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CONTENTS
Vol. 5 N° 2
IN
FOCUS
p 2 - Far
from the nanohype
NEWS
p 8 - A
global warning on global warming
p 9 - UNESCO
and ESA to map Mesoamerica’s biological corridor
p 10 - A
robot camp for kids
p
10 - World
water programme to move to Italy
p 11 - Palestinians
gain Chair in maths and physics
p 11 - Africa
commits to research
p 12 - US$30
million loan for Mayan Biosphere Reserve
p 13 - Full-time
seismic coverage for Europe's seas
p
13 -
Half a million dollars for top women scientists
INTERVIEW
p 14 -Igor
Vasilievich Severskiy onwhy glacier melt and poorpolicies
are to blame for Central Asia’s water woes
HORIZONS
p 16 - Saving
the remaining wildlife in Darfur
p 21 -Head
counts and headaches measuring women in science
IN BRIEF
p 24 - Diary
p 24 - New
releases
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The
glass
ceiling
A decade ago, UNESCO launched a programme for Women, Science
and Technology. Some might be tempted to consider such a programme
of secondary importance, in light of such momentous problems
as extreme poverty,pandemics, climate change and so on. At
a time when the planet is fighting for its survival, does
UNESCO have nothing better to do than set up prizes and fellowships
for women and promote science education for girls?.
Let’s
examine the situation for a moment. The latest data published
by theUNESCO Institute for Statistics, reproduced in this
issue, reveal that science and technology are still dominated
by men. Women represent just one-quarter of the world’s
researchers, roughly 10% of university professors and fewer
than 5% of members of Academies of Sciences. As for Nobel
Prize laureates in science, fewer than 3% have been women.
It is true that the life sciences often attract more women
than men but, even here, women soon strike a `glass ceiling´
when they try climbing the career ladder. ‘Our male colleagues
do not readily accept women’, regrets Professor Ameenah
Gurib-Fakim, one of this year’s five L’ORÉAL–UNESCO
laureates.‘For a woman to make it, her portfolio has
to be ten times heavier than that of her male counterpart.’
Even in countries which have achieved gender parity, such
as Argentina,Thailand or Kazakhstan, the glass ceiling remains
a common fixture.
Yet, like any new population, the influx of women into the
profession is slowly but surely changing the face of research.
Women are bringing fresh approaches and pointsof view which
can only nurture progress. They are beginning to influence
the science agenda, thanks to a growing presence on scientific
boards. They are adding value to innovation, not least because
they bring ‘insider information’ on the needs and
aspirations of the female consumer to the development of products
and services.
The
glass ceiling won’t shatter overnight. But I am proud
to think that UNESCO’s partnership with L’ORÉAL,
which has already distinguished 350 women scientists around
the world in its first nine years of existence, will have
helped to put a few chinks in it.
W.
Erdelen
Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences
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UNESCO
Scientific 
