|
WITS
PRESS RELEASE - Issued: March 7th 2005 WITS was co-host of a special Women's Day breakfast forum on International Women's Day - 8th March 2005, at The Digital Hub, Thomas Street, Dublin 8. Getting the Balance Right in Irish Science For International Womens Day on March 8th, the association for Women in Technology & Science (WITS) is calling for a range of new initiatives to redress the serious imbalance in Irish science. Huge sums are now being spent on Irish scientific and technical research. But calculations by WITS reveal that men scientists receive over 90% of the funding. And with women scientists getting less than 10% of the money, Ireland, and Irish science, are losing out. To redress this imbalance, WITS is calling for minimum targets, and other initiatives such as return-to-work fellowships and childcare tax breaks. As a first step, the association welcomes the new EUR1 million Women in Science and Engineering initiative, something which WITS proposed last autumn in its report, Getting the Balance Right in Irish Science (see PDF attached). This initiative should encourage more women to stay in, and return to, careers in research, and help plug the so-called leaky pipeline. In the three years 2001-2003, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI, the agency overseeing Irish science and engineering research funding) handed out a massive EUR316 million to researchers. But only EUR30 million went to women researchers, that is less than 10% of the funds. Analysing figures published by SFI (all grants approved to January 2004, see: www.sfi.ie), WITS has calculated that the women scientists also received considerably less on average than their male counterparts: EUR1.78 million per research grant, compared to EUR2.04 million. Significantly, of the EUR30 million given to women, nearly half (EUR13.5 million) went to just one project: Dr Dolores Cahills Centre for Human Proteomics at the Royal College of Surgeons. Take that project out of the equation, and the gender imbalance gets even worse . . . women's share of the funding cake then comes to just EUR17m, less than 6% of the adjusted total (EUR302m). This is not to criticise SFI, as it is likely that few women apply for the major grants. A key problem in science is that so many women drop out of scientific research (the so-called leaky pipeline). Although girls now account for 60% of all science undergraduates in Ireland, there are only a handful of women professors in the science and engineering faculties. WITS chairperson, Dr Ena Prosser, said the situation is now so bad it is not a leak, but a haemorrhage. WITS therefore warmly welcomes the new EUR1 million Women in Science and Engineering initiative, announced recently by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Martin. The scheme, to be administered by SFI, will fund fellowships and scholarships aimed at improving the recruitment and retention of women in science, engineering and technology research. WITS, which proposed these measures last autumn, is campaigning for a junior scholarship scheme to attract young women students into engineering and, complementing this, a return-to-work fellowship scheme for researchers, which would greatly benefit women scientists who take time off research to have children. Institutional changes (for instance, at colleges) may also be needed if these schemes are to be most effective. If more young women can be recruited into science and engineering, and if more women can be persuaded to stay in research, WITS believes the benefits to Ireland will be tremendous: better research, better science and better results, and a better return on investment and improved competitiveness. According to Dr Prosser, "so many women are lost through the leaky pipeline that it is a tremendous waste of resources and investment. What we need are initiatives to make science and research much more attractive, accommodating and welcoming to women." Key to this are measures that promote flexible working, such as childcare facilities. If the government is really serious about promoting women in science, then it will introduce tax breaks for childcare costs. Crucially, WITS also calls on SFI to set minimum gender targets, and to ensure that, as a first step, at least 20% of grants go to women researchers (a doubling of the current situation), eventually rising to at least 40%. And, that at least 40% of those on its review and assessment panels are women, with at least 40% of those panels are chaired by women. After all, if Brian Kerr were to select the Irish soccer team and only look at half the available talent, there would be uproar. But somehow, when it comes to women, this situation is tolerated. And if men continue to chair most of the panels in science and research, then the status quo will never change. Hence, WITS welcomes the recent commitment, by Minister of State for Equality, Frank Fahey, to increase the number of women on State Boards, and the recent appointments of Angela Kennedy, CEO of Megazyme, to the chair of Bord Bia, of Brigid McManus, as secretary-general at the Department of Education & Science, and of Prof Jane Grimson to chair the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology (IRCSET). The council oversees strategic funding in research infrastructure and training, under the auspices of the Department of Education and Science. Prof Grimson is Vice-Provost of Trinity College Dublin, a member of the European Research Advisory Board, and a former president of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland. Happily, there is no shortage of other expert women who could be appointed to State boards: the WITS Talent Bank, published in November (see here), profiles over 150 women experts willing to serve on state board and authorities in the science, engineering and technology (SET) sectors. Return-to-work fellowships and childcare tax breaks were among the measures identified by a high-level think tank convened by WITS last year (See Getting the Balance Right in Irish Science, PDF version attached). Senior scientists, policymakers, politicians and other stakeholders contributed to the think tank. It was prompted by a major UK government initiative, SET Fair, which led to several new and innovative measures there aimed at increasing the numbers of women in SET careers. A co-author of the British study, Dr Gill Samuels CBE (executive director of science policy at Pfizers Global Research Laboratories, England, and keynote speaker at the WITS think tank), has welcomed the new Irish EUR1 million fellowship initiative. This is an excellent first step. But, as the British experience shows, more is needed if we are to plug that leaky pipeline. Dr Samuels added that the UK agencies consider the WITS Talent Bank a particularly impressive publication, serving as not just a resource for government, but also reminding all what a very talented bunch of women there are around. Inspirational in short. WITS chairperson Dr Prosser said: We need these interventions, and we need them urgently. Otherwise, it will take forever to change the system. We appreciate there are difficulties involved, and that there is no single answer. This is why we are proposing a portfolio of approaches. And now is the time to do something, with so much money going into Irish science. The association also warmly acknowledges the support and leadership of SFI director, Dr Bill Harris, and of Mr Ned Costelloe, director of the Office of Science & Technology at the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment. Ends | ||
Home| About Us | Projects| News | Newsletter| Members | E-Mail : wits@iol.ie
| ||