Hyderabad: Women scientists on the decline

Hyderabad: More than 200 women scientists gathered at National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) to discuss on the various research subjects that are being taken up in institutions and how to help young women scientists take their research further and not give up and drop out because of marriage, children and other obstacles.

Basic science leads to inventions and new technologies, stated the women who had gathered for ICMR and National Institute of Nutrition women’s meet in the city.

The convenor of the conference, scientist, Ratna Rao, explained, “Basic science requires a lot of work for years together. There could be 40 subjects that scientists would be working on but only three would finally see the light of the day. That is one of the prime reasons why the West is always coming out with new inventions. We have to focus on the core areas to make it happen in India.” While the number of women students enrolling for Ph.D in various scientific institutions is high, there is a gap being noted when it comes to getting jobs.

The major problem noted with aspiring women scientists during the initial stages is their family life. They are not able to have a proper work-life balance and for that reason many of them give up. The efforts of the Indian Women Scientists Association is to give women scientists a chance to network and options where they can rejoin and get back to research work.

Dr Manjula Reddy, principal scientist at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, explained, “We want young women scientists to not give up after their break. There are opportunities to get back and they must not stop looking out.”