At Your WITS End-

Women In Technology & Science

Words: RUTH O'CONNOR

From both academic and industry perspectives it is the case that women are under-represented in the areas of science, engineering and technology (SET). This situation is not unique to Ireland, the issue is a global one and the reasons are manifold. Yet it remains the case that, in Ireland, women in SET are less likely to hold senior positions at universities, to hold senior management positions in industry, to remain in their jobs long-term and to be earning more than their male counterparts

The Meta-analysis of Gender and Science Research study, published in 2009 found that while the number of women in Ireland entering higher education is high and they achieve success at undergraduate level, their career advancement slows as they try to progress up to higher levels of academia due to “organisational and career barriers” – the “leaky pipe” syndrome. The report also found that the cause of women’s underrepresentation is a complex area involving structural, ideological and cultural factors as well as educational segregation and gendered choices at school level.

As a European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation and Director of Design and Creativity at NUI Maynooth , Scientist and Inventor Damini Kumar believes that this cultural bias begins at an early age. “In school I wanted to do maths, physics and art, but they clashed on the timetable so I had to do maths, physics and chemistry. This is something I am working to change,” she says. “Also when I did my first degree I was one of ten women out of 200. The attractiveness of taking up the sciences isn’t really explained to children – they don’t know it is engineers who design their Nike trainers.”

Women In Technology & Science appeared in the Summer 2010 issue of WMB.