Where are the Women of Science?

Less than 30% of the world's researchers are women, and in some fields that figure is closer to 10%. This is surprising, because women are 50% of the worlds population.

People and institutions have been working on this issue for decades, but progress has been very slow. Why is that so? 

Most of us have learned that science is objective, free from bias and prejudice, apolitical. It often makes us think of scientists as superhumans. We forget that they are humans like you and me. Humans who struggle, persevere, fail, have inspirational moments of discovery in the face of personal conditioning, challenges and societal obstacles. In this conversation, let us look at one human dimension of science that has often erased the scientific breakthroughs of almost half of our species! Let us examine the what, why, and how of it and see if this can help us think about what pursuing 'real' science means.

About the Speaker - 

Radha is senior mentor and course designer at GenWise.

Her view of the world is one of hidden connections and she believes that a significant part of learning is to unearth these connections. She is an environmental scientist by training, with a deep interest in exploring and practicing "transformative education for sustainable living". Towards this effort she is engaging actively with rural and urban communities to further the idea of food sovereignty.

After 18 years as a global environmental consultant, Radha also wore the teacher's hat for several years at the Rishi Valley School, teaching Environmental Sustainability. She is a Visiting Faculty at the School of Development, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru and engages actively in popular education efforts around sustainability.

Radha has a bachelor's degree in Genetics from the Madras University, a Master's from Osmania University, and a Ph.D from IIT Bombay in Environmental Science.

Radha has facilitated several pioneering courses on Sustainability and related thems at various GenWise summer and year-round programs.