Brief overview For WISENET on participation in the meeting for drafting the UNESCO World Report on Science, Technology and Gender

Carolann Wolfgang

Traveling to Morocco for the UNESCO “World Report on Science, Technology and Gender” was an exciting and encouraging experience. Here were a group of experts from around the world having the opportunity to discuss this topic in an informal setting.

The conference attendees came from China, South America, North America and Europe, with representation also from the Islamic Body on Ethics of Science and Technology, and the Arab Network for Women in Science and Technology. These men and women included university professors and program directors, UNESCO representatives, and those involved with government organizations such as the European Commission and other international organizations, such as the Organisation of American States (OAS).

In addition, women from other countries including Africa, had already contributed to the report. In fact, the report had been discussed at several previous meetings, and an annotated outline already compiled. As WISENET members know, contributions to the report chapters were drafted earlier this year. A preliminary bibliography had been developed also. The drafted sections and outline were the materials that formed the basis of our discussions.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Eduardo Martinez from UNESCO, the manager of the Report project. On the first day we had sessions involving all of the participants. A presentation on the statistics being used for the report (Chapter 1.6) was made to the entire group and drafts were presented for the other sections in Chapter 1. For the remainder of the conference, working groups were formed to further tackle the Chapter 1 drafts. My participation was mostly with Chapter 1.2.

Chapter 1.2 explains why the interaction of science and technology and gender is important and discusses the aspects of equality and mainstreaming, the impacts of science and technology on gender equity, and formulates the targets for change at the parliament/government level, public and private bodies, NGOs, the educational system and the media. These targets feed directly into the later chapters in the Report on policy recommendations. Needless to say, with such varied backgrounds of the group, there were sometimes different opinions as to what were the most important points. Putting out these issues ‘on the table’ was an important aspect of the working groups.

Besides WISENET, other women’s groups represented included the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES) headquartered in Canada and the Women’s Engineering Society from the United Kingdom. More information on these groups may be found on their respective websites at: www.inwes.org and www.wes.org.uk .

The She figures 2003, Women and Science Statistics and Indicators by the European Commission Directorate-General for Research is also a good reference and can be found on the European Commission website, http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/science-society/women-science/women-science_en.html. On the OAS site, there are several reports based on the First Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology in Lima, Peru in November 2004.

It should be noted that much appreciation for the WISENET contributions were expressed by several attendees to this conference. I also thank WISENET for allowing me to represent them to this important meeting.

These two photos show one side of my trip to Marrakech: representing WISENET at the UNESCO meeting. In the photos is indication of the almost immediate camaraderie and excitement that came out of having a diverse set of participants at the meeting. The group was not large, and as we debated and spoke around the table, the intensity and creativity was evident. At times the conversation became challenging. Here we were, with our own varied experiences; our own versions of the “gender story”. We’ve all been treated in different ways, come from different generations, and have all gone down different paths in our science and technology or policy careers, so, how do you bring all of those stories together to make an overarching, international report on science, technology, and gender?

In participating with three other women in the drafting of Chapter 1.2, we found that throughout we had vigorous discussions, and there were many moments when the stories ‘clicked’. Here we sat in a room day after day, Zofija from Slovenia, Liqun from China, Pam from the U.K. and me , with Eduardo checking in periodically to “make sure we were progressing”. We discussed what the impacts were to women with the advancement of the knowledge society. We split up the targets for change into those actions to be taken by parliaments/governments, by public and private bodies, NGOs, and the educational system. We took on the concept of the media and its strong influence on the public image of women.

Of course these were bound to be animated deliberations; considering such important and far-reaching issues. For me, it was encouraging beyond doubt to hear the stories of these women and see what they had accomplished in their respective countries and at the end of the day, finding common ground with all of them. We wrote draft sentences , we took notes and remembered anecdotes , we laughed, totally disagreed with each other, we spoke our mind, and we built a network. It went beyond developing the report content, it seems to me now in afterthought; one more step was taken in the right direction, and so it goes. Marrakech will be just one more foundation stone in the successful future of women in science and technology.

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