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)