Equal men women participation in scientific research drives innovation, strengthens economy: Fawad Choudhary,, Aug 17, 2020
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ISLAMABAD-Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Monday said that equal participation of men and women in scientific research drove innovation as well as strengthened the economy.
He was addressing the opening session of two-day International E-Conference on "Promoting Physics among Women in Pakistan" online as a chief guest here at the Women University.
The main purpose of the conference is to encourage and promote women's in the Physics.
"It is believed that diversity in science can bring together people with unique backgrounds" he added.
There is a significant role of science in society, for maintaining peace and development, he added.
The minister said it was needed to promote research partnerships with equitable gender representation and underline the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives, the minister stated.
Gender equality and parity in science is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world, Fawad said adding that keeping women away from the revolutionary scientific fields of 21st century will greatly hamper the development at global level.
It is believed that untapped potential of women in areas such as Science, Technology and Engineering may weaken the innovation potential of a society, he stated.
Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr Uzma Quraishi said contribution of women for promotion of science cannot be ignored.
Pakistan is a developing country that is striving to accelerate its economic growth where women are about 48.5 % of Pakistan’s total population, she said and added that despite constituting almost half of the population, women are an underutilized talent.
Women have remained somewhat under-represented in most disciplines of science and technology, and furthermore, are not well-represented at the most senior levels in all disciplines, she added.
The job options for women remain limited to agriculture, services (domestic) and small-scale industries.For achieving national development it is an economic necessity to utilize their talents to the full at all levels of scientific and technological education and , training, she stated.
The keynote speakers included Dr. Nighat Yasim, Prof. Aziz Fatima Hasnain, Dr. Setsuko Tajima(University Osaka Japan), Dr.Asima Sultana , Dr. Canan Kandilli, Dr. Mania Pashchenko ,Dr. Anisa Qamar and others.
