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2017 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

1. Introduction Setting the Scene: An Insight into the “Gender Divide” in Science and Technological Advancement

Authors : Pooran Wynarczyk, Marina Ranga

Published in: Technology, Commercialization and Gender

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

As some of the most significant achievements of the creative human mind, one would expect scientific discoveries and technological innovation to be gender-neutral by nature, but in practice these processes have a gendered nature that is often not recognized or is given insufficient attention. Changes in the social perception of women’s status and social responsibilities, primarily related to family and child rearing, as well as improvements in their access to education and employment have been extremely slow processes that have been undermined by Darwinian theories of sex selection and influenced by deeply rooted prejudice. Consequently, women’s minority status in some scientific fields continues to be a major feature of the scientific community and only a small proportion break through the ‘glass ceiling’ and make successful careers in science. The gender bias in academic science is perpetuated in entrepreneurial science, determining a lower involvement of women scientists in science and technology commercialization, especially in regard to intellectual property rights and patenting, creation of spin-offs, access to venture capital, etc. These issues are critical for understanding academic entrepreneurship dynamics, improving the use of social capital and avoiding the perpetuation of current inequalities in academia. This chapter provides the background and overall contextual framework for the book. It offers a brief overview of relevant literature and scopes for future research, as well as short descriptions of the contributing chapters.

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Metadata
Title
Introduction Setting the Scene: An Insight into the “Gender Divide” in Science and Technological Advancement
Authors
Pooran Wynarczyk
Marina Ranga
Copyright Year
2017
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49923-9_1

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