In the classroom, girls do as well as boys if not better in science, yet there exists a skewed gender ratio in research centres. In an attempt to ensure that there are more women in science, all institutes must conduct a gender audit, said Rohini Godbole, Honorary Professor, Centre for High Energy Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
She was speaking at the third Mrs. Lakshmi Nizamuddin Memorial Lecture at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) on ‘Women in Science: Indian scene and the way forward’.
She suggested that all institutes give information on the fraction or distribution of women in their faculty as well as students on their websites. They should work towards increasing the number of women. “The goals need to be specific to sectors and discipline,” said Prof. Godbole.
She pointed out that while the presence of female students in schools and colleges is high, the participation of women in research in science and in senior positions in academics is low. Many of the major science institutions have never had a woman at the helm.
While a large fraction of women perceive family responsibilities as the major reason for not continuing in science, many argued for the need to address organisation factors such as lack of women-friendly policies at the workplace. “Giving more awards and recognising more women will help enthuse them, and also be important for forming general perceptions of work in society,” she said.