Women and Science: The Regional
Perspective
Professor Samira Ibrahim Islam Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology
Head Drug Monitoring Unit
King Fahd Medical Research Centre
King Abdulaziz University
Jeddah, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia
International Conference on Women Leaders
in Science, Technology and Engineering
January 8-10, 2007
Kuwait
1
Acknowledgment
Many thanks to:
•
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), and to all
the authorities behind this event for inviting me to present
& document the progress and opportunities of Arab
women
•
The King Abdulaziz University & King Fahad Medical
Research Centre for their Support
And
All, who in one way or another helped during the making of
this presentation.
2
Please Note:
Having extensive geographic area and a population
of 321 million, the Arab world cannot be viewed as a
single monolithic community in term of endowment
or human development.
 It consists of
22 Arab countries, 50% of the
population are below age 15.
 At certain points one or more countries are selected
as representatives or used as examples.
Some names/projects maybe mentioned for
demonstration, this does not imply that others, which
maybe even more important, do not exist.
 Unless specified, the term “science” is generally
used to express all scientifically and technically based
disciplines.
3
Presentation Objectives
To bring to the attention of the authorities concerned
with human resource development, decision makers,
industry, media and public in general:
1. The potential capabilities of Arab women in various
fields
2. The high level of commitment which Arab women in
Science have demonstrated, which qualify them to
take leading roles in the advancement of R&D.
3. The Steps which have already been taken to
encourage more girls to enter Science and further
steps needed to empower them.
4
The Status of Women in the Arab Region
• In no region in the world do women have equal rights to
men (economic, social or legal)
• Status of women in the Region differs from country to
country but commonly controlled by the Sharia Law (except
Tunisia)
• Currently 17 out of 22 Arab nations ratified the CEDAW
• Defined by factors such as:
Fertility rate 3.8 live birth (world average is 2.7)6
Education (Illiteracy rate decreased to around 40% 22
Involvement in the labor force - 33% (world average
is 56%) 22
Political Participation – Average Arab women in
parliament in Arab Region was 6.9% 22
5
University Education
• Indicators show that tertiary education represents
25% of the eligible population, which is high
compared with gender balance in higher education
• In Egypt women have attended university since the
1920’s
• More women than men are registered for higher
education in the Gulf States 4
6
Science Education
• Arab women have not been discouraged from studying science
• Statistics show that Arab women Science graduates form a high percentage of
the total science graduate population
Women Graduates in Science
Women Graduates in Engineering
Bahrain
74 %
Eritrea
4%
Lebanon
47 %
Morocco
25%
Qatar
71 %
Compared to:
U.S.A
43%
U.S.A.
19 %
Japan
25 %
Japan
13 %
•In 2002-2003, U.S. & Japan fall behind 3 Arab countries in the percentage of
women graduating in Science to the total science graduate population.
•Morocco exceeds the U.S. and Japan in the ratio of women Engineering
graduates as a percentage of the total engineering graduates20
Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics 2005
7
% of women in Science disciplines to total students
in
%
some Arab universities in 2001-2002 A: Enrolled
90
81
80
71 72
71
71
70
70
62
60
60
54
50
53
50
48
45
44
42
39
40
47
43
38
34
30
30
32
29
25
24
25
20
9
10
0
Bahrain
Egypt
%
Jordan
Kuwait
Science
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Lebanon
Health
Oman
Syria
Engineering
UAE
Palestine
B: Graduates
87
76
73
61
60
53
46
49
57
58
48
50
34
29
24
24
16
24
54
44
43
42
53
29
29
17
P
al
es
t in
ia
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E
A
U
ia
yr
S
m
an
O
Le
ba
no
n
ai
t
uw
K
gy
pt
E
Jo
rd
an
B
ah
r
ai
n
2
Gender Statistics Program modified from ESCWA Social Statistics Datasets, 2005
8
Careers in S&T for Arab Women
• In principle there are equal opportunities for either gender in
Arab States but social perception determines which type of
employment is “appropriate”.
• Opportunities for women are not limited to teachers, doctors
and nurses.
