A simple search of images of women building robots led, not surprisingly, to Sophia or sex robots. Andra Kaey, the managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics and a founder of the professional network Women in Robotics found more than 100 results for female robots, compared to less than five for pictures of real women engaged in robotics.
In a bid to further the mission of Women in Robotics, a campaign Women in Robotics Photo Challenge was launched by her last year, resulting in some great photos of females building robots joining the image search gallery.
Kaey , in an authored article, observed, “Our wonderful annual Ada Lovelace Day list hosted on Robohub has increased the awareness of many ‘new’ faces in robotics. But we have been forced to use profile pictures, primarily because that’s what is available. That’s also the tradition for profile pieces about the work that women do in robotics. The focus is on the woman, not the woman building or programming, or testing the robot. That means that the images are not quite right as role models.”
The no-show images of women in robotics should not be shocking. The story of women in science being marginalized is nothing new. Six women involved in building the first electronic computer—the Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC)—during World War II were never credited for the work. More telling was that in a picture of them along with the computer, they were dismissed as “refrigerator ladies”. It was only after almost 40 years that their work was recognised via the ENIAC Programmers Project.
Very few women are feted for their achievements in the field of science. To date, Only 24 women have won a Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry, or medicine compared to 637 men. Also, only 60 women in total have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2022. The number of women engaged in research is just 28% worldwide.
In the mid-1980s, 37% of computer science majors were women, but it has reduced to 18% now. Women in business peaked in 1999 when female participation in the labor force was nearly 70%. According to the US Bureau of Labor, it is projected to drop to 55.4% by 2024 and 51.9% by 2060.
Kaey says that not much has changed since the days of Countess Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer and an extraordinary mathematician, who faced gender bias 200 years ago. The intervening two centuries have not changed the environment for women in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM).
“Women in STEM need to be equally represented at conferences, keynotes, magazine covers, or stories about technology. Although this is starting to change, the change is not happening quickly enough,” she opines. Women delivered a quarter of tech conference keynotes in the last three years.
The lack of diversity in the tech sector is ongoing. Tech companies worldwide predominantly employ white or Asian males from elite schools. Women currently hold only 26.7% of tech-related jobs, and have declined by 2% over the last two years.
The question arises: Why do well-educated women in the STEM field tend to either quit mid-way or hit a glass ceiling? Women cite “bro culture” at tech companies as the main disadvantage. Others cite a lack of growth opportunities and a family-friendly atmosphere. Another reason is pay disparity. Research shows women make 0.93 cents for every dollar men in the field make.
The world is marching towards the fourth industrial revolution of automation and robotics. However, women are still being left behind in this stride forward.
A diverse environment is a key determinant of success in any society. An inclusive environment promotes innovation both in processes and form.