Young women in science and technology: the importance of choice

Angeliki Dimitriadi

doi:10.1186/2192-5372-2-5

Abstract

Despite significant improvements in the last couple of years, women are still under-represented in science and technology, both in the academic and private sector. This is due to a variety of reasons, mostly related to the role allocated to women in modern society as well as pre-existing prejudices that form glass ceilings while encouraging male presence in the workplace. It is also however, a result of information or lack of, which places young women in difficult position of making a career choice, with little knowledge of available possibilities. What seems to be missing are good role models that could act as inspiration and source of information and guidance, and offer a glimpse into the reality of being a female employed in the field of science and/or technology. Parents, teachers, and career guidance counselors all have a significant role in assisting or hindering the way young women chose their career paths and that choice begins early on from school, all the way through to higher education. Choice, essentially, and factors that determine it as well - as ways of encouraging female participation in science and technology - are the focus of the present article, which is based on results from the European project Information for a choice: empowering young women through learning for scientific and technological career paths, realized under the 6th Framework Program. As this article will show, the promotion through the usage of new technologies, of role models, is crucial in breaking the existing stereotype of women in science, engineering and technology. Science is often rejected as a career choice due to limited information available and positive role models to encourage young girls in participating. Career orientation offered at school through the usage of new technologies is an important step in that direction; however, particularly in countries where the family unit is especially influential in career decisions, parents must be brought in and educated on the possibilities available. Mass media also play an important role in introducing and sustaining stereotypical images of women in particular professional roles, thus, any outreach solutions need to include them.

Highlights

The 2011 Global Gender Gap Report in its opening paragraph stated that ‘Given the complexity of the world today [...] we must commit to a new mindset, one that discards old prejudices and inertia and instead commits to new ideas and new solutions
Despite failing significantly short of what it hoped to achieve, the campaign brought once again to the foreground a fundamental question: Why do not girls participate in science engineering and technology more? The following article seeks to present the findings of the IFAC project ‘Information for a choice: empowering young women through learning for scientific and technological career paths’, which investigated the low participation of young girls in SET from high school to university level
Female participation in SET? Based on available resources, which show that women are under-represented in science and technology, the project focused on the two most significant causes for female exclusion in the field of SET: the pre-existing stereotypes that reinforce male dominance in the workplace and the lack or limited information about career paths

Summary

Introduction

The 2011 Global Gender Gap Report in its opening paragraph stated that ‘Given the complexity of the world today [...] we must commit to a new mindset, one that discards old prejudices and inertia and instead commits to new ideas and new solutions. Empowering and educating girls and women and leveraging their talent and leadership fully in the global economy, politics, and society are fundamental elements of the new models required to succeed in today's challenging landscape’. This is clearly a theme embraced by the European Union, which is already facing a significant gender gap especially in science, engineering and technology (SET). Despite the significant efforts in closing the gender gap, Europe will still need approximately one million researchers in the coming decade-(Khasan 2012) With this in mind an initiative began, spearheaded by the “Science: it’s a Girl Thing” campaigna. Beginning with a short presentation of the project, a discussion ensues on the factors identified by the project as most critical in influencing young girls’ decision-making process and to conclude with a more detailed examination of the importance of role models as mentors and inspirational influence for young women in the early stages of choosing career paths

Methods

Results

Conclusion