Indelible memories of Indian women scientists in Science

Indelible memories of Indian women scientists in Science

GS-1: Women related issues (Indian society)

(UPSC/State PSC)

Important for Prelims:

Women's Day, History of Indian women who have made special contributions to science, Vigyan Jyoti Yojana, Kiran Yojana, Gati Yojana.

Important for Mains:

Status of women's participation in science, history of Indian women who have made special contributions to science, introduction to the struggle of Indian women scientists, challenges, major efforts for women's participation in science, Conclusion.

07/03/2024

Context:

On the occasion of Women's Day, we remember the significant and indelible contributions of all those women scientists who broke glass ceilings, left behind a meaningful legacy and call for an open, diverse and egalitarian approach in science.

Status of women's participation in science:

  • According to the All India Survey on Higher Education 2020-2021, the number of science researchers in India has more than doubled from 30,000 in 2014 to about 60 thousand in 2022.
  • Highest participation of women was recorded in the fields of biotechnology (40%) and medicine (35%).

History of Indian women who have made special contributions to science:

Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (1865-1887)

  • She was the first Indian woman to study and graduate from the United States with a degree in Western medicine.
  • She is considered to be the first Indian woman to set foot on American soil.

Kadambini Ganguly (1861-1923)

  • She is famous as the first female doctor of India as well as the first female doctor of Western medicine in the whole of South Asia.

Vibha Chaudhary (1913-1991)

  • She was India's first woman high energy physicist and the first woman scientist in TFIR.
  • The IAU honored him by naming a white-yellow dwarf star after him.

Edavaletha Kakkat Janaki Ammal (1897–1984)

  • He made important contributions to genetics, evolution, plant geography and ethnobotany/human botany.
  • He was appointed as the first director of the Central Botanical Laboratory located at Allahabad.

Debala Mitra (1925-2003)

  • She was the first Indian archaeologist and served as the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India.
  • He played an important role in the exploration and excavation of many Buddhist sites.

Kamla Sohoni (1911-1998)

  • She was the first Indian woman to do a PhD in science and discovered the enzyme cytochrome C (which helps in energy synthesis).

Anna Mani (1918-2001)

  • She was the first woman to join the Meteorological Department.
  • Kamal Ranadive (1917-2001)
  • He established India's first tissue culture research laboratory at the Indian Research Center in Mumbai.

Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay

  • He was awarded Padma Shri in the year 2022.
  • She was appointed as the first woman director of the Indian Statistical Institute.

Ms Sujata Ramdorai

  • He was awarded the Padma Shri award in the year 2003.
  • She became the first Indian to win the famous ICTP Ramanujan Award in the year 2006.
  • In 2004, he was awarded the Shantiswarup Bhatnagar Award by the Government of India as the highest honor in the scientific field.
  • He was awarded the Krieger Nelson Prize for the year 2020 for his extraordinary contribution to mathematics research.

Challenges before women scientists:

Prevailing Prejudice:

  • Explicit and implicit biases exist against women in science. People used to think that men were relatively better suited for research in science and that women were naturally not interested in it.
  • Matilda effect is a bias against acknowledging the achievements of women scientists whose work is attributed to their male colleagues.
  • The term "Matilda effect" was coined in 1993 by science historian Margaret W. It was coined by Rossiter.

Lack of opportunities:

  • Women scientists in the field of science receive less appreciation for their achievements while they face discrimination in allowances, promotions and opportunities. Whereas science should not be the monopoly of only men and their research.

Psychological pressure:

  • Women have to fight psychological pressures and systemic challenges in their scientific journey.

Patriarchal Oppression:

  • Patriarchal oppression gives rise to a distorted mindset that works against women and becomes a hindrance in their progress.

Lack of leadership:

  • In the Indian Academy of Sciences, established in Bangalore in the year 1934, physicist and Nobel laureate C.V. There was never any woman scientist under Raman's leadership.
  • Statistics from this academy show that about 14% of the scientists working in India are women; Only 15% of faculty members in various research institutions across the country are women.

Lack of rewards and incentives:

  • Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for outstanding research in biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, medicine and environmental sciences, has been awarded to 571 scientists between 1958 and 2023. Has been done
  • In the last 65 years, only 20 women scientists have received India's most prestigious science award – first in 1961 and last in 2020.

Lack of identity:

  • Rosalind Franklin, the British chemist who contributed to the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1951, and Jocelyn Bell, the astrophysicist who discovered the first radio pulsar in 1967, did not receive recognition during their careers.

Introduction to the struggle of Indian women scientists:

  • Rajinder Jeet Hans-Gil wore a turban and a boys' uniform to get permission to study mathematics in a school in Punjab in the mid-1950s, biochemist Kamala Sohoni sat on a satyagraha to get IISc, Bangalore to open its doors to women. Could open doors.

Lab Hopping: Women Scientists in India-

  • This book provides a new perspective on breaking stereotypes, indifference and sexism.

Lilavati's Daughters: The Women Scientists of India-

  • Edited by Ram Ramaswamy and Rohini Godbole, this book highlights the struggles and triumphs of women scientists and their under-representation.
  • In this book, the famous 12th century mathematician Bhaskaracharya had inspired his brilliant daughter Lilavati to solve the problems of algebra, geometry and mathematics.

Anjana Chattopadhyay's 'Women Scientists in India: Lives, Struggles and Achievements'-

  • This book highlights the neglect of women's contribution in science.

A Braided River: The Universe of Indian Women in Science-

  • This book, written by Christopher Cooley, Christy Gressel and Abhijeet Dhillon, explores how gender inequality undermines national growth in science.

Major efforts for participation of women in science:

Consolidation of University Research through Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities (CURIE):

  • The scheme assists women universities in developing research infrastructure and creating state-of-the-art research laboratories.

Vigyan Jyoti Scheme:

  • It was launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) with the aim of ensuring equal participation in high schools of girl students interested in STEM.
  • It helps girl students from villages to plan their career in science and technology fields.

KIRAN Scheme:

  • This scheme was started in 2014- 2015 by the Department of Science and Technology under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, which made educational and administrative advancement possible for women scientists.
  • KIRAN stands for ‘Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing’.
  • One of its various programmes, ‘Women Scientists Scheme’ provides employment opportunities to unemployed women scientists and technicians. Additionally, it clearly helped those who had to take a break from their employment for some reason.
  • KIRAN scheme strives to address challenges related to gender equality in the science and technology sector.

Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI):

  • The scheme provides a comprehensive framework to evaluate gender equality in STEM fields.

Conclusion:

Over the years, India has taken initiatives to encourage girls and women in science, but the complex issue of supporting Indian women in their scientific careers remains with many visible and invisible barriers.

It's clearer than ever that women in STEM fields have immense potential to impact the world. Teachers, parents and society as a whole need to encourage girls to become proud women in science. Women are still under-represented in STEM, but this is an important change needed to improve the current lack of diversity.

​ Source: The Hindu

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Mains Question:

Outline the historical introduction of women scientists in India and discuss the major efforts to solve the challenges faced by them.