The gender revolution in science and technology.

• Author: Etzkowitz, Henry

The confluence between the gender and information technology (IT) revolutions has the potential to create a new development paradigm. The transition from an industrial to a knowledge society opens up new opportunities for women in the emerging technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship (TIE)fields that avoid some of the negative consequences of academic science. The spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries empowers women by upgrading skills, enhancing employment opportunities, creating income for reinvestment and political strength. This article addresses the consequences of gender inequalities in depressing the contribution of women and the growing opportunities for them to use technology in order to take economic and social advancement into their own hands.

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The gender revolution in science and technology (S&T) is uneven but not stalled.(1) It moves in fits and starts in a positive direction, with exceptions such as the downward trend in computer science education. (2) In a broad range of disciplines, women in both the developed and advanced developing worlds (e.g., Brazil, Chile, Argentina and South Africa) are moving to parity in access to higher education in S&,T. Recently, women have attained top leadership positions in science and technology at major universities (including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton University, Cambridge University, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich and Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenberg), suggesting a gender breakthrough. (3)

The gender digital divide is also waning, with women's access to computers and mobile telephony increasing across the globe. The $100 laptop from MIT's Media Lab has been outdone by India's $35 model, putting computing technology within reach of even more people. Access to technology in Indian villages has allowed women to improve their economic condition, advance politically and broaden S&T participation for future generations. The fictional female hacker in Steig Larsson's The Girl Who Played with Fire may portend a real life trend. (4) Indeed, with boys falling behind girls in a variety of academic fields in developed countries, we may expect calls for reverse affirmative action. (5)

Despite progress, the steady increase in participation of women in science is marred by the tendency of fields to lower in status as women achieve equality of representation, and by continued resistance to women reaching positions of authority. Thus, while "[g]ender equality in Brazilian science is increasing up to doctoral level...few women hold senior scientific posts," the last frontier of gender inequality. (6)

Most men, and some women, deny that exclusionary factors exist. Thus, women in science bear a triple burden:

* The contradiction between the norms and practice of science and the organizational environment in which science is practiced;

* Domestic responsibilities, which fall disproportionately on women; and

* Lack of social capital (i.e., the relative exclusion from strong networks and the feeling of being outsiders in the field of science) and over-reliance on human capital. (7)

As the gender revolution evolves, new vistas appear in the transition from an industrial to a knowledge-based society, bringing increased opportunities for women in the emerging technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship (TIE) fields. TIE provides an alternative path that enables women to avoid some of the negative social and psychological consequences of academic science's gendered structures.

In this article we address the consequences of gender inequalities in depressing the contribution of women and the growing opportunities for them to use technology in order to take economic and social advancement into their own hands, mostly exemplified through studies from India.

SURPLUS ANXIETY FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

Women scientists have believed the scientific community's philosophy that, as scientists, their work will be judged on merit alone. The theoretical framework of the scientific enterprise could not afford to base the "acceptance or rejection of [scientific] claims.... on the personal or social attributes of their protagonists: his race, nationality, religion, class and personal qualities are as such irrelevant." (8) Reflective of the era, Merton referred to scientists as "he" and "him." In an unanswered letter, historian of science Helene Metzger wrote to Emile Meyerson, her senior contemporary in 1933, demanding to be accepted as a professional equal: "In the Republic of minds, we are all equal and you must prove that reason is on your side, not impose it by force or by intimidation." (9)

Surplus repression can be defined as "the restrictions necessitated by social domination. This is distinguished from (basic) repression: the 'modifications' of the instincts necessary for the perpetuation of the human race in civilization." (10) Surplus repression and anxiety reinforce each other, depressing the advancement of women in academic science. Women scientists face role overload and social capital depletion above and beyond the normal stressors of a scientific career. This produces a surplus of anxiety, requiring expenditure of personal and psychic resources that exceeds the effort normally required to compete in a demanding profession .(11) The anxiety induced by gendered structures inevitably demands psychic energy, thus making unnecessarily difficult the production of good science that might otherwise occur in a less stressful environment. Though some stress is inevitable and even productive--the so-called creative tension of the best scientific workplaces--too little, and especially too much stress, is counterproductive. (12)

Women's experiences in scientific academia in the United States are often fraught with concerns about not being taken seriously, exclusionary social dynamics, dependence on hostile colleagues or seniors, pressure to emulate the male model of doing science, and the requirement to fulfill the role of the token woman on committees. Women are also expected to act as role models for students and to maintain silence about gender disparities. These experiences impede interpersonal connections and obstruct women's ability to fulfill their potential, no matter how gifted they are. The Athena Unbound study shows how marginalization, rejection and diminishment produce an anticipatory state of vigilance, compelling women to work harder to prove themselves. (13)

All anxiety is fear-based, including anticipatory anxiety. Women and men flourish best in those institutions where inclusion and recognition--I am seen, I am heard, I am known--is the ethos from the top down, or those labs or firms where the environment is collaborative and inclusionary. In the absence of a constructive environment, women's networks and support groups may partially replace the interpersonal interactions lacking in the broader organizational structure. Nevertheless, such groups cannot fully mitigate the corrosive quality of diminishment and dismissal. The question is, can these networks create social change from the bottom up without top-down organizational change? Although the individual is experiencing the anxiety, it is the interpersonal matrix that produces it. Take away the environmental stressors, and anxiety decreases.

USING IT TO WOMEN SCIENTISTS' ADVANTAGE

Women academic scientists use information technology (IT) to overcome isolation, patriarchal organizational structures, lack of mobility and other constraints that hinder professional advancement. (14) The use of information and communication technology (ICW)--particularly the Internet--has the potential to limit the negative consequences that arise from these constraints.

ICT plays a significant role in the professional and personal lives of female academic scientists in India by helping them sidestep barriers related to limited travel and social interaction. Women can use the Internet to gather information for project proposals without moving around to do so. The Internet also facilitates participation in foreign conferences and workshops through direct contact with the organizers. Moreover, the Internet enables women scientists to transcend distance in their personal communications and maintain regular contact with their kith and kin while traveling, thus allowing them to fulfill traditional obligations. In Kerala, India, for example, the Internet and the presence of home computers have helped trigger a process of circumventing traditional gender roles that restrict interactional opportunities because of the need for women to fulfill domestic household obligations and, in some cultures, the taboo associated with inter-gender contact, (15)

In parts of Ghana, Kenya and India, however, the Internet has not improved women's productivity. (16) Men tend to be more successful with regard to scientific publications owing at least in part to their educational and travel experiences in foreign countries. Thus, the internet, "while helping to circumvent the inter national isolation of female researchers, has not yet improved the size of their external networks." (17)

Although technology cannot resolve gender inequities arising at the organizational level or alter patrifocal norms, it helps women overcome constraints that are typically greater in developing countries, thereby ensuring a more level playing field for women to compete with men.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR INCLUSION

In Western countries, periods of shortfall in the supply of scientific personnel have prompted governments to enhance women's participation in the field. Affirmative action was expected to achieve critical mass in U.S. academic science through substantial participation of women and minorities .(28) However, given subtle biases and exclusionary practices, supply-side approaches are insufficient.

Wider organizational and...