The Artdog Image of Interest

Very few women in the world today have any question that gender-based discrimination exists. Everything from loud, in-your-face sexism or violent physical aggression to the softer forms of diminished expectations and subtle direction away from riskier, higher-profile, leadership, or more lucrative options. 

We’ve all seen at least some of it, but we don’t often see it diagrammed out. The focus here is science, but no field is immune. Imagine the expanded potential if women could achieve parity!

This infographic is titled "Seven facts illustrating the discrimination against women in science." It lists: 1. Women make up only 28% of all research personnel in the world. 2. Women are under-represented in research and development posts in all parts of the world (it shows a map of the continents with the percentages of women on each: the Americas, North and South, 32%; Spain, 39%; Central and Eastern Europe, 40%; Sub-Saharan Africa, 30%; Southern and Eastern Asia, 19%; and Central Asia 32%. 3. Only 1 in every 5 countries has achieved gender parity, that is a situation in which between 45% and 55% of research personnel are women. 4. In Spain (where the graphic was made), the percentage of female scientists decreases as researchers move up the career ladder. Doctoral students, 5 out of 10 are women--gender parity. Management positions, only 2 in 20 are women--glass ceiling. 5. Only 7% of 15-year-old girls in Spain want to pursue a technical profession, compared with 21% of boys. Numerous barriers prevent women from considering and pursuing a scientific career: stereotypes and biases affecting girls; greater demands of family. 6. Only 3% of the Nobel prizes for sciences have gone to women since these prizes were first awarded in 1901. 7. The problem is so obvious that the European research area has made gender equality one of its five highest priorities.

IMAGE: Many thanks to IS Global Barcelona Institute for Global Health, for this infographic.