Now that gender diversity has become a much bandied-about phrase in science, technology, and medicine, let us examine the scene and discover whether this stands true or not. The truth is that we need more women in our labs and clinics. Let us see why this has become essential presently.
Though we are in the 21st century, women are often neglected in scientific research. Nevertheless, there is enough evidence that scientific research is more accurate when both genders are considered. These days, many a company may get away by testing products just on men, but women are equally important. Both genders must be considered while considering the efficacy and safety of products. Yet not many researchers consider the gender of their subjects. Therefore, much of science in today’s age is gender-biased.
Yet the sad fact is that most scientific research treats the male gender as the norm and does not consider gender as variables. This results in different health and safety outcomes for both genders.
Other common examples are how women have different outcomes in the case of heart disease as men and women respond contrarily to medication and the several problems that affect female cardiovascular care. Numerous studies point out that including women in science can lead to better outcomes like a better design for seatbelts for women and safer drugs for women.
It has also been discovered that gender diversity can bring several advantages to modern-day scientific research. It has been rightly pointed out by several researchers that several biases against women in society including science can be removed once gender diversity is considered and even included in technology such as AI. For example, many AI apps that screen resumes for jobs can be programmed to exclude women from certain job roles. This can be corrected when gender diversity is considered and rightly understood. As a change in perspective, many have suggested that the AI and tech industry needs to hire women to write algorithms.
Lastly, we need more women in the STEM workforce as men significantly outnumber women in this segment. It has been discovered that persistent gender-based differences exist within the scientific workforce when it comes to parameters such as demographics, advancement, and productivity.
Accordingly, an abysmally low percentage of researchers around the world are women. Also, engineering and computer science account for the lowest percentage of women worldwide while health and life sciences account for the highest percentage in health and life sciences. Although a nearly equal percentage of men and women pursue higher degrees in the STEM field, more women drop out right at the PhD stage in a phenomenon that continues right to the highest levels of several organizations. To stem this gender imbalance, more young women need to be encouraged into STEM, whereas not many women are joining STEM courses or reaching the higher echelons of their profession.
