When I was given this mission I first contacted the major actors in the advancement of women field at UniGE, EPFL, etc. I needed inspiration for a project that could be implemented on the national level, as we are a national network. The summer internships were suitable in this sense, and they also had given good results at EPFL where they had already been tested.

Why do we need such « positive discrimination » projects to encourage young women to embrace a career in hard science ?

Studies in the US and Canada have shown that some fundamental differences of behaviour between men and women have an impact on the choice of a career in science. In broad outline, women function on a more « emotional » level and tend to make choices based on personal criteria and experience. Men on the contrary are more at ease with non-personal matters and base their choices on more external criteria.

As a result, women will tend to avoid hard science, as they perceive it as too technical and dehumanized.

Observations made during courses show that female students in life science are self-confident, as they feel they can relate to the subject. As a result, they do the talking and men tend to remain silent, as if feeling out of place.

Caroline Mauron (left) and Jill Guyonnet (right) are students in physics at UniGE. They have both undertaken the MaNEP summer internships.

Have the internships been successful in this regard ?

Yes, I think so, although I couldn’t interview all of the participants since 2004. Usually, after the initial anxiety of being immersed in a top-level research group, they come to realise that researchers are very normal people with family lives, hobbies, etc. - and are relieved to see that they are made a real place in the group, with responsabilities, etc. One of them even wrote « I feel home » ! This shows again the special importance of the human factor for young women : they feel well, so the confidence starts building. Besides, several participants discovered what it means to be passionate about their work… and sometimes their boy friend was not so happy about it !

Have the participants reconsidered their future plans after the internship ?

Yes, the majority have decided to go beyond what they had imagined in terms of a career in research. Others have hesitated but have finally stuck to their initial plans, like teaching in college for instance. And finally, some have discovered that this was really not for them and thus have shifted to something completery different ! But at least, we definitely helped all of them suppress their « scientific inhibitions ».