World Meteorological Organization

Women working in meteorology and hydrology

Articles re-printed from Volume 52 No.2(April 2003)

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Dr Taba recounts:

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904) was convincedthat the future progress of India depended onresearch in science and engineering. He envisaged anInstitute where fundamental research in all branchesof learning could be carried out. He constituted a Pro-visional Committee to plan the set-ting of the Institute and, on31 December 1898, a draft text pre-pared by the Committee was pre-sented. The constitution of the Insti-tute was approved and the Order wassigned in May 1909. In early 1919, thefoundation stone was laid and on 24July the first batch of students wasadmitted.

The Institute has made manycontributions to science. Prof. SatishDhawan, who was the major archi-tect of the Indian Space Programme,was the director of the Institute from1962 to 1981. He nurtured science, aswell as engineering, in many newareas. He was particularly interestedin meteorology and offered ourinterviewee of this issue, SulochanaGadgil, a faculty position in the Centre for TheoreticalStudies at the Institute, soon after she returned fromthe Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT) inthe USA. Her work and collaboration with meteorolo-gists from different institutes in the country and herinteractions with fluid dynamicists, particularly Prof.R Narasimha, led to the establishment of the Centrefor Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences in 1982. During1989 to 1996, when she was the chairman of the Cen-tre, several new faculty members were recruited,making it one of the best centres in the country.

Sulochana was born in 1944 in Pune, India. Sheobtained her M.Sc. in applied mathematics from PuneUniversity in 1965. In 1970, she received her Ph.D.,also in applied mathematics from Harvard University(USA). Her thesis dealt with the dynamics of themeanders of the Gulf Stream. Coming from a countrywhere the meteorological phenomenon of monsoonis of vital importance, she decided to learn moreabout this mighty weather event. She was lucky tohave the opportunity to work with Prof. Charney on a

postdoctoral fellowship at MIT for one year. There-after, she returned to Pune, accepting temporary workat the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology andmet several scientists with considerable knowledgeabout monsoon. She joined the Centre for TheoreticalStudies at the Indian Institute of Science in 1973.

Since then, she has carried outresearch on many facets ofmonsoon variability and thenature of the coupling of tropi-cal convection and the oceans,with analysis of conventionaland satellite data and theoreti-cal investigations with models,and has also investigated thelinks between rainfall variabil-ity and agricultural productivityin collaboration with severalscientists. She has also devel-oped models of interacting pop-ulations in collaboration withbiologists at the Institute.

In close collaboration withagricultural scientists andfarmers, Sulochana has set up afarmers’ network in order to

identify acceptable strategies for enhanced produc-tion in a variable climate, particularly in rainfed areason which climate variability is known to have a largeimpact. With the setting-in of the fatigue of the greenrevolution in the last decade, enhanced production inrainfed areas has become more important than everbefore. Sulochana and her collaborators have workedto develop decision-support systems, based on infor-mation and prediction of climate variability, for therainfed belt. They showed that models which incorpo-rated the indirect impact of climate variability via thetriggering of pests/diseases needed to be combinedwith existing crop models for a realistic simulation ofthe impact of rainfall variability. Such models will bea major tool for assessing different managementoptions. They found that input from farmers was nec-essary for model development, as well as elucidationand assessment of management options.

Sulochana has been active in planning climateand global change research and has served on advi-sory committees of several important institutions in

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Sulochana Gadgil

Sulochana Gadgil

India. She played an important role in the formulationof the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP)and was a leader in planning and organizing the firstICRP observational experiment in the Bay of Bengalin 1999.

As regards contacts with WMO, Sulochana was amember of the Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) of theWorld Climate Research Programme (WCRP) from1990 to 1998 and Officer from 1994 to 1998. Accord-ing to several members of that committee, she wasextremely effective in that role. She was involved inWCRP monsoon activities and the AtmosphericModel Intercomparison Project (AMIP). She partici-pated in the WCRP International Conference onMonsoon Variability and Prediction in Trieste, Italy(May 1994) and in the International AMIP ScientificConference in Monterrey, Mexico (May 1995). Sheplayed an important role in the Global Change Sys-tem for Analysis, Research and Training (START)Climate Prediction and Agriculture (CLIMAG) proj-ect. At present, Sulochana is a co-chair of the STARTScientific Steering Committee.

Sulochana has written more than 40 papers inthe field of tropical dynamics and monsoon; oceandynamics and ocean atmosphere coupling; climatevariability and agriculture and evolutionary biol-ogy. She has also edited two books on climate vari-ability and agriculture. This is an enormous scien-tific achievement, considering that she has been anactive member of no fewer than 10 scientific andtechnical advisory committees, both on the nationaland international level. Sulochana is a fellow of theIndian Academy of Sciences, the Indian NationalScience Academy and the Indian MeteorologicalSociety and has received several important awards.

Sulochana has close professional ties with herhusband, Madhav Gadgil, a professor of biology atthe same Institute. They have always shared their

scientific interests. She says that they have enjoyedthe most fulfilling family life.

This April edition of the WMO Bulletin is dedi-cated to women working in meteorology and hydrol-ogy and I consider myself fortunate to have been ableto interview Sulochana, a great lady and eminent sci-entist, for this issue. Her scientific career, her interestsin so many topics related to monsoon, agriculture, cli-mate, ecology and evolutionary biology and her mod-elling work in all these domains make her unique.Moreover, this remarkable lady has skillfully com-bined her family life with a successful scientific career.She is generous, sharing her knowledge with her stu-dents and colleagues, and is kind and agreeable.I enjoyed my contacts with her on the occasion of thisinterview and am grateful to her for her collaboration.

H.T — Please tell us the date and place of yourbirth, your parents and the environment youlived in.

S.G. — I was born in 1944 in Pune (also known asPoona). My great-grandfather was an engineer whoserved as a Minister in the state of Tonk (north-westIndia). I heard the tales of his heroic efforts to help thepeople during the severe droughts that are so commonin that part of the country from my grandfather. Bothmy grandfather and my father were respected physi-cians. My grandfather was also a freedom fighter andseveral active participants of the struggle against colo-nial rule were guests at our house. Even after independ-ence, one of the important leaders from Maharashtra,Senapati Bapat, stayed with us every year. I was thusexposed to tales of colonial rule and the struggle forfreedom throughout my childhood. My father not onlyhad an M.D. degree in allopathy, but also studied theIndian systems of medicine, Ayurveda and Yoga, indepth. My mother was one of a thriving group ofwomen writers in Marathi, our local language. I was

the third of four daugh-ters. My parents encour-aged us all to study andtake to learned profes-sions; two of my sistersare physicians.

H.T. — Perhaps youcould also tell readerssomething about Punein a geographical andhistorical context.

S.G. — Pune was theerstwhile capital of theMaratha kingdom that

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At Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, 1967 (front row, fifth from left)

held out to the last against the British. Pune lies just tothe east of the crest-line of the Western Ghats, a hillchain that runs parallel to the west coast of India for adistance of 1 000 kilometres from the southern tip of thepeninsula. The south-west winds of the summer mon-soon blowing over the Arabian Sea rise against theWestern Ghats to pour as much as 5 000 mm of rain onthe hills in the span of three months. While Pune itselfreceives much less rain, lying as it does in the lee of themountains, it is a wonderful place to witness thegrandeur of the Indian monsoon and has been a majorcentre of meteorological research in India for over acentury. Indeed, the clocktower of the Weather Obser-vatory, constructed out of black basalt rock, is animportant feature of the city.

Pune had been a seat of learning under Maratharule and quickly emerged as a centre of social reformand Western education soon after the British take-overin 1818. One of the first schools for girls from disadvan-taged communities, using the curriculum introduced bythe British, was started in Pune in 1848, a stone’s throwaway from our ancestral house in the heart of the oldcity. Laxmibai, a Maratha queen, leading the charge ofher army on horse-back, became the most celebratedfigure of the 1857 uprising against British rule. In the1880s, Ramabai, a woman physician trained inPhiladelphia, became a leading educator in Pune. Thecity witnessed the establishment of a women’s universityin early 1900s. Many Puneites, including women, tookto the newly emerging technical professions.

H.T. — What about your schooling.

S.G. — I studied in Pune, in the Marathi medium, atthe elementary school level, in a famous school that hadbeen built on the site of the stables of the Maratha cav-alry. The girls were reputed to be as boisterous as thehorses they had replaced. I then went on for high-schooleducation in English to Rishi Valley, a boarding school inthe neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. Rishi Valleywas located in beautiful hilly countryside. Lying as it didin the heart of the semi-arid tract at the centre of thesouthern Indian peninsula, it enjoyed a drier climatethan that of Pune. I returned to this setting 40 yearslater, when I started working with farmers on the ques-tion of what they wanted to learn from the meteorolo-gists. At Rishi Valley, we were encouraged to study whatwe wished, as we wished, without any pressure. I greatlyenjoyed learning classical Indian music and dance.

H.T. — What did you study at university?

S.G. — I came back to Pune for my undergraduatestudies at Fergusson College, one of the oldest colleges ofIndia, founded by the great nationalist leader,

B.G. Tilak. I opted for natural sciences and majored inchemistry, physics and mathematics. I did very well aca-demically, though Madhav, the fellow student whomI eventually married, claims that I caught his attentionwhen jumping out of a high French window of a lecturehall to escape from a boring class! I then went on to do amaster’s degree in applied mathematics at Pune Univer-sity. At this juncture, I became engaged to Madhav andtogether we decided to pursue scientific careers.

H.T. — How come you went to study in the USA?

S.G. — Madhav and I felt that a sound foundation fora career in scientific research might be laid in good uni-versities abroad, and we applied together to four of theworld’s leading universities. Luckily, we were bothadmitted with scholarships to Harvard, our first choice.In 1965 we married and went to Harvard together.I was a graduate student of applied mathematics and,with my interest in the natural world, shared with Mad-hav, decided to work in physical oceanography. Myguide, A.R. Robinson, was keen for me to have an excel-lent grounding in applied mathematics and physics inaddition to atmospheric and oceanic dynamics, andI took several courses at Harvard. One of them, on plan-etary fluid dynamics, was taught by Jule Charney, thenvisiting Harvard from MIT. With that began a fruitfulinteraction with this great meteorologist, which contin-ued throughout my stay at Cambridge. I also spent asummer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,where I had the opportunity of meeting Henr yStommel1, George Veronis and Wilhelm Malkus.

For my thesis I worked on the theory of time-dependent topographic meandering of the Gulf Stream;and on the side completed an investigation into thestructure of jets in rotating fluids. We had an outstand-ing and a very active group of geophysical fluid dynam-icists between Harvard, MIT and Woods Hole. Somemembers of the group, George Philander, EugeniaKalnay and Peter Webster and I have continued tointeract to this day. Because of Madhav, I also devel-oped an interest in mathematical ecology and evolu-tionary biology and began some work in that field.

H.T. — Did you return to India immediately afteryou obtained your Ph.D.?

S.G. — By the time I completed my Ph.D. thesis in1970, I had become interested in the monsoon circu-lation. Jule Charney offered me a postdoctoral fel-lowship to spend a year with him at MIT to work intropical meteorology. I jumped at the chance, espe-cially as Madhav had taken a two-year appointment

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1 Interviewed WMO Bulletin 40 (2)

as a lecturer in biology at Harvard after completing hisPh.D. in 1969. Knowing my interest in the monsoon,Charney sent me to visit T.N. Krishnamurti2 at FloridaState University. My interaction with TNK and his wifeRuby, who is an outstanding geophysical fluiddynamist, continues to this day. I have learnt a greatdeal from TNK about the monsoon. After that year atMIT, both of us very much wanted to go back homeand we headed back, spending a fortnight en route inthe national parks of East Africa.

H.T. — What happened after you returned to Pune?

S.G. — Neither of us had proper jobs on returning toIndia, but we swam for two years in the Scientific Pool ofthe Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Punewas the seat of an important centre of the India Meteo-rological Department (IMD). Most of the active meteo-rologists were at IMD or at the Indian Institute of Tropi-cal Meteorology (IITM) that had been set up in Puneafter the International Indian Ocean Expedition.I accepted an assignment as a Sci-entific Pool Officer at the IITM in1971. This turned out to be mostopportune,as the Institute had someof the most active researchers inmeteorology such as D.R. Sikka,Y. Ramanathan and H.S Bedi.I learnt a great deal about the mon-soon from them and a fruitful col-laboration with them continues tothis day. My daughter, Gauri, wasborn in 1972, and soon after thatboth Madhav and I received offersof Assistant Professorships at theIndian Institute of Science (IISc) inBangalore.

H.T. — What did the new jobentail?

S.G. — The IISc was establishedin 1909 and is India’s premierinstitution of scientific and techno-logical research. From 1963 it hadbeen headed by Satish Dhawan,an aeronautical engineer andarchitect of India’s space pro-gramme. In 1971, he founded theCentre for Theoretical Studies as a part of the IISc,comprising an interdisciplinary group of scientists inall fields interested in mathematical modelling. Theyalready had a few theoretical physicists and decided to

hire me as a geophysical fluid dynamicist and Mad-hav as a mathematical ecologist. We were delighted tojoin this lively group at an outstanding scientific insti-tution in 1973.

I decided to learn about all facets of the monsoon,applying the traditional tools of synoptic meteorologyand the newly emerging tools such as those of satellitemeteorology, working on models at a variety of levels ofcomplexity from simple geophysical fluid dynamicsmodels to the global circulation models, and discover-ing what agriculturists really wanted from meteorolo-gists. I also decided to continue some work on model-ling in ecology and evolutionary biology. Moreover, myson Siddhartha was born in 1974. All this meant a rel-atively modest rate of publications. But today I amhappy that I made those choices. They have permittedme to build an excellent broad-based school of atmos-pheric and oceanic sciences at IISc and help manyother groups in the country. They have also permittedme to enjoy a most fulfilling family life.

H.T. — When did you becomeProfessor and how did youractivities differ from previousyears?

