Information Of Interest International "Tomorrow's Children" - Partnership School And Education

"Governments, industry and research funders around the world want to increase the numbers of women in science. The relatively recent recognition of the economic value of not squandering half of our scientific potential is the modern face of a gross roots campaign many decades old.

Despite many years of increased representation of women amongst science graduates, this has, remarkably, failed to translate into their presence at senior levels within academia, science institutions and science policy-making bodies.

In the year 1999 many widely respected scientific institutions around the world find that the percentage of their female staff remains, stubbornly, in single figures. With growing evidence of both real and unconscious discrimination against female researchers, and against a backdrop of increasing political and even legal activity, a web debate on the issue ran from 9th of September to 14th of October 1999.

The debate was led by six senior international figures within the arena of women in science. Questions raised by contributors in the first weeks of the debate were: Why are there so few? Is discrimination real or imagined? How important is the conflict between family and a research career? Are women-only positions the answer?

We also released a special web-feature bringing together our reports and articles on the subject of women in science from the past two years onto an open access site; http://www.nature.com/cgi-bin/wbsp-index.cgi"def=37c03951.def.

Natasha Loder, Web editor, Nature Nancy Lane, Moderator; University of Cambridge.

FROM THE DEBATE

'Each generation of young women, including those who are currently senior faculty, began by believing that gender discrimination was [ll]solved[gg] in the previous generation and would not touch them.'

'Gradually, however, their eyes were opened to the realization that the playing field is not level after all, and that they had paid a high price both personally and professionally as a result.'- Mary-Lou Pardu, Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

'At the end of the 20th century women remain a minority in the scientific disciplines. We have waited for women to trickle up through the system for at least a decade and we seem to be no closer to equality.' - Nancy J. Lane, cell biologist at Cambridge University and Director of the University's new Initiative for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology.

'The promotion of women in science is of crucial importance for European society as a whole. By [ll]letting women in[gg], the scientific system can only improve and better respond to societal needs.' Nicole Dewandre, head of Women in Science sector of DGX11 within the European Commission. Read the debate at: http:// helix.nature.com/debates/"

EDITORS NOTE: As recent research by women professors at MIT documents it is pervasive carefully concealed discrimination by male professors collaborating that has the cumulative effect of "keeping women out" to protect male supremacy. See WIN NEWS 25-3. summer 1999: p.78-79 *M.I.T. finally admits Discrimination against female professors"