China works to increase number of women scientists

SciDev : The Chinese government has begun instituting a 10-year plan to develop the potential of the country’s women. The Outline for the Development of Chinese Women (2011-2020) aims to increase to 35% the proportion of women in science and technology. The plan will focus primarily on China’s national laboratories, which will run research projects to train women in professional skills. According to Li Zhenzhen, a researcher at the Institute of Policy and Management at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, although women students have almost the same opportunities as men to study for a PhD in science, they find it difficult to find jobs as researchers because of discrimination. “Women have more family duties than men, which affects women in all fields of work,” she said.