Revisitando o mito de Ceres: a presença das mulheres na pesquisa agrícola do Paraná

Abstract

Taking as a background the discussions carried out in the STS field - Science, Technology and Society - the aim of this piece of work is to present the results of a project that has been carried out with the purpose of analizing the profile of women-scientists who perform their job in a typically male environment, that is, the environment of agricultural research. The organization researched was the IAPAR - Agronomic Institute of Paraná, the entity responsible for generating and adopting new technologies seeking improvement in the state's agro-production process. The results obtained enable for reflections which may come to contribute to the discussions over the theme: a large part of the women-researchers do not believe that the gender question is relevant in the scientific environment; however, they do sense the prejudice from their counterparts during the performance of their daily activities besides realizing that men-scientists occupy the key-positions in the world of science. The collected data also show that the switch from this scenario to a more democratic one, contemplating both men and women in a more equal manner, is gradually taking place.