Expand your Horizons, Girls – Get Ready for a Career in Science!

2011-11-07T15:29:58Z

Too many girls still renounce to pursue natural science studies, even though they have the same capabilities as boys do. Although women equal or outnumber men in most study fields in the European Union (EU-27), they represent only 41% in science, mathematics and computing and only 25% in engineering, manufacturing and construction. Women also progress much more slowly in their careers: while they make up 59% of all graduates, men account for 82% of professorships. Only 30% of European researchers are women. In governments, equivalent numbers of women and men work in the field of humanities, while only 27% of researchers in engineering and technology are female. Worse, in European businesses, only 19% of the researchers are women.[i] In the United States, women constitute 46% of the workforce, but hold only 27% of science and engineering jobs overall and 12% of engineering jobs.

This is a real concern in a world where "the future will be designed by engineers and scientists"[ii]. There is a need to specifically encourage young girls to discover science and technology careers and professions, to bring then in contact with women who can become role models for their future working lives. Young girls also need concrete examples that nurture their enjoyment and confidence in mathematics and natural sciences, by connecting the value of these study fields to future career opportunities.

This is what the initiative “Expanding your Horizons” (EYH) is trying to achieve. EYH was launched in California in 1974 by women scientists who believed that girls had as much ability, but fewer opportunities to go into natural science professions than boys. The principle of EYH is to show girls that there are numerous, fun and interesting careers that have their foundations in natural sciences and technology. Through hands-on workshops, they find out what it is like to work in some of these different careers, learning from fascinating women who are paid to play, think and solve interesting and important problems. During the workshops, the girls participate in fun experiments and discover the importance of studying mathematics and natural sciences as much as possible in school. With women volunteers to lead workshops, the girls encounter working women mathematicians, engineers and scientists who can serve as models and mentors in the future.

EYH crossed the Atlantic for the first time in November 2009 for a first conference on the European continent in Geneva. Its success convinced the organizers of the potential of this approach for girls in Geneva. They decided to propose a new meeting this year, to be held on 12 November. This time around, the Department of Public Education, Culture and Sport of the Canton and the University of Geneva have joined the initiative. Thus, about 250 girls aged between 11 and 14 will be welcomed in the University, offering them an early exposure to the academic environment. A selection of workshop topics of the day: the CERN will present, among others " See the invisible: expose cosmic rays”, the biopharmaceutical company Merck Serono will hold a session on "Makeup - Beauty or cruelty?", while EPFL will offer "The robot academy: program the LEGO Mindstorms robot."[iii]

There are still many girls who are made to believe that natural sciences and technology are not feminine and who do not know the variety and abundance of professions as well as the excitement of working in these fields. Workshop and networking programmes like EYH Geneva (and elsewhere in the world[iv]) create the opportunity for young girls to meet fascinating women who are determined to share their passion for professions that consider the complexities of life and help solve and overcome scientific and technical problems, with the ultimate goal to motivate these girls to become innovative and creative thinkers ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century. They therefore deserve the widest possible support from businesses, public entities, civil society and parents concerned about the future of the world and their children.

[i] http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she_figures_2009_en.pdf

[ii] Beth Krasna, Swiss/US business woman, Le Temps, 11 February 2011

[iii] For more information and to register: http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org/conferences/GenevaFrench/page1.php

[iv] To find out where EYH programmes are taking place internationally or to launch a local programme, see www.expandingyourhorizons.org

Danone's Rep Sees “Major Systemic Risk” in Today's Food Supply System

2011-10-25T14:52:16Z

The other day at the WTO Public Forum, a 3-day annual gathering of government, civil society and business participants, it came as no surprise when Emmanuel Faber, Chief Operating Officer of Danone, the French food industry giant, said during a panel that businesses like his could not help much to address the issue of food security. More surprisingly, however, he then added that food and water should be “desynchronised from capital markets and the volatility” that comes with them to create a stable and fair global food system. This is a stark statement coming from a chief representative of a company that earned a net profit of €1.7 billion last year through producing, processing and selling food globally and makes more than half of its turnover in emerging countries.

According to Faber, paradoxically, most of the world’s 2 billion or so poor people are farmers. Furthermore, only three types of cereal – namely wheat, corn and rice – supply sixty percent of the calorific and protein intake of the world population today. Although this had meant a “fantastic opportunity” for businesses, it also presents a “major systemic risk” for humankind. For Faber, technology can only be part of the solution to overcome the challenge of feeding a growing world population and creating sustainable livelihoods and agricultural systems in the face of environmental degradation and climate change.

The fight against hunger and for food security have been on the global agenda at least since 1974, when governments solemnly committed to eradicating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition "within a decade" at the first World Food Conference. More than thirty years and innumerable summits, meetings, policy studies and statements later, we are still way behind that goal. Worse, today we face another food paradox, not mentioned by Danone’s COO: the incidences of excess weight, obesity and chronic food-related diseases such as diabetes are growing, not least in developing countries. They are likely to touch over 1.5 billion people in 2015 according to a recent forecast by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

When neither the ‘international community’ nor governments are able (or willing) to achieve tangible results in eradicating hunger and creating sustainable livelihoods for the poor (see e.g. Richard Heuzé – World Hunger Report: Food Security and Reality), and food industry representatives say that they “have no clue” about how to feed the world, should we then throw up our hands and accept the inacceptable? That the World is unfair and that chronic hunger and economic inequalities are phenomena as old as human history that cannot be overcome?

Or can we start hoping that when business leaders like Faber join calls from civil society and grassroots organisations for a paradigm change, for delinking food and water from capital markets, for a more integrated approach, for new and innovative solution, we will finally be capable of building sustainable agricultural systems as well as decent and healthy living conditions for every human being on the planet?

theglobaljournal.net: Latest articles of Violette Ruppanner

Expand your Horizons, Girls – Get Ready for a Career in Science!

Danone's Rep Sees “Major Systemic Risk” in Today's Food Supply System