The number of young women studying science subjects is disturbingly low, with only a third of all female university students opting for such courses in the last two intakes, according to two researchers, who said girls should be helped to appreciate the value of science early in life.
Marie Therese Camilleri Podesta of the University's Department of Anatomy, and the Employment and Training Corporation's Antonella Borg said achieving gender balance in science degrees was considered as one of the major goals of current European economic and employment policy.
"The under-representation of women in science could prevent the European Union from reaching the Lisbon Objectives set for 2010 aimed at a fast growing knowledge society," they told a recent conference on the Lisbon Objectives and Maltese Educational Provision organised by the Education Division and co-financed by the EU Commission.
They said the number of women in tertiary education had surpassed that of men and the number of female students at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) was steadily on the rise.
However, only 32 per cent of the women were admitted to science courses at the university in the 2004 and 2005 intakes, and despite an upward trend females there were still "very much under-represented" in engineering, architecture and IT.
At MCAST, only 4.3 per cent of the students in the 2004 intake to the Engineering and Construction Institutes were female.
Prof. Camilleri Podesta and Ms Borg said this situation was also reflected in the number of females employed in science-related careers. Unpublished ETC statistics for June 2004 revealed that at just 9.1 per cent, women were under-represented in science- and engineering-related occupations.
The problem, however, was not unique to Malta, they said. For example, in a study of six countries including the UK, women were found to be under-represented among graduates in IT, electronics and communications courses.
"This situation calls for serious investigation of what could be the possible factors that are influencing young girls' choice of careers as well as the factors that are inhibiting young girls from entering careers in natural and computer sciences, engineering, architecture or mathematics."
There was a consensus, said the two researchers, on the need to start very early, even at primary school level, to ensure that both girls and boys appreciated that science, engineering and technology played a natural and important part of everyday life and were essential to survival in the new millennium.
They suggested that since children may form pre-set ideas picked up from the home, parents needed to become educated and involved too, such as through science fairs. Parents also needed to be encouraged to let girls help out more at home with tasks formerly reserved for boys and told about the value of science and technology lessons. Teachers too needed to be actively involved in the process.
"Negative attitudes to science formed early in life through experiences in the home and at school and through the media, limit girls' 'psychological' access to science."
The two called for universities to develop strategies to attract more students, in particular women, to science subjects especially in view of recent labour market demands in the science and information technology fields.
"The need to break away from the stereotyping of the scientists" image and the creative portrayal of women in various science, technology and engineering roles is essential. Mentoring and role model schemes can be an effective tool to encourage more women to take up science careers.
"However, since women scientists are under-represented among senior positions in science and technology, this leads to a lack of mentors and female role models."
Indeed, at the university only 30 out of 267 senior staff in 2003 were females. "Female graduates just do not seem to make it to high academic posts."
The two researchers also called for structures that would help both men and women achieve a work-life balance, which would help in attracting more women to science careers. They said the university, as the seat of higher education, should set an example and ensure a gender balance in its different employment categories, in leadership positions and on committees and boards.