Last 13th June, the book "Mujeres en la ciencia contemporánea. La aguja y el camello" was launched simultaneously in Barcelona, Madrid and Tenerife.
"Mujeres en la ciencia contemporánea. La aguja y el camello" is a collective book directed by Ana M. González Ramos, IN3 Senior Researcher, as a result of the project “GENERA: Generación de una economía del conocimiento más inclusiva y competitiva” (FEM 2013-48225-C3-1-R) funded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness.
Women researchers are located in training and intermediate positions, but they disappear when the positions of greater relevance and leadership arrive. That sticky ground can not be broken until the scientific cultures in the academy are transformed, changing organizations and research trajectories.
Science requires a gender agenda that manages talent in a more efficient and inclusive way for women and men. This book talks about the reasons of renounce, the effect on health of meritocratic pressure, and instability, power relations and sexist cultures, the options to improve their chances of success
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
We live in an androcentric culture where patriarchal structures prevail; finding female researchers in positions of leadership and importance in our universities is relatively uncommon. The predominant forces lead to traditional gender roles and the corporate goals of the neo-liberal academic model.
This results in discrimination that prevents female researchers from shining in their careers.
The chapters brought together in this book indicate the need to change the attitudes of the scientific community in Spanish universities. Science requires a gender plan that enables more efficient and inclusive talent management and gives recognition to women's capabilities in research fields. The book offers critiques and proposals to address women's position at the margins of the Spanish research community. It also looks at reasons for dropping out, the health effects of meritocratic competition, employment instability, the lack of recognition for women's efforts, power relationships and sisterhood, gender divides, and the questioning of management models that are based on male power.