S.G. — I became an Associate Pro-fessor in 1981 and a Professor in1986, but that meant no change inmy activities. A change came aboutin 1982, however, when the IIScdecided to establish a fully fledgedCentre for Atmospheric Sciences.R. Narasimha, a fluid dynamicistand a professor of aerospace engi-neering was the first chair. Thismeant the possibilities of buildingup a larger, active group of atmos-pheric and oceanic sciences, andthis task has been a focus of myattention for the last two decades,especially between 1989 and 1996,when I served as the chair of thisCentre. In 1990, we obtained amajor grant from the Departmentof Ocean Development and theCentre was renamed the Centre forAtmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

It now has eight full-time faculty members with expert-ise ranging over radiation and climate, atmosphericthermodynamics and convection, dynamics of themonsoon, ocean and ocean-atmospheric coupling andatmospheric chemistry, who are involved in modelling,field observations and laboratory experiments.

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2 Interviewed WMO Bulletin 49 (2)

As a graduate student at Harvard, 1966

H.T. — You have covered a wide range of scien-tific activities. You started as a mathematicianand then became involved with agriculture andfarmers. Have you been able to use your mathe-matical knowledge in conducting these activities?

S.G. — I was trained as an applied mathematician andhad the good fortune to learn from some of the best sci-entists in the field, including George Carrier and Syd-ney Goldstein. Carrier gave an outstanding course onthe modelling of complex systems, which together withmy work on modelling of phenomena relating to theoceans, the atmosphere and evolutionary biology, laid astrong foundation for work on complex natural sys-tems. This has made it possible for me to work on cropmodels and to develop new models of the triggering ofpests and diseases by weather events.

H.T. — Tell us about your studies of monsoon andcurrent knowledge.

S.G. — At MIT I was exposed to Charney’s theories ofthe tropical convection and particularly the ITCZ.I started learning about the Indian monsoon whenI joined IITM in 1971. To begin with, Sikka andI tested a hypothesis proposed by Ramaswamy aboutthe influence of mid-latitude circulation on the breaksin the monsoon. After painstaking data collection fromcharts (which in itself was educative), we rejected thehypothesis. I also investigated the impact of the topog-raphy of the Indian subcontinent on monsoon circula-tion, a problem addressed in the early years of the cen-tury before the development of geophysical fluiddynamics. I then started a detailed study of the dailyvariation of the zonal cloudbands (generally associatedwith the ITCZ) over Indian longitudes with the help ofNOAA satellite imagery and in collaboration with

Sikka, who not onlyknew a great deal aboutthe monsoon but hadstudied satellite meteor-ology as well. This studywas to yield rich divi-dends in terms of eluci-dating the nature ofintraseasonal variationof the monsoon and pro-vided insights into thebasic system responsiblefor its occurrence. We dis-covered that, throughoutthe summer, the cloud-bands propagate from theequatorial Indian Oceaninto the heated subconti-

nent at intervals of two to six weeks. This basic featureof the intraseasonal variation is seen every year, irre-spective of whether there is a drought or whether it is agood monsoon year. We further showed that large-scalemonsoon rainfall over the Indian region is associatedwith a continental ITCZ. During the summer mon-soon, an ITCZ also appears intermittently over theequatorial Indian Ocean and there is competitionbetween the two TCZs with active spells of one beingassociated with weak spells of the other. These results,discovered by subjective analysis of satellite photo-graphs, have been verified subsequently by several sci-entists using outgoing longwave radiation data.

Around the time that we discovered the northwardpropagations of the cloudband, a similar feature wasobserved in the rainbands simulated in a simple climatemodel (axisymmetric with a continent poleward of18°N) developed by Peter Webster and his students.This led to collaboration with Peter Webster andJ. Srinivasan, who had just joined the Mechanical Engi-neering Department of IISc, aimed at understandingthe underlying mechanisms. Srinivasan is an expert inradiation and has been an active collaborator in vari-ous facets of monsoon research. A student of ours, RaviNanjundiah, developed a simple climate model, whichcould simulate the most important features of theintraseasonal variation of the monsoon. Ravi has sub-sequently joined the faculty of our Centre and contin-ues to collaborate with me in monsoon modelling.

Simulation of the precipitation patterns associatedwith the Indian monsoon has proved to be a greatchallenge for the global climate models. This is becausethere are two favourable locations for the tropical con-vergence zone; one over the warm waters of the equa-torial Indian Ocean and the other over the heated sub-

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With Profs. E.S. Sarachik, J. Charney and E. Kalnay, 1977

continent. While in nature it occurs intermittently overeach of these locations, the models tend to get lockedinto one of these locations. Our analysis of the simula-tions of 30 models run under AMIP revealed this.

Even today, most models cannot simulate theinterannual variation of the Indian monsoon, evenwhen the SST is specified from observations. Morework is required before they can be used for predictionson the intraseasonal or interannual scale.

H.T. — What were your particular interests in yourstudies of the ocean?

S.G. — I began my career as a student of A.R. Robin-son at Harvard, working on the meanders of the GulfStream. We developed a simple model for the impact ofbottom topography on an eastward current, consider-ing steady, as well as time-dependent, solutions. After agap of several years (in which I was involved with themonsoon) I worked with my student, Vinayachan-dran, and a colleague, D. Sengupta, on the simulationof the circulation of the Bay of Bengal with an oceangeneral circulation model.

H.T. — Then you switched to climate problems.Can you please outline some of the fields of yourinterest?

S.G. — I have worked primarily on climate variabilityand not too much on climate change. I have alwaysbeen interested in monsoon variability. To Indians, theword monsoon is synonymous with rainfall (althoughfor the Arab sailors whofirst used the word, theseasonality of winds wasfar more important).I addressed the problemof deriving “coherentrainfall zones” for theIndian region, i.e. zonesfor which the rainfalltime-series (for the sum-mer monsoon rainfall) atany pair of stations inthe zone are positively(significantly) correlatedso that the variation ofthe rainfall at the sta-tions within the zone isin phase. In other words,a station is not likely to have a drought when anotherexperiences excess rainfall and hence the average rain-fall over such zones is meaningful. Such zones shouldbe the basis for the study of space-time variations ofrainfall.

H.T. — What about relations between climate andagriculture?

S.G. — Since ancient times, the Indian economy hasbeen a gamble, as agricultural production is linked tothe rainfall, and that is why monsoon research hasalways been supported in the country. However, whilemost meteorologists employ this fact to talk of thepotential use of meteorological predictions, there havehardly been any studies of what sort of predictions arerequired for farm-level decision-making and the extentto which they can be generated. In fact, even the exten-sive knowledge of rainfall variability derived from therich datasets at IMD, cannot be readily used by farm-ers, since they use 14-day periods linked to appearanceof constellations in the sky rather than the pentad or theweek that the meteorologists use. Around 1994,I started working with Seshagiri Rao, an ecologist-farmer and my colleague at the centre, K.N. Rao, onusing the knowledge and predictions of rainfall vari-ability for farm-level decisions. In talking to the farm-ers, we realized that it would be possible to enhanceproduction considerably (or reduce risks) if the avail-able knowledge of rainfall variability was used in con-junction with crop models.

Traditional crops/varieties and farming practicesmust have evolved to be appropriate for the nature ofthe rainfall variability of the region by years of experi-ence. However, the crops/varieties now grown in mostregions are not the traditional ones. Hence, the tailor-ing of crops/varieties and farming practices to the

variability of the regionhas yet to be achieved.Most of the recommen-dations generated byagricultural scientists(who do not take rainfallvariability into account)are found to be incorrectby farmers. We studiedthe problem of the opti-mum planting dates forrainfed peanuts in asemi-arid tract of theIndian peninsula with acrop model run for 100years, for which rainfalldata were available. Wefound that the risks of

failure would be high if the recommendations of theagricultural scientists were accepted; on the otherhand, the sowing period currently used by the farmersinvolved less risk. Within that period, however, laterplanting would enhance production. This result, not

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With husband and children at their housewarming ceremony, 1977

anticipated by the farmers, is now being tested in theirfields. The lesson appears to be that participatoryresearch, in which scientists collaborate with farmers,has to replace the top-down approach adopted by sci-entists so far. We have developed a network of farmersin the region in order to gain from their vast knowl-edge of the complex ecosystem and understand thepossible decision options open to them. In this way, wehave been able to develop a model for the triggering ofpests and diseases by wet and dry spells.

H.T. — A major factor in all your studies musth av e b e e n t h e i m p o r t a nt q u e s t i o n o f t h eat m os ph e re - o ce an s y s te m or at m os ph e re -ocean coupling?

S.G. — Our studies of satellite imagery had clearlyshown that northward propagations of cloudbandsgenerated over the equatorial Indian Ocean played animportant role in the large-scale monsoon rainfallover the Indian region. Also, Indian meteorologistshad known for a long time that most of the synoptic-scale disturbances which give us rainfall come fromthe Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea. Thus, it is clearthat the monsoon depends on the convection over theoceans. It is important to understand, therefore, whatdetermines the variation of organized deep convectionover the ocean. In collaboration with P.V. Joseph atIMD and N.V. Joshi at our Institute, I addressed thisproblem by analysing thefirst digitized dataset onsatellite-derived cloudi-ness—the Sadlerdataset—together withthe dataset on SST of thenor th Indian Oceanavailable at the IMD.We found that the rela-tionship between organ-ized cloudiness and SSTis complex and highlynon-linear. There is athreshold SST of about27.5°C, above which thepropensity of cloudinessincreases rapidly. SSTbeing above the thresh-old is a necessary—but not a sufficient—conditionwith some fraction of the warm ocean remainingcloud-free because the dynamics is not favourable.This result has been shown to be valid for all the tropi-cal oceans with better datasets on satellite cloudiness.It so happens that the SST of the north Indian Oceanis above the threshold every summer. This has impor-

tant implications for the mechanisms leading to theinterannual variation of convection over the oceansand hence the monsoon.

H.T. — Please tell us about the Indian ClimateResearch Programme (ICRP)

S.G. — I have worked on many facets of the Indianmonsoon, including analysis of conventional and satel-lite data to understand the nature of its space-timevariation and coupling with the oceans and modellingto identify the responsible mechanisms. Several scien-tists in this field realized that one of the lacunae in theinvestigations in India was that we had not conductedobservational experiments over regions that play a crit-ical role in determining monsoon variability, such asthe oceans around the subcontinent. This was clearfrom the enormous contributions of TOGA andTOGA-COARE to our understanding of ENSO. How-ever, most of the experiments of this type, beginningwith IIOE in the mid-1960s and including MONEX in1979, were led by scientists from outside the region.While the need to change this situation was recognized,such a change could not have been accomplished with-out the active participation of scientists who were notonly interested in the monsoon but were capable ofhandling state-of-the-art equipment, i.e. who had ade-quate training in engineering as well. Narasimha’sgroup of fluid dynamicists fitted the bill and he and

D.R. Sikka led a nationalobser vational experi-ment on the monsoontrough boundary layer in1990. Around the sametime, G.S. Bhat, amechanical engineer whohad modelled clouds inthe laborator y for hisPh.D. thesis and who wasprimarily interested intropical convection andair-sea interactions,joined our Centre as afaculty member. Withsuch expertise availablein the country it becamepossible to think of obser-

vational experiments on the monsoon.In the early 1990s, there was an increasing real-

ization that important contributions by Indian scien-tists over the years had not been recognized, partlybecause they were not always published in interna-tional journals. There was a need to synthesize whatwe knew about the monsoon studies which would lead

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With collaborating farmers and scientists, 1999

to a deeper understanding andhence better predictions. Thus wasborn the ICRP, for which I pre-pared the science plan in collabo-ration with scientists at our Centreand other institutions in the coun-try. This plan envisaged a multi-pronged attack involving observa-tional experiments, as well astheoretical and empirical studies.

H.T. — Please tel l us aboutthe observational experimentyou organized over the Bay ofBengal.

S.G. — The Bay of Bengal Mon-soon Experiment (BOBMEX) was organized by agroup of scientists from different institutions in thecountry. With the support of all the concerned Govern-ment departments, BOBMEX was successfully con-ducted in July/August 1999. The second experimentunder the ICRP, the Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment(ARMEX), was carried out in June-August 2002.ARMEX and BOBMEX are important achievements.They were completely national efforts from the stage offormulating the problems to be addressed to planningand execution, which was possible because severalagencies and institutions collaborated effectively. Ibelieve that these experiments have added a furtherdimension to meteorological research in India.

H.T. — Can you describe or express your opinionabout the links between increasing human popula-tion, climate variation and food availability. Doyou foresee any immediate problems in this area?

S.G. — In the early part of this century, the populationwas low and per capita food availability was steady.When the population started increasing (mainly due tothe suppression of epidemics) per capita food availabil-ity started decreasing. The variability of the monsoonalways had a large impact on food production. Thelowest level of per capita food availability for India wasreached in 1945 just before we achieved independence.Since independence, the per capita availability hasincreased steadily because of the programmes of theGovernment. During the green revolution, the increasewas particularly rapid. Hence, despite the growing pop-ulation, the per capita food availability registered anincrease. However, enhancement of food productionduring the green revolution occurred mainly over irri-gated regions. The variability of the monsoon contin-ued to have a particularly large impact over rainfedtracts. A fatigue of the green revolution has been wit-

nessed over the last decade with rate of productiongrowth declining markedly. Hence, the problem ofenhancing production in the rainfed tracts (which can-not be reduced beyond 50 per cent of the cultivatedarea) assumes great importance. The problem is all themore difficult because it involves tailoring crops/vari-eties and management practices to the rainfall variabil-ity of the region and its prediction. We need to workwith the farmers if we are to avoid major difficulties inthe future.

H.T. — Let us talk about your contacts with WMO.You were associated with the Joint Scientific Com-mittee (JSC) of the WMO World Climate ResearchProgramme (WCRP).

S.G. — I enjoyed working with the JSC, firstly becauseit was an opportunity to listen to the latest develop-ments in the field (something I had not had the chanceto do since coming back to India in 1971) and, sec-ondly, because I learned how international pro-grammes are formulated, launched and executed.These lessons were important for the development andexecution of the ICRP. I was deputed by the JSC toserve on the standing committee of START and I haveenjoyed that association. With encouragement fromLarry Gates (then chair of the JSC) and HartmutGrassl (then director of the WCRP) and the active par-ticipation of the WCRP, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the InternationalHuman Dimensions Programme on Global Environ-mental Change, Mike Manton (also a member of theJSC), Will Steffen (IGBP) and I helped START toorganize a workshop at Bogor in February 1997 to con-sider an end-to-end approach for modelling climatevariability and agriculture. This led to the launch ofthe START CLIMAG prog ramme w ith severaldemonstration projects. START has nurtured the pro-

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With colleagues at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 2003

gramme over the past five years and a work plan isnow being prepared.

