Sexism in sciences criticized

Sexism in sciences criticized

JAKARTA (JP): Women are poorly represented in "hard sciences"
such as physics and engineering because of oppressive and
ignorant social values which deem those sciences "unsuitable" for
women, observers say.

Senior sociologist Mely G. Tan at the Indonesian Institute
Sciences said that society, instead, encouraged women to enter
"soft sciences" such as literature and social studies.

"It'll take us quite some time to change the public ignorance
about women's capability to excel in those hard sciences, but it
can be done," Mely told The Jakarta Post recently.

Syamsiah Achmad, a scholar and former assistant to State
Minister for Women's Roles, conceded that there is a stereotype
which sees hard sciences as "something great and only suitable
for men".

"The belief that women are not good for hard sciences is just
not true," she said. "It's the stereotypes that have made women
reluctant to enter those fields."

According to the Ministry of Education and Culture's data, in
1995 there were only 42 women with doctorate degrees in
engineering in comparison to 268 men, 132 women in basic sciences
such as physics compared to 169 men, and 21 women in computer
sciences compared to 58 men.

Lanny Hardhy, a lecturer at the Bandung Institute of
Technology said that women have always been considered users,
rather than producers, of technology.

Mely disagreed. She said both women and men are users of
technology, especially here.

"It's particularly true for Indonesia because, as a developing
country, most of the technology used here is not of our own
invention," she said. "Both men and women here are users of
technology."

Mely suggested that the effort to dissolve stereotypes about
women's poor ability in hard sciences be started at home.

"We have to teach our children that women and men are no
different when it comes to science and technology," she said.
"Women can enter hard sciences." (31)