Co-operation is needed to boost women in Latin America

Latin America – including the Caribbean – is a region composed of around 40 nations containing some 600 million people. Most of these countries were under colonial rule by European states for centuries and, after independence in the 20th century, many suffered from dictatorships, political instability and civil wars. Economically, much of Latin America is based on natural resources or manufacturing, although that is now slowly changing with around 80% of the population in Latin America living in high-density cities.

It is well known that science, technology and innovation are critical to a country’s development. Yet research and development expenditure in Latin America is still very small, accounting for between 0.07 and 0.52% of GDP across the continent (compared with 2–3% in Europe and North America). The number of researchers is also critically low: according to figures from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the worst offenders are Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay, which have the lowest rate of full-time researchers in Latin America with less than 100 per million. Only Argentina – with around 1000–2000 researchers per million – approaches the rate of developed nations.

Part of the problem is that it was not until the 1950s that physics became a professional career in nations such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, while for other countries in the region that switch happened even more recently. Yet for all the difficulties, according to a UNESCO headcount in 2009, almost half – 45.2% – of researchers in Latin America are women, apparently giving the region the highest average proportion of female scientists in the world.

However, the UNESCO figure contrasts hugely with other estimates. For example, a study by Argentina’s Science and Technology Council in 2005 showed that only 30% of the country’s researchers in physics were female. A similar headcount by the Mexican Physical Society (SMF) in 2010 revealed that of staff at universities and research centres, just 16% were women, while in Brazil, around 20% of physics faculty are female. The SMF has also published data on university departments in other countries, which show that in Chile, Colombia and Peru, for example, women account for around 16%, 12% and 6%, respectively, of all staff.

With funds scarce for science in general in Latin America, talking about women in science may sound trifling. Indeed, some researchers – both women and men – consider gender-focused programs unnecessary, discriminatory or segregationist. After all, there are many other urgent issues to address in these countries – including poverty and illiteracy.

Unfortunately, other than for some of the countries mentioned above, it is very difficult to get proper statistics for the number of women in science across Latin America. Few national science councils provide such information and university research groups on gender and science are scarce. But despite the limited data, there does seem to be a large gender gap within Latin America and, as with every other gap, it should be addressed. Increasing the number of female scientists would boost the overall scientific population and help the region overcome its inequity. Quite simply, there needs to be a robust scientific structure in Latin America where both women and men have the facilities that support their research, help solve national problems and spur economic development.

Concrete steps

Apart from knowing exactly how many women work in physics in Latin America, there is also a need to continue to support them. We need additional funds to help women and mechanisms to recognize their work and promote them to high-rank faculty positions. Giving women more visibility will provide girls with role models and may convince them to pursue a career in science. But as physics has become a profession only in recent years, I believe our community is open-minded and supportive of such changes. Increasing awareness of discriminatory attitudes, sexual harassment or machismo in general will give women a motivating and friendly environment that will benefit all of us.

In some countries, steps have already been taken and policies introduced. For example, in Brazil an analysis of the number of papers and the paucity of women in the highest levels of academia has led to the introduction of new programmes that support girls at risk of dropping out of school. Argentina, Brazil and Chile now give parental leave to graduate students who have children. And in Mexico there is a programme of scholarships at bachelor level for single mothers, while extended periods for research evaluation and awards are allowed for women who taken time off to have a family. This year’s national conference of the Mexican Physical Society also saw a panel discussion on gender issues.

Yet these programmes, although welcome, are not enough and more action has to be taken. As a result of recent International Union of Pure and Applied Physicists (IUPAP) conferences on women in physics, various national working groups were set up. Teams from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico aim to jointly develop a common framework to study the situation of women in physics that allows us to propose public policies to tackle the issue. I am convinced that such joint action is needed. By working together, with the support of IUPAP, women will be able to expand their capacities and increase their contribution to physics.