• Female scientists excel in teaching, health and research.
• Although there is an increasing pool of highly qualified women
scientists in some Arab countries, few hold high ranking
positions in science institutions.
• More women work in the education sector than the health
sector.
9
Professional opportunities
In Arab Countries, career opportunities for female science
graduates are considerably more limited than those for
men. Egyptian and Saudi women constitute:
• 40% of the faculty in Pharmacy and Dentistry
• 25% of the faculty in Natural science
• less than 10% in engineering & technology
Patterns are similar to those seen in some U.S.
universities, where women constitute:
• 50% of health sciences faculty
• 23.8% of biological sciences faculty
• 6.1% of engineering faculty
10
Research in the Arab Region
•
Institutions that focus on research and knowledge development
include:
1. Higher education institutes and their affiliated research centres
2. Freestanding specialized centres of scientific research
3. Research and development units links to industry
22 ِ
•
Based on the number of scientific publication per million
people, Arab countries fall within the advanced group of
developing countries.
•
The number of papers published in specialized global journals
increased from 465 papers in 1967 to 7000 in 1995 (10% per
annum) 22
Arab Human Development Report 2003
11
Researchers
Arab Region VS other countries
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
4006
2458
876
124
Arab Region
World
EU
USA
FTE researchers per million population
•Full time equivalent (FTE) research scientists and engineer per million population
in the Arab Region is far lower than the average of the countries of the world.
• According to UNESCO’s report in 2003 expenditure on R&D by Arab countries does
not exceed 10% of that spent by industrialized countries.
12
Research Funds
Arab Region
World
EU
USA
GERD per researcher (U$)
•There are relatively few FTE researchers in the Arab region. Even though,
because of the low level of spending on R&D, the GERD (General expenditure for
R & D) (US$) per researcher is still less than the EU, the USA or even the world
average.
13
National institutes providing research
grants:
1.
Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. (KFAS)
2.
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR),
3.
The National Board for Scientific Research (NBSR) in Libya.
4.
King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST) in
Saudi Arabia
Women’s share of the total number of researchers (headcount) in some Arab countries
Country
Year
Percentage
Jordan
2003
18 %
Kuwait
2002
20 %
Mauritania
2003
20 %
Saudi Arabia
2002
17 %
Sudan
2004
30 %
14
• Women remain under-represented in the scientific research and those
in the field receive less support and fewer promotion than their male
counterpart.
KACST funded research till 2006
Grant
category
Established
Year
No. of
Projects
Average
Budget/project
(SR)
Male
Female
% of
Female
National
1981
95
1,422,984
94
1
1.05
Grand
1979
689
810,045
671
18
2.61
Small
1996
370
80,340
337
33
8.9
Graduate
Students
1991
840
28,420
464
376
44.76
To encourage young women researchers, intergovernmental institutions
and private sectors are working together to:
1.
Enhance development of women in the region
2.
Encourage the advancement of knowledge to women
3.
Joint projects to support women in Science
[Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics, May 2006
15
The
Saudi Arabian
Experience:
16
Education
• Formal schooling for girls started in 1960
• The first university in Saudi Arabia (KSA) was established in 1957
• Saudi women were admitted to formal university studies in 1973 4
• Presently there are 11 major universities in KSA that teach Scientific
disciplines, 6 admits women i.e. :Universities
Location
Establish
ment year
Students in science
discipline (2005/06)
Male
Female
% Female
To the
total
enrolled
Umm Al Qura
Makkah
1979
5884
2769
32
King Saud
Riyadh
1957
21602
6210
22
King Abdulaziz
Jeddah
1967
9529
5558
36.8
King Faisal
Al Ahsa
1975
4042
2831
41.1
King Khaled
Abha
1998
3826
455
10.6
Mohd Bin Saud
Riyadh
1974
702
923
56.8
•
In the year 2004/05, 19375 graduated in Science discipline, 8662
were women (44.7%)
17
Postgraduate degrees
Granted by Saudi Universities:
Graduates in Science subjects (1999-2000 )
 372 M.Sc. 39% were women.
 52 Ph.D. 79% were women
Joint Supervision Programs (JSP)
• A successful example of international academic collaboration.