H.T. — What sort of research work are you con-ducting these days?

S.G. — I continue to work on different facets of themonsoon. Our Centre now has such a talented facultywith expertise in different areas and I thoroughly enjoythe interaction with my colleagues. I continue to col-laborate with scientists from other institutions as well.Recently, I finished a paper on breaks in the Indianmonsoon with P.V. Joseph at Kochi University. Not toolong ago, I collaborated with T.N. Krishnamurti on hiswork on super-ensembles for prediction. In addition,I am working with colleagues at our centre and expertsat the Centre for Ecological Sciences of our Institute onclimate variability and agriculture. In particular, weare establishing teacher-student-farmer networks inthe climate-agriculture work.

H.T. — Which aspect of your work did you or doyou appreciate the most?

S.G. — I have thoroughly enjoyed my endeavour todevelop a comprehensiveunderstanding of themonsoon in the mostcongenial atmospherepossible. I have alsolearnt a great deal duringmy work on climate andagriculture from col-leagues and farmers. Ihave never participatedin the scientific rat raceand yet I believe my con-tributions have receivedthe recognition theydeserved more often thannot. I have also enjoyedworking in a society inwhich a woman scientistis treated as a scientistwho happens to be a woman and not one who requiresaffirmative action.

H.T. — Can you tell us about one or two mostunforgettable events of your professional life?

S.G. — The high points of my professional life havebeen the discovery of the phenomenon of the north-ward propagation of cloudbands over India and unrav-elling of the relationship between convection over theocean and SST, including the existence of the SSTthreshold. I also believe that the methodology we have

developed for addressing problems of climate variabilityand agriculture and its application for identifyingfarming strategies (such as for planting dates) is goingto be recognized as a major contribution as it has thepotential to help farmers considerably.

H.T. — Would you like to say something about yourfamily?

S.G. — I have been particularly fortunate in having awonderful family. My husband has complementaryinterests which have enriched both our lives. I helpedhim in his modelling work and we have several jointpublications in evolutionary biology. With him and ourchildren, I have spent many a happy hour watchingbirds, butterflies, elephants and other wildlife andenjoying a variety of landscapes from the peaks of theHimalayas and Western Ghats to our beautifulbeaches. He has served as Chair of the Global Envi-ronment Facility Scientific and Technical AdvisoryPanel and gained an understanding of global environ-mental issues. We have just embarked on a collabora-tion on the issue of adaptation to climate change. He isalso interested in the modelling of crop pests and dis-

eases and the use ofteacher-student-farmernetworks in climate-agriculture work.

My children aregrown up now. My livelydaughter is a journalist,married to an outstand-ing mechanical engineer.They live at Pune wheremy roots are. My son is am a t h e m a t i c i a n — atopologist who enjoys hismathematics as much asMadhav and I enjoy ourresearch (not more thanus, because I cannotimagine anyone enjoyingthe scientific endeavour

any more than we do!). He has just joined the faculty atthe Indian Statistical Institute at Bangalore.

H.T. — Your scientific achievements, your skill atharmonizing career and family and your enthusi-asm make you a role model for women working inmeteorology and related fields. This interviewmakes an excellent introduction to this special issueof the WMO Bulletin. Thank you.

11

Sulochana and Madhav Gadgil

12

IntroductionThe Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action ofthe 1995 United Nations Fourth Conference onWomen challenged society, governments, non-gov-ernmental and international organizations to recog-nize the crucial role of women in all spheres ofhuman activity and to take action to encourage theadvancement of women in all walks of life. Amongits recommendations that are relevant to issues ofscience and technology are: improved access forwomen to technology, information, science educa-tion, technical training, non-traditional employ-ment, and strengthening of the position of womenscientists and technologists. Importantly, there wasan open challenge to encourage gender-sensitivepolicy-making and planning universally, and theparticipation of women in decision- and policy-making.

The WMO response

In response, WMO organized the InternationalExpert Meeting on the Participation of Women inMeteorology and Hydrology in Bangkok, Thailand,in December 1997 with the objective of increasingthe participation of women meteorologists andhydrologists in the programmes and activities ofthe constituent bodies of WMO, and to encouragethe creation of equal opportunities for women toattain senior positions in their chosen fields ofatmospheric and geophysical sciences. The meetingreviewed the role, progress and problems of womenin meteorology and hydrology and made recom-mendations on how to effect desired change in theworkplace.

WMO noted that male professionals over-whelmingly outnumbered females in meteorologyand hydrology and, in his address to the WMOBangkok Meeting, the Secretary-General of WMOappealed to Members to take certain positive stepsto actively promote increased participation bywomen in these professions. Prominent on the meet-ing agenda was a debate on the results of the firstWMO global survey, done in 1997, on the participa-tion of women and men in the activities of WMOand in the fields of meteorology, operational hydrol-ogy and related geophysical sciences.

The 2001 survey The objective of the 2001 survey on the participationof women and men in the activities of WMO was toupdate the 1997 baseline data and track progress inachieving full opportunity for women in the meteoro-logical and hydrological professions. The survey ques-tionnaire requested information in three main areas:previous national studies and analyses on the topic,participation of women and men in the activities ofWMO Technical Commissions and Regional Associa-tions, in delegations to the WMO Executive Counciland Regional Technical Conferences on the Manage-ment of NMHSs during 1996-1999, and 1999 data onthe employment of women and men at NMHSs.

The final tally of 105 questionnaires returnedfrom a total WMO Membership of 185 States and Ter-ritories was deemed reasonable enough to allowmeaningful analysis, considering that respondentscomprised the overwhelming majority of those coun-tries that have the largest proportion the global mete-orological and hydrological communities. The surveyresults and analysis will assist in the deliberationsand debate among participants at the Second WMOConference on the Participation of Women in WMOActivities held during 24-27 March 2003, at WMOHeadquarters, Geneva, Switzerland.

Analysis and evaluationParticipation in WMO technical commissionsWMO technical commission members were 11.2 percent female, ranging from as high as 19.2 per cent ofmembers from RA III to as low as 8.5 per cent fromRA II. Of the total of 2 492 persons participating in allTechnical Commission activities, 13.3 per cent werewomen; they formed 20 per cent of all participantsfrom Region III, but only 9 per cent from Region V.Commissions with the least women were CIMO (6.8per cent) and CAS (9.1 per cent); those with the mostwere CAeM (22.1) and CCl (20.9 per cent). There were12 female Technical Commission rapporteurs out of124—or 9.7 per cent.

Of 693 delegates attending Technical Commis-sion meetings 89—or 12.8 per cent—were women.They formed as much as 22 per cent of RA III dele-gates but only 4 per cent of those of RA V. The RA VI335-member female delegation was the largest, being

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13

GENDER MAINSTREAMING AND WMO

We know about streamlines and stream functions, jet streams and Gulf streams, but what about gender main-streaming?

First, why do we use the word “gender”? Is there a difference between “women’s issues” and “genderissues”? The answer is “yes”. The biological differences between women and men do not change. Gender,however, refers to the roles women and men play in society, in their homes, and in the economic, political andcultural fabric of their countries. Gender has to do with the attributes and opportunities associated with beingmale and female, and these can—and do—change. An example of a gender issue, highlighted later in this issueof the WMO Bulletin, is the situation in many countries where women are in charge of fetching clean drinking-water but men make the decisions about how water projects are carried out. The fact that 50 per cent ofcustomers of meteorological information are female means that gender is an issue for WMO. Men and womenare not always looking for the same thing in weather or climate forecasts. In simplest terms, gender mainstream-ing means taking into consideration these differences when designing and implementing our programmes.

Within the private sector and government, people have come to the realization that taking gender intoaccount makes good business sense. Companies realize that to better serve their clients and to make best use oftheir employees, they must taken into account the differences in what men and women want and what they canbring to their organizations.

On the international level, activities over the last two decades have led to a clear recognition that progressin the areas of environment, human rights, population and social and economic development all depend on theadvancement of women. The UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992affirmed women’s vital role in achieving sustainable development and environmental protection. The increasedrecognition of the importance of the role of women led to the landmark Fourth World Conference on Womenheld in Beijing in 1995. From this Conference arose a Platform for Action which, amongst many other recom-mendations to governments around the world, admonished UN agencies to develop gender-sensitive policiesand programmes. As a result, the concept of gender mainstreaming was introduced into the planning processand programme implementation of many United Nations agencies. Gender mainstreaming is defined by theUnited Nations as:

... the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legisla-tion, policies and programmes, in any area and all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well asmen’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension in the design, implementation, monitoring andevaluation of policies and programmes, in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women andmen benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.(Economic and Social Council, substantive session of July 1997). A first step in mainstreaming gender is to do a gender analysis. Although WMO has not yet undertaken

any formal gender analysis, some members of our community have recognized the gender dimensions of theiractivities. For instance, the Drought Monitoring Centre in Nairobi is working with a team of experts to investigatethe role of women in the application of climate information in the Greater Horn of Africa region (see article onpage….). They make the case that timely access and application of weather and climate information by ruralwomen is crucial to poverty reduction, environmental management, disaster management and sustainabledevelopment. Jennifer Francis, Executive Secretary of the Gender and Water Alliance, tells us of the progressbeing made through the application of a gender mainstreaming in the water sector (page …). She notes thatequitable gender participation throughout a project cycle is essential to its success.

Bella Abzug, a well-known US politician and fighter for human rights, took gender mainstreaming one stepfurther. Abzug co-founded the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), which wasinstrumental in changing the way the United Nations thought and acted regarding women and the environment.She said:

Women do not want to be mainstreamed into the polluted stream. We want to clean the stream and trans-form it into a fresh and flowing body; one that moves in a new direction—a world at peace, that respectshuman rights for all, renders economic justice and provides a sound and healthy environment.

almost half of all women attending technical com-mission meetings.

Participation in activities of the regionalassociations

Globally, there were 48 women delegates at regionalsessions out of 264 persons attending—or 18.1 percent. Of the 86 Members that sent delegations, 23included both men and women, 59 had men only and,almost as an anomaly, four had women only. The high-est regional average of female delegates was inRegion III—32.4 per cent—and the lowest inRegion V—8.3 per cent.

There were no female rapporteurs in Region II,one each in Regions I, III and IV, and three inRegion VI. Women comprised 12.3 per cent of the totalof 65 rapporteurs in all regions. Region III led the wayin composition of working groups/teams with womenconstituting 30.8 per cent of the membership, followedby 19.4 per cent in Region VI and only 4.3 per cent inRegion I.

Globally, a total of 525 persons were involved inregional activities, including 88 women (16.8 percent), 33 of whom came from Region VI; however,Region III percentages for regional participation ofwomen were consistently the highest in all activitycategories.

Participation in Executive Council (EC)delegations

Opportunities for participation in EC meetings arelimited since only about one-sixth of WMO Memberscan participate in EC at one time. The percentage offemale delegates was around 10 per cent from 1992 to1995 (Figure 1), and increased slightly to near 15 percent by 1998, and to 20 per cent in 1999, the lastincrease due mainly to a decrease in the number ofmen attending as delegates, rather than an increase inwomen. Overall, the participation of women as dele-gates to EC meetings continues to be low, with menfive times more likely to be delegates than women,compared to nearly seven times in the 1997 survey;

Attendance at regional technical conferences

Altogether, there were 192 persons attending RegionalTechnical Conferences of the Management of NMHSs,of whom 27 (14.1 per cent) were women. They formed18.2 per cent of delegates from Region III, 17.9 per centfrom Region I and only 9.1 per cent from Region V.

Employment of women in NMHSs

In Region I, women comprised 15.3 per cent of theprofessional category (e.g. operations, research, man-

agement) compared with 13 per cent in the 1997 sur-vey. All countries employed female support staff (e.g.technicians, observers), varying from 0.9 per cent inNiger to 48.3 per cent in Guinea-Bissau. Overall,women constituted 18 per cent of support staff com-pared to 16 per cent in 1997 and 17.4 per cent of thecombined (professional and support) workforce.

All countries employed women professionals inRegion II, with a regional average of 31.6 per cent,varying from 0.3 per cent in Pakistan and 1.6 per centin Japan (1.6 per cent) to 72.7 per cent in Maldives and63.3 per cent in Uzbekistan. Similarly, all countriesemployed women support staff varying from 0.3 percent in Pakistan to 84.3 per cent in Kazakhstan for anoverall regional average of 48.8 per cent. This statisticis strongly influenced by China's employment of over80 per cent of the Region’s female support staff. Alto-gether, 38.3 per cent of the total workforce was female,indicating an apparent progressive trend of employ-ment of women in some of the Region’s NMHSs.

Women comprised 36.4 per cent of the profes-sional staff in Region III, compared to 21 per cent in1997, varying from 18.1 per cent in Ecuador to 56.1per cent in Uruguay. The Region’s support staff was26.9 per cent female compared to 18 per cent in 1997,varying from 10.8 per cent in Ecuador to 51.5 per centin Guyana. Overall, women comprised 28.9 per cent ofthe regional combined workforce.

In Region IV, national averages for the employ-ment of professional women varied from 11.1 percent in El Salvador to 36.4 per cent in Barbados, for a

14

Figure 1 — Male and female participation in delegations to the Executive Council

regional average of 13.7 per cent, lower than the17 per cent in the 1997 survey. The USA and Canadaemployed a total of 564 women professionals, 95.8 percent of the Region’s total. In the support-staff cate-gory national percentages varied from 7.1 per cent inNetherlands Antilles and Aruba to 55.6 per cent inDominica, with a regional average of 20.8 per cent,just lower than 22 per cent in 1997. Overall, the com-bined workforce was 16.3 per cent female.

All seven responding countries in Region Vemployed women professional staff, varying from 5.5per cent in Indonesia to 22.2 per cent in Singapore, fora regional average of 12.6 per cent compared to 12 percent in 1997. Female support staff worked in all coun-tries, varying from 2 per cent in Fiji to 30.9 per cent inSingapore, with a regional average of 12.6 per cent.Overall, women comprised 12.6 per cent of the com-bined workforce, the lowest of all Regions.

