Role of Science and Technology in the Advancement of Women Worldwide

Participants at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China, created a Platform for Action focusing on 12 critical areas of concern (poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, economy, decision-making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, the media, environment, and the girl child) and the serious barriers to women's health and well-being in eacharea. Subsequently, the Department of Energy funded a study, described here, that shows, in a literature review and in interviews with 15 women experts, how science and technology can be integral to women's advancement in each of the 12 critical areas. Among the study's conclusions are that differing perspectives exist (pro-science, relativist, and skeptical) on the role of science andtechnology in women's lives and that these differing perspectives may explain why communication is difficult among policy makers and with scientists about the role science and technology may play in the advancement of women worldwide. Recommendations call for women's involvement in the ethics of science; removal of institutional barriers to advancing women; greater accountability in use ofresources; changes in science education; and increased dialogue among those with differing perspectives on the role of science and technology in the advancement of women.