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Women-Scientists Discriminated by the Weizmann Institute of Science
Universities repeatedly claim to fly the banner of sexual equality. But in practice and despite the implementation of a series of measures in recent years, the percentage of women with senior status on the faculties of most universities remains little changed. In some places it has decreased.
Until a decade ago, there was almost no discussion on the low rate of women's participation in Israeli academics. But top officials in the system began to recognize the problem and have taken steps in the last six years to fix it.
Despite these efforts, statistics obtained by Haaretz reveal that women still represent only about a quarter of Israel's academic faculty: 26 percent in 2006 compared with 23 percent in 2000. Female professors say the glass ceiling remains in place because only superficial, easy-to-handle issues have been addressed, not advancement mechanisms and acceptance procedures.
"There has been no lack of doctoral degrees for years, and there is no lack of women who excel. What remains lacking is a desire to incorporate them in the faculty," says Professor Rachel Elior, adviser to the president of the Hebrew University on the status of women.
Elior bases this on data that indicate that since 2004 the representation rate of women among incoming faculty at the Hebrew University has decreased by about 42 percent. The situation at the Weizmann Institute of Science is similar. There, not a single woman was accepted to the basic academic faculty from 2003 until 2006, after years in which only one to two new female scientists were accepted each year.
"When these statistics were first published, people were very surprised to learn that in another few years there will be no female professors at the Institute," says Professor Hadassa Degani, adviser to the president of the Institute on the advancement of women in science.
This year, four of 12 incoming members of the Weizmann faculty are women, but according to Degani, "this year may be coincidental."
The situations at Ben-Gurion University and Tel Aviv University are similar: The rate of incoming female faculty has stagnated at 30 percent. Only at the University of Haifa has the rate reached more than 50 percent.
During the past year, women represented 65 percent of that university's incoming faculty. But that rate will drop to 48 percent in the coming academic year. Only Bar-Ilan University enjoys a constantly increasing trend. The rate of female researchers to begin their work during the coming academic year is 39 percent.
After many years of denial, universities have adopted measures to solve the problem. Many universities like Bar-Ilan have opened breast-feeding stations, and some have established day care centers. Advisers on women's issues to university presidents have been appointed.
Hebrew University adopted a declaration that calls for gender equality. Ben-Gurion University made a landmark decision two years ago to appoint Professor Rivka Carmi as the first female head of an Israeli university.
The Hebrew University and the Weizmann Institute decided to provide grants to assist women in traveling abroad with their families to do post-doctoral work. Degani and Elior both describe the post-doc as a bigger obstacle for women because it is considered unacceptable for Israeli men to compromise their careers by following their female scientist partners abroad.
Professor Hannah Naveh, dean of the Faculty of the Arts at Tel Aviv University, says that measures like establishing breast-feeding stations or providing grants to outstanding female candidates are vital and should have been implemented long ago, though they are a kind of lip service.
Naveh says there is a need to appreciate the sociocultural reality in which women consistently have a lower status than men.
"People have internalized the need to correct the structural problem in academics," Elior says. "But this fails when put to the test of reality."
She says that appointment committees comprised of faculty members who decide who will be hired and promoted are a big reason for this problem. The deliberations of these committees take place behind closed doors and provide no way to evaluate their decisions. "It is always possible to say that 'he was accepted because he was better than she was,'" Elior says.
Source: Tamara Traubmann. The academic year begins / Doctoral degrees abound, but number of women academics stagnates. Haaretz.com (18 October 2007) [FullText]
Until a decade ago, there was almost no discussion on the low rate of women's participation in Israeli academics. But top officials in the system began to recognize the problem and have taken steps in the last six years to fix it.
Despite these efforts, statistics obtained by Haaretz reveal that women still represent only about a quarter of Israel's academic faculty: 26 percent in 2006 compared with 23 percent in 2000. Female professors say the glass ceiling remains in place because only superficial, easy-to-handle issues have been addressed, not advancement mechanisms and acceptance procedures.
"There has been no lack of doctoral degrees for years, and there is no lack of women who excel. What remains lacking is a desire to incorporate them in the faculty," says Professor Rachel Elior, adviser to the president of the Hebrew University on the status of women.
Elior bases this on data that indicate that since 2004 the representation rate of women among incoming faculty at the Hebrew University has decreased by about 42 percent. The situation at the Weizmann Institute of Science is similar. There, not a single woman was accepted to the basic academic faculty from 2003 until 2006, after years in which only one to two new female scientists were accepted each year.
"When these statistics were first published, people were very surprised to learn that in another few years there will be no female professors at the Institute," says Professor Hadassa Degani, adviser to the president of the Institute on the advancement of women in science.
This year, four of 12 incoming members of the Weizmann faculty are women, but according to Degani, "this year may be coincidental."
The situations at Ben-Gurion University and Tel Aviv University are similar: The rate of incoming female faculty has stagnated at 30 percent. Only at the University of Haifa has the rate reached more than 50 percent.
During the past year, women represented 65 percent of that university's incoming faculty. But that rate will drop to 48 percent in the coming academic year. Only Bar-Ilan University enjoys a constantly increasing trend. The rate of female researchers to begin their work during the coming academic year is 39 percent.
After many years of denial, universities have adopted measures to solve the problem. Many universities like Bar-Ilan have opened breast-feeding stations, and some have established day care centers. Advisers on women's issues to university presidents have been appointed.
Hebrew University adopted a declaration that calls for gender equality. Ben-Gurion University made a landmark decision two years ago to appoint Professor Rivka Carmi as the first female head of an Israeli university.
The Hebrew University and the Weizmann Institute decided to provide grants to assist women in traveling abroad with their families to do post-doctoral work. Degani and Elior both describe the post-doc as a bigger obstacle for women because it is considered unacceptable for Israeli men to compromise their careers by following their female scientist partners abroad.
Professor Hannah Naveh, dean of the Faculty of the Arts at Tel Aviv University, says that measures like establishing breast-feeding stations or providing grants to outstanding female candidates are vital and should have been implemented long ago, though they are a kind of lip service.
Naveh says there is a need to appreciate the sociocultural reality in which women consistently have a lower status than men.
"People have internalized the need to correct the structural problem in academics," Elior says. "But this fails when put to the test of reality."
She says that appointment committees comprised of faculty members who decide who will be hired and promoted are a big reason for this problem. The deliberations of these committees take place behind closed doors and provide no way to evaluate their decisions. "It is always possible to say that 'he was accepted because he was better than she was,'" Elior says.
Source: Tamara Traubmann. The academic year begins / Doctoral degrees abound, but number of women academics stagnates. Haaretz.com (18 October 2007) [FullText]
Labels: Weizmann Institute
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