Tímarit um menntarannsóknir - 01.01.2011, Page 119

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Abstract
“Maybe we‘ve become such tomboys that all behave the same”:
Discourses and social forces in the culture of male-dominated
academic science
Hrafnhildur Snæfríðar- og Gunnarsdóttir og Þorgerður Einarsdóttir
This study explores the dominant dis-
course within the culture of computing,
electric and computer engineering, math-
ematics and physics at the University of
Iceland. These fields are to this day male
dominated. Much academic debate and
research have focused on possible reasons
behind the continuing under-representa-
tion of women in these fields. Educational
institutions around the world have initi-
ated programs and interventions aimed
at bringing more women into the science
departments. The emphasis is primarily
on the idea of equal opportunities and at-
tributing the problem to characteristics of
women, such as lack of skills, interest and
experience. These efforts have proven inef-
fective in increasing the number of wom-
en within the fields. They have moreover
been criticized for focusing too narrowly
on the choices of individual women.
Theory and method
More recent work has underlined that
in order to understand the nature of the
problem we need to take into account the
social and environmental factors at play,
for example, institutional factors and the
masculine culture surrounding the fields
and dominant discourses. This paper dis-
cusses findings of an MA study conducted
at the University of Iceland. The aim of the
study was to map the social forces, dis-
courses and power relations found within
the physical sciences and technology facul-
ties at the University of Iceland. The study
design was qualitative, rooted in Dorothy
Smith´s institutional ethnography. It was
comprised of twelve interviews with ten
female students in the above-mentioned
fields. The main objective of institutional
ethnography is to map the complex of rela-
tions that organize our everyday lives, the
underlying idea being that our everyday
worlds are organized by institutionalised
social relations not wholly visible to us,
that our activities and choices in our lives
are co-ordinated with what people, un-
known to us, are doing elsewhere at differ-
ent times. This study explored the domi-
nating discourses and gendered power re-
lations within the faculties of the physical
and computer sciences at the University
of Iceland that shape the lives of students,
their choice of field and attitudes towards
equality.
Results
In order to be socially accepted the women
in physical and computer sciences need-
ed to adapt to masculine ideals and put
up with attitudes of arrogance and crude
humour. Attitudes towards the issue of
gender equality reflect an individualistic
approach and suspiciousness towards ac-
tive measures to promote gender equality.
They are viewed not only as unnecessary
but also unjust towards men. These ruling