Pooran Wynarczyk describes new initiatives

Women make up around half of the population in the UK. Ethic minorities account for some 7.9 per cent (4.6 million people in 2005, up from one million three decades ago). However, participation of both groups in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) education and employment remains low compared with their white male counterparts.(1)

Concerns about the under-representation of women in SET have been expressed by researchers, policy makers and practitioners since the seventies. However, it is only recently that the government has recognised that ethnic minorities are also under¬represented in the scientific workforce and has begun to show some commitment to tackle this problem.

Ongoing initiatives

As a key part of the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) Science in Society Programme, for example, the government has developed an initiative to enable schools with a high proportion of Afro-Caribbean and Bangladeshi/Pakistani pupils (the most under-represented groups) to bid for funding to be used for extra-curricular science learning activities. The government has set aside a total of £1.5 million for the next three years for this programme, which will be managed by SETNET. To date, some 38 schools around the UK have been awarded almost £900,000 to set up their own projects.

The UK Resource Centre for Women in SET was launched in September 2004. This DTI-funded body aims to provide practical support to encourage more women to take up a career in SET, including those with a career break.

New developments

A recent publication reveals that research, policy and practice generally tend to focus on SET occupations.(1) The roles performed by women in these occupations are left largely to conjecture. There is also a particular paucity of research, data and information on the parts SET women play in the public and private industries and organisations outside of the educational sector.(2) Women may, therefore, be behind the creation of a much greater number of scientific activities and discoveries than given credit for.

Considering this, the Small Enterprise Research Unit (SERU) at Newcastle University is in the process of establishing an International Research Forum on Gender and Ethnicity Issues in SET. The Forum will aim to develop and undertake more detailed and rigorous collaborative action and policy research at international levels in this field. We anticipate that the Forum will enable the identification of good practices and will facilitate their exchange amongst countries and regions.

New platform for women

Data also show significant regional differences in the level of participation of women in SET in the UK.(3) The opportunities for participation in scientific activities depend on the country and the region in which one is located, and sadly these opportunities appear to be particularly low for women in regions with low research and development (R&D) intensity and scientific activities, such as the North East of England.

In order to encourage greater participation of women in science in this region, an Economic and Social Research Council Impact Grant has provided funding for SERU/Newcastle University to establish the North East of England Role Model Platform for Innovative Women, which began last month. The platform will focus on promoting scientific activities and discoveries amongst women and girls in the North East, to aid their entry and career progression beyond the ‘glass ceiling’ in scientific fields. 

The initiative will include the creation of a web-based directory of local female role models, and the establishment of a platform for women scientists and innovators upon which successful local women role models can act as mentors and coaches.

A comprehensive package of workshops will be designed; including a virtual directory of role models, presentations by role models, and analysis of their experiences in R&D and innovation. Career progression, confidence building and solutions to personal and professional barriers will feature, as will a practical introduction to intellectual property rights issues such as patent searching and design, and subsequent ‘ownership’.

The platform will also investigate the unique challenges of developing a business for a new product, flexibility in the workplace, creative thinking and leadership, skills and training needs, and sources of innovation funding. The workshops will include sessions on major EU, UK and regional SET and innovation-related initiatives, bursaries, and awards.

Women, and members of ethnic minorities, remain the most obvious and untapped pool of human resources in science and technology in the UK. Achieving full and equal participation in all scientific disciplines, and at all levels, will enhance diversity, promote further progress and excellence, and will help to overcome the shortage of highly-skilled labour that the UK currently faces.

References

1. P. Wynarczyk (2006), An international investigation into ‘gender inequality’ in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Guest Editor, Equal Opportunities International, vol. 25,   no.8, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bradford, England
2. P. Wynarczyk (2006), Gender Gap in the Scientific Labour Market, a report for the ESRC Science in Society Programme, SERU, Newcastle University, UK
3. Office of National Statistics (2006), Labour Force Survey, Spring 2006 

Professor Pooran Wynarczyk holds the Personal Chair of Small Enterprise Research and is the founder and Director of the Small Enterprise Research Unit (SERU) at Newcastle University. Her research on ‘gender and ethnicity issues in SET’ is funded by the ESRC Science in Society Programme and the Higher Education European Social Fund (HE ESF) National Programme.