THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 17 March 2020 (Closing the gender gap in science (The Hindu))

Closing the gender gap in science (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 1:Society
Prelims level:National Science Day
Mains level:Role of women and women's organization

Context:

India celebrates National Science Day on February 28 every year to mark C.V. Raman’s discovery of the scattering of light.
For the last 33 years, on this day, research institutes and other academic centres in the country have been holding public outreach programmes or conducting meetings on select topics.

About the theme:

This year, the theme was Women in Science.
This is a timely and relevant theme, but it is also rather ironic given that Raman himself did not warm up to the idea of women in science.
For some time, this prejudice meant that women candidates were refused admission to the Indian Institute of Science in the 1930s, during Raman’s tenure as director.

Lost opportunities:

Despite his progressive political and philosophical convictions, Raman was a traditionalist.
Like many others of the time, he imbibed the sexist views that were part of society then. Among his three women students, only Anna Mani was able to choose a scientific career, although she could not get a doctoral degree.
Sunanda Bai was not awarded a PhD, and committed suicide for unknown reasons.
Lalitha Doraiswamy left her studies and chose to marry Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983.

Why did these talented women fail to get their due?

It would be interesting to contrast their journeys with the story of Janaki Ammal. Ammal opted to pursue a Masters degree from the Michigan State University in the U.S. and continued her scientific career .................................................

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Initiatives taken towards social transformation:

It is true that a resurgent inclusive nationalism propounded by Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru and others during the struggle for Independence encouraged women, at least those who were part of the upper social strata, to break the familial and cultural shackles and enter the public space.
While cultural and social causes ..............................................

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The ‘leaky pipeline’ problem

However, the trouble starts after women obtain their educational qualifications.
The percentage of women in faculty positions drops to less than 20%; only a few reach the top positions of institutes and universities.
This is also the time when many of them become mothers, sometimes because of familial pressure.
The Indian Science Academies are aware of the problem. But the reform should start from their own backyard. In all the three science academies combined, only about 10% are women Fellows.
Including more women in science is not only important from the human rights perspective; it also impacts the quality of science and the advancement of society itself.
This is not to say that the situation is hopeless. There have been changes that give us hope too.
The role of women engineers in the launch of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, is now legendary.

India’s performance in Global Gender Gap Index 2020:

According to the Global Gender Gap Index 2020,a study covering 153 economies, India has slipped to the 112th spot from its 108th position in 2018.
The report also says it would take .............................................

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Way forward:

Women across the world face the ‘leaky pipeline’ problem.
Without supportive institutional structures in place, women, when they are pregnant, worry about gaps in publications, how they will do fieldwork, whether they will get promotions.
Productivity concerns are high for women, especially in academia where the number of papers you publish is a marker of productivity.
In India, we have many examples of women researchers who are involved in exciting scientific experiments.
It is imperative that we understand and remove the sexism and institutional obstacles that prevent more women from entering the scientific field.
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General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the Namaskar/Namaskaram, consider the following statements:
1. It is called AñjaliMudrā; the standing posture incorporating it is Pranamasana.
2. In Hinduism, it means "I bow to the divine in you".

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2