Biju Dharmapalan
Science has been dominated by the male gender since its origin. Even the image of a scientist is always depicted in the male gender in media. The disparity is even evident in the way our media covers the achievements of male and female scientists. In spite of this public shaming, many notable female scientists have made their mark in the history of science from 1900 BCE to the present day.
These successful few were those who fought or overcame the societal prejudices and gender stereotypes dictated by the male chauvinist society. It’s very unfortunate that even in a country like India, which has a long tradition of revering women as divine, female scientists find it difficult to find a space. While many male scientists made it to the history of Indian science, very few female scientists can be observed on the long list, and that, too, is due to the initiatives by the Government in recent times.
The premier scientific organisation CSIR, which leads 38 national institutions, had to wait more than 75 years after independence to get a female Director General till Dr N Kalaiselvi took charge in 2022. Unfortunately, ICAR, which heads 113 research institutions, hasn’t found a female Director General to date. Similar is the case with IITs, which found its first female director in 2023, and that too only in the new overseas campus IIT Zanzibar, through Prof. Preeti Aghalayam.
According to recent statistics, India has a total of 56,747 female researchers, which is 16.6 per cent of the total researchers in the country. This is very low compared to advanced countries. The Government of India has implemented women-specific schemes to provide opportunities to women scientists like the Women Scientists Scheme-A (WOS-A), Consolidation of University Research through Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities (CURIE) programme and the Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI).
Even after providing various schemes for promoting women in science, very few stick to the scientific profession in the long run. It is very unfortunate that even after having schemes and rules to protect women in the workforce, many instances of female research scholars being exploited sexually and mentally go unnoticed. There are many instances of female scholars being mentally tortured during their marriage and pregnancy period by their supervisors. Few supervisors break personal boundaries to give gendered opinions against these and make their lives hell. Many male supervisors (even a few females also) have a prejudice towards the ability of female students and their reliability. Many feel that female students will get married in between, and if they conceive, it will affect the research work. Even the celebrated scientist Sir. C V Raman had this opinion. In fact, females have an innate multitasking ability and manage their professional and personal lives better than their male counterparts. Most of the successful women scientists we see today are those who have come out of this glass ceiling.
There are thousands of unfortunate females who, in spite of their higher academic credentials and having availed fellowships and honours, are locked inside the four walls of their houses due to so-called societal pressures. In order to promote science and bring down the gender gap, we need to connect with these unfortunate groups and develop policy guidelines to support them. If this is not addressed, we may face acute-quality scientific manpower shortages in the near future, as the number of students pursuing higher education in science is higher among females.
It is at this juncture we need to appreciate the effort of National Science Academies’ (INSA, IASc and NASI) in coming out with SWATI, or Science For Women: A Technology & Innovation Portal. The Portal is a complete interactive database and the first of its kind in India, which is developed, hosted and maintained by the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi, under the leadership of leading women scientist of the country, Dr. Subhra Chakraborty, Director, NIPGR, New Delhi. The portal is open to the public, and every female researcher can join through the link https://bit.ly/JoinSWATI.
Irrespective of their position or status, every Indian woman in science can update their details in their portal. The various Sections in the portal include Icons – Awardees and Directors, Secretaries Academy Presidents; Faculty ; Research fellows- Post docs, JRFs, SRFs, technical Staff; Students-PhD Scholars, Research Interns, Graduates, Postgraduates, Undergraduates; WiS Entrepreneurs, Startups, Business and Science Administrators; STEMM background professionals in alternate careers like science journalism.
A portal of this stature can serve as a hub for networking and support among women scientists. It can facilitate connections between women in different stages of their careers, provide mentorship opportunities, and offer resources for professional development. By highlighting the accomplishments of women in science, it can help challenge gender biases and stereotypes that may still exist in the scientific community. It can demonstrate that women are equally capable and deserving of recognition in STEM fields. The database will act as a repository for future researchers and inspire young females to take up challenging roles in science.
(The author is an adjunct faculty at the National
Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore)
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