This presentation will report on progress in a project, funded by the International Council of Science, which aims to measure and reduce the persistent gender gap in the mathematical, computing and natural sciences in higher education, research and industry contexts. Although there is a long and distinguished tradition of participation by women in these fields, the proportion of female mathematicians and scientists in most countries remains low. The project is led by the International Mathematical Union and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in collaboration with UNESCO and eight other international scientific unions and organizations. It is collecting evidence on the experiences of female and male mathematicians and scientists in different countries and cultures around the world, documenting barriers to women’s education, employment, and academic career progression, and disseminating examples of policies and practices that help reduce the gender gap.
The project consists of three tasks. Task 1 comprises a global questionnaire survey comparing the experiences of female and male scientists and mathematicians working in academic and industrial settings. It will be based on a global survey of physicists conducted in 2010 by the American Institute of Physics and International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. The new survey will be offered in eight languages, and it is hoped that it will reach 45,000 respondents in more than 130 countries.
Task 2 is a study of publication patterns of male and female mathematicians and scientists using metadata sources. Like Task 1, Task 2 is based on a previous study of publication patterns in mathematics. It aims to reveal any gender-based trends in journal quality, collaboration through co-authorship, research activity over time, and distribution of publications across specialisation fields. This study will analyse metadata sources corresponding to publications of more than 500,000 scientists and mathematicians since 1970.
Task 3 involves developing a database of good practices with evidence of effectiveness in reducing the gender gap between females and males in mathematics and science. It aims not only to gather and make available information and resources, but also to generate evidence about the effectiveness of identified practices across different countries, educational levels, and scientific disciplines.
The presentation will provide opportunities for discussion and exchange of information and experience between mathematicians, scientists, and social scientists working in gender and science. It will also offer a forum for considering how the outcomes of the Gender Gap project might inform gender equality policy and practice in higher education.