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WOMEN AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY |
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| Interview with Marina Kourbela |
21.12.2003 |
Newspaper EXPRESS of Sunday
European women account for less of 30% of Information Technology students, and are in danger of missing out on new developments in technology. That would have a negative impact on European society overall, since they exceed 50% of the EU's total population.
We discussed this issue with Mrs. Anna Karamanou, Euro-MP for PASOK, who recently presented to the European Parliament her report on women and the Information Society, which was approved by a vote in the Plenary Session of the assembly.
Mrs. Karamanou has a long and very active record of advancing the role of women in the process of growth and development, on both the national and the international level.
- Mrs. Karamanou, how do you see the position of European women in the framework of the competitive economy and knowledge-based society that the EU aspires to develop by 2010?
- The objective of the Committee for Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities, which I have the honour to chair, is to ensure that their position should be as pronounced as possible. The developments in technology that have occurred in recent years are bringing about rapid change in our societies and economies. For women, this presents a great opportunity, but also a grave danger. They are included among the population segments that are in danger of staying on the margins of new developments. If this occurs it will have a very negative impact on women's position, but also on European society as a whole. Therefore, the aim for women is to pursue and conquer the active role they deserve in the information society taking form in Unified Europe.
There are serious obstacles. I believe however that we can be optimistic, as indicated by the positions adopted by a number of world leaders at the recent summit meeting of the WSIS in Geneva. Speaking at the conference, our Foreign Minister Mr. George Papandreou said that no one must be excluded from developments in technology, and he gave special emphasis to providing IT training to our citizens and ensuring they have access to the appropriate infrastructure. On this basis, we can help women assume a more active role in the information society.
- What is the position of women today in IT-related education?
Throughout Europe we observe the negative phenomenon of the two sexes following different educational directions. Women are under-represented in new technology sciences. Generally, it can be said that women prefer theoretical studies, while men tend to choose the exact sciences. Thus women account for less than 20% of IT students, though they constitute more than 60% of the total student body in the European Union.
Naturally, there is a direct link between education and employment. The positions that women will ultimately be able to seek in the workplace depend to a considerable degree on the educational choices they have made. Clearly, the different directions followed by the two sexes in education lead to the formation of two labour markets: one for men trained in technology, and one for women.
In particular, men dominate the top positions available in the IT sector, in software, in system analysis – positions offering good pay and scope for creative work. Women on the contrary, even when employed in IT firms usually occupy positions requiring less specialised knowledge, such as technology application or data-entering jobs. Such positions have no advancement prospects and are not paid as well.
Even though the EU's Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Technology has set 40% as the minimum percentage for each gender among new IT entrepreneurs, the percentage of women does not exceed 14.5%. There are of course differences between the situation in the North and in the South, since in Scandinavian countries for example, women employed at IT firms can even reach 50% of the total workforce, while in Southern Europe they are less than 20%. This is a problem that remains acute. The issue is not merely one of job positions. Inequality in education entails inequality at the workplace, and therefore in pay and in quality of life.
- Which European countries do better as regards the number of women trained and employed in Information Technology? How does Greece stand in this issue?
The northern countries are the positive exception; but unfortunately they are not the rule. In these countries, equality of the sexes has been attained in this issue too. The situation on Greece is not so good. As shown in Table 1, women account for 28% of IT students, even though they account for 53% of the entire student body. At this point there arises a very reasonable question: Is this imbalance connected to the imbalance in overall effectiveness? Typically, the northern countries are at the forefront of developments in technology, and their population displays the highest level of familiarity with new technologies, while Greece is last-placed (among EU member-states) in both. I believe this is a natural outcome: when a society restricts the capabilities of one half of its population, it is evident that it can not attain maximum effectiveness. Is this what we really want?
- How did the Plenary Session of the European Parliament receive the report you presented on the subject of women in the Information Society – a report you were assigned to submit by the Committee of Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities of the European Parliament?