• Women enrolled in the participating UK universities while working and
supervised by the Saudi Staff at their labs at KAAU
• A total of 34 women gained Ph.D. through the JSP, 68% in the Science
disciplines.
Advantages:
• Ph.D. from a UK university/ies
• Allow the students and her family to remain in KSA
• Facilitates the transfer of new techniques and technology to KSA
• International academic interaction
• Opens up access of under research regions to the UK faculties
18
Employment
• Saudi women constitute 18% of the total Saudi workforce
• However Saudi women are restricted in achieving key positions such
as the 12 & 13th. government ranks, yet their contribution, if not equal
is even more than their male counterpart
Saudi Government staff promoted in the year 2002
Number of staff
4000
3393
3500
2982
3000
Male
Female
2651
2455
2500
2043
2000
1657
1321
1500
968
1000
500
549
169
2
75
27
121
100
308
109
59
28
18
2
0
142
0
0
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Position Ranks
• In the year 2003, the total basic science faculty members in KAAU was
439, 14.2% are women yet men & women students are almost equal
•This reveal the the greater burden women faculty members have to bear
19
Science as a
career in the Arab
Region
20
Why are there so few women
Scientists in the workforce?
•
Socio-cultural perceptions of women’s ability to master S&T.
•
Reluctance of talented women to introduce their own values
and visions into a working world dominated by men
•
Professional success requires networking
colleague which is not easy for Arab women
•
Opportunities for Arab women to enter technical fields are
far less than men as parents prefer to spend money to male
child than female
•
Marketing oneself as “women” in the Arab world is generally
ridiculed
•
Workplace policies penalize women for fulfilling their
domestic responsibilities
with
male
21
Ongoing Efforts to Encourage Women
in S&T
Individual Support by Powerful Women
• Queen Rania of Jordan
• First Lady Suzanne Mubarak of Egypt
• Sheikha Sabeeka Al Khalifa of Bahrain
• HH Princess Al Jawhara Bint Bin Ibrahim of Saudi
Arabia
Nursing Award
Science Award
Established the Center for Molecular Medicine,
Genetics and Inherited Diseases in Bahrain
22
Local Companies & Organization
• King Khaled Charitable Foundation endow SR1 million
annually to support post-graduate research by Saudi women
• ANWST, sponsored by Al Nahda Society, endow young Saudi
women scientist scholarship for graduate & post graduate study
abroad 21
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)
• In 2006, King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz International Prize for the
promotion of Scientific Research
 45 recipients, 9(20%) are women
• Al Marai Prize for Scientific Excellence
 Open to both men & women.
 In 2005, Established a category exclusively for women researchers.
 34 recipients, 4 (11.76%) are women
23
UNESCO – L’Oreal Joint Support
• “For Women in Science” Award
Out of the 42 female laureates, 4 (9.52%) are
Arabs. 12
• UNESCO – L’Oreal Fellowship (2000-2006)
Grants for young women scientist to pursue their
research in Laboratories outside their country of
origin
There were 130 young women grantees from 20
countries, 21 (16.15%) are Arabs. 12
24
 Multinational companies
Most countries in the Arab region adapted gender diversity in most
business entities in either government or private sector:
• Schlumberger
 Operates in 80 countries, employing 80,000 of 140 Nationalities
 In 2003 the women employee were:
15% research scientist, field engineers and managers,
9% operation and section managers,
4% R&D, global directors, 7% executives 18
• Saudi Aramco
 Main operation in the KSA and has global overseas affiliates.
 In 2005, 2908 were women employee, 40% are professionals
25
Regional Organizations for Women
in Science
• Saudi Science club, formed women’s division to
support pre-university science students.
• Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF Sharja, U.A.E.) recently formed the women’s
committee in support of women members.
