What does the future hold for woman physicists
in Iran?
Do the improved statistics of female undergraduates lead to deeper involvement of women in academic and decision making ranks?
A. Iraji zad a, A. Pourghazi b and M. Houshiar c
Physics Department, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
iraji@sina.sharif.ac.ir
Physics Department, Isfahan University , Isfahan, Iran
azpour@yahoo.com
c. Physics Department, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran ,Iran
m-houshiar@cc.sbu.ac.ir
Percentage
of women in various levels of academic ranks
Considerable
decrease in the presence of women with rise in scientific rank.
WHAT
SHOULD WE DO TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION Improve
the science education in girl schools ( improve the level of
teacher profeciency, academic facilities and families view).
Increase
the participation of women in Ph.D programs by providing
opportunities, advertising and encouragement. Remove
the visible and invisible obstacles to women's progress in
education, research and application of physics based on cultural
and social structure of the country.
Establish
research networks by facilitating communication between active
women physicists, plus requesting assistance from successful male
physicists in addition to providing support to female researchers
in finance and equipments. Provide
opportunities and encourage women to enter in the circles of
decision making, management, application of physics and in the
research and development sections of industry (making
role-models).
Develop workshops and
training courses in the field of education, research and
management in order to bring women to the forefront of physics.
Reasons
for absence of women in high ranks of scientific decision making
postions (from women's own point of view)
* Running
the household and bringing up children 84% Non
co-operation from husbands.
68% Non
belief in women's capabilities. 66% Rules
and regulations. 60% Lack
of self-confidence on the part of women. 35% Genetic
and gender issues. 30%
Poor
performance of women as specialists and managers. 19% Being
under male financial responsibility. 17%
*
Data has been taken out of a questionare (more than one
option marked) .