leave and flexible maternity leave

Easier access to information on sexual harassment laws and policies

Selection, promotion and grant awarding committees should include women members

Job advertisements should state the institution is an equal opportunity employer. It should be specific that there is no bar against husband and wife working in the same institution.

Interestingly, the questionnaire distributed among conference participants elicited diverse and strong views on major pitfalls in the system, and remedial measures for improving career opportunities and working conditions. Observing there is a “leaky pipeline” in women’s careers in science, with the major leak at post-PhD levels when the roles of wives and mothers take centre-stage, participants felt that an active support system was required to prevent such leakage. Facilities for housing, crèches, day-care centres for the elderly, women’s cells at workplaces, flexi-timings, part-time jobs, and opportunities for re-entry should be provided, said the delegates.

Gender sensitisation

Gender audits should be held in every institution, indicating the number of women employed, the number of children using crèches, the number of gender sensitisation workshops held, the functioning of the women’s cells, and the outcomes of sexual harassment cases. Participants recommended a staggered approach in increasing the proportion of women in different job categories, aiming at the steady increase in women faculty at different levels, until a minimum of 30 per cent is reached in all institutions that employ scientists. All selection committees should comprise minimum 20 per cent women.

The minister also announced a package of concessions. These included flexible working hours for women with small children, funding for crèche facilities, construction of women’s residential blocks, and annual research grants up to Rs 20 lakh for five years for young women scientists. In addition, the DST also recently launched a special fellowship scheme for women scientists to enable them to continue after a break in career. It has also set up a Women Scientist Cell, which holds gender sensitisation workshops and is preparing a manual on gender issues in technology transfer. NTFWS has begun examining gender biases in science textbooks, and chronicling the life histories of successful women scientists.

Winners all

Several women scientists were honoured at the conference.

President Pratibha Patil presented the Women Bioscientists' Awards to Dr Sangita Mukhopadhyay (Centre of DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad), Dr Mitali Mukherji (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi) and Dr Sujatha Sharma (All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi).

The national award for women's development through application of science and technology went to Dr Vijaylakshmi of the Delhi-based NGO Development Alternatives, for developing low-cost water-testing kits and water filters for rural areas.

Dr Rani Bang, founder of Maharashtrabased NGO Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health, received the award for providing community-based healthcare in a tribal area.

The conference showcased the achievements of women scientists and discussed concrete measures to promote them.

Leading scientists such as Dr Chandrima Shaha of National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi; Dr Shubha Tole of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai; Dr Sulabha Kulkarni, Department of Physics, Pune University; and Dr Usha Vijayraghavan of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, made presentations.

The conference certainly succeeded in providing visibility to the work of Indian women scientists, and promoting collective strategies to counter gender discrimination in the science and technology establishment.

However, as Dr Vineeta Bal observed, "While the short-term objective of highlighting achievements of women scientists has been achieved through the event, it remains to be seen whether this will translate into acceptance by the scientific community."

Women’s Feature Service

More Stories on : Gender | Awards & Honours | Science & Technology

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Famously familiar

Hangout at Changi

Friendly gut flora

Maiden over

Women scientists zindabad!

Inside Istanbul

Exciting Philippines

RUSSIA - LAND OF THE CZARS

Discover Ladakh

Alchemy