“Women in Science” Discussion and Conference “Bosnian Women Scientists and Their Research Opus” Conference Proceedings

In the University of Sarajevo Rectorate on 26 September 2019, the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, in cooperation with the University of Sarajevo organized a discussion on the topic “Women in Science” upon the occasion of printing and publishing the “Bosnian Women Scientists and Their Research Opus,” which will be subsequently held. The participants were: Mr. Jasmin Branković, Assistant for Science and Technology, Federal Ministry of Education and Science, Prof. Dr. Dženana Husremović, University of Sarajevo Vice-Rector for Research, Prof. Dr. Jasminka Hasić Telalović, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology and Prof. Dr. Husnija Kamberović, University of Sarajevo. Mrs. Vahida Krekić was the moderator.

On 13 and 14 April 2018, the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, in cooperation with the “Džemal Bijedić” University of Mostar Faculty of Humanities and the Modern History Association in Sarajevo organized a scientific conference called “Bosnian women scientists and their research work.” 120 scientists of both genders participated in the Conference, whereas 51 papers were published in the Proceedings.

Assistant for Science and Technology at the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, Mr. Jasmin Branković, stated that the number of women in research and the science-teaching process is growing significantly in our country, but that there are not enough of them in managerial positions.

“In our support projects and programs, the number of women and their colleagues is almost equal. There was no need to introduce additional programs to affirm women, as such, and their research work” said Mr. Branković.

“The goal, not only of the University of Sarajevo, but of the entire scientific community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is to attract, promote and retain women within all scientific fields,” said Prof. Dr. Dženana Husremović, University of Sarajevo Vice-Rector for Research. She also said that she felt certain areas such as technical sciences could be doing much better when it came to the proportional representation of female scientists.

University of Sarajevo professor, Dr. Husnija Kamberović emphasized the Proceedings’ importance. Professor Kamberović said that Proceedings spoke, not only about the contribution of women to the development of science in BiH, but also about the development of science in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“There were also women pharmacists, as well as women involved in literature. The Proceedings connects the past and the present” said Professor Kamberović adding that the Proceedings contained a variety of works, ranging from works on how women were educated in BiH through history, biographies of prominent scholars to those from BiH who locally contributed to development sciences, as well as those born elsewhere but dealing with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The right to education is one of the basic human rights whose realization is crucial for the individual development of personality and its ability to claim and enjoy all other human rights. The issue of women social status, and in particular their right to education, in the past depended on prevalent class and gender ideologies. Initial forms of women's institutional education, primarily through separate “schools for girls” with specially designed programs, emphasized their gender diversity and subordinate position in the family and society. Higher forms of education and training for women have long been thwarted by legal barriers. Although significant advances have been made, especially after World War II, there are still many stereotypes to this day regarding the advancement of women in their academic and scientific careers and hierarchies.

The European experience shows that the share of women scientists in managerial positions has increased significantly in recent decades, but is still much lower than their share in the total number of employees in higher education and scientific institutions. It is also evident that even with the same qualifications, female scientists most often work in lower positions than their male counterparts. This is why governments in many countries, as well as universities in Europe and the US, have created programs to research and promote women's equality in an academic setting.

The involvement of Bosnian women in academic and scientific research has been done in a similar fashion to that in other European countries. Therefore, this conference is an effort to highlight through the papers presented the contribution of women to the development of science in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and their current position in academia and society.