Li Ka Shing Program in Gender and Science

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Run in conjunction with the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, the Li Ka Shing Program in Gender and Science explores this vibrant field that incorporates research and advocacy on some of the most critical issues of our time. The Program recognizes that the field has expanded exponentially to intersect with work in a broad range of social justice spheres as well. These spheres include the role science plays in determining public understandings of gender; gender theory as applied to medicine, the environment, militarization, the development and use of new technologies; and the role of science in sexuality studies.
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This understanding of Gender and Science includes and expands on the concerns of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and the goal of getting more women into these fields. This expansion includes scholars investigating the role of gender in mitigating, exploring or treating gender differences across multiple fields and disciplines. This program is also interested in connecting scholars to resources on gender and science via more theoretical lenses including those in queer theory, feminist theory and postcolonial theory.

PROGRAM HISTORY

In 2007 the Chau Noi Shuen Foundation generously funded the Li Ka Shing Foundation Fund for Gender and Women’s Studies. The fund was used to establish the Li Ka Shing Program in Gender and Science in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

The Li Ka Shing Program in Gender and Science includes activities such as:

  1. Supporting conferences, public lectures, and workshops advancing research on gender and science in partnership with the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies (see Events).
  2. Sharing resources among and information about other programs on women in science and engineering nationally and internationally (see Resources).
  3. Supporting collaborative research between scholars from UC Berkeley and from China and elsewhere on gender in science (see People).