Efecto de los espesores crecientes en la microestructura de recubrimientos de ZnNi.

Reubena et al. (2014:403) designed an experiment to isolate the potential effect of discrimination in order to determine whether it contributes to the low percentage of women in mathematics and science careers. What they discovered was that when job applications are processed, the best candidate is appointed if the candidate’s personal information is unknown. However, in the case where candidates appear for an interview, men are twice more likely to be hired for a mathematical task than women. On the other hand, should candidates self-report their ability to perform such a task, women are still discriminated against, since men have the tendency to over-report by boasting about their performance; most employers fall for this ploy. These authors also

report that discrimination can only be reduced but not completely eliminated if full background information on the performance of candidates is provided. This is the outcome of the Implicit Association Test, indicating that implicit stereotypes predict ‘the initial bias in beliefs’ as well as the ‘suboptimal updating of gender-related expectations’, if participants self-report their performance.

The above report presents an element of patriarchy, symbolising the STEM fields as made for men, i.e. if there are two candidates for a maths-related post, a man and a woman, then the man’s appearance automatically secures him the post. At the same time the report also highlights the feelings of superiority that are normally displayed in patriarchal communities, where men unnecessarily overrate themselves and regard women as second-hand citizens, as happened during the above investigation. This is evidence enough that stereotypes affect the choice of careers of women, away from the STEM fields. The over-reporting of performance by men seems to have such men’s confidence built in their make-up. Women, on the other hand, may feel discouraged from joining the STEM fields, based on experiences like the one above. This attitude justifies the need for women-specific programmes that will encourage and motivate women to take up careers in the STEM fields.

The origin of the attitude referred to here may be anchored in the more patriarchal societies, where men are regarded as natural managers of subjects such as technology, science and business (Tjomsland, 2009:413). Therefore, more men than women are taking up careers in those fields. Such men often have full access to higher education and take up uncontested jobs as they are perceived to be taking care of their families and serving society as the main source of the labour market. That creates a gap between men and women, depending on the severity of practice in different countries and regions. It also has a great impact on women’s access to higher education globally, although the practice is at local level.

Lack of access to education, and in particular STEM education, is a challenge shaped by negative socialisation, in the name of culture and tradition. In a normal, black South African family, a girl is expected to help with the household chores of cleaning up and cooking for the family whilst boys will be washing the car and help to clean the yard, activities that occur once in a while and not on a daily basis. In these cases, girls spend

more time working at home while boys may use that time to study and catch up with school work. These issues contribute to girls’ choice of careers as they tend to choose what they are familiar with, i.e. taking care of other people, hence teaching and nursing become the automatic choices for many girls. They are also believed to lack skill in mathematics and science, simply because they are women. In that sense, young women are denied full access to education.

Access to higher education for young women in the Arab countries is reported to be based, not on the choice of career or ability to compete in the economic market. Instead, young women access higher education to gain status and for prestige, enabling them to compete in the marriage market. On the other hand, sub-Saharan African countries are known for the cultural practice of regarding the awarding of a higher degree as a disadvantage to woman and not proper for a wife (Tjomsland, 2009:413–14). These practices are an indication that in some countries higher education is taboo for young women, let alone the technology and science subjects which have been assigned a masculine nature. This and related practices that make higher education inaccessible for young women actually place men as income generators and therefore as authorities over women both economically and socially. In such cases, women depend on the income generated by men, which also puts them at the mercy of their husbands. This factor adds to the causes of women’s lack of socioeconomic transformation.

The potential socioeconomic transformation of women and in particular young women seems to be a far-fetched reality if the above gender gaps are not closed. I have noted with understanding, the role of culture as one aspect prohibiting, not only women’s access to higher education as is evident in the above-mentioned cases but also access to certain subjects. Access to the STEM fields as career choices for young women is even more obscured by the belief that only men are natural managers of such fields, hence I felt there was a need for a contribution of an awareness programme in this research.

Whilst most of the authors mentioned in this study seem to be disturbed by the small number of women who are taking up studies and careers in the STEM fields and the need to improve that situation, Nqamane (2009:156) reports that in sub-Saharan

Africa, women’s numbers are said to be increasing in the jobs that have a low salary, e.g. in the agricultural field. As Satyanarayana and Meduri (1982:2–3) warn, social resistance arising out of stereotypes, fears and misconceptions that education might alienate girls from traditions, social values leading to maladjustment, conflicts and non- conformism, need to be rooted out of the minds of individuals.

The stereotypes in socialisation are also evident in the survey conducted by Satyanarayana and Meduri (1982:2–3), on the general indifference to the education of girls. When sourcing for reasons for the educational backwardness of girls and women from the learners, the following were some of the responses they provided:

• Early marriage and social inhibitions against girls who are pursuing education after marriage;

• In some cases, girls become victims of child labour, especially if they come from impoverished backgrounds and the hard, domestic chores which are said to be girls’ responsibilities and they are required to perform even if they are not married;

• Beliefs that the sole occupation of women is to bear children, to take care of her husband and children, in addition to some general domestic work;

• Discrimination against women in the labour market, both organized and unorganized sectors, especially regarding recruitment, training and development, as well as promotion;

• Some girls and their parents find that the school curriculum does not conform adequately to their needs and interests;

• Unsuitable school hours and inflexible social timings;

• Facilities for girls in some schools, particularly in the mixed gender schools, are found to be inadequate.

The harmful gender stereotypes that are used by women oppressors, in the name of culture and tradition, should be rooted out in the communities through education, formal and informal. Universities could use the curriculum to integrate gender-sensitive information and activities and also train lecturers, the deliverers of that curriculum, to lay a sound foundation, in an effort to destroy the myth that the STEM fields are meant

for men and not for women. This would attract more young women into these fields and increase their representation in all spheres in the STEM sector.

Cummings (2015:7) quoted the World Bank Report of 2012, that women represent 40% of the world’s workforce, 43% of the world’s agricultural labour force and more than half of the world’s university students. However, women have merely 1% of the world’s wealth. That is, despite all the efforts made to promote gender equality and to close the gender gap in the world’s workforce in the past 50 years. Regrettably, much of women’s work is still in the sex-stereotyped occupations and is more poorly paid than men’s. As a result, women are extremely affected by the financial and economic crisis globally than their male counterparts. However, women are said to be more likely than men to take money back into their families and communities, as well as to drive economic growth and social progress.

2.10 PARTICIPATION OF YOUNG WOMEN IN STEM FIELDS IN SOUTH