Women in Science and Technology: Strategies for Balancing Participation

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

This day serves as a reminder that women and girls play a fundamental role in science and technology communities, and that their participation must continue to be strengthened, especially considering that less than 30% of the world's scientific researchers are women.

Argentina stands out in Latin America with women making up 52% of the scientific workforce and 60% of CONICET fellows, according to 2016 data. However, only 25% of senior researchers are women, while women account for 60% of assistant researchers.

According to CVar data, 60.2% (20,480) of researchers are women, compared to 39.8% (13,484) who are men. Yet, only 10.5% of leadership positions in science and technology are held by women, highlighting a significant decline in female representation at decision-making levels.

Female researchers leading projects generally request and receive about 25% fewer resources than their male counterparts, reflecting disparities in funding sources and knowledge areas.

Within universities, the fields with the highest female participation are medical and health sciences, humanities, arts, and social sciences, while engineering and technology continue to see low representation. Among Argentina's universities, La Rioja (26%), Comahue (23%), and Jujuy and Salta (22%) have the highest percentages of women enrolled in programming-related degrees.

Despite the structural inequality that persists, the Argentine Network for Gender, Science and Technology, along with CONICET, has implemented several measures aimed at narrowing the gender gap:

• Pregnant researchers are granted one additional year to submit their mandatory annual evaluation report.
• The maximum age for applying to CONICET doctoral scholarships was extended from 30 to 32 years, and for postdoctoral scholarships from 32 to 35 years. Applicants with up to three children receive an additional one-year extension per child.
• A formal protocol for reporting and addressing harassment was introduced.
• CONICET's Board of Directors no longer endorses scientific meetings that do not demonstrate gender equity among participants.
• Since early 2016, Argentina has implemented a public policy initiative known as the Gender Agenda in Science and Technology, which began with a comprehensive national diagnosis.

Information compiled from La Nación and the official website of the Government of Argentina.