The Scientific Production of Women and their Presence in Management Position in Science and technology careers in the Ecuadorian Higher Education System

Authors

  • Christian Escobar-Jiménez Faculty of Human Science, School of Sociology and Political Science, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de octubre 1076 Quito, Ecuador
  • Sergio Torres Rentería Research Department, Faculty of Human Science, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de octubre 1076 Quito, Ecuador
  • Alejandra Delgado Faculty of Human Science, School of Sociology and Political Science, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de octubre 1076 Quito, Ecuador

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2024.2.747.761

Keywords:

gender equality, academia, scientific production, Ecuadorian higher education system, Norwegian paradox

Abstract

Aim. This paper analyzes the scientific production and the management positions in the universities of the Ecuadorian higher education system from a gender parity perspective, considering STEM careers as the central point of the analysis. Three perspectives was consider,: the underrepresentation of women in STEM careers, the underrepresentation of women in scientific production and in classic managerial positions, and the Norwegian paradox of equality.

Methods. This article used two databases: the first one was built from Ecuadorian scientific production, within the period 2010-2018, by the indexing platform SCOPUS. The second one, evaluates the presence of women in management positions and was built from the databases that universities and polytechnic schools report to the educational Ecuadorian  autority. Theoretical perspectives are discussed to explore the singularities of the Ecuadorian case, through an analytical and quantitative perspective.

Results. In the case of Ecuadorian scientific production men showed a greater presence in all fields, except for pedagogy and psychology. This results replicate for the case of higher education management positions (30% women, 60% men, on average).

Conclusions. The underrepresentation of women is generally confirmed, both in scientific production measured by publications, as well as in access to management positions, especially in science and technology. Also, in scientific publications, women are more likely to collaborate only with men, precisely because of the structures created around science, which not only have to do with the greater number of men involved, but probably with gender discrimination practices that are not visible in the mechanisms adopted for the analysis.

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Author Biographies

  • Christian Escobar-Jiménez, Faculty of Human Science, School of Sociology and Political Science, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de octubre 1076 Quito, Ecuador

    PhD in Philosophy of Science from USC (Spain), PhD candidate in Analytical Sociology at UAB (Spain), Master's degree in Economics from EHESS (France), Master's degree in Philosophy from UNED (Spain). Assistant Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador in the Department of Sociology and Political Science. His publications and research areas focus on Analytical Philosophy, the Sociology of Higher Education, Political Philosophy, the Philosophy of Music, and the relationship between Literature and Politics.

  • Sergio Torres Rentería, Research Department, Faculty of Human Science, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de octubre 1076 Quito, Ecuador

    PhD candidate in Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), former economic advisor of the Superintendent of Economic Competition, author of several scientific publications in the field of economics of education.

  • Alejandra Delgado, Faculty of Human Science, School of Sociology and Political Science, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de octubre 1076 Quito, Ecuador

    Assistant Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador in the Department of Sociology and Political Science. Master's degree in Public Administration from PUCE (Ecuador), and PhD student at the Universidad del Cuyo (Argentina). Her research area is political feminism. 

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Published

2024-09-25

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Section

LOCAL CULTURES AND SOCIETIES

How to Cite

Escobar-Jiménez, C. ., Torres Rentería, S., & Delgado, A. (2024). The Scientific Production of Women and their Presence in Management Position in Science and technology careers in the Ecuadorian Higher Education System. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 15(2), 747-761. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2024.2.747.761