Welcome to the Glass Age

182 The historical discrimination against women in the world of science continues to be present. On March 8, 2021 there still was only one woman for every nine men in the elite of European science. European women scientists occupy very few decision-making positions; their jobs are often evaluated more harshly; they get less funding and fewer fellowships to investigate; and their salaries are lower than those of their male colleagues. Science, as any social phenomenon, is not isolated from the historical and socioeconomic context, and its progress is closely related to power structures and relationships: economic, political and gender. There is a general philosophy according to which creative and original work that gives rise to radical transformations is produced by men, while women are more efficient in technical tasks, in obtaining data, in putting “order” in the laboratory. This idea reflects the androcentric character of scientific-technical systems, which assume that being a scientist means being part of a masculine profession and having to overcome the supposed “disadvantages” of the female sex [2]. The European Technology Assessment Network (ETAN) report, published in 2001 by the Helsinki Group, reviewed the position of women in science and technology in Europe, concluding that the “under- representation of women threatens the goals of science in achieving excellence, as well as being wasteful and unjust” [3]. A statistical review of the women in positions in higher education, research institutes and industry shows that, despite geographical variations in systems and structures, the proportion of women in senior scientific and CEO positions is extremely small everywhere, making visible the gender segregation within the scientific field. The number of women in scientific careers shows a downward curve, with a continuous drop from the beginning of studies, where they tend to be the majority, to the higher scales of full professor, where the proportion of men is always higher. This surprising snapshot is a constant all Figure 12.1. Old postage stamp with portrait of Marie Curie, who is best known for her work discovering polonium and radium radioactive isotopes. Source: 1967 French postage stamp commemorating the 100 th anniversary of Marie Curie’s birth, La Poste de France.