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Rule of Law

My Lords, I commend the noble Baroness, Lady Park, for her insight in initiating this debate and for drawing attention to such a timely and far-reaching issue. Much concern this afternoon may focus on the prerequisite regulation for enabling individuals from different cultures, particularly women, to have the same range of options as everyone else. The extreme cases of female circumcision or so-called honour killings are clearly unacceptable in our society, but the less obvious and more frequent instances also need to be discussed, where an individual may be physically unharmed but none the less every day is prevented from living as fulfilling a life as possible. I agree that the first step is to ensure that respect for other cultures should not be an impediment, however passive, to the rights of UK citizens. But we should not mistake what is necessary for what will be sufficient. Collective respect next needs to be harnessed proactively as a prompt, even an inspiration, for those individuals to benefit in new ways from the unprecedented confluence of culture and contemporary UK society. If we want to shift from mere protection from harm to promoting quality of life, education and marriage are good places to start. Those areas bear directly on the current problems, respectively, of the impact of science and female equality and hence, together, the issues highlighted are of women in science. It is from the perspective of a woman scientist that I shall comment. The biotechnology of the 21st century is enabling those of us in the developed world to cherish realistic aspirations for living longer, healthier lives more than any other preceding generation. Meanwhile, advances in the physical sciences and engineering free up an ever-increasing amount of time each day from the routine drudge that characterised the lives of so many in the previous century. The individual has more chance and more time than ever to realise their full potential. Brain science, which is my area, champions and attempts to understand the notion of the individual. Each human being is born a citizen of the world. Particular beliefs, lifestyle and culture are not embedded in the DNA, but subsequently they shape the connections of our brain cells after birth. The Jesuits’ famous claim, ““Give me a child until he is seven, and I shall give you the man””, is speaking for the power not of genes, but of the environment and its impact on the human brain. It is education that enables each of us to make sense of, understand and appreciate that environment, including the beliefs and agendas of different cultures, and to translate the ever-increasing bombardment of information into knowledge. The search for knowledge need not be at odds with tradition, nor specifically need science be at odds with religion; witness the large number of very talented scientists with strongly-held beliefs. The difference is that, with education, the onus of interpretation and evaluation shifts to the individual, rather than residing in the passive, unconditional acceptance of a collective mindset. When a child is educated and allowed to realise their full intellectual potential, there is no reason to assume that they will not still respect and be an integral part of their culture; quite the opposite. I shall give one example. The Asian Women of Achievement Awards is a scheme of which I have first hand experience, having served on the panel of judges. The awards were set up in 1999 to recognise the immense accomplishments of women in the Asian community and to break the stereotypes that normally surround them. They aim to provide inspiration and role models for other women, but also to raise awareness in the wider community of the phenomenal achievement of Asian women and the journey that they make, frequently against the odds, to succeed in mainstream society. The awards cover a range of categories and have given a platform to women from different fields, ranging from opera singers to CEOs and scientists. Dozens of the contestants have subsequently been invited to speak at large conferences and in the boardroom and to make media appearances. Most significantly, contestants have also said that being recognised for the awards has changed the perception of their status within their communities and families. Even those who do not feel that they need the recognition have commented on the raised energy levels among their co-workers as a result of the awards. Now a new initiative, the ““Ambassadors”” programme, is being launched to send some of the Asian Women of Achievement into schools as ambassadors, where they will inspire sixth-formers. There is an annual reception of 100 women of achievement, with 100 sixth-formers from 30 different schools, to let the young women interact directly with women in the working world. Talk of women inevitably leads to the other subject mentioned in this afternoon’s debate: marriage. For many women, marriage leads to children, who can often complicate—and even be an impediment to—a career. This is particularly the case for a career in research, science, engineering and technology, or SET. As pinpointed in SET Fair, a report to the Government which I headed in 2002, one of the biggest single problems for young women scientists is balancing the demands of childcare with the long and irregular hours mandated by the early stages of a research career. This is characterised, in turn, by limited contractual tenure and no clear or secure structure. There are ways of combating this sad state of affairs. Following the 2002 report, the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology was introduced. It is the UK’s leading centre, providing information and advisory services to employers and organisations in the SET sectors. It supports women entering, returning to and progressing in these fields. The centre works to improve significantly the participation and position of women in SET in industry, research, academia and public service, in order to benefit the future productivity of the UK, and the lifetime earnings and career aspirations of women. The situation remains that half a million women in the UK are qualified in science, engineering and technology, but less than one-third work in those sectors, all of which are suffering a severe skills shortage that will worsen in the coming decades. Women have always led complex lives with conflicting demands, women in science more so than many. In addition, the balance of a traditional culture with modern 21st century life must present an even greater challenge. When looking at the percentage of women, compared to men, in science, of particular relevance to this debate is the fact that ethnic minority women scientists proportionately outnumber their white female counterparts, with 43.3 per cent compared to 37.4 per cent. This ratio does not hold for all other employment sectors combined. Women scientists from ethnic minorities are, therefore, a significant group. They need particular help in balancing a career that has, anyway, a precarious structure, with the cultural demands of their home and family. However, there is insufficient funding for the resource centre to reach out as it would like. Meanwhile, charities and the private sector are doing what they can. There is the admirable Daphne Jackson Trust and another initiative sponsored by a major cosmetics company in combination with UNESCO, in which I have had the honour of being involved. Both are making some headway in helping female scientists to return from full-time childcare and assisting financially in diverse ways, from paying for childminders to paying for microscopes. I endorse wholeheartedly the opening remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Park, that we should not stand by passively with a well-intentioned, but misplaced, sentiment that permits those from certain minority cultures to be disadvantaged. Yes, we should protect their rights, but should we not also do more? Schemes such as the Asian Women of Achievement, and the statistics showing the high representation of non-white women in science, show how traditional culture and values can, after all, synergise with our current society to their mutual benefit. Inevitably, there is currently just not enough money to level the playing field. Surely it is time for the Government to make a far more substantial investment in ensuring that all UK citizens, irrespective of race or gender, have an equal chance in making the most effective contribution—be it scientific or otherwise—to creating a society where there is not only an absence of fear and repression, but the active happiness of individual achievement.