Feature

Equity Issues

Victoria University is looking to redress imbalances in the numbers of women and Maori science students on campus.

By Shona de Sain

"It was a real inspiration to see these women at the top of their fields," said one young woman attending Victoria University's Women in Science day. She and 61 other sixth form girls attended the day-long seminar to learn more about science and what women scientists were doing.

The event was organised by Victoria University with support from the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Association of Women in the Sciences (AWIS). It is just one of the efforts Victoria University has made in recent years to attract and support more women and Maori students and staff. In the science faculty's view, this was linked to its efforts towards general recruitment, to retain more students at postgraduate levels and to increase research.

Staff looked at the gender and racial imbalance within the science faculty and were pleased to find a somewhat brighter picture than had been previously perceived. Some 36% of BSc students and 35% of PhD students are female. However, remove the life sciences of biology, biochemistry and psychology, and there is a clear decline, with female student numbers dropping to 24% and 25% respectively.

The problem is very much concentrated in the physical sciences, computer science and mathematics. It is obvious that this fairly accurately reflects participation levels in schools, where girls traditionally take life sciences, such as biology, in preference to the physical sciences of physics and chemistry.

While universities and other tertiary institutions can implement equal opportunity programmes for their students, it is clear that the degree of success of such programmes is constrained by societal factors over which they have little control or influence.

Because of the gender imbalance at earlier levels of education, Victoria University, like many others, has been involved in a strong science promotion for female secondary students. The science faculty has run Women in Science Days for sixth form girls, and fourth form science days as part of this effort.

What has been an unexpected bonus in the development of the programme at Victoria is the revelation of so much happening in the area of equal employment opportunities and the more general area of promotion. The promotion efforts appear to have borne fruit. In 1989, women made up 29.6% of first-year full-time students in science, and this rose to 37.7% the following year.

Maori In Science

There are few Maori students in the science faculty, with 50 amongst 2,000 undergraduates, two doing Honours, one Masters and three PhD students. The reasons for this are various and are rooted at lower levels in the education process.

Victoria University has developed the first holistic science course taught in a Maori context, in the hopes of providing a bridge for Maori students into science. It should also provide an opportunity for science students to obtain an understanding of Aotearoa's science and technology heritage.

In 1992, Science of the Maori will be a level one course, and will cover a diverse range of sciences including geology, astronomy, botany, chemistry, zoology and soil science.

Against the enthusiasm for getting more women and Maori students into science must be set recent government cuts in studentships for underrepresented groups in science. The increased fees for postgraduate students have been particularly hard felt in the science area, and general cuts in public promotion of science and research funding have also been evident.

Equity issues in science and science education are being addressed at a number of institutions throughout New Zealand. Auckland University has a marae-based course for Maori and Pacific Island students enrolling in science. Waikato University runs a pre-university course, Te Timatanga Hou, for Maori students of all ages wishing to take university courses.

There is support at all levels for bridging courses to encourage reluctant students to take up science, such as the Certech courses operated by Massey University. Science camps and holiday courses are being used to encourage, support and extend our budding scientists.

AWIS is seeking suffrage sponsorship to run a conference that celebrates the past and present contributions of women to science in this country, and to look towards the future.

Shona de Sain is a senior science teacher and careers adviser who has been working with Victoria University's Chemistry Department to encourage greater representation of minority groups.