Today, representatives of seven major corporations and organizations signed the “Call from Deauville“, which reports on the position of women in science and engineering and describes the signatories’ commitment to encourage young women into careers in these fields. The Call was signed in the context of the SciTechGirls initiative, a special program of meetings and exchange between some 100 young women from high schools, prep schools, universities and science schools, and some of the most accomplished women attending the Women’s Forum. We will blog on SciTechGirls later today, as the program is still unfolding. Here is the full text of the “Call from Deauville”, signed by Orange, L’Oréal Corporate Foundation, Cisco, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Suez, Thales, and Total.

The figures are shocking and call for immediate action—the place of women in science remains dire, in both public and private initiatives, in fundamental and applied research, and even among engineers.

Numerous studies, reports and recommendations give ample proof, filling up filing cabinets and putting to sleep even those with good intentions. A bad situation is getting worse.

It is time to take action. Too few girls and young women are embarking on scientific careers, leading to the development of a large-scale vocational crisis.

• At the university level, girls make up only 27% of students in fundamental and applied sciences.
• Among those who scored “very well” on the Bac S (scientific baccalaureat), 75% of boys went on to scientific preparatory schools vs just 53% of girls.
• In the Grandes Ecoles and engineering schools, girls make up only 25% of the student body.

It is time to take action. Women are perilously under-represented in public and private research.

• Women make up only 27% of researchers worldwide and just 28% of researchers in France; of which 33% work in the public sector and 20% in private companies.
• Out of 516 Nobel Prize nominees in science and medicine between 1903 and 2006, only 12 women have won the Award, less than 2.4%.

It is time to take action. A “glass ceiling” is holding back the professional progress of women, and this is especially apparent in science.

• In Europe, women represent 50.4% of professionals working in scientific-related fields, but only 29% of engineers, 29% of researchers and 15% of university professors.
• In French universities, 38% of associate professors are women, but a mere 16% are full professors.
• Women engineers are paid far less than their male counterparts: 3% less at the start of their careers and a staggering 42% less for women between the ages of 55 and 59.

We know the facts and we can predict the consequences. The time for sitting back, making observations and expressing regret is over—women have so much to offer in terms of imagination, contributing to research and innovation.

Tomorrow’s world is built today, now is the time for action—we are here, let’s do it.

To encourage girls and women to choose a scientific career path, we pledge:

• To update the image of science by giving aspiring young women role models to emulate.
• To provide information and to build self-confidence through innovative communication campaigns targeting young girls and their parents, including campaigns on academic orientation, consciousness raising and teacher training from primary school onwards.
• To reward girls’ performance, encouraging their talent through prizes, scholarships and increasing the number of women with visible roles in conferences and exhibitions.

Some of these initiatives have already been put into place by those signing the Call from Deauville. Many other projects are also underway, each representing the signer’s specificity, priorities and means.

However, we cannot act alone, the role of women in science is everybody’s business—public institutions, for the role they can play in education and for their legitimacy with politicians and public interest campaigns; corporations, for their recruitment and promotional capacities and support of numerous initiatives; and the media, to explain, raise consciousness and contribute to the creation of a feminine ideal for future
researchers and engineers.

Society on the whole needs to work on giving girls the confidence they need—science can offer a stellar future!

I will be going around interviewing Women’s Forum attendees today and tomorrow. Here is the first installment.

Gabriela Gorostidi, Global Supply Chain Excellence Manager, Shell Lubricants, talks about how she used to be in fashion and when she changed to technology!

Watch the video interview here or by clicking on Gabriela’s picture.