• Prominent women scientist representing Arab
researcher around the globe were nominated to the
ASTF board of directors
• Women comprise 8.7% of the total ASTF scientists
and technologists
26
International Organizations for
Women in Science
International organizations whose members are
mainly women in science:
• Arab Network for Women in Science & Technology
(ANWST), Bahrain
• International Network of Women Engineers and
Scientist (INWES)
International Organizations that support
women in science:
•
•
•
•
ESCWA
UNESCO
STMRN
UNIFEM
27
International Awards
Women achievements is internationally being
recognized
•
Nobel Prize (1901)
Out of the 773 Laureates, 34 are women
(4.46%)
 Of these women 12 (35.29%) are in science 19

•
King Faisal International Prize(1977)
 Out of the 161 Laureates, 4 (2.6 %) are
women
 Of these women one is a scientist.
13
28
Proposed Future Developments for
Women’s Career in S & T
1.
Realizing the “education for all” principle
2.
3.
Overcoming the Language barrier
Budget allocation for women activities in R & D
4.
Science clubs in schools & universities are to be
supported
5.
Introduction of computers, Internet, educational
satellite channels and multimedia to promote self
learning, research & discovery in S & T
Attention should be made to upgrade the laboratories
to facilitate empirical education
Encourage women to continue post graduate studies
and post doctorate professional development programs
6.
7.
29
8.
Encourage women to specialize in S&T and lead the research
teams
9.
Participation in scientific conferences and meetings within &
outside the ٌregion, to increase interaction with experts and
improve their skills and profiles
10. Research centres concerned with women’s affair should be
encouraged and supported
11. Collaborative research between the Arab region and countries of
the developed world to be established
12. To establish information and documentation centres to monitor
the situation of Arab women in S&T
13. Creating S&T professional information system to be provided to
educational and training establishments for networking
14. Employment for women in S&T should be balanced with
educational and training opportunities
15. Marketing and capacity building systems for women’s research
products should be activated
30
Exemplary Arab Women in Science
Fayza AlKhorafi
Sara Akbar
Zaha’ Hadid
Kuwait Distinguished scholar, professor and
accomplished chemist
The first Arab woman to be appointed Rector of
Arab University (Kuwait University)
Kuwait A Petroleum Engineer, member of Kuwait Oil
Iraq
Company since 1981
Played an important role in extinguishing the oil
fires after the Gulf war and cleaning up one of the
worst environmental disasters in history
Recipient of “Globe 500” Award from the UN
Environmental Program
A diva of World Architecture having design and
execute major architectural projects e.g. Rosenthal
Center for Contemporary Arts (Cincinnati)), BMW
plant (Leipzig), bridge linking Abu Dhabi to the
mainland of UAE
Awarded the Pritzker Prize (Arhitecture’s
equivalent to Nobel Prize)
31
Hayat
Sindi
Huda
Zoghbi
Maha
Ashour
Abdalla
KSA
At the young age of 20, Inventor of the device
combining the effect of light & ultrasound for
use in the field on Biotechnology
Lebanon •The first Arab women scientist to be elected
to the National Academy of Sciences (NASHouston, USA)
Egypt
•Her studies have broadened understanding of
diseases of the neurosystem, e.g. Alzheimer,s
and the role of neuron particularly implicated
in neurodenerative behavioural disease e.g.
ataxia or loss of balance
•Her research spans a range of theoretical
problems in the field of space plasma physics
•She conceived and developed the approach of
using large-scale kinetic (LSK) calculations for
studying the magnetotail
32
Shadia
Rifai
Habbal
(Syria)
Contributed to the development of the first
spaceship to the closest possible point near the sun
in 2007
Spearheaded an academic movement for women
scientist called “Adventurous women”
Leila Abdel
Haqq
Belkoura
Morocco
An Astrophysicist and science writer
Achieved worldwide fame in her book “Minding the
Heavens”
Habiba
Bouhamed
Chaabouni
Tunisia
Devoted her medical and research career in
improving conditions for children and families
affected by genetic disorder in Tunisia and fought
for over 20 years to get medical genetics recognized
as an essential discipline in both research medical
training
Recipient of UNESCO/L’Oreal “Women in
Science “ Award (Africa)
Rafiaa
Ghubash
Bahrain
President of the Gulf University
Director of Arab Network of Women Science and
Technology
33
Conclusion
 Islam promotes the importance of education to both sexes as the Prophet
Mohamed (PBUH) ordered “Seek knowledge from cradle to grave”
 In no region in the world do women have equal rights to men (economical,
social or legal)
Growing number of women’s association and organizations in the Arab
world is a positive phenomenon
Women education in most Arab countries only developed during the last 50
years, now the number of women graduates in the fields of Science is more or
less equal to men
Although women have the same opportunities as men in most fields of
science and health education, yet there is a limited job opportunities for
women.
