there are still too few women in scientific fields, deplores the Academy of Sciences

In France, women remain largely under-represented in scientific fields. To try to remedy this problem, the Academy of Sciences is publishing a report to measure this under-representation and propose solutions.

In France, there are still too few women in scientific fields. This is the observation drawn up by the Academy of Sciences which published, Tuesday June 18, a report entitled “Science, where are the women?”. According to this report, the fields of physics, chemistry and mathematics still remain dominated by men.

According to the report, this low representation is due to gender stereotypes “conveyed by the family, school and societal environment tend to exclude girls from science from the start of schooling”. “The limited and often inadequate representations of women scientists in textbooks fuel these stereotypes.”

The Academy of Sciences recalls in particular that if half of doctorates are awarded to women (48%), they represent only 24% of the highest grade A positions – managers, executives – in the academic world, according to a study carried out for the European Commission. For the Academy, this is proof of the extent of the glass ceiling which slows down women’s careers.

According to the institution, this indicates “invisible barriers hindering the access of qualified women to the highest positions of responsibility”. They remain underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics. “If the proportion of women in science begins to approach parity at the start of their career, it gradually falls by a factor of two to reach a glass ceiling, which reduces their access to promotions, and among other things their entry into the academies”underlines Françoise Combes, vice-president of the Academy of Sciences.

The Academy of Sciences therefore calls for a “a real paradigm shift” and calls for “act collectively”. She recommends communication campaigns to deconstruct these clichés. She calls for an improved balance between professional, scientific and family life. This includes postponing deadlines for applications depending on the duration of parental leave. The report also recommends teaching discharges for young parents to facilitate women’s careers.

To combat gender stereotypes, the report wants to emphasize the training of primary and secondary teachers. He advocates strengthening the initial scientific training of school teachers by offering multidisciplinary courses. It also proposes to guarantee teachers continuous scientific training throughout their lives.

The Academy of Sciences points out that there is no shortage of examples of success. Thus, last year, Anne L’Huiller won the Nobel Prize in Physics, becoming the second French woman to win it after Marie Curie.