卧室文财神爷摆放位置:women's role in science and technology

Strategies For Change For Women in Science & Technology.

Viatovia Kazmaja

ABSTRACT

A woman has potential input in a family, society and nation. To start with the home, a
mother's role is very important and demanding. The attitude of the future citizens of the
nation depends upon the upbringing of the mother.

An uneducated, undeveloped mother doesn't realize the importance of the education or
development of her children. Women should be educated and allowed to be included in
decision making. But there are many barriers which interfere with women's
development. Male managers, if not sensitized, can also become a hindrance in
promoting a woman in decision making. Parents and husbands can also be obstacles for
the female promotion into society. Finally, government policies can hinder the
development of women if those policies are not implemented or monitored.

This paper discusses how these barriers can be overcome by developing strategies to
create a more inviting climate for women in society. It also illustrates a few female role
models who proved that they are capable to be leaders and scientists in society.

- Planning strategies
- Improving women's status
- Developing role models

1. ERRONEOUS IMPRESSIONS OF WOMEN

To start with, it should be realized why there is low participation of women in science
and technology. One of the major problems is that women have an erroneous impression
that science and mathematics are difficult subjects and they are only for men whom they
regard as intellectuals. The girls lack concentration, confidence and interest. They are
lazy in doing assignments and practical because they are easily discouraged and not as
inquisitive as boys. The table attached on women's enrollment as a percentage of total
enrollment shows the imbalances of the participation of women in the Tanzania
education system. Also in the teaching institutions there are also imbalances in quality
and quantity of teachers. There is a lack of female role models in science and technical
subjects.

2. SOCIAL - CULTURAL BELIEFS IN SOCIETY

In most Third World countries women are prepared as housewives from their childhood.
Very little emphasis is given to subjects other than those concerned with house chores.
They like domestic science, home management, etc. which are taught only in girls'
secondary schools but not in boys' secondary schools. It can be concluded that in the
school system, certain subjects are ascribed to girls and others to boys.

This gender stereotyping of school subjects has a negative effect on girls, whereas it has
a positive effect on the boys. Thus the boys do best in subjects like maths, physics,
engineering, etc. But if females achieve the best in these subjects, they are seen as
abnormal for their sex. Among the subjects which are gender stereotyped as male
subjects, science and technology rank number one.

The expectation of parents and teachers also play an important role in shaping
students' educational aspirations, as stated in Duncan 1989:

"Parents in Sierra Leone have clearly higher expectations and aspirations for boys.
Boys are considered to be more promising and better able to take care of the
family."

Eshiwani in 1983 showed that parental encouragement of girls studying science at the
University in Kenya had come primarily from 60 percent of mothers rather than from
fathers who were only seven percent when it came to encouraging their daughters to
pursue science and technology studies.

Teachers' expectations and behaviour have also been researched in Africa. Amara
(1985) reports that, in Sierra Leone, teachers have the same expectations as those of
parents and that boys dominate in the class while girls are seen as weak.

3. LACK OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN

Research findings from different places of work show that very few women are
employed compared to men. The following are the research findings of a report for SIDA in 1987 on science and technology.

A. FRIENDSHIP TEXTILE MILL LTD.

Most of the women in this mill occupied the posts of secretaries, typists, telephone
operators, nurses, and cleaners. Only 18.0 percent of the work force comprised women.
(IDSWSG Research report for SIDA 1987).

B. ALUMINUM AFRICA LTD

The workforce comprised only 4.1 percent of women and most of them worked as
stated above in the textile industry. (IDSWSG Research report for SIDA 1987)

C. TANZANIA DIARIES LTD

The total work force of women comprised only 7.9 percent. Most of them worked as
stated above in textile industry (IDSWSG Research report for SIDA 1987).

The few women who are scientists, engineers, etc., are not given chances for key posts or
proper positions because of the superiority complex of males. Most of the decision
makers are men. The women are also not paid as they ought to be, or given incentives to
the same extent as males. Therefore the women prefer to spend most of the time in
housework and other petty business than to concentrate on their science jobs. There are
also therefore few female role models in science and technology, ultimately discouraging
the girls in schools from taking science and technical subjects. There is an almost total
lack of specific policies in Education, Training and Labour Ministries on increasing the
participation levels of women in technical education, training and jobs.

4. HUSBANDS' INTERFERENCE

Traditionally, it is a woman who takes care of the children, their health, clothes and
education. She cooks for the husband and guests and makes sure that the family is
comfortable. These duties are more time consuming than those of men. Hence these
problems (domestic and family) make women less efficient at work, especially in science
and technology, which tend to require more time commitment than other jobs.

If the husband is transferred to another place the wife is expected to move with him.
Because of this many employers are reluctant to employ women and, when they are
employed, their jobs are not trusted. Also if the husband is overburdened with work at
office he can work till late in the evening, either at office or at home. But a wife is not
allowed to work after office hours. If she does, she is nicknamed a "male," or divorced
by her husband, or faces family quarrels.

5. POLITICAL FACTORS

In Tanzania, as, indeed, in the rest of the world generally, women's political
participation is still a marginal affair. It is justified by the following illustrations. Soon
after the achievement of Independence in December 1961, followed by the general
election, there were only 6 women MPs, i.e 7.5%. Out of these six, five were constituency
MPs and one was a nominee of the President.

