The Hindu : New Delhi News : Level-playing field for women scientists

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Monday, Mar 10, 2008
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Level-playing field for women scientists

P. Sunderarajan

Annual research grant up to Rs. 10 lakh to Academy associates

State-of-the-art crèche facilities, residential blocks in institutions
Now only 15 per cent of the country’s scientists are women

NEW DELHI: Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal has announced a package of concessions for women scientists working in all research and academic institutions aided by his department.

It comprises flexible working hours for those with children under three, financial support for establishing state-of-the-art crèche facilities and construction of women’s residential blocks in all the institutions, and an annual research grant of up to Rs. 10 lakh for five years to all young women scientists, who are associates of the Indian National Science Academy.

Mr. Sibal was presiding over a two-day national conference, showcasing cutting-edge science and technology developed by women scientists, organised to mark the centenary year of the International Women’s Day.

He noted that though two of the three Indians who had gone to space were women, now just 15 per cent of the scientists in the country were women; only two of the over 60 autonomous institutions under the Science and Technology Ministry were headed by women and they accounted for less than five per cent of membership of various scientific academies.

“It seems to me that we have developed in science and technology a stratified system in which men are favoured with career advancements at the expense of women.”

The concessions now announced were meant to correct the situation and provide a “level-playing field” to women scientists. However, these alone would not be enough to realise gender equality in science in full. The Minister called for creating conditions to increase the number of women scientists in positions of leadership. “We must stop rewarding only one of the sexes. We must create a competitive, yet cooperative, gender-inclusive, knowledge-based society.”

Emulate Marie Curie

Inaugurating the conference, President Pratibha Patil said the life of Marie Curie should be an inspiration to women scientists. She not only won two Nobel Prizes within eight years and but was also the mother of another Nobel winner.

Ms. Patil presented the national award for women’s development through application of science and technology to Vijayalakshmi of the Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, Development Alternatives, for her work in developing low-cost, water-testing kits and water-filters for use in rural areas.

Rani Bang, founder of the Maharashtra-based NGO, Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health, received the award for providing community-based healthcare and conducting health-related research in a tribal area.

The President presented the National Women Bioscientists Award to Sangita Mukhopadhyay of the Centre of DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad; Mitali Mukherji of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi; and Sujatha Sharma of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

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