Figure 1: Share of female researchers, selected ESCAP countries, 2011

The Stats Brief is issued without formal editing. This issue of Stats Brief draws on the UIS-AIMS quarterly thematic publication on ‘Women in Science’, Issue I, March 2015. It has been prepared jointly by Bertrand Tchatchoua and his team of UNESCO Institute for Statistics and Teerapong Praphotjanaporn of ESCAP, under the overall guidance of Anis Chowdhury, Director, ESCAP Statistics Division. Views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect that of ESCAP or any UN agency.

March 2015 | Issue No. 06 STATISTICS DIVISION

Gender equality in research & development in Asia and the Pacific

Women have made important contributions to the advancement in research and development.

Despite an increase in the overall number of researchers over time in Asia and the Pacific, men have consistently outnumbered women. In addition, fewer women pursue science-related education than men. As the role of technology, science and innovation is emphasized in achieving the sustainable development goals beyond 2015, it is important to unlock the potential of women in these areas in order for them to make even greater contribution to the betterment of the humankind.

The world has seen a significant increase in number of people working in the field of science. Between 2000 and 2012, the number of researchers¹ around the world increased from 1.9 million to 6.9 million. Despite this global rise in interest, only one third of researchers around the world were female in 2011.

Women remain under-represented in R&D

While parity can be observed in some countries in 2011, i.e.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Malaysia, the proportion of female researchers tends to be lower than the male counterpart and can be as low as 8 and 14 per cent in Nepal and Japan respectively (See Figure 1).

In addition to fewer female researchers, women tend to pursue more “softer studies” such as natural sciences as compared to engineering, manufacturing and consultation. In Azerbaijan in 2012, a country with relatively high percentage of female researchers, out of 54 per cent of total tertiary school female graduates, women accounted for 54 per cent in science sector but only 24 per cent in engineering, manufacturing and construction field (See Figure 2). The gap between science and engineering female graduates is highest in Uzbekistan and Palau (49 and 42 percentage point difference respectively).

When do boys and girls start to separate?

Globally, boys slightly exceed girls in educational enrolment from pre-primary to upper-secondary, and the gap narrows at second degree level. Gender disparity begins to open up again in PhD level and it becomes male-dominance at the researcher level (see Figure 3). A similar pattern is observed in East Asia and the Pacific³. In Central Asia⁴, however,

women exceeded men in great numbers (62 per cent) in second tertiary degree and gender equality has been succeeded in terms of PhD and researcher levels. For South and West Asia⁵, males dominated females throughout the whole education path, with the most significant gender disparity occurring at the tertiary level.

Figure 1: Share of female researchers, selected ESCAP countries, 2011

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, accessed in 2015

8 14

17 24

27 29

36 37

38 41

43 49

49 50 52

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Nepal Japan Republic of Korea Tajikistan Pakistan Singapore Turkey Sri Lanka Macao, China Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Malaysia Mongolia Kazakhstan Azerbaijan

Percentage of female researchers (%)

S ^TATS B ^RIEF

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Figure 2: Share of female graduates by field of study, selected ESCAP countries, 2011 or latest

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, accessed in 2015

Why fewer women in science and technology?

It is generally recognized that work-life balance is hard to achieve for working women whose work involves STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Although the number of women working in these disciplines is increasing over time, data show that there are still significant gender disparities in the field of research. Some barriers for women to pursue their careers in the fields of science and technology include the following;

Low enrolment of females in higher education Out of 25 countries in Asia and the Pacific where data are available, 15 countries recorded more than 50 per cent of female enrolments in Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees (ISCED 5) in 2012 (see Figure 4). However, significant disparities increased in Doctorate degrees (ISCED 6). Apart from Cook Islands and Myanmar where more than 80 per cent of PhD students were women in 2012, the proportions of female PhD students were generally less than the male counterpart and were as low as 6 per cent in Cambodia and 11 per cent in Nepal.

