Doing Science within a Culture of Machismo and Marianismo

Abstract

Women have been joining the ranks of professional scientists in increasing numbers although international statistics indicate that women‘s participation varies substantially in different regions. Variation in rates of participation can be explained in part by cultural contexts, and in Mexico, dominant cultural ideologies of machismo and marianismo prevail. To understand the impact, if any, of these ideologies on the lives of women scientists in their professional interactions, a case study was conducted at one research institute. The results indicate that the women scientists report different interactions with men and with other women, and interactions vary with the status of the interactant: whether a senior researcher or administrator, a colleague of similar status, a technician, or a student, and whether a man or a woman. The interactions are strongly influenced by gendered ideologies. The women see themselves as non-traditional, while working in a professional context that continues to expect them to behave traditionally.

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