The report was first approved by the Committee, and was then received very warmly by the Plenary Session – 414 members voted in favour, 18 against, and 44 abstained. The overwhelming acceptance of the report reflects a very positive development: that the need to strengthen women's position in the Information Society has been widely recognised by all, since it is clear that distinctions between men and women in this field prevent a rational deployment of our human resources and lead to wider social problems. We are looking forward to the specific policy recommendations formulated by the European Commission, and the measures that will be applied to reduce distinctions in practice.
- What are your suggestions for enhancing the position of women in education and in employment in the context of the Information Society?
I think that special emphasis must be given to education, starting at a young age. The use of computers and the Internet must be included in the curriculum starting at the elementary education level, since it has been shown that familiarity with science and technology at an early age could alter women's stance, by influencing their outlook before their behaviour is affected by stereotypes. Strategies must be formulated for increasing women's participation at all levels of education.
Policies to support the creation of local training centres may also play an important role, especially as regards the non-favoured groups, such as women. In addition, incentives may be given to IT firms so that they take into consideration the gender issue in their training and promotion policies (gender mainstreaming).
Table 1
Students in Academic Year 2001-2002, by academic discipline
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|
Number |
Percentage |
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|
Total |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
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Total number of enrolled students |
325.001 |
152.476 |
172.525 |
47% |
53% |
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IT Students in University |
13.257 |
9.890 |
3.367 |
75% |
25% |
|
IT Students in Technical Schools |
8.573 |
5.791 |
2.782 |
68% |
32% |
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Total
IT students |
21.830 |
15.681 |
6.149 |
72% |
28% |
Sources:
- General Secretariat of Greek National Statistical Service, Statistical Information and Publication Dept.
- Ministry of Education and Religion
Table 2
Graduates in Academic Year 2001-2002
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|
Number |
Percentage |
|||
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|
Total |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
|
Graduate
Diplomas |
24391 |
9922 |
14469 |
41% |
59% |
|
Post-Graduate Diplomas |
3403 |
1591 |
1812 |
47% |
53% |
|
Ph.D. |
1154 |
711 |
443 |
62% |
38% |
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Total |
28948 |
12224 |
16724 |
42% |
58% |
Source: Ministry of Education and Religion
Table 3
Students Enrolled for the year 2001-2002
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|
Number |
Percentage |
|||
|
|
Total |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
|
Regular
6-month terms |
172.880 |
71.434 |
101.446 |
41% |
59% |
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Additional
terms beyond the regular 6 months |
152.121 |
81.042 |
71.079 |
53% |
47% |
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Total |
325.001 |
152.476 |
172.525 |
47% |
53% |
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Enrolled
in the First Half - New Students |
44.109 |
17.302 |
26.807 |
39% |
61% |
Source: Ministry of Education and Religion
Table 4
Graduates in Academic Year 2000-2001
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|
Number |
Percentage |
|||
|
|
Total |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
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Graduate
Diplomas |
22.495 |
9.081 |
13.414 |
40% |
60% |
|
Post-Graduate Diplomas |
2.859 |
1.269 |
1.590 |
44% |
56% |
|
Ph.D. |
875 |
554 |
321 |
63% |
37% |
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Total |
26.229 |
10.904 |
15.325 |
42% |
58% |
Source: Ministry of Education and Religion
Table 5
Students enrolled for the year 2000-2001
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|
Number |
Percentage |
|||
|
|
Total |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
|
Regular 6-month terms |
154.063 |
64.014 |
90.049 |
42% |
58% |
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Additional terms beyond the regular 6 months |
169.276 |
88.650 |
80.626 |
52% |
48% |
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Total |
323.339 |
152.664 |
170.675 |
47% |
53% |
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Enrolled in the First Half - New Students |
46.323 |
17.490 |
28.833 |
38% |
62% |
Source: Ministry of Education and Religion