Employment of female professionals inRegion VI varied from 0 per cent in the Syrian ArabRepublic to as high as 86.9 per cent in Estonia, withseveral post-socialist countries of eastern Europeshowing significantly large percentages, e.g. RussianFederation (70 per cent) and Lithuania (63.8 percent). Overall, women comprised 59.7 per cent of theprofessional workforce compared with 38 per cent inthe 1997 survey. The percentage of female supportstaff ranged from 8.2 per cent in the Syrian ArabRepublic to 86.7 per cent in Slovakia, with a regionalaverage of 51.9 per cent, which is an improvement onthe 42 per cent in 1997. Altogether, women comprised56.1 per cent of the combined workforce, by far thehighest of all Regions.

WMO Secretariat

There were 138 women (52 percent) out of 264 staff at the WMOSecretariat in 1996 and 133 (50 percent) out of 266 in 1999. At firstglance, these numbers suggest thatthere is gender equity within theOrganization, with even a slightbias in favour of women. However,in 1999, women comprised only18.9 per cent of the professionalstaff and 78.6 per cent of the gen-eral services staff, i.e. ratios ofabout four males to one female inthe Professional category reversedto four females to one male in theGeneral Services category. This isa recurring pattern without anydetectable staffing trend to indi-

cate that there are increased opportunities for womenamong the professional staff. Thus, within the WMOSecretariat, women are much more likely to serve in asupport category than in one of programmatic or pol-icy responsibility.

Participation in WMO Congresses

Women have participated in the affairs of WMO sinceit came into force in 1950 but in extremely limitednumbers and, usually, at levels lower than thatinvolved with important decision-making. For thefirst seven Congresses (1951-1975), only one woman,H. Gudmundsson of Iceland, participated as PrincipalDelegate but the number of male Principal Delegatesincreased steadily. At Twelfth Congress there wereonly five women (3.1 per cent) among 161 PrincipalDelegates and 11 (6.4 per cent) out of 170 at Thir-teenth Congress.

The participation of women as members of dele-gations to Congress increased gradually (Figure 2)from two at First Congress in 1951, to 21 at Ninth Con-gress; then followed a major jump to 79 at ThirteenthCongress in 1999. However, this number is still verysmall. Historically, men were more than 10 timesmore likely to serve as members of delegations butthat ratio improved to about eight over the last twoCongresses. Delegation size peaked at Eleventh Con-gress to some 4.3 persons, and decreased by Thir-teenth Congress to some 3.6 persons, indicating anoverall decrease in opportunities for participation.The slight increase in the number of women per dele-gation could be interpreted as a positive indicationthat some action is being taken at national and gov-ernment levels to increase the participation ofwomen in the activities of WMO.

15

Figure 2 — Female delegates to Congress (1951-1999)

Num

ber

of

wo

men

Congress

ConclusionThe key finding of the 2001 survey is that, althoughthere have been some small, incremental increases inthe percentages of women participating in someWMO activities since 1997, there has been no signifi-cant change in the overall participation. Womenremain markedly under-represented in WMO activi-ties. Participation in Technical Commissions,Regional Associations and the Executive Council, aswell as employment in both NMHSs and the WMOSecretariat, continue to be overwhelmingly male-dominated. Furthermore, global employment dataindicate that women are much more likely to serve ina support category than in one of policy or decision-making responsibility. Even though women may com-prise a reasonable fraction of the NMHS workforce,they constitute only around 10-15 per cent of the par-ticipants in most WMO activities.

Given this evidence, and the increasing signifi-cance of the Beijing Declaration and Platform forAction, it is imperative that WMO and its Memberscontinue to work together to ensure and encouragethe participation and advancement of women in thefields of meteorology, operational hydrology andrelated geophysical sciences. There is an urgent needto implement gender-sensitive measures and policieswhich, while being consistent with the goal of main-taining the highest standards of efficiency and com-petence, are also cognizant of the meaningful andvital contribution of women to our Organization andscience. In view of the fact that the looked-forprogress in creating increased opportunities forwomen has so far not really materialised, it would beworthwhile to continue monitoring changes thatwould update the information gathered in the surveyand, perhaps, indicate positive future trends.

16

In 1997, WMO conducted a survey among Membernations on the participation of women and men invarious aspects of the professions of meteorology,hydrology and related geophysical sciences. Data werepresented for each country regarding the percentagesof women involved in various aspects, including par-ticipation in training and university programmes,employment in the profession, and membership ofprofessional societies. In general, the results of theanalysis showed that women represent far fewer thanhalf the participants in these areas, and more oftenless than 25 per cent. Women are better representedamong the student ranks than in paid employment.Women participate in professional societies and inWMO activities at lower rates than men.

On a global scale, and based on averaging partic-ipation rates from all countries, the survey resultsshow that women comprise about one-quarter of thestudents enrolled in meteorology, hydrology andrelated geophysical science educational programmes,and, on average, women account for about one-fifth(~20 per cent) of the professionals and one-third(~33 per cent) of the support personnel in the fieldsof meteorology, hydrology and related geophysicalsciences. A summary of the study (Gaffen et al., 1998)was published in the Bulletin of the American Meteo-rological Society, 79, 861-864. Full details, includingdata tables, are included in the WMO report.

Another survey of a similar nature was con-ducted by WMO in the year 2001 and the results willbe issued as a WMO technical document (see preced-ing article). The second WMO Conference on Womenin Meteorology and Hydrology (March 2003) willassess progress (or lack thereof) in the participationof women in WMO activities since the last WMOmeeting on women’s participation in meteorologyand hydrology, which was held in Bangkok in 1997.

In April 2002, the Education and TrainingDepartment of WMO conducted a survey on Mem-bers’ training requirements, opportunities and capa-bilities. The questionnaire requested information onthe current staffing of National Meteorological andHydrological Services (NMHSs), including the num-ber of women staff at both professional and techni-cian levels (no information on the participation ofwomen in other related geophysical sciences wasrequested in this survey). Replies from 100 countrieswere received.

Analysis of the responses to the survey question-naire shows that there is a considerable variability inthe women to men ratio in the staffing of NMHSsfrom country to country and from one WMO Regionto another. In 1999, the global scale ratio for womento men at the professional level in meteorology was25.6 per cent, rising to 26.4 per cent in the year 2002.At the technician level, the ratio was 25.1 in 1999 and

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17

rose to 25.4 in 2002. In hydrology, the ratio in 1999was 34.1 per cent at the professional level and 35.8 percent in the year 2002, while at the technician level itwas 30.8 per cent in 1999 and dropped to 30.2 per centin 2002.

With regard to WMO fellowships for women,records show that the number of women trainedunder various WMO programmes increased graduallyfrom 37 in 1998 to 99 in the year 2002.

Figure 1 shows the WMO regional distribution ofwomen to men ratio at both professional and techni-cian levels for meteorology and hydrology. The ratiovaries from 8.8 per cent for RA I and 38.8 per cent forRA VI.

Although it is desirable to encourage women toexplore the domain of meteorology and hydrology inall regions, RAs I, IV and V require particular consid-eration to be paid to this issue, which is an importantfactor for capacity building and social development.

Figure 2 shows the ratio of female to male NMHSstaff on the global scale at both professional and tech-nician levels. Looking at the four main UN categoriesof WMO Member countries, it can be seen that thestaffing ratio of NMHSs in the least developed coun-tries is almost the same as that in developed coun-tries. Women in developed countries might find jobswhich are more attractive than meteorology orhydrology, where the working conditions could bemore convenient, while in the case of the least devel-oped countries, the problem may be the non-avail-ability of women with suitable qualifications.

It can also be seen that the highest women tomen ratio is in the staffing of NMHSs in countrieswith economy in transition. In addition to the plan-ning process in those countries, the availability ofqualified women personnel in meteorology and oper-ational hydrology, the variation of salaries at variouslocations could attract more men to other domains.

The findings suggest that women were givenmore opportunities for education and more chancesto join skilled and technical jobs. At the professionallevel in hydrology, there are more women than at thetechnician level, while meteorology attracts women tojobs at both levels. They also suggest that the partici-pation of women in meteorology and operationalhydrology and in the activities of the WMO is increas-ing slightly and that these fields are becoming gradu-ally a traditional employment areas for women* asfor most other kinds of physical science, particularlyin developing countries. More women now work inmeteorology, and their number is growing. Today,women figure in the ranks of research scientists, fore-casters and weather service administrators and otherrelated jobs at all levels.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

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1 2 3 4 5 6

W

Region I II III IV V VI

Women Men

Figure 1 — Ratio of women to men by Region at professional and technical levelsfor meteorology and hydrology

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Countrieswith

economiesin transition

Developingcountries

Women Men

Figure 2 — Ratio of female to male NMHS staff at professional and technicallevels on the global scale

❀ ❀ ❀

* Traditional employment areas for women defined as thearea where the employment rate for women is more than25 per cent.

18

This is not an article about how any one superwomanconfronted, survived or managed to reduce the impactof a major flood or tropical storm. Nor is it the oppositestory about the poor and defenceless woman whocould, would or should do nothing than wait and see.This story conveys hope and the insight that bothwomen and men are part of the same society, which aswe know, does not mean we have the same rights, edu-cation and options to manage, neither in “normal”times, nor when a disaster strikes. A few examples fromCentral America, India and the Pacific illustrate howwomen’s action shows a way forward. Several studiesdo confirm, however, that women are usually muchmore badly affected than men when a disaster strikes,and when recovery begins. We therefore need to addressthe specific concerns of women already in the initialstages of designing disaster-reduction policies andmeasures.

Disaster-reduction policies and measures needto be implemented with a two-fold aim: to enablesocieties to be resilient to natural hazards, whileensuring that development efforts decrease the vul-nerability to these hazards. Sustainable developmentis not possible without taking multi-hazard riskassessments into account in planning and daily life.Disaster reduction is an issue that affects the lives ofboth women and men. Given that the magnitude of adisaster is partially influenced by the political, eco-nomic and socio-cultural contexts, mainstreaminggender into disaster-reduction policies and measurestranslates into identifying the ways in which womenand men are positioned in society. This enables theeffective mapping, not only of the different and simi-lar ways in which the lives of women and men may benegatively affected, but also of the ways in which theycan contribute to disaster-reduction efforts.

In other words, cultural patterns structuring thelives of women and men must also be clearly under-stood. Women’s and men’s differing needs, roles and

social power in different social contexts need to betaken into account. Men are usually seen as primaryincome generators while women’s economic activi-ties, often the mainstay of the household economy, areless visible. Women carry the primary responsibilityfor the care of children, the elderly, the disabled andthe ill, whose mobility and survival in disasters maybe limited. Sex-specific dependencies and vulnerabil-ities based on reproductive differences are relevant indisasters, as is the respective ability of women andmen to participate fully in household, communityand national decision-making about hazard and risk.

Disasters: increased impact

During the past decade, natural hazards, such asearthquakes, landslides, droughts, floods, storms andtropical cyclones, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions,resulted in significant losses in human life and liveli-

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1 Prepared by the Inter-agency Secretariat for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), Geneva. TheUN/ISDR collaborated with the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women in the organization of the ExpertMeeting on Environmental Management and the Mitigation of Natural Disasters: a Gender Perspective (Ankara, Turkey, 6-9 November 2001). Prior to that meeting, a fruitful online debate took place in October 2001, moderated by Elaine Enarson,expert in gender and disasters. Many of the arguments and examples reflected in this article are based on the ideas and expe-riences shared during the online debate and the expert meeting, and a paper prepared by the UN/ISDR for the Commissionon the Status of Women, 6 March 2002.

“In the smallest islands of Micronesia, virtuallyinaccessible except by cargo ship, society func-tions with very clear gender roles. Men are gen-erally responsible for things related to the oceanand women are responsible for land-based (andnear-shore reef-based) activities. These every-day responsibilities translate easily into prepara-tory activities of an oncoming hazard, such as atyphoon, where the men secure the structures,canoes and objects needed for fishing, etc. andthe women gather plant cuttings, prop bananatrees, and gather food and water and families ina designated shelter where everyone awaits thestorm. Afterwards, men rebuild structures andwomen and children gather the salvageablepalms and food, women weave thatch, andreplant the gardens.” (Cheryl Anderson, ScienceResearch Institute, University of Hawaii)

hoods, the destruction of economic and social infra-structure, as well as environmental damage. Accord-ing to the reinsurance industry, economic losses haveincreased more than 10 times each decade during thelast four decades. Losses from water-related disastersfar exceed others: some statistics indicate 80-90 percent of losses are due to floods.2

Anecdotal evidence suggests that women aretypically the most affected by disasters.3 Men losetheir lives more often than women due, in part, totheir use of hazardous machinery in emergency reliefefforts and during the rebuilding phase. In contrast,women were highly over-represented among the120 000 people killed in the 1991 cyclone inBangladesh, because cultural norms constrained theiraccess to emergency warnings and cyclone shelters.

Gender relations structure is part of the socialand cultural context that shapes a community’s abil-ity to anticipate, prepare for, survive, cope with, andrecover from, disasters. In re-settling, extended fami-lies have been divided in many instances, leaving theold more vulnerable without the family support.Although the loss of women’s home-based workspace, supplies and equipment can have seriousrepercussions for the household economy, theselosses are rarely documented.

In both rural and urban households hit by hurri-cane Mitch in Central America in 1998, significantincreases were reported in rates of female headship,which doubled by some accounts. A year after thedevastating storm, Honduran relief workers reportedthat half the households still sheltered were main-

tained solely by women; in Nicaragua, 40 per centwere female-maintained.4

Women—agents of change

Nevertheless, women are not only victims, they arealso agents of change. Further, women and men,working together, can identify those hazards that arethreats to their homes and livelihoods and worktogether to build safer communities. Some examplesillustrate how this can be done.

Gender-sensitive risk-assessmentmodel in the Caribbean5

Women’s community-based organizations in theDominican Republic and St. Lucia participated in anexploratory project to map risk in their communities,including the daily disasters that shape low-incomewomen’s lives and the hurricanes, landslides, and firesto which they are exposed. With training in basicresearch methods, the women conducted interviews,recorded life histories, developed photo essays anddrew risk maps to assess their own strengths and thedangers they face. This information was then com-piled into community vulnerability profiles to beused by community leaders and shared with localemergency managers. A set of practical guidelines

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2 Figures are higher if the consequences of the many smaller and unrecorded disasters at the community level are taken intoaccount.

