DOHA: The number of women in the field of research and development in Qatar has shown more than double increase during 2012 to 2015, proving the fact that more women in the country are joining the area of research.
The number of female researchers in the field of research and development stood at 377 in 2012. This number surged to 894 in 2015, showing a rise 137 percent, according to the second edition of the Research & Development Survey of Qatar released last week.
Women have also increased their share in the total number of researchers in the country. The number of female researchers as a percentage of total R&D researchers was 21.86 percent in 2012 which jumped to 31.40 percent in 2015. Their share increased by around 44 percent during the period.
Interestingly, the growth in the number of female researchers was more than the rise in the number of male researchers. The number of male researchers grew up by around 45 percent during the period. There were 1,348 male researchers in the R&D in 2012 which increased to 1,953 in 2015.
Apart from the female researchers, the number of female workers in R&D has also seen a sharp increase.
The number of female workers in R&D jumped by 136 percent to 1,895 in 2015 from 802 in 2012. The percentage of researchers among total R&D personnel rose to 60 percent in 2015, up from 57 percent in 2012.
The R&D Survey of Qatar 2015 was implemented through collaboration between MDPS and Qatar Foundation Research and Development, which is the custodian of the Qatar National Research Strategy.
Experts believe that the number of female researchers in the field of research and development will increase in the coming years as women’s presences in all the sectors is rapidly increasing.
“The comprehensive and wide-ranging nature of this survey, and the extent of participation across the nation’s research and development community, has made it the first true baseline analysis of Qatar’s R&D inputs – from investment levels to workforce numbers and demographics,” said Nada Al Olaqi, Business Planning and Performance Manager, Qatar Foundation Research and Development.
“It enhances understanding, visibility, and our capacity to further develop a research and development ecosystem that generates impact for Qatar. The findings will be essential to assessing our nation’s R&D performance and supporting our leaders and policy-makers in identifying areas that require strategic focus and action, while also enabling Qatar’s R&D efforts to be benchmarked against those of other nations,” she added.
The R&D Survey of Qatar 2015 is the second of its kind, after the previous edition collated in 2012.
