The Role of Science and Technology in the Advancement of ...

September 2000 ? NREL/TP-820-28944

The Role of Science and Technology in the Advancement of Women Worldwide

Irene D. Hays, Ed.D. Barbara C. Farhar, Ph.D.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393

NREL is a U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory Operated by Midwest Research Institute ? Battelle ? Bechtel Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337

September 2000 ? NREL/TP-820-28944

The Role of Science and Technology in the Advancement of Women Worldwide

Irene D. Hays, Ed.D. Barbara C. Farhar, Ph.D.

Prepared under Task No. EROM.1000 This report can be viewed online at

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393

NREL is a U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory Operated by Midwest Research Institute ? Battelle ? Bechtel Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337

NOTICE

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof.

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Preface

This study was conducted in NREL's Science and Technology Education Programs Office and NREL's Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems. It was sponsored by the Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy. The authors would like to thank Antoinette Grayson Joseph, Director of Laboratory Policy and Infrastructure Management, U.S. Department of Energy, for her expert counsel and guidance on the design and conduct of the study. Foremost among others who contributed to the completion of this study are the following experts who were interviewed: Suzanne Brainard, University of Washington; Patricia Campbell, Campbell-Kibler Associates; Joy Clancy, University of Twente, The Netherlands; Beatriz Clewell, The Urban Institute; Catherine Jay Didion, Association for Women in Science; Mildred Dresselhaus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and U.S. Department of Energy; Yolanda S. George, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Sophia Huyer, Women in Global Science and Technology; Susan Kemnitzer, National Science Foundation; Martha Krebs, U.S. Department of Energy, and Interagency Steering Committee of the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development; Susan Staffin Metz, Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network; Kathleen Michels, National Institutes for Health; Beverley J. Morgan, Blooming Things, Limited, Jamaica; Wanda E. Ward, National Science Foundation; and Judi Wangalwa Wakhungu, Pennsylvania State University. The following reviewers provided helpful comments and suggestions: Mildred Dresselhaus; Patricia Campbell; Joy Clancy; Sophia Huyer; Gail Karlsson, UN Development Programme; Judy Johnson, British Commonwealth Science Council; Shirley Malcom, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Cecily Celby, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; and Linda Lung, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. We are also grateful to NREL staff for their assistance: Paula Pitchford for editing the study report and Darlene Brenner and Pat Haefele for word processing.

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Executive Summary

As part of international work begun by the United Nations in 1946 to promote equal rights and opportunities for the world's women, participants at the Fourth World Conference on women (FWCW), held in Beijing, China in 1995, created a Platform for Action that focused on the following 12 critical areas of concern: women and poverty, education and training of women, women and health, violence against women, women and armed conflict, women and the economy, women in power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and the environment, and the girl child. In each area, serious barriers to the well-being, equal treatment, and advancement of women still exist all over the world.

Nearly five years after this platform was published, the study described in this report was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and conducted by staff at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. The study was undertaken initially to determine whether a compelling case could be made for considering science and technology as integral to the advancement of women in each of the areas of concern. The study took on a larger purpose when it became evident that a convincing--if not compelling--case had been documented in studies and publications prior to this one, but this evidence was not making an apparent difference in advancing women's status worldwide.

For this study, a literature review focused on relevant documents and declarations published in print and on the Internet before, during, and after the 1995 Beijing conference, concluding with resolutions published as outcomes of the UN Special Session held in New York in June 2000. Interviews were conducted with 15 women, most of whom are outstanding scientists and all of whom are experts on issues relating to women, science, and technology. Revealed were the experts' priorities on areas of concern, conclusions about the influences of science and technology on women's lives, views of women's unique actual and potential role in science and technology, and ideas for the future.

The experts agree that science and technology are decisively important tools for the advancement of women. They believe that women's involvement in the applications of science and technology will lead to beneficial and productive uses. They say that science and technology are particularly useful in four critical areas: education and training, economy (also linked with poverty), health, and communications/media. The experts also agree that the Internet is the one technology that most clearly appears to be embraced by both the developed and developing countries.

Analyses of the interviews revealed that, generally, there appear to be three perspectives on the role of science and technology in women's lives: pro-science, relativist, and skeptical. These differing perspectives may explain why communication is difficult among policy makers in governmental and international organizations and with scientists about the role of science and technology in the advancement of women.

The study resulted in recommendations related to women's contributions to science, including ethics of science; institutional barriers to advancing women; accountability in use of resources for women's advancement; changes in science education, and the need for dialogue among those with differing perspectives on the role of science and technology in the advancement of women.

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