#WomenInScience
Feriste, Rosa, Sana speak a common language – mathematics. Along with them, Anna-Maria who speaks the ‘language of technology’.
They all look up to a large number of women who changed the history of their lives, the history of science and left their mark in the history of gender equality. Women who have not followed a relatively prescribed path -one that was socially enforced- but their talent and what they loved. And what they loved was nothing else but science.
The relationship between women and science is a subject studied in detail and that is because, as the statistics show, the field of science is distinguished by the inequality between the two sexes. This gap is observed in all countries regardless of language, economic prosperity, history. Of particular interest is the proportion of women in scientific research, which is only 30% worldwide **.
Science is defined globally by the acronym STEM* (English)
and it is used for the fields mentioned in natural sciences, technology,
engineering and mathematics.
According to data for 2018, Europe as a whole has high rates on the index that shows the gender gap (Gender Gap Index) as far as Science is concerned. The index excludes the Nordic countries and Iceland, while the rest of the continent depicts large deviations on the index from country to country. Greece, Malta and Cyprus are the three countries with the highest index rate which is greater than 30%**.
Numbers can still change, and the data can be challenged, by having more women make the choice to study and follow a professional career that interest them, freely, without being subject to social norms.
This was achieved by four women and through their individual stories the relationship between women and the field of science is highlighted as well as the necessary persistence of all and any woman who dreams of working and succeeding in the field of science.
Feriste from Afghanistan, Rosa and Anna-Maria from Greece and
Sana from Pakistan speak of their experiences in science,
for equality and for their dreams.
Feriste: “Math on the surface is all about numbers, but when you go deeper, you have to use your imagination. You have to keep in mind a 3-D image to understand it. But in order to be able to see it, you need to have a strong imagination“.
Rosa: “I haven’t finished my studies yet. I will go on and continue and I will be a living proof that women can do just as well as men, if not better, in the field of science as well“.
Sana: “Mathematics is my love. They say mathematics needs imagination. Mathematics is a real fantasy game. It’s real. People think that unknown x doesn’t exist, but it’s always there and you need to be open-minded in order to see it“.
Anna-Maria: “Things are tough out there, especially when you are a woman and your wish is to do something “different,” but I truly believe that we can finally change this. I shall also be one of the women that will not quit her dreams due to the anachronistic perceptions”.
On March 8th 2018, on another continent, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Lauren Moseley, who has approximately the same age as Rosa, Sana and Feriste, a PhD student at Columbia University in the United States, gave an interview as a member of the Board of Directors of the Association “Women in Science” at Columbia University with the aim of highlighting the success of women in the field of science.
Lauren answers the question, why is it important to have gender equality in STEM and her response is embraced by all four women:
“Quite simply, the diversity of critical thought leads to better results and better science. The equal integration of all sexes in STEM ultimately benefits society. The inclusion of unrepresented sexes creates a more comfortable learning and working environments for those who are currently in the field of STEM”.
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* STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics
**Sources:
The Global Gender Gap Report 2018, World Economic Forum
UNESCO, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Fact Sheet No51, June 2018, Women in Science