3 No systematic sex disaggregated data are available.

4 Patricia Delaney and Elizabeth Shrader, 2000: Gender and Post-disaster Reconstruction: the case of Hurricane Mitch inHonduras and Nicaragua

5 E. Enarson with Lourdes Meyreles, Betty Hearn Morrow, Audrey Mullings and Judith Soares: Working With Women at Risk:Practical Guidelines for Assessing Local Disaster Risk (www.fiu.edu/~lsbr)

“The capacity of human societies to withstanddisasters is primarily determined by the internalstrengths and weaknesses of the society in ques-tion: namely, its level of social, economic andcultural development or vulnerability. Capacitiesto cope are different, depending on the class, gen-der, age and background (indigenous or not),etc., of the affected communities.” (SálvanoBriceño, Director, UN/ISDR)

“The women who lost all their ... belongings andtheir life savings in India, after the recurrentfloods of the monsoons ... have not been able tocompensate their losses even after decades. Thissituation has threatened their security within thefamily relationship. Children (both girls andboys) dropped out of school. And young girls,whose families lost their savings and jewellery ...which were to provide their dowry in marriage,either lost the opportunity or had to delay gettingmarried, which has serious implications for theirsocial status, psycholog y and sur vival.”(Madhavi Ariyabandu, Programme Managerfor Disaster Mitigation of Intermediate Technol-ogy Development Group-South Asia (NGObased in Sri Lanka))

was developed to help guidewomen’s and other communitygroups in community-basedaction research to assess risk. Thismodel is being tested in El Sal-vador and Dominica and will berevised accordingly.

Reducing women’s risk,capitalizing on window of opportunity after hurricane MitchSeveral studies show thatincreased violence against womenis often a secondary effect of postdisaster stress all over the world.The NGO Puntos de Encuentro wasparticularly active after hurricaneMitch in Nicaragua, conducting amajor household survey, partici-pating in a social audit, launchingpublic education campaigns and developing work-shops on women and reconstruction. To mitigate pos-sible violence against women in the aftermath, Puntosde Encuentro integrated antiviolence educationdirectly into post-disaster recovery work. Workingthrough various media outlets, they developed a com-munity education campaign to transmit this mes-sage: “Violence against women is one disaster thatmen can prevent.” One observer recalled:

It is clear from the looks on participants’ faces thatthis workshop is not only enabling them to workthrough the emotional difficulty of post-trau-matic stress but also to consider the need fortransforming gender roles in their community.

Like other NGOs and women’s groups, Puntos deEncuentro was highly involved in hurricane relief andrecovery but went much further. Their proactive workaround violence against women seems likely to helpmitigate violence against women in future disastersand is certainly a model for capitalizing on the win-dow of opportunity to challenge structural inequali-ties that undermine community solidarity in the faceof disaster6.

Women’s efforts pay off. When the rural town LaMasica, Honduras, reported no deaths after hurricaneMitch, some applauded women’s extensive involve-ment in community education programmes under-

taken by a programme channelled through the Cen-tral American Disaster Prevention Centre with Ger-man support, months earlier. A study conducted bythe Inter-American Development Bank7 in the after-math of the hurricane stated:

Gender lectures were given and, consequently, thecommunity decided that men and women shouldparticipate equally in all hazard managementactivities. When Mitch struck, the municipalitywas prepared and vacated the area promptly, thusavoiding deaths ... Women also took over frommen who had abandoned the task of continuousmonitoring of the early warning system.

Some 20 years earlier, a similar pattern developed inHonduras after hurricane Fifi, when women steppedin to carry on the soil-conservation measures aban-doned by men.

Reducing social vulnerabilities: skillstraining for women following disasters

Increased opportunities for non-traditional skillsbuilding and employment are often reported in thewake of natural disasters, although the gendered divi-sion of labour defines the broad contours of bothwomen’s and men’s emergency response work. InIndia, women received skills training in safe housing-construction techniques after the Latur and Gujarat

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6 Patricia Delaney and Elizabeth Shrader, 2000: Gender and Post-disaster Reconstruction: the case of Hurricane Mitch inHonduras and Nicaragua

7 Mayra Buvini, 1999, Hurricane Mitch: Women’s Needs and Contributions. Inter-American Development Bank, SustainableDevelopment Department Technical Papers Series.

Mangrove planting by volunteers saves lives and money in Viet Nam. Since 1994, the Viet Nam Red Cross hasbeen planting and protecting mangrove forests in the north of the country to protect the coastal population fromtyphoons and storms. (Photo: Viet Nam Red Cross)

earthquakes in India, working through community-based women’s groups, mitigation agencies and gov-ernment recovery programmes. They also helpedredesign new homes better suited to their needs asworkers whose homes are workplaces as well as resi-dences. Some accounts from the USA suggest that,after a flood or a hurricane, women may managehome construction, organize work crews, learn andpractice new home-repair skills and negotiate withinsurance agents to rebuild their homes. Some workin warehouses, landscaping, and construction duringthe recovery period.

This was also evident in Montserrat when halfthe population was displaced due to widespread vol-canic eruption. Women there started a new groupcalled Women on the Move which assisted womendisplaced from their homes and workplaces by offer-ing skills training in both traditional areas and non-traditional fields such as information technologies.Through their efforts, more work became availablefor more women on male-dominated constructionsites and women gained in self-confidence and eco-nomic independence. The group’s consensual deci-sion-making process reportedly helped unite womentraumatized by this unfolding disaster, robbing them

of their way of life. Not only did Women on the Moveadvance women’s long-term recovery, it also fosteredfaith in women’s “own ability to shape and directtheir lives” and encouraged women to “enter into newrelationships with their men and the society in whichthey live.”8

Early warnings and getting the messageacross—overcoming the barriers

Cheryl Anderson, University of Hawaii, gives someexamples from recent studies which illustrate howwomen are excluded from timely and understandableearly warning information. She recounts that a col-league’s research in a Peruvian fishing village focusedon forecasting methods and impacts from climatevariability, specifically an El Niño-Southern Oscilla-tion (ENSO) event. After a strong El Niño event, it wasdiscovered that the fishermen had been warned aboutthe upcoming event, and knew that the fishing would

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8 Adapted from Judith Soares and A. Mullings, 2002: “Awe run tings’: women rebuilding Montserrat”. In: G.D.Howe and Howard Fergus (Eds.), A Will to Survive:Volcanic Impact and Crisis Mitigation in Montserrat.Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press.

GENDER, DISASTER REDUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Gender: While the sex of an individual is biologically determined, gender refers to the socially constructedand adopted roles and relationships that society imposes on men and women. Gender is culturally specific andchanges over time. Most societies are characterized by a male bias: the male norm is taken as a norm forsociety as a whole. Gender perspectives are “those which bring to conscious awareness how the roles,attitudes and relationships of women and men function to the detriment of women” according to the UnitedNations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). A focus on gender stresses the identification of differentneeds of the community and the formulation of policies that address those needs, prioritizing equality ofopportunity.

Gender analysis: Gender analysis involves the collection and use of sex-disaggregated data that reveal theroles and responsibilities of men and women that should be fed into the policy process. The analysis assesseshow existing and future policies and programmes potentially affect men and women differently.

Gender mainstreaming: This is the process of bringing a gender perspective into the mainstream activities ofgovernments at all levels, as a means of promoting the role of women in the field of development, integratingwomen’s values into development work. Gender mainstreaming in disaster reduction refers to fostering aware-ness about gender equity and equality, to help reduce the impact of disasters, and to incorporate genderanalysis in disaster management, risk reduction and sustainable development to decrease vulnerability.

Link to sustainable development: State leaders at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannes-burg, South Africa, 26 August-4 September 2002) recognized that disasters are a major threat to developmentand adopted a set of specific actions to address disaster risk in the Plan of Implementation.

Disaster reduction is about taking measures in advance to address vulnerabilities, reduce risk and anticipatehazards. They involve environmental protection, social equity and economic growth, the three cornerstones ofsustainable development. “Development that is not engendered is endangered.”

be poor or even non-existent for the next severalmonths. The women in the village did not receive anywarnings about the upcoming conditions, because theclimate forecasters issued warnings to those whowould be directly impacted. The result of the ENSOwarm event was increased poverty, unemploymentand harsh economic conditions. The women in thevillage manage the household budgets. Had theyknown about the onset of ENSO, they would havesaved more household funds and budgeted expensesdifferently to prepare for the event. For some socio-cultural reason, the men did not discuss the warningswith their wives and continued to spend their moneywithout regard to their future situation. One of theproblems with male-dominated networks of informa-tion is that women are primarily responsible for gar-dening/agriculture, securing land-based foodresources, and budgeting water resources for house-hold consumption and gardening in these places.Without access to information, they cannot minimizerisks associated with their regular activities.

On a more positive note, Cheryl continues withan example of a study in Hawaii. During the 1997/1998El Niño event, women participated as communityeducators and there were three locations out of sevenin the study where a few women participated on theENSO task forces to mitigate drought. These womenwere responsible fordeveloping public educa-tion and awareness pro-grammes. Informationwas carried from villageto village and publicservice announcementswere broadcast on radioand television. Thedrought impacts weresevere but would havebeen much worse with-out the penetration ofinformation that resultedin conservation andpublic health pro-grammes. The cam-paign to treat waterbefore drinking (whererivers had dried consid-erably and groundwaterwas limited and/or sus-pect) actually reducedthe recorded incidenceof reported diarrhoealdisease significantly.

This is an example where targeting women with fore-casts and warnings may have some direct bearing onreducing the impacts of hazards.

When radios aren’t enough

Another study, reported by Emma Archer (Interna-tional Research Institute for Climate Prediction/Columbia University/National Oceanic and Atmos-pheric Administration, USA/South Africa) found thatwomen farmers in South Africa (particularly thosewho are not the head of the household) prefer seasonalclimate forecast information to be made availablethrough the extension officer or school, rather than theradio (preferred by male interviewees):

The farmers state that, in attempting to balancefarming, child care and other domestic responsi-bilities, they are less able to schedule a fixed timeto listen to the radio. They also prefer informationto be provided on site, in an environment wherequeries can be handled immediately, and discus-sion can take place. This confirms a growingsense in the climate impacts and applicationscommunity that women are a crucially under-served clientele.Radios and TVs are not always found in homes.

Fainula Rodriquez, International Institute for DisasterRisk Management, Philippines, says:

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Women’s impoverishment and economic insecurity undermine resilience to disasters as do their high levels of malnutrition andchronic illness, low levels of schooling and literacy, lack of information and training, inadequate transportation, and culturallimitations on mobility. Caring for others takes many women’s lives when sudden choices must be made about self-preservation or rescue of children and others. (Photo: PAHO/WHO)

In some countries (Bangladesh, among others),women who are confined to the house or familyplot have no access through radio, TV or other-wise to warning information. This may seem self-evident, but there are many examples of how thisis not considered—most warning programmesbeing designed as one-model-fits all. Therefore,not only is there a need to develop gender/cul-ture/economic ... sensitive warning systems, butalso to ensure that the other key elements are inplace, in particular focused information, educa-tion and public awareness programmes and thenecessary support for women and children to acton the warning. Preparing to leave an area aboutto be hit by a cyclone can mean taking with yousome very cumbersome assets which are basic tosurvival in ‘normal’ times.In many regions, women have been engaged in

risk-reduction activities outside formalized pro-grammes. For example, on the fragile charlandsinhabited by poor people in Bangladesh, womenengage in extensive homestead gardening and raisecrops with medicinal properties for home-health care.Preserving seeds, conserving water, composting toimprove poor char soil, constructing housing resist-ant to strong winds and planting seedlings to stabi-lize the shifting charlands are common activitiesdeveloped over time by women to make life safer dur-ing floods.

These examples contributing to the shaping ofthe future programme of action for disaster reduc-tion should continue to be nurtured and supported bypolicies, data and analyses that take into considera-tion the roles and needs of both women and men.

Understanding the scope of disaster and risk reduction

The United Nations adopted the International Strat-egy for Disaster Reduction in 2002, as a partnershipwith governments, UN agencies, regional bodies, civilsociety and communities, to further pursue aware-ness and public commitment to vulnerability and riskreduction, expanded partnership and networking, aswell as research and implementation on hazards, riskand specific disaster reduction measures. Disasterreduction, as envisioned within the ISDR framework,aims to build disaster-resilient societies and commu-nities to withstand natural hazards and related tech-nological and environmental disasters, and reduceenvironmental, human, economic and social losses.

ISDR, in addition, supports international cooper-ation to reduce the impacts of the El Niño phenome-non and other climate variability and to strengthenearly warning capacities for disaster reduction. One ofthe main partners within the Strategy for this pur-pose is WMO. WMO chairs the Working Group on Cli-mate and Disasters of the Inter-Agency Task Force onDisaster Reduction within the ISDR.

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Living with risk—a global review of disaster-reduction initiatives and gender-sensitive strategies (ISDR, 2002)

For a comprehensive understanding of the scopeof disaster reduction, the graphic representation onthe previous page describes the main context andactivities, including elements necessary for gender-sensitive strategies. It is important to stress that gen-der equality in disaster reduction policies and meas-ures require promoting women to have an increasingrole in leadership, management and decision-making,as well as recognizing women’s positions in theircommunity and the larger society. Since disaster-reduction activities are part of development, they arelinked to promoting the general welfare of societies,without increasing the risk to hazards.

Disaster-reduction strategies include vulnerabil-ity and risk assessments, as well as a number of insti-tutional capacities and operational abilities. Theassessment of the vulnerability of critical facilities,social and economic infrastructure, the use of effec-tive early warning systems, land-use planning, envi-ronmental management and the application of manydifferent types of scientific, technical, and otherskilled abilities are essential features of a disasterreduction strategy.

The sharing of information and experience,both for the purposes of public information and allforms of education and professional training, is asimportant for creating a safety culture as the crucial

involvement of local community action and newforms of partnership motivated by cooperation andshared responsibilities. Above all, functions associ-ated with disaster reduction need to be viewed not asan expense, but as an investment in a society’sfuture.

Consideration of the needs and roles of womenis crucial in this context. There are fundamental ele-ments in every disaster reduction strategy, but thepriorities, relative emphasis, available resources, andspecific ways of implementation must take intoaccount practices that are most suited to local condi-tions, understanding and effectiveness.