34
 The glass ceiling still exist for women Globally
What can we do with this workforce of qualified Arab Women in Science ?
Scientific Research is the answer
We need collaboration.
 Collaborative programs such as the joint supervision program at KAAU
need political & administrative support and recognition in order to succeed.
 Impact of collaboration between scientists from the Arab world and the
developed world :
 Arab world would benefit from the transfer of technology
 Developed world scientists would gain access to under researched region
 Gender equality will not be achieved by formal measures only,
it must be conquered.
 And we as woman scientists should ensure,
we are in the fore front of such a movement
35
References
1. Forbes
Magazine (December 2004), The 50 most Powerful Arab Women in Dubai, UAE; DIT Publishing
2.
ESCWA website: www.escwa.org.lb.
3.
Islam, S.I. (2004); Saudi Women: Achievement in Science.
4.
Islam, S.I. (2004); Saudi Women: Their Role in Science and Education - Presented to NISTADS
Conference, New Delhi, India on March 8 -10, 2004
5.
Hassan, Farkhonda : Islamic Women in science;
httb://www.sciencemag.org/content/summary/290/5489/55
6.
Adnan Badran: UNESCO Science Report 2004.
7.
United Nations, Where do Arab Women Stand in The Development Process? A Gender- Based Statistical
Analysis – Distr LIMETED E/ESCWA/SDD/2004/Booklet.1-January2004
8.
The Role of Women in the Modern Arab World - Enhancing the Human Resource Development of The
League of Arab States- by Lema Hamed, Ahmed Suliman, October 2003.
9.
Women in the Arab World by H.R.P. Princess Basma bint Talal, Geneva, 26 March 1996;
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inst/papers/p…/basma
10. Al-Qazzat, Ayad: Education of Women in the Arab World;
http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/awomeduc.htm
11. Central Intelligence Agency Website: www.cia.gov
36
12.
L’Oreal website: http://www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/index.aspx
13.
King Faisal Foundation Public Relation Department (n.d.) retrieved February 16, 2005, from
www.elfi.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/begleit/doks/Faisal.htm
14.
Ministry of Higher Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: www.mohe.gov.ksa
15.
Health Statistical Year Book, 1421/ 1422. Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.
16.
World Bank Report 2002.
17.
UNDP – POGAR: Programme on governance in the Arab Region
http”//www.pogar.org/themes/gender
Andrew Gould, Chairman & CEO Schlumberger Ltd. Waking up to the need for women in science & technology.
2003 from www.slb.com
19.
Nobel Prize website: http:www.almaz.com/nobel/alpha
20.
Corey Habbas, Muslim women in Science http://www.iviews.com
21.
www.undp,org/info21/saudi/nahda.htm
22.
Arab Development Report 2005
23.
Khaled A. Taki, Ph.D. The current status of Arab Woman in the Arab world
http://www.whoswhoarabwomen.com
Mona M. Kaidbey. Gender Equality and Women Empowerment: The Arab Experience
Maita Al Shamsi. The uneven path of women’s empowerment
24.
25.
37
Acknowledgment
Many thanks to:
•
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), and to all
the authorities behind this event for inviting me to present
& document the progress and opportunities of Arab
women
•
The King Abdulaziz University & King Fahad Medical
Research Centre for their Support
And
All, who in one way or another helped during the making of
this presentation.
38