Triple burden on women in science

Abstract

"Science professes the self-acclaimed ideal of 'universalism' and an irrelevance of personal or social attributes in judging scientific claims. However, in actual practice, science has been a male domain, and has a social structure dominated and hitherto regulated by men, in which, women find themselves unwelcome. This creates hidden barriers in the practice of science. Although these barriers take various forms, stressors in the work environment are found in widely different cultures. Here we argue that social organization of science and gender-role expectations create common barriers in diverse cultures of India, Germany and the US. The organizational environment in, which science is practised reflects a contradiction between the norms and practice of science and induces a stress, which we call the first burden. The second burden is common to women in most professions, that of managing unequal domestic responsibilities. There is a third burden carried by women in science, that of grappling with a deficit of social capital and relative exclusion from strong networks. The interaction among these burdens induces a 'surplus of anxiety'. The responses to and possible alleviation of a triple burden have also been discussed here." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Gupta, N., Kemelgor, C., Fuchs, S. & Etzkowitz, H. (2005): Triple burden on women in science. A cross-cultural analysis. In: Current Science, Vol. 89, No. 8, p. 1382-1386.