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For more information on the subject of this article,contact UN/ISDR:isdr@un.org or molinvaldes@un.org (one of theauthors of this article) or visit the ISDR Websites:www.unisdr.org and www.eird.org.Elaine Enarson collaborated with the ISDR secre-tariat in compiling examples.The results from the on-line debate quoted in thearticle can be found at:www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/env_manage/

Introduction Women constitute half of the world’s population.They are the caretakers of children, the guardians offamily health and well-being and, frequently, themanagers of household resources.

In the developing world, where millions of fami-lies still lack clean water and adequate sanitation, it isthe women who ensure that their families have water.Yet, despite their number, and their roles and respon-sibilities, women often have no voice and so no choicein decisions about the kind of services they receive inrelation to water supply, sanitation and health.

Many countries have recognized the benefits ofinvolving women in all aspects of their water and san-

itation programmes. Most government guidelines,project designs and programme policies now incorpo-rate a gender dimension: this is regarded as crucial tothe sustainability of any programme or project. It hasbeen accepted that water-development and manage-ment policies and programmes that exclude women asactors, and as an interest group, bypass half the popu-lation and are lower in efficiency and effectiveness.

At the implementation level, however, the pro-motion of a gender balance is often lacking.

This reveals that it is not enough to accordwomen paper rights through policy, law or institu-tional reform. Instead, the overall goal of any genderstrategy for the water sector should be: to develop aframework which ensures that both women’s andmen’s concerns and experiences are an integraldimension of the design, implementation, monitoring

TTTT hhhh eeee rrrroooo llll eeee ooooffff wwww oooo mmmm eeee nnnn iiii nnnn wwww aaaatttt eeee rrrr mmmm aaaannnn aaaagggg eeee mmmm eeee nnnntttt ————gggg llll oooo bbbb aaaa llll tttt rrrr eeee nnnn dddd ssss aaaannnn dddd llll eeee ssss ssss oooo nnnn ssss llll eeee aaaa rrrr nnnn eeee dddd

By Jennifer FRANCIS*

* Executive Secretary, Gender and Water Alliance, TheNetherlands

25

and evaluation of water projects—as well as of legis-lation, policies and programmes.

Gender and water sector

Both men and women shoulder responsibilities relat-ing to water. But the gender division of labour withinsocieties determines who has control over its use. Bal-anced attention to the gender-dimension optimizessocial and economic development, and reduces com-petition and conflicts over water.

Women, however, are not a homogeneous socialgroup. Class, age, religion and ethnicity create impor-tant variations in the conditions under which womenlive, influencing the needs they express, as well astheir priorities and demand for water. In general,women comprise an above-average percentage ofthose designated as poor, but the physical and socialrealities governing water supply and sanitation areoften markedly different. The problems connectedwith women’s roles can therefore vary radicallybecause of geographical context.

Women and water in the mid-1970s

When community participation in water supply andsanitation started in the second half of the 1970s, itwas synonymous with the participation of men. Inproject meetings and assemblies, mainly men wouldparticipate. If women attended, their culturally pre-scribed role was to listen, not to speak or take part inplanning and decision-making. Maintenance, financ-ing and management training, functions and deci-

sion-making were also male prerogatives. Womenwere mainly involved in the physical work. Theyhelped in digging the trenches or provided food anddrinks to well-digging teams. After construction, theywould become mainly responsible for preservinghygiene around the new pumps and taps, doing pre-ventive maintenance and site cleaning.

Women's demands not met

In water and land development programmes in manycountries around the world, demands by women fordomestic water supply were overlooked. As a result,water points for domestic use were located far from thesettlement areas and women had to walk long dis-tances to collect water. This resulted in lower amountsof water collected for the family, thus reducing hygieneand health. It also reduced their time and energy forother development activities such as education.

In other programmes, women were not consultedon the design and location of domestic water points.When the points did not meet women’s requirements,they were not used. Giving more health education didnot make a difference, because the women had strongand valid reasons for disliking the imposed locationsand design. Failure to consult women on latrinedesign and location has also resulted in inappropri-ateness of new facilities for local conditions and use.

Women's expertise, commitment and indigenousmanagement functions unrecognized

Women have traditionally played key roles in deci-sion-making on the use andmanagement of water sources.Though men take the formaldecisions on new constructionand dig new wells, womenhave culturally accepted waysof initiating and mobilizingmale resources and often care-fully manage indigenousdomestic water supplies. Yet,indigenous management sys-tems of water are seldomassessed and built upon wheninstalling new water supplyand sanitation services. As aresult, women’s traditionalpublic management roles havegone unrecognized andwomen have lost managementfunctions, jobs and statuswhen new water and wastesystems arrive. Existing sys-

In Africa, 90 per cent of the household water and wood needs for food preparation is done by women. In many regionsof the world, women spend up to five hours per day collecting fuelwood and water. (Photo: FAO/John Isaac)

tems are neglected and holistic water resources man-agement traditions are overlooked.

Focus on participation of women in the mid-1980s

In the second half of the 1980s, it was realized that thelack of participation of women in planning, mainte-nance and management had negative impacts on thequality of the services and the overall position ofwomen and their participation in development. As aresult, many projects began to take special measures toinvolve women in decision-making and management ofservices. However, this greater focus on the participationof women was not without its risks either.

Women getting more work without influence and compensation

Paid male mechanics were found not to perform well.They were therefore replaced by women. The womengot technical training but, unlike the men, no arrange-ments were made for community payment for theirmaintenance and repair services.

Women who were engaged as voluntary water tar-iff collectors found they had to spend more time ontariff collection than formerly on the collection ofwater. Women sat on water and sanitation committeesbut without any real say in decision-making. In somecases, all important decisions were made at higher lev-els, where no women were represented.

Men withdrawing from responsibilities

Water committees became all female committees andwomen became responsible for all work and even, for allpayments for operation and maintenance. When onlywomen were selected for training, husbands and fathersdid not allow their wives and daughters to participate.

Men bypassed in hygiene improvements

The focus on women's responsibilities in health andhygiene has increased their already heavy workload, fail-ing to address the availability of work-alleviating toolsand the re-division of work within the households. Inmost countries, the work—e.g. constructing latrines—and investment decisions needed for better family sani-tation and hygiene are traditionally the responsibility ofmen. Yet health and hygiene education projects do notaddress men on their responsibilities.

Furthermore, in a number of cultures, womencannot influence the behaviour of older males, be theyhusbands, fathers and fathers-in-law or adult sons.Egyptian women said they felt powerless in influenc-ing male behaviour. Tanzanian girls were frustrated bygetting hygiene education in schools but not being able

to influence conditions and practices in either theirpaternal homes or in their own home after marriage.

A gender approach in the mid-1990s

From the above review of historical developments andcases, it is evident that neither an exclusive focus onmen nor on women will work. Both approaches haveled to ineffective and unsustainable services andbehaviour change and have had undesirable effects onwider socio-economic development.

If projects and programmes do not take the rolesand responsibilities of both men and women into con-sideration, they may prevent men as well as womenfrom participating in areas where, precisely, they havethe capacity and influence.

There is therefore a need for a more equitablegender approach in service participation and manage-ment by both women and men. In this approach, theaccess to new information and knowledge, the divisionof work and the sharing of decision-making, resourcesand benefits, is divided more equitably between menand women of different age groups, classes and ethnicand religious groups.

In more recent programmes several examples of“promising practices” in gender-equitable approachescan be noted.

26 26

Collecting water is usually a woman’s or a girl’s job (Photo: WHO)

Africa

In Doss, Niger, the issue of gender was first raised by theexternal support agency. However, the manager of thecommunity participation programme remarked thatthe programme itself had also noted the overburdeningof women in the villages. For the water supply, sanita-tion and hygiene programme. it was also a matter ofcommon sense to involve women more in the watermanagement and get more male support in matters ofhealth and hygiene. But how to change behaviouracross the board: of men and women in villages, as wellas staff? To start off, gender-determined tasks andauthority were investigated for old and young womenand men and boys and girls in five villages in the pro-gramme area. These formed the basis for discussionsabout gender divisions of work and influence with proj-ect staff at village and programme level. The workshopshave led to a greater gender consciousness of staff andalso to some changes in their own practices.Acceptanceand pursuit of gender measures in the programme—organizing separate meetings with women; sharedcommittees; raising the awareness of men on theirresponsibilities in water payments—have increased.

AsiaThe women of Limaï in Indonesia marry into the vil-lage of their husbands and continue to be consideredstrangers, although they belong to the same ethnicgroup as their in-laws. The shared experience has cre-ated high solidarity among them and has stimulatedthem to unite and organize around their most press-ing need—a better domestic water supply. Theyformed a women’s group that initiated the water proj-ect, chose the locations and raised the initial capitalby cultivating a communal field. Having got the proj-ect off the ground, they then invited men into thelocal water committees that manage the service. Themanagement work is divided along gender lines: aman is in the chair at village level and a woman is thevillage water treasurer. Women chair water commit-tees at neighbourhood level. Men committee mem-bers clear the paths and sites from vegetation, openand close the water points and manage conflicts,spending in total about three times as much time aswomen members. Previously, the women’s groupraised all the income to maintain the service.Recently, they have been able to convince the men toalso contribute financially as the domestic water ben-efits all members of the household.

Latin America

In Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 400 000 people live in rap-idly growing peri-urban settlements without basicsocial services. In the early 1980s, most of these com-munities lacked access to a drinking-water source. Afamily could spend as much as one-third of itsincome buying water from a vendor.

In 1987, UNICEF and the National Water Board(SANAA) began a programme to provide safe, potablewater from boreholes and surface water. Under theterms of the programme, a community becomes eligi-ble for a water project by setting up an independentwater committee to run and manage its own watersystem from the construction process onward. Eventu-ally, the community becomes the owner of the watersystem, and is responsible for collecting fees, manag-ing the administration, operation and maintenance.

Women are the driving force behind the organi-zation of communities, filling approximately one-third of the positions on water boards. Some 62 percent of them function as committee president orfinancial controller. They make up half of the partici-pants in plumbing workshops.

Over 150 000 people living in 95 per cent of Teguci-galpa’s settlements have today benefited from thewater-supply programme. Much of the programme’ssuccess must be attributed to women willing to organ-

27

In Honduras, many communities collect their water from small streams that formnear their houses in the rainy season. During the dry season, these water sourcesdry up and the women and children must walk long distances up and down steephills to get water from larger streams. It is commonplace for them to have to walkone hour each way. (Source: WaterPartners International/Julie Daniels)

ize themselves and motivate the men to work for thebenefit of their families and neighbours. Gaining accessto clean water was the first step in obtaining other serv-ices and improving the community as a whole.

Lessons learned

The cases mentioned indicate that awareness of theimportance of a gender approach in water supply, sani-tation and hygiene is gradually increasing. In the expe-rience of organizations such as PROWSS/UNDP in over1 000 communities in 20 countries, four principles ofoverall importance are outlined below:

• To obtain women’s involvement we must go beyondwomen.There has been a tendency to interpret women’sinvolvement too narrowly. Experience shows thatwomen’s (and men’s) involvement in water andsanitation projects has implications for everyproject component, including choice of technol-ogy, community organization strategies, afford-ability and cost recovery, human-resource devel-opment, sanitation and health education, as wellas applied research, monitoring and evaluation.As long as women’s involvement is viewed as oneproject component, women’s involvement, espe-cially in large-scale water and sanitation pro-grammes, will continue to remain peripheral;

• Successful projects are ones in which managershave become “managers of change” rather than“managers of construction schedules”, so that proj-ects evolved and grew beyond the objectives origi-nally conceived.This may be characteristic of projects at the par-ticular time of the water decade. Water and sani-tation projects in Asia and Africa had changed. InBangladesh, the Urban Volunteer programme inthe slums of Dhaka started essentially as a pro-gramme to deliver oral re-hydration salt packetsto slum-dwellers and gradually changed tobecome a primary health care programme. InKenya, a small project in Kwale started as a hand-pump testing project changed and expanded tobecome an integrated water and sanitation proj-ect. These projects have attempted to involvebeneficiaries, both women and men, in a processthat attempts to facilitate user involvement indecision-making, predict unpredictability, expectchange and hence build adaptability to changingsituations in their programmes.

• Women’s participation does not preclude men’s orchildren’s participation nor does women’s participa-tion equal the number of women physically presentor involved in a project/programme.

Women’s involvement does not translate to anumber of women vs. the number of men presentat meetings or being trained. Physical presence isnot always a reliable indicator of involvement,given the great diversity of cultural and economiccontexts. The presence of women as the sole crite-rion can be misleading. Similarly, women’sinvolvement is not an “all or none” phenomenon,but needs to be considered in terms of the needsof different categories of women (age, wealth, reli-gion, caste) and also needs to be linked with proj-ect effectives. Thus, while it is critical to makespecial efforts to train women as pump mechan-ics and to ensure their success, it may self-defeat-ing to train women exclusively.The most important indicator of women’sinvolvement at all levels, from villages to higherpolicy levels within governments and interna-tional agencies, is involvement in decision-mak-ing. This criterion is crucial to avoid creating asituation whereby we actually increase women’sworkload by projects that are meant to decreasetheir workload.

• To involve women and men, create sustainable sys-tems and reach the poorest, water and sanitationprogrammes must include or be linked to economicdevelopment and poverty-alleviation programmes.In analysing successful programmes, it has beenfound that direct support for micro-enterprises’development, or linkages established withbroader poverty alleviation programmes, are cru-cial. In Indonesia, for example, it was found thatthe driving force for women’s and men’s involve-ment in water-user groups was not waterimprovement but the increase in cash incomethrough vegetable and fruit production. If weexpect poor people, especially women, to pay forwater and sanitation facilities, we must provide orcreate opportunities for earning increasedincome.

Conclusion

Programme and project planners have come to realizethat equitable gender participation is an essential ele-ment throughout the project cycle. Data separated bysex on roles and responsibilities between men andwomen have shown that men, women, boys and girlsare all involved in, and have their specific knowledgeof, tasks and requirements for the management ofwater supply and sanitation in the house, the commu-nity and the surrounding area.