Requirement for a researcher

According to the UNESCO’s definition of “researchers”, ones are generally required to acquire advanced degrees to meet all defined conditions. However, most of the countries in the region showed decreasing pattern of females in transition from Bachelor’s and Master’s degree (ISCED 5) to Doctorate degree (ISCED 6). The gender gap will become widen further if this trend persists.

Gender stereotype

The stereotype of roles of men and women in a society, especially with regard to the professional engagement in the field of science, is a common obstacle to female researchers.

Many girls and their advisors are influenced and dictated by a belief that certain jobs are recommended for men only (UNESCO, 2007). As a result, well qualified girls may not receive appropriate information on science and technology careers and may be steered into other fields.

Limitation in studying areas

The number of female graduates remained low in engineering, manufacturing and construction studies.

Research revealed that women had a tendency to pursue natural science sectors such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, limiting their potential in the area of applied or industrial research.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Myanmar Brunei Darussalam Mongolia Kyrgyzstan New Zealand Georgia Macao, China Malaysia Palau Australia Sri Lanka Azerbaijan Republic of Korea Japan Lao PDR Uzbekistan

Percentage of female graduates (%)

All tertiary Science Engineering, manufacturing, construction

March 2015 | Issue No. 06 STATS BRIEF

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Figure 3: Share of females and males in different level of education, 2012 or latest

Note: For the list of country groupings, please refer to the endnote.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, accessed in 2015

Figure 4: Share of female students in tertiary education, selected ESCAP countries, 2011 or latest

Note: Education levels are based on ISCED 1997.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, accessed in 2015 0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Pre-primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary Post secondary non-tertiary First degree Second degree PhD Researchers

Percentage of females and males (%)

World

Female Male

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Pre-primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary Post secondary non-tertiary First degree Second degree PhD Researchers

Percentage of females and males (%)

Central Asia

Female Male

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Pre-primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary Post secondary non-tertiary First degree Second degree PhD Researchers

Percentage of females and males (%) East Asia and the Pacific

Female Male

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Pre-primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary Post secondary non-tertiary First degree Second degree PhD Researchers

Percentage of females and males (%)

South and West Asia

Female Male

0 20 40 60 80 100

Tajikistan Cambodia Uzbekistan Republic of Korea Bangladesh Nepal India Japan Pakistan Viet Nam Iran, Islamic Rep. Singapore Indonesia Hong Kong, China Cook Islands Macao, China Malaysia Thailand Australia Myanmar Kazakhstan New Zealand Mongolia Brunei Darussalam Sri Lanka

% Female

ISCED 6 ISCED 5

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For information regarding ESCAP’s work in statistics development please visit: http://www.unescap.org/our-work/statistics Contact us: [email protected]

For more information on UIS internationally comparable data on Education, STI, Culture and Communication please consult the UIS data center ([email protected]), or consult with UIS-AIMS team (http://www.unescobkk.org/education/planning-and- managing-education/aims/about-uis-aims/whos-who/)

1 Researchers are defined as professionals engaged in the conception or creating of new knowledge, products, processes, methods and systems, as well as in the management of these projects. (Source: UIS Glossary)

2 Total R&D personnel are defined as all persons employed direct33ly on R&D, as well as those providing direct services such as R&D managers, administrators and clerical staff. (Source: UIS Glossary)

3 Countries in East Asia and the Pacific according to UNESCO include: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; Cook Islands; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Fiji; Indonesia; Japan; Kiribati; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Macao, China; Malaysia; Marshall Islands; Micronesia (Federated States of ); Myanmar; Nauru; New Zealand; Niue; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Republic of Korea; Samoa; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Thailand;

Timor-Leste; Tokelau; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu and Viet Nam.

4 Countries in Central Asia according to UNESCO include: Armenia; Azerbaijan; Georgia; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Mongolia; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

5 Countries in South and West Asia according to UNESCO include: Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; India; Iran (Islamic Republic of); Maldives; Nepal;

Pakistan and Sri Lanka.