Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-01-20-Speech-4-215"
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"en.20000120.13.4-215"2
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"Mr President, let me first of all say that I do find it rather a shame that the debate on "Peking + 5" was already put off until the end of the parliamentary part-session a month ago, just as the debate on ‘Women and Science’ has been this time. Whenever the subject of women comes up, it would seem that we always put the discussion off until after all the other debates, which I think is a pity.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, reading Mrs McNally’s report we know immediately that we are dealing with a vital issue. ‘Women and Science’ is a title that could be misleading, if it were to be seen as part of a never-ending list of ‘Women and …’ whatever subject it may be. Such a list is necessary, but occasionally it is inadequate in terms of highlighting the importance of a problem. Well, in this instance we are dealing with a vital matter that for centuries has given rise to controversy about the equality of the sexes. Can women have similar reasoning powers to men? Are women capable of scientific activity? There is no longer anyone who doubts that, and the reply now and forever must be that they can and they are. But that is where the problems start. If the situation of women in the scientific field is worrying, it is because of a number of problems that are difficult to resolve. Science, as a symbolic activity, remains a male preserve, just like political responsibility. The same obstacles are found whether it is a matter of sharing political power or academic power. In both cases, male power is at stake. So let us propose the same remedies, such as the introduction of parity in politics which has been attempted by some countries in the Union.
Girls are very successful at school and there is nothing to justify the fact that there are so few women in the world of research. The obstacles to a scientific career are external to the research itself. In other words, it is not enough to gain access to the scientific arena, this arena needs to make room for women, and not always treat them as guests, as it was put so well at the symposium in April 1998 organised by the Commission. The direction you take at school and university remains an enigma as far as the equality of the sexes is concerned. The exact sciences are often organised in such a way as to discourage girls. Coeducational training, and also the potential sexism of teachers, parents and institutions, are problems that are far from being solved. As for social sciences, they will only have a purpose if they incorporate the need to consider the ‘male-female’ dimension in all social and human problems. It is clearly necessary to have a broad view of science and to know that you cannot think about society without introducing the ‘male-female’ dimension.
Today we are still far short of the target. I believe that Mrs McNally’s report, and I pay tribute to its completeness as well as its complexity, is important, as it emphasises remedies, if not solutions, to the problem of the difficult practice of science, that is to say, of data and figures of course, the presence of women in the different branches, scholarships and diplomas, the introduction of restrictive measures to increase the presence of women in research, the promotion of studies on mechanisms of sexual discrimination and the setting up in the Directorates-General of the Commission of working parties and monitoring bodies. I am delighted that this report has also not omitted the problem of women’s power in science, …"@en1
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