Equitable gender participation throughout theproject cycle permits men and women to consider a

28

range of options and their consequences. It alsoassists them to choose technologies, designs, mainte-nance, management and financing systems that bestfit their needs and potential. Such a gender balance isneeded since neither the services themselves norwider development associated with them can be sus-tainable when one-half of the population is eitherpassed by or overburdened. Only when both womenand men can participate in an equitable manner andservices respond to their differential demands andcapacities can we hope for an effective and sustainedwater and sanitation sector which is both a conditionfor, and a part of, wider socio-economic development.

References

Asian Development Bank and United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (1990). Women and Water–Domestic ShallowWell Water Supplies–The Family Hand pump Scenario.Proceedings of Regional Seminar, Manila 29 August-1September 1989. Asian Development Bank, Manila,Philippines.

FRANCIS, J. and C. VAN WIJK, 1997: Global Trends in Gender andDemand Responsive Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene.Paper presented UNESCO Regional Workshop on Women'sParticipation in Water Management, 24-26 November 1997,Pretoria, South Africa.

MADOUGOU, Labo,1995: Programme Hydraulique VillageoiseConseil de l’Entente Pays, Bas Phase III. Contribution auséminaire sur la gestion des relations hommes femmes.Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 13-31 mars. Conseil del’Entente, Niamey, Niger,

MAHARAJ, N., 1999: Mainstreaming gender in water resourcesmanagement: why and how: Background paper for the WorldVision process. Paris, France, World Water Vision Unit, WorldWater Council

WIJK, C. van, 1985: Participation of Women in Water Supply andSanitation: Roles and Realities. The Hague, The Netherlands,IRC and UNDP/PROWWESS.

WIJK, C. van, 1997: Gender in Water Resources Management,Water Supply and Sanitation: Roles and Realities Revisited.The Hague, The Netherlands. IRC and UNDP/World BankWater and Sanitation Program.

WIJK, C. van, 2001: The Best of Two Worlds? Methodology forParticipatory Assessment of Community Water Services. IRCTechnical Paper Series 38, IRC International Water andSanitation Centre, Delft, Netherlands.

29

The future is shaped, but not determined, by the past.The future in our line of work is being determined bywomen and men of vision and skill who recognize thevalue of bringing a range of strengths and positionsto bear on the problems of the science and the servicesides of meteorology.

When I began my career with the MeteorologicalService of Canada (MSC) in 1968, there were only ahandful of other women already employed in the field.There were a number of reasons why this was so, but,nonetheless, the number of women available wereconsiderably more than the number of women hired.

Women have had to prove themselves againstthe burden of stereotypes in all fields, but in scientificfields the effort has been among the greatest. In addi-tion, the “double shift”, or the need to carry bothhome and work responsibilities, has sometimes beentoo exhausting and has forced some women into atleast temporary retreat.

In spite of any early stereotypes, time has shownthat science is a most suitable occupation for women,and women have been every bit as stimulated by

working in this field as their male co-workers. I hadan interesting discussion with a woman who hadworked in Great Britain with the Weather Service dur-ing World War II. Even these many decades later, herface still lit up with interest and enthusiasm as shedescribed how much she had enjoyed the work.

Much remains of the old thoughts and ways but,fortunately, societal mores have begun to be shapedby the demands of women for equality in the work-place. And they have been aided by men able to seethe value of a diverse workforce, capable of bringing avariety of strengths and viewpoints to bear. It hasbeen shown in many studies that a team of workers,bringing their viewpoints and experience to a prob-lem will always create a better solution than one per-son working alone, no matter how brilliant that singleperson may be.

Women in developed countries are also gettingsome support in child care activities, although this isnot as strong yet as could be wished. With enormousadvances being made in every aspect of telecommu-nications, women are freed somewhat to balancethese responsibilities by the use of teleconferencingto replace long hours of travel, the use of e-mail andeasy movement of proposals and planning sequences.

WWWWoooo mmmm eeee nnnn aaaannnn dddd tttt hhhh eeee ffff uuuu tttt uuuu rrrr eeee ooooffff mmmm eeee tttt eeee oooo rrrr oooo llll oooo gggg yyyy

By Nancy CUTLER*

* Director General, Policy and Corporate Affairs,Meteorological Service of Canada

30

While there is a gender imbalance in the applicationand utility of information technology, the potential itholds means that it should remain an important toolfor women.

Women bring strengths to the field of meteorol-ogy as it changes to meet the demands of society andgovernment. Meteorology is broadening from itsintense inward focus on advances in technology andcomputing power to include a more outward stancefocusing on the end-user—areas where communicat-ing and multi-tasking are an advantage. In today’s tightand competitive marketplace, both within countriesand globally, the edge given by sound weather guidancecan spell the differencebetween prosperity andfailure. Women provideexcellent analytical skillsin the sense of seeingthese shifts and trendsand recognizing howtheir National WeatherService could adapt tomeet those needs.

A particular oppor-tunity for women in thefuture may be in increas-ing service to clients indeveloping nations, andensuring effective dis-semination of weatherinformation and warn-ings to vulnerable citi-zens and communities.They would also be invaluable in training and recruit-ment, and in promotion of awareness programmesrelated to weather, climate and water.

Another role that falls easily to women is com-municating and “selling” new methods and ideas tobusiness users. Women have a natural role to play inworking with clients to explain both the science andthe application of the science to the problems facedby the clients. Women with strong science back-grounds in addition to other personal skills areinvaluable additions to the modern MeteorologicalService. It is worth noting that the increasing study ofinterrelationships between the variables of atmos-phere, land and oceans and the subsequent need todo cross-sector research (weather/climate with agri-culture, health, forests, etc.) means that the sciencewill as likely be biology or chemistry as physics andmathematics.

During my career I have long recognized thatwomen need to be supported and encouraged in their

aspirations. I have had many talks with women whohad difficulty seeing how they could advance in, oreven fit into, their current workplace. I have made it apersonal goal not only to help women one-on-one asI had the opportunity, but also to develop internalnetworks, workshops and other support mechanismsto provide moral support and help each other findopportunities.

I was the Chair of the first meeting looking atWomen in Meteorology and Hydrology three years ago,an experience never to be forgotten, and will be presentand supportive at the spring meeting on that topicagain this year as we take the next steps in advancing

the agenda. Within theMSC, I championed anoriginal initiative withEnvironment Canada, andam now nurturing a simi-lar but more focusedgroup within the MSC tolook specifically at theneeds of female scientists.

It seems to meessential that other pro-fessional groups form,use and maintain suchsupport networks. Theymust also work to con-vince the senior manage-ment within their serv-ices to actively andformally support suchundertakings. These

groups offer mentoring and can help women findtheir way to follow satisfying careers.

These groups also help make women visible. Alltoo often the lone woman can feel almost invisiblewithin the larger group of men, and may hesitate tomake her voice heard or demonstrate the full range ofher abilities. The groups can provide invaluable men-toring to show less experienced woman “the ropes”,introduce them to the right people and help guidetheir career steps.

Women, possibly because they have not beentrained in the same way as men, often do not seek outopportunities for networking. They have to make aconscious decision to do this. Although there is but asmall “old girls network”, women must nonethelessactively seek out that support and guidance. Anotherway women can get invaluable experience is throughtheir professional associations. These offer the oppor-tunity of accepting responsibilities on committeesand working groups, and provide the chance to

Nancy Cutler has had acareer in meteorology span-ning some 30 years, of whichmore than half were in man-agement. She was frequentlythe first and often the onlywoman to follow certaintraining courses or to take upcertain posts.Her contributions to meteorology in Canada wererecognized in 1997, when she was awarded thePatterson Medal for distinguished service.A profile of Nancy was published as part of theBulletin occasional series “Women in the service ofmeteorology and hydrology” (WMO Bulletin50(1) (January 2001)).

demonstrate capacity in different but related experi-ences outside work.

I have always been a believer in being a partici-pator in change. I have had many firsts in my career,from being the first woman to work at the militaryweather office in Halifax, to taking a lead position inthe conversion to metric. I have been involved insome of the largest changes undertaken by the MSC,including direct weather broadcasting, putting ourrelationship with NAV Canada (aviation services) ona business-like footing, and the implementation ofthe Doppler radar and lightning networks. Placeswhere movement is happening are the places wherethere are opportunities to make changes. The systemis more fluid, and when everything is changing youcan also make the changes that you need. Systemswhere everything has been fixed for the last 50 yearsare almost impossible to budge a centimetre.

Another thing that I would urge is to keep upwith the field, and not just the pure science. Followadvances in everything from the psychology of the

man/machine mix, and the interactions and effects ofweather forecasting on business, to the theory andtechniques of modern selling.

Meteorology, both as a science and as aservice/business, is changing rapidly worldwide, as ithas done since the inception of the InternationalMeteorological Organization in 1873 and, subse-quently, the World Meteorological Organization in1951. Change and growth are part of the essence ofmeteorology, and opportunities for women areincreasing both because of the expansion andbecause of the fluidity of change. This is a deeplyinteresting and exciting time to be involved in thisfield. Get hold of that excitement, it can carry you along way.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my colleagues Martha McCul-loch and Leslie Malone for their support in writingthis article.

31

My work in Sudan started in October 1989, when thedays in Finland were getting shorter and shorter, andwinter was approaching.In Khartoum,the sun was shin-ing all day long,but the hottest period was over. I arrivedlate in the evening with my eight-year old daughter, andan au pair, who had lived in Africa and whose familyI knew well. Warm, dusty wind welcomed us when westepped down from the airplane, smelling of sand.

I worked as a WMO expert in Sudan for two years,from 1989 to 1991, for the project entitled “Rehabilita-tion and Improvement of the Sudan MeteorologicalDepartment (SMD)”. The main objective of the projectwas to strengthen the SMD so that it could providegood meteorological services, especially to increaseagricultural production and reduce losses, as well as toprovide the local authorities with meteorological adviceto be applied in the planning and decision-makingprocess.

To fulfil its objectives, the project had six com-ponents:

• Rehabilitation of the meteorological observationnetwork;

• Advancement of the use of meteorological infor-mation by agricultural authorities in order tocreate an early warning weather system;

• Establishment of a data-management system forclimatological data;

• Improvement of the telecommunications formeteorological data;

• Provision of professional training;

• Improved maintenance of the meteorologicaland operational equipment.In the space of two weeks, I had found us a nice

apartment with two bedrooms, had settled down tomy office at the SMD and had met my Sudanese coun-terparts. I also established good working relationswith the local UNDP office. The UNDP staff took careof all administrative matters related to my life andwork, such as my residence permit and drivinglicense, as well as communication with WMO and cus-toms clearance for all the goods of the Project.

At work, the days often started with discussionswith the Director General, Mr Abdalla. These mostly

WWWWoooo rrrr kkkk iiii nnnn gggg iiii nnnn aaaaiiii dddd pppp rrrr oooo gggg rrrraaaa mmmm mmmm eeee ssss iiii nnnn SSSSuuuu dddd aaaannnn aaaannnn ddddtttt hhhh eeee CCCC aaaa rrrr iiii bbbb bbbb eeee aaaa nnnn ———— aaaa wwww oooo mmmm aaaannnn’’’’ssss pppp eeee rrrr ssss pppp eeee cccc tttt iiii vvvv eeee

By Lea LESKINEN*

* Senior Adviser, Finnish Meteorological Institute

32

concerned the project, but sometimes we also had longtalks on other matters, such as family news, and newsfrom around the world. The Deputy Director, MrSayem, and other staff members often participated. OnThursday afternoons, we had a session with theweather maps from the past week fixed on the wall.The weather was discussed thoroughly and a forecastfor the weekend was made. The discussions werekindly carried out in English when I was participating!

My main task was to establish a climatologicaldatabase system for the SMD, based on CLICOM.Khartoum had experienced heavy rains one year ear-lier (more than 200 mm fell in 24 hours), causingsevere floods and even the main computer was dam-aged. My first task was to convince the project leadersthat a new PC server was needed and it arrived withina few months. I installed CLICOM and trained mycounterpart and operators in its use and we started tobuild up the database with old monthly data.

Later, real-time daily observations were enteredinto the database and the first Monthly Weather Bul-letin was produced. It was delivered to several poten-tial users and also to the local FAO office, where thePermanent Representative was happy to receive it andpromised to introduce it in the next meeting oforganizations and ambassadors.

The observation network was rehabilitated byrenewing old equipment. My task, in cooperation withthe Director General and other SMD staff, was to draftthe list of the required equipment and prioritize it.The list was sent to the Technical CooperationDepartment in WMO, which took care of the orders.My task again was to follow the delivery of equipmentthrough UNDP and advise WMO when it was received.Due to the war in the south, a travel permit wasneeded for travelling outside Khartoum. Still, with thesupport of the SMD, I had the opportunity to visitobservation stations in Kosti, El-Obeid and PortSudan. I even arranged a visit to Wau in the southern

part of the country by a UNDP flight, but then a RedCross plane had difficulties in landing there, and themission was cancelled.

The Early Warning Unit was located at the Min-istry of Agriculture. One of the SMD meteorologistsworked there on a half-time basis in close cooperationwith the other staff and he took care of the exchangeof meteorological information with the Unit.

For the training component, an expert fromNigeria arrived just before the end of my term toorganize meteorological training courses at Khar-toum University. Luckily, I had two weeks to introducehim to the project.

Working in a strange country with a culture sodifferent from one’s own is an exciting experience.The SMD Directors, as well as my counterparts andother staff took very good care of me. I was made wel-come and enjoyed the kindness and cooperation ofthe SMD staff. At that time, the Internet was not avail-able and matters proceeded slowly sometimes, butI got used to it. While working in the field, the supportof the WMO Secretariat is essential. When workingalone in a faraway foreign country, connections to the“home office” are more value than one could guess.

Later I worked in the United Republic of Tanza-nia as a regional expert on data management and

CLICOM operators entering data into the database in Sudan Weather station at El-Obeid, Sudan

Data management group in Trinidad and Tobago

travelled in countries of the South African Develop-ment Community, assisting in CLICOM operations.I also organized a CLICOM Workshop in Botswana.During these missions, I made many new friends andit is always a great pleasure to meet them in WMOmeetings and workshops.

