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Q&A: “What is Important is to Give Equal Opportunity” – Part 2

Stephen de Tarczynski interviews scientist Lourdes J. Cruz, winner of the 2010 UNESCO-L'Oréal Award

MANILA, Nov 18 2009 (IPS) - Although women have long made major contributions to science, their efforts have often been overlooked. For the past 12 years, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has teamed up with cosmetics giant L’Oréal to highlight the achievements of female scientists.

The UNESCO-L’Oréal For Women in Science partnership announced the five 2010 laureates on Oct.15.

Representing five distinct geographical regions, professors Rashika El Ridi, Lourdes J. Cruz, Elaine Fuchs, Anne Dejean-Assémat and Alejandra Bravo were chosen as winners from almost a thousand female scientists who were nominated for the awards in life sciences.

Each laureate will receive 100,000 dollars in recognition for their outstanding contributions to science and will be presented with the awards at a ceremony at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters on Mar. 4, 2010.

Professor Lourdes J. Cruz, from the Marine Science Institute at the University of the Philippines in Manila, is the laureate for the Asia-Pacific region. The first Filipina to win the prestigious award, Professor Cruz was recognised for discovering toxins from marine snails which can be used as tools to study brain function.

Professor Cruz spoke with IPS about the award and the situation for women scientists in the Philippines.


IPS: Firstly, congratulations on being one of the five winners of the 2010 L’Oréal-UNESCO award. You must feel very proud to be recognised like that? LOURDES J. CRUZ: Yes, certainly. I thought I really didn’t have a chance because there are so many other women who are qualified and deserving. But this is the first time for a Filipina to receive the award, so we’re all very happy.

IPS: What is the significance of this award? LJC: Well, in sciences, I guess like in other fields, there are certainly more men that are pushing their careers, that are recognised. I think this is why the L’Oréal-UNESCO [award] was set up, to give importance to the role of women and their contributions to science.

IPS: The World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index rates the Philippines among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of gender parity. Does this reflect the situation for women in science here? LJC: Well, 61 percent of the graduates in science at the University of the Philippines in the past year were women. But as they go up and pursue their career, I think more women drop out, maybe because of family concerns. More women, I guess, stay at home and the males are the ones who will earn the living. If there are many kids, then the woman is the one to stop her career in favour of the husband earning for the family.

IPS: 61 percent of science graduates being women is a very high figure. LJC: It is very high. In the university there are, I think, more women [than men] faculty members. But the factor is not just gender. It’s the economic situation in the Philippines [too] because the salaries of academics are lower than those in industry.

So, if both husband and wife are working, generally the woman would stay in academia, teaching, while the husband tries to get a position in industry to earn more for the family or go into business. You see that in many situations. Still, even when it comes to, say, the outstanding young scientist award given by the [Philippine] National Academy of Science, there you see that from the 61 percent of women graduates, the percentage of women recipients drops down to 33 percent. It’s a big drop.

IPS: Is there discrimination against women in science in the Philippines? LJC: Well, here we don’t feel it. Even here at the Marine Science Institute you don’t feel discrimination. In fact, everybody’s very encouraging and we act like a team.

Maybe overall that’s the trend but you will see that there is a difference with respect to fields in science. You will see more women in the biological and life sciences and more men in physics and maybe maths.

I didn’t feel that [discrimination] when I was a chemistry student here in the university because there were actually more women. Chemistry is one of the fields that attract more women than men. Engineering attracts more men, physics attracts more men. So, since chemistry is dominated by women, I didn’t feel it.

IPS: One part of the L’Oréal-UNESCO award that you’ll receive next year is obviously related to the science. But another major aspect of it is recognising women in science. Why do you think it’s important to specifically recognise women in the scientific field? LJC: If you look at the major prizes in science the percentage of women [winners] is very low. Of course, the highest recognition is the Nobel prizes. Only one or two percent [of winners], maybe in physics, and much less than ten percent in others, are women.

IPS: Is funding for women scientists a problem in the Philippines? LJC: The major problem with respect to funding here is that overall the funding level is low … If your level of funding is low you try to equalise it as much as possible.

IPS: In terms of major prizes like the Nobel awards, where there is this huge difference in male versus female winners, how do we address this discrepancy? Should we be trying to get to a position where 50 percent of winners are women? LJC: For me, I guess, one has to be objective. If you’re judging science you judge only the science. If it’s a pool of men and women scientists that you are judging, you should not just give the award because they are women. If it’s a science award then it has to be judged on the science. But I think this [L’Oréal-UNESCO award] makes for encouraging women in science.

IPS: Now that you’re going to be one of the recipients of the L’Oréal-UNESCO award, do you see yourself as somewhat of an ambassador for women in science? LJC: Yes. Hey, we can do things! But there are still communities or societies here in the Philippines where women are discouraged from going to school. But I think what’s important is to give equal opportunity.

IPS: How do you feel as being held up as an example for women’s achievement in science? LJC: It’s nice and I’m very happy about it but in a way it also carries certain responsibilities, so I hope I can do well.

*This is the second of a two-part series that looks at discrimination against women scientists.

 
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