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Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: Meeting Summary (2003)

Chapter: Position Paper on the U.S. Science & Engineering Workforce

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Suggested Citation:"Position Paper on the U.S. Science & Engineering Workforce." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 2003. Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: Meeting Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10727.
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Suggested Citation:"Position Paper on the U.S. Science & Engineering Workforce." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 2003. Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: Meeting Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10727.
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Page 92
Suggested Citation:"Position Paper on the U.S. Science & Engineering Workforce." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 2003. Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: Meeting Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10727.
×
Page 93
Suggested Citation:"Position Paper on the U.S. Science & Engineering Workforce." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 2003. Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: Meeting Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10727.
×
Page 94
Suggested Citation:"Position Paper on the U.S. Science & Engineering Workforce." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 2003. Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: Meeting Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10727.
×
Page 95
Suggested Citation:"Position Paper on the U.S. Science & Engineering Workforce." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 2003. Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: Meeting Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10727.
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Page 96

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OF ~ ~ #id Yolanda George, Co-Director Global Alliance INTRODUCTION The Global Alliance for Diversifying the Science and Engineering Workforce is a collaborative initiative to increase the participation and promote the advancement of women in the science and engineering (S&E) workforce worldwide. The Global Alliance is an outgrowth of the 1992 international program started by the Women in Engineering Program & Advocates Network (WEPAN). The primary collaborating organizations include WEPAN; the Association for Women in Science (AWIS); and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The goals of the Global Alliance are to (1) develop international col- laborations with higher-education institutions, government agencies, cor- porations, and professional associations and (2) to facilitate the develop- ment of long-term, sustainable infrastructures in S&E for a diversified workforce. Strategies for accomplishing these goals include: · Facilitating the participation of women scientists and engineers, as well as other underrepresented groups in S&E, in international confer- ences and summits on science, engineering, or gender and science and technology. · Identifying and disseminating international best practices in the recruitment and retention of women in S&E higher-education programs, as well as in the S&E workforce · Fostering common standards for data collection and conducting research on the S&E workforce, worldwide

PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT · Fostering international scientific research collaborations for U.S. women scientists and engineers · Developing SHE career and mentoring resources, including a Web site, http://www.globalalliancesmet.org. The Global Alliance has ongoing working relationships with other organizations on gender, science, and technology issues that include the following: · Gender Advisory Board, established in 1995 to advise the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology Development (UNCSTD) · Gender and Science and Technology Association (GASAT), founded in 1981 · International Council for Science (ICSU), a nongovernmental orga- nization founded in 1931 · Once and Future Action Network (OFAN), founded in 1994 · United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), University, Industry, Science Partnerships (UNISPAR), started in 1993 · World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), founded in 1968. lowing: Activities of the Global Alliance have included coordinating the fol- · UNESCO/United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) international delegations that were instrumental in getting lan- guage about gender, science, and technology in Frameworkfor Action docu- ments produced by the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, China, 1995) and the World Conference on Science (Budapest, 1999) · A forum and exhibition on women in engineering for the first World Engineers' Convention in Hannover, Germany, 2000. Current projects include developing an online mentoring tool for use by women in engineering associations in Egypt, Mali, and Nigeria; a joint U.S./Sweden research project focused on recruitment and retention of women in college and engineering majors and in the workforce; and pre- paring for the Second World Engineers' Convention in China in 2004. LESSONS LEARNED ON GENDER AND INTERNATIONAL S&Ei From national studies and world conferences with scientists and engineers, policymakers, and educational and business leaders, the fol-

CLOBAL lowing lessons have been learned about gender, science, and technology issues: · While some progress is being made, studies continue to show that, worldwide, the S&E talents of girls and women are for the most part un- recognized, underdeveloped, or underutilized. The reason for these gen- der disparities are complex and are often due to family, legal, economic, cultural, social, or educational barriers. · Both Sweden and the U.S. have been leaders for over two decades in increasing the participation of women in engineering. Each country has developed programs and policies that target this untapped pool of talent to address the worldwide shortages of engineers. Yet both the U.S. and Sweden have reached a plateau in terms of employed female engineers, 10 percent and 14 percent, respectively. · Most professionals working in S&E are insufficiently aware of the potential of science to serve goals of society and the basic needs of people. Equally, citizens are insufficiently aware of the positive potential of S&E to meet these needs. In particular, the gender-specific nature of the needs and the differential impact of S&E on the lives of men and women are inadequately recognized by both S&E professionals and citizens. · There is a paucity of data available, at both the national and the international level, on the participation rates of men and women in both S&E education systems and the workforce. Still there are no coordinated approaches or methods for ensuring the systematic collection of gender- disaggregated data on S&E. Of equal importance for policymakers is the availability of data on the differential impact of technical change on men's and women's lives. · More flexible and permeable structures should be set up to facilitate the access and participation of scientists and engineers to careers in S&E. Measures aimed at attaining social equity in all S&E activities, including working conditions, should be designed, implemented, and monitored. This includes policies to ensure that all workers are able to balance family re- sponsibilities with professional responsibilities and career development. Recommendations from U.S. and international committees, task forces, and conferences generally agree that an integrative, multisector approach by governments, educational institutions, professional societ- ies, businesses, and nongovernmental organizations is needed to ensure the full participation of women and girls in all aspects of S&E. Recom- mendations from these groups include the need to levels; · promote the access of girls and women to scientific education at all

PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT · improve conditions for recruitment, retention, and advancement in all S&E fields; · launch national, regional, and global campaigns to raise awareness of the contribution of women to S&E to overcome existing gender stereo- types among families, teachers, scientists and engineers, policymakers, and the community at large; · collect reliable education and workforce data, in an internationally standardized manner, for the generation of gender-disaggregated data, as well as data on S&E · undertake research, supported by collection and analysis of gen- der-disaggregated data, documenting constraints and progress in expand- ing the role of women in the S&E workforce; · document and monitor the implementation of best practices and lessons learned through impact assessment and evaluations of S&E pro- grams; and · ensure an appropriate representation of women in national, re- gional, and international S&E policy and decision-making bodies and fo- rums.2 While much of the work of the Global Alliance is focused on gender, science, and technology, lessons have also been learned about interna- tional S&E collaborations and policymaking. For the most part, these les- sons are summarized in the 2001 National Science Board (NSB) report on Towards a More Effective Rolefor the U.S. Government in International Science and Engineering. The NSB recognized · the needfor more effective coordination of the U.S. government's interna- tional S&E and S&E-related activities and greater consistency in meeting its international commitment; · the importance of increased international cooperation in fundamental re- search and education, particularly with developing countries and younger scien- tists and engineers; and · the need to improve the use of S&E information in foreign policy delibera- tions and in dealing with global issues and problems.3 While the NSB makes seven specific recommendations, they make the following keystone recommendation: · The U.S. Government should move more expeditiously to ensure the de- velopment of a more effective, coordinated framework for its international S&E research and education activities. This framework should integrate science and engineering more explicitly into deliberations on broader global issues and should

CLOBAL support cooperative strategies that will ensure our access to worldwide talent, ideas, information, S&E infrastructure, and partnerships. OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS While many groups have defined key issues and transformative ac- tion related to gender, science, and technology, many of these efforts are isolated and are not connected to infrastructure changes and long-range planning for S&E education and research activities. Given this context, as the U.S. government implements the recommendations of the NSB in re- gard to the international S&E arena, attention and increased resources should be given to integrating gender, science, and technology issues into the U.S. framework for international S&E research and education activi- ties, including: · Increased international research on gender, science and technol- ogy. There is a need for more international research on gender, science, and technology to increase our basic understanding of educational inter- ventions and the S&E workplace. · Support for NSF continued collection of international indicators of S&E. These data are critical for U.S. policymaking in S&E. In addition, NSF needs to continue its leadership role in the development of common standards for international S&E data collection. Data need to be disaggre- gated by gender, when appropriate. · Reexamination of the S&E college and university curricula. In the new context of increased globalization and international networking, colleges and universities are faced with new opportunities and challenges. They are responsible for educating a highly skilled workforce for the fu- ture and equipping their students with the skills and capabilities needed to deal with global issues in innovative ways. This new context calls for a reexamination of the S&E curricula to ensure that the teaching of science be broadened to include elements addressing the economic, social, and ethical implications of science and technology in both developed and de- veloping countries. · Development of graduate programs in international S&E policy and social aspects of S&E. Training in legal and ethical issues and regula- tions guiding international R&D in strategic areas such as information and communication technologies, biodiversity, and biotechnology should be developed for scientists and engineers. · Support for scientists, engineers, and educators to continue work on gender science and technology with the UN and as part of other world S&E conferences. This work ensures that gender, science, and tech-

PAN-~CANIZAHONAL SUMMIT nology education and workplace issues will be integrated into interna- tional frameworks for action in SHE. REFERENCES AND NOTES iLessons learned are selected recommendation from reports in Girl's and Women's Educa- tion: A Conceptual Framework. United States Agency for International Development, 1996; http://www.globalalliancesmet.org/reports.htm; For Such a Time as This . . . Wanda Ward, 2000 http: / /www.awis.org/v_fmagforsuch.html; and The Gender Advisory Board Web site, http: / /gab.wigsat.org/uncstd.htm, 1995. 2Selected recommendations are from the 1999 World Conference on Science Framework for Action, http://www.unesco.org/science/wcs/eng/framework.htm and The Gender Advisory Board, http://gab.wigsat.org/uncstd.htm, 1995. 3Towards a More Effective Role for the U.S. Government in International Science and Engineer- ing. 2001. National Science Foundation. Arlington, VA. NSB 01-187 http://www.nsf.gov/ pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsbO1187

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Each of 32 nonprofit organizations contributing a presentation to the Pan-Organizational Summit on the Science and Engineering Workforce (November 11-12, 2002; The National Academies, Washington, DC) was invited to issue a corresponding position paper to be reproduced in this volume. The bulk of this report comprises these papers. In addition, Shirley Jackson and Joseph Toole, two of the keynote speakers, have included their remarks.

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