Global Gender Gap Index 2014: 54th

Activities for women in science

Last year, the Serbian Mathematical Sciences Association [“SNMD-Srpsko naučno matematičko društvo”, snmd.mi.sanu.ac.rs] was founded as a non-profit association, established for an indefinite period in order to achieve objectives in the development of mathematics as a scientific discipline. Almost 50% of members are women. Before that, there had been a society of mathematicians and physicists, established in 1948. For a short period, the society changed name to Society of mathematicians, physicists and astronomers. From 1981, when society was split, with a Society of mathematicians in Serbia [“DMS-Društvo matematičara Srbije”, www.dms.rs].

There is no any female mathematical association yet. The number of EWM members from Serbia is less then 20, but number of active members is even less then 10. Recently, active members of EWM started to talk about an idea of forming the Female Mathematical Network of Serbia. Four members of EWM (Dušanka Perišić, Sanja Rapajić, Sanja Konjik and Jelena Aleksić) applied for a project entitled “The fulfillment of the conditions for the establishment of women’s mathematical networks in Serbia” to the Provincial secretariat for science and technological development of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Almost all active members are from University of Novi Sad. We are also active in making contacts with women mathematicians from five universities in Serbia, University of Belgrade, Niš, Kragujevac, Novi Pazar and Kosovska Mitrovica, and from the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts.

As we wrote in previous reports, women are almost 50% of mathematicians in Serbia. Regarding teaching of mathematics, the percentage of women is even higher.

The only grant in science available only for women is the L’Oréal-Unesco scholarship. Every year, 3 women scientists obtain these grants. Sometimes a woman mathematician gets it, but it is rare.