Ann-Marie Anderson-Mayes
The need to transform science and technology in a variety of ways is becoming more widely recognised in Australia. Regular media coverage is now given to a range of issues in science policy, such as: science needs to be more accessible to the general public; scientists need to be better communicators; science needs to become a more important part of our economy lest we fall behind the rest of the world; and science needs to involve both men and women equally. The latter is particularly important in some areas of science and technology where the number of women involved is negligible at all levels.
The general awareness of the lack of female participation in science and technology in Australia has triggered the establishment of a variety of organisations and programmes aimed at redressing the imbalance. For example, a group of organisations located at tertiary education institutions focuses on recruiting more young women into those tertiary courses in which females are significantly under-represented (e.g. engineering, mathematics, physical science).
One of these organisations is the Women In Science and Engineering Programme (WISE) at the University of Western Australia. WISE was established in 1989; its charter is to develop and implement strategies to increase the access and participation of women in physical science, mathematics, and engineering courses. To help achieve these objectives, WISE runs career evenings and 'hands-on' workshops, visits schools, and provides a counselling service to both prospective and undergraduate female students. In addition, the project has recently commenced some research projects with the aim of developing information kits for use in upper primary and lower secondary schools. The project has a range of activities for primary and secondary school students with the greatest emphasis placed on Year 8-10 students.
Six years on, we are able to assess the impact which the project has had over the intervening period. As you would expect, our record is a mixture of success and disappointment. Like most projects of this type in Australia, WISE operates with a small staff and funding base. However, we are fortunate that funding has been maintained at a fairly constant level and the position of Programme Coordinator is a three year contract, offering a measure of medium term stability to the project.
So, what have we achieved? In terms of measurable outcomes, engineering has perhaps been the most spectacular success. In 1989, first year Engineering had approximately 9% female students. By 1995, this figure has increased to around 18%. This is matched by steadily increasing graduation rates for female engineers. In fact, retention rates for male and female engineers are now very similar.
Despite steadily increasing numbers of young women enrolling in the BSc course, female participation in major Physics and Computer Science courses at first level has been fairly static, with Computer Science even showing signs of falling enrolments. Mathematics has steadily increased its first year female enrolments, but this has not, as yet, flowed through to graduation rates. Geology enrolments fluctuate quite markedly, perhaps reflecting the state of the mining industry, but in some years female students have made up at least half of the graduating class. Chemistry is the most consistent performer amongst the physical sciences, with female enrolments and completions usually between 35% and 40%.
These are the achievements of WISE expressed in terms of dry statistics, but should this be the yardstick by which the project is measured? I have been Programme Coordinator for almost two and a half years, and I am constantly aware that WISE is a small project with limited funding. On such a scale, the project cannot effect enormous social change on its own. It can, however, be an important part of the community, making significant contributions to influencing community attitudes.
For example, in 1994 WISE ran a program for Year 10 girls on campus. The program included a series of 'hands-on' workshops and tours in the physical science and engineering departments. As part of the schedule, small groups of girls met informally with WISE staff to talk about their perceptions of science and engineering. In the relaxed atmosphere, the girls' enjoyment of their visit to UWA was evident, especially their interest in learning so many things about science. Despite this, some girls clearly stated that they would not choose to continue with Maths and Science at school because they did not like the way those subjects were taught. So, this particular WISE program was successful in that it raised the students' awareness of the variety of opportunities in science and engineering, with many expressing a real interest in pursuing a career in these areas. Despite this. the students were not prepared to select subjects in senior secondary school if they disliked the way the subject was taught or the teachers who taught that subject.
This is just one example of a successful WISE program which may not translate to a measurable outcome in terms of increased enrolments, because of the influence of other factors. This is not sufficient reason to cease running these programs. The students' attitudes were influenced and their new impressions will be carried back to siblings, parents, and classmates. This is a small but positive outcome, one which I believe contributes to the gradual change in community attitudes, and might, eventually, result in greater participation of women in science and engineering.
For the reasons alluded to above, projects like WISE are vitally important, Although the projects are unlikely to effect big changes in enrolment figures in their particular university, their contribution to influencing community attitudes is highly significant.
WISE has the support of UWA in developing new programs targeted at primary and lower secondary school students. These programs aim to change student and community attitudes, especially because these age groups are more likely to be receptive to new ideas than students in middle and upper secondary school. It is anticipated that although the outcomes of these strategies will be longer term, they will ultimately be more successful.