In 1965, there were only 7 women MPs out of a total number of 184 Members of
Parliament. Out of these, 4 were constituency members, 2 were Presidential nominees
and one was a National members.

In 1970 there were only 17 women MPs out of a total number of 234 MPs. In 1985,
parliament had only 21 women MPs out of a total of 349 MPs.

Since Independence there have only been 2 women Ambassadors and 2 women Principal
Secretaries. There are some women members in the National Executive - hardly 20 in a
house of roughly 120 CCM NEC members, in the 1992 election. None was elected into
the Central Committee of CCM in the recent National Congress. This has been the case
since the early days of A.S.P. and TANU activities. These don't have a large number of
women leaders to compare well with their population size.

We have to accept that policies for women must be developed within more general
spheres. This has been the secret behind Swedish women's success in achieving greater
equality. Women's policy making is a necessary task of real development. Women
should be empowered to fulfil this task at any cost.

6. POLICIES ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

For any programme to be effective there must be actors who carry into effect the
decisions that have been arrived at. It is also important that the actors must have
interest in the change. Similarly, formation of policies which encourage the increase of
women's participation in science and technology will not be of much help if they are not
acted upon. It is the intention of government to remove imbalances between boys' and
girls' opportunities to education. But realising this process has been too slow.

When girls carry assignments to their homes from day schools, they are also expected to
perform house duties along with their mothers, unlike boys who have much time to do
their assignment at home. For this to be solved the political authorities should open
boarding schools for girls, especially those with science options, so that they have more
time to concentrate on studies than housework. Also to move for co-educational schools
will provide provisions for both genders to regard themselves as equals through
exchange of experiences.

The vast majority of polytechnics do not have any special policies to encourage or
increase female participation in technical programmes.

It is evident that girls/women can perform well or even better in science and technology,
if they are given equal opportunities with boys/men in society, family, school and
economical factors. Kelly's conclusion is that the problem may not be girls' attitudes or
even that of science alone, but the male dominance which exists in society.

There are many women in Tanzania in science and technology who are struggling in a
cold war but yet are continuing to compete with men and trying to attain higher posts.

7. STEPS AND STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE

- Sensitize the female population by prompting self awareness. Every woman
should recognise and accept the importance of gender equity and the need of science and
technology in national, regional and rural development.

- Bring about attitudinal changes in women to learn and understand the situation
in the environment, i.e. to be creative, to learn the new technologies, to be competent in
research, science and technical subjects and be ambitious to take an active part in
decision making.

- To promote gender partnership in society, i.e. to promote the idea of men with
all their attributes working harmoniously with women as joint partner. This can be
achieved by using new approaches, i.e. using religion and model roles.

- Counselling girl students regarding careers oriented to scientific occupations.

- In order to change girls' beliefs about science, text book writers should show both
sexes participating in scientific ventures.

- Schools should arrange visits to scientific and technological centers to see women
scientists at work. Such exposure might attract more girls to study science and
technology.

- Sensitize parents - Most parents have a negative concept regarding girls. They
feel that it is better to educate boys than girls. Also in decision making it is the boys who
are put forward in families. The parents should be made aware that gender equity in
educating both girls and boys equally is important.

- Leaders in different working organizations should be made aware that equal
opportunities should be given for both male and female in sciences and technical jobs.

- Sensitize mass organizations to set specific strategies to make women members
of the population aware of their rights, and create a supporting environment.

Political participation must allow women to be helped to be politically aware and to
start thinking big and bold, and be ready to grapple with serious issues of their time -
environmental, rural and urban poverty and the basic freedoms of women.

- Government leaders should be made aware of the importance of women's role in
science and technology. The policies should be strengthened by implementing and
monitoring them.

Unless and until this negative attitude is removed among each individual it is not
possible to create awareness of female gender promotion in the science and technology.
A multi-criteria approach should be followed to bring this change, i.e. to sensitize
parents, husbands (men), school teachers, society and government leaders, and students
themselves by conducting workshops, seminars and change of curricula.

8. CONCLUSION

Rome was not built in one day. We find many women who have shown that they are
capable, for example the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and who have proven to be efficient
leaders. The late Jasnshi of Lakshmi Bai, the queen of Who, when she found the king (her
husband) was killed in battle, took up the sword and fought the battle against her foes
and won a victory. At present we have Miss Nicholas who recently went to the North
Pole. The Vice Chancellor of Lund University in Sweden is a woman. The director of the
BITS organization is a woman. There are many women who are really capable. My
message for fellow women is not to despair but to keep on struggling until women are
recognised and promoted into science and technology and in decision making.

REFERENCES

1. A.S. Msangi "Strategies to motivate Scientists & Engineers" October, 1989.

2. Women Science and Technology constraints by Dr. E.J. Lugwisha, Tanzania.

3. Tanzanian women in Science & Technology: Why do women need it by Dr.V.G.
Masanja.

4. Strategies for attracting more female students in science disciplines. By Dr. N. B.
Katunzi.

女性在科学技术领域的角色

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