Lately, I have been involved in the Small IslandsDeveloping States (SIDS)-Caribbean MeteorologyProject, which includes mainly the same componentsas the project in the Sudan. My responsibilitiesinclude the Data Rescue component and upgradingof the climatological database systems. The Projectoffice is at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology

and Hydrology in Barbados. The work involves visitsto participating countries and again I have enjoyedthe hospitality, the motivation and interest of localstaff.

My motivation has been to give colleagues indeveloping countries the same possibilities fordoing their work as we have in Finland, with theappropriate equipment. I also consider it importantto rescue old observational data that are available inAfrica and in the Caribbean from the 19th century. Itis important to have these data digitized, so thatthey can be used for research into climate variabilityand change.

33Statistics indicate that 50 per cent of rural house-holds in Africa live below the poverty line, and lackthe most basic needs, including adequate clean water.Invariably, the rural population relies wholly on agri-culture and livestock farming for survival. Unfortu-nately, the most able menfolk migrate to urban cen-tres in search of paid jobs. The women perform

70 per cent of the farm work leading to food produc-tion and yet they own only 1 per cent of all house-hold resources. Their level of education is low andresources such as electricity are non-existent. Com-munities in these areas depend heavily on wood and

BBBB rrrr iiii nnnn gggg iiii nnnn gggg cccc llll iiii mmmm aaaatttt eeee iiii nnnn ffff oooo rrrr mmmm aaaatttt iiii oooo nnnn tttt oooo rrrr uuuu rrrraaaa llll wwww oooo mmmm eeee nnnn iiii nnnn AAAAffff rrrr iiii cccc aaaa ****

WORLD RURAL WOMEN'S DAY

The idea of a World Rural Women’s Day waslaunched at the UN Conference for Women inBeijing, China, in September 1995. It was con-sidered a practical way of obtaining recognitionand support for the multiple roles of rural womenwho are mostly farmers and small entrepreneurs.

Rural women constitute more than 25 percent of the world population. They contribute tothe wellbeing of their families and the develop-ment of rural economies. Because of their keyrole in food production and food security, it wasdecided that the World Rural Women's Daywould be 15 October—the day before WorldFood Day.

The purpose of the day was to provide ruralwomen and their organizations with a focal pointto: raise the profile of rural women; sensitize bothgovernments and the public to their crucial, yetlargely unrecognized roles, and promote actionin their support.

Rural women produce more than three-quarters of the world’s food. In rural areas ofthe developing world where food production is the principle activity, women provideup to 80 per cent of the food consumed in their homes. (Photo: UNDP/RuthMassey)

* This article has been prepared by a group of Africanexperts in collaboration with the Drought MonitoringCentre in Nairobi: PO Box 10304, 00100 Nairobi,Kenya. Website: http://www.dmcn.org

34

kerosene as their main source ofenergy. It is the women who col-lect the firewood, which, in wetconditions, becomes an extremelydifficult task. During drought, theyhave to trek long distances insearch of water and food.

Food crops grown by womenare often taken to be a free con-tribution to the community (afact not reflected by economicstatistics). Women labour longhours in the sun and in the coldwith crude hand implements,which make their agriculturalefforts extremely labour-inten-sive and t ime consuming. Intimes of climate extremes, chil-dren are also badly affected,resulting in mothers spendingmore and more time caring fortheir sick children. They have totrek long distances to the nearestdispensary, late at night and inhost ile weather. In t imes ofdrought or floods, random observations in ruralhospitals and dispensaries reveal long queues ofwomen with their children on their backs, whileothers sleep on hospital floors waiting for the treat-ment of their children who are commonly malnour-ished or suffering from diseases , many of whichare associated with extreme climate events, such asmalaria.

The rural women in Afr ica are thereforeextremely vulnerable to all impacts of the climateextremes, yet they have little or no access to climateinformation.

Climate monitoring, prediction and timelyearly warning of extreme climate events constituteone of the best strategies for mitigating the nega-tive impacts of climate-related disasters and alsofor taking advantage of the good years. Timelyaccess of downscaled, user-specific climate infor-mation for the rural community remains, however,one of the major challenges for the Drought Moni-toring Centres and the National Meteorological andHydrological Services of Africa.

Within the rural community, moreover,women are difficult to reach. Low levels of literacyand education, limited mobility, time constraints,

and limited access to agricultural extension work-ers are obstacles to effectively communicating cli-mate information to women. And even thosewomen who do receive climate information arehindered in acting upon it by lack of land title,ownership of oxen and other agricultural inputs,and access to credit.

In spite of the large number of non-govern-mental organizations addressing women’s issues,the subjects of weather and climate and how theyimpact rural women has not been addressed. Agreat deal of work on gender has been done in therelated sectors of energy, food, water, agriculture,livestock production and the marketing of pro-duce, that could be capitalized on to alleviate themajor burden of climate-related disasters on therural women of Africa. Timely accessibility andapplication of weather/ climate information by therural women is crucial to poverty reduction, envi-ronmental management, disaster management andsustainable development. It is time that the climatecommunity addressed the problem of how climateinformation and prediction products can be usedto reduce the r isk and vulnerability of ruralwomen in Africa.

❀ ❀ ❀

Wind-up radios are a cheap and effective way to bring climate information to rural women in Africa. (Photo:ACMAD)

35

Inequality between men and women is a debatableissue, simply because in reality it does not exist. Per-haps what is more important to note is that there aredifferences between men and women and, if properlyacknowledged in plans and programmes, gender spe-cialization could lead to an effective and efficientpartnership.

In order for women to excel both as individualsand as a group, their strengths and weaknesses haveto be recognized, enhanced and overcome, as appro-priate. Disaster management is one field wherewomen could be particularly strong. The United

Nations Division of Women (DAW) Experts Group(2001) reported in its meeting that the YokohamaWorld Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction in1994 had recognized such potential when it proposedto stimulate community involvement and empower-ment of women. This was in connection with itsemphasis on social science research, policy develop-ment and implementation that would establish link-ages between disaster reduction and sustainabledevelopment.

In the Philippines, the role of Filipino women indisaster reduction activities has been acclaimedbecause it is a natural extension of their age-old posi-tion in caring for their children and the home.

Women and children are among the most vulnerablegroups in disaster situations. Women are seen to bein a better position to address their special needs.Over the years, the domestic image of women hasslowly changed and the role of women has becomemore pro-active. Tayag et al.(1994) examined theinvolvement of Filipino women in activities duringthe different phases of a disaster. They found out thatthese activities were:

• Before the disaster—hazard and vulnerabilityanalysis; mitigation and prevention; prepared-ness; monitoring, prediction and warning;

• During disaster—disaster response such assearch and rescue, evacuation, provision ofrelief;

• After the disaster—recovery and rehabilitation;reconstruction; development.Several points are noted in their study, which

involved key informants from government organiza-tions and non-government organizations:

• The policy-making levelThis is a weak point, since the number of womenin the political and decision-making areas arestill a minority. It is recommended that the Gov-ernment should provide more encouragementand support to women to participate in thepolitical and policy-making process and ensurethat women’s programmes and plans are inte-grated into the overall development plans;

TTTT hhhh eeee rrrroooo llll eeee ooooffff FFFF iiii llll iiii pppp iiii nnnn oooo wwww oooo mmmm eeee nnnn iiii nnnn nnnn aaaatttt uuuu rrrraaaa llll dddd iiii ssss aaaa ssss tttt eeee rrrr rrrreeee dddduuuu cccc tttt iiii oooo nnnn

By Rosa T. PEREZ*

* Chief, Weather Services, Natural Disaster ReductionBranch, PAGASA/DOS

A woman meteorologist at work: (left) educating children about tropical storm signal warnings and (right) listening to instructions from team leader in a field validation survey

• Technical/managerial/professional levelsWomen dominate activities during and after dis-aster phases, except in the rescue andrepair/reconstruction of infrastructures;

• Women are active in the preparedness planningand action activities.Since the study was made, Filipino women have

become more involved in monitoring, prediction andwarning activities. At the Philippine National Hydro-meteorological service—the Philippine Atmospheric,Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administra-tion (PAGASA), changes in the staffing pattern are areflection of the fading perception that weather fore-casting is solely the domain of males. New opportuni-ties in the fields of meteorology and hydrologybrought about by emerging technologies have posedchallenges to both men and women. Filipino womenmeteorologists and hydrologists have responded pos-itively to these challenges and, together, with theirmale counterparts, have contributed considerably tothe development and improvement of the PAGASAservice delivery on weather, climate and hydrologicalforecasts, warnings and advisories. Filipino women

meteorologists and hydrologists are also active in thedissemination of information packages on prepared-ness for natural hazards and training on disastermanagement. Beneficiaries of these services are thegeneral public, particularly local communities andschoolchildren. Not to be forgotten are the workers inresearch and development, predominantly women,who provide the knowledge base for tropical cycloneforecasting, thunderstorm activities, quantitativerainfall and flood forecasting and extreme climateevents, such as El Niño and La Niña, and accompany-ing impacts in the Philippines. There is no doubt thatFilipino women have contributed to the economicgrowth and sustainable development of their countrythrough these natural disaster reduction activities.

References

TAYAG, J., M. C. RAMOS, S. I. INSAURIGA and R. B. QUIAMBAO, 1994:Filipino Women in Disaster Management. Women in S&T andDisaster Management, edited by R.S. Punongbayan,PHIVOLCS Press, Quezon City, Philippines.

UN DAW, 2001: Environmental Management and the Mitigationof Natural Disasters: A Gender Perspective, Report of theExpert Group Meeting, Ankara, Turkey, 6-9 November 2001.

36

Femi Oke is a broadcaster who has always had a keeninterest in the weather and has a profound under-standing of and respect for the science of meteorology.Since 1999 she has been a weather anchor and corre-spondent for CNN International’s World WeatherSer vice at the network’s global headquarters inAtlanta, Georgia, USA, and before that Femi was aweather presenter in England. She also hosted, pro-duced and reported for various news and currentaffairs programmes, science, educational and enter-tainment shows in the United Kingdom, Europe, theCaribbean and the USA. Femi is British by birth andNigerian by parentage. She has an irresistible sense offun, which pervades her TV broadcasts. The mixtureof spontaneous humour and science has provedextremely popular and effective with viewers aroundthe world. Femi kindly agreed to talk to the AssociateEditor of the Bulletin. We would like to thank CNNfor facilitating this interview.

J.T. — Where were you born and where did yougrow up?

F.O .— I was born in London, England, and grew up inGillingham, Kent, in South-East England.

J.T. — Tell us something about your education.

F.O. — I adored school, I don’t think I ever missed a day!Nigerian parents are very strict about getting an educa-tion, so boyfriends and staying out late were bannedwhen I was a teenager. I didn’t really mind too muchbecause I was in love with school. I was involved in everyclub, every school production and anything else I coulddream up for our class to do. I enjoyed practical science,doing experiments and research in our science laborato-ries. My favourite subject of all was English, as a childI would read all night under the covers, and then staggerto school having had no sleep. At 14 years old I startedworking as a young reporter for a London radio station,and so began my career in the media. I went on to study

AAAA pppp aaaa ssss ssss iiii oooo nnnn ffff oooo rrrr tttt hhhh eeee wwww eeee aaaatttt hhhh eeee rrrr ::::FFFFeeee mmmm iiii OOOO kkkk eeee ,,,, CCCC NNNN NNNN wwww eeee aaaatttt hhhh eeee rrrr pppp rrrr eeee ssss eeee nnnntttt eeee rrrr,,,,tttt aaaa llll kkkk ssss tttt oooo tttt hhhh eeee WWWW MMMMOOOO BBBBuuuu llll llll eeee tttt iiii nnnn

37

at the University of Birmingham and graduated with aBA in English Language and Literature.

J.T. — When did your interest in meteorologybegin?

F.O. — I have always been fasci-nated by the weather and whenI started my career as a televisionreporter, I checked the weather fore-cast regularly to make sure myshoots weren’t washed out. In the1980s, I worked for a televisionproduction company that shared abuilding with a meteorologicalbureau. During my breaks I wouldchat to the forecasters, and watchwhat they were doing. Eventually,my reporting contract ended, butI suggested to the boss of the mete-orological bureau that he auditionme for a job. Fortunately, he didand I was hired a few months later.I trained on the job to be a weatherpresenter, and worked as a free-lance while I continued to reportand produce other television shows.Weather was my hobby and Iwould squeeze in presenting theweather between my other televi-sion commitments. My hobby even-tually took me to London where Iworked for five years as a weekendweather presenter with the com-mercial branch of the UK MetOffice. In April 1999, I was invitedto the CNN Centre in Atlanta foran interview. In August of the sameyear I joined CNN’s brand newWorld Weather Centre. My part-time hobby was finally transformed into my full-timecareer.

J.T. — How does CNN prepare its weather forecastsand to what extent are you involved in the process?

F.O. — The World Weather Centre studio that viewerssee on the air is also my office. A small team of forecast-ers prepare forecasts for the CNN weather anchors. Aswe do weather forecasts for most of the world, it wouldbe impossible for the weather anchors to prepare themaps, stay on top of the news, make graphics, preparespecial on-air segments and broadcast several times anhour. So we work as a team. I will prepare, research andmake all my own graphics and animations and special

features and stories. Our forecasters will concentrate onforecasting global weather. I will also prepare specificforecasts for regions I’m particularly interested in, butI’m never burdened with trying to forecast for six entirecontinents! I have always had a great passion for

weather, and after three and a halfyears at the World Weather Centre,I’m amazed at how much I nowknow about global weather and cli-mate. I am in the wonderful posi-tion of being able to forecast anddiscuss every weather phenomenonin the world. It’s a terrific job.

J.T. — Why do you think youhave been so successful as aweather presenter?

F.O. — That’s a difficult question toanswer and maybe one that viewersshould answer instead of me. Per-haps what I can share with you aresome of the comments and feedbackI get from our audience. They oftentell me that I make weather interest-ing and fun, and that my enthusi-asm for my work is infectious. I liketo make my weather segments dif-ferent every time; they include liveinterviews, video and lots of stun-ning photography, as well as ourbasic weather charts and satelliteimages. When I watch television,I like to learn new things, be stimu-lated and entertained. I try reallyhard to do that at CNN. I’m alsovery lucky as I work with producerswho allow me the time to try newthings on the air. Many years agoI stopped worrying about how fickle

television can be when it comes to replacing “talent”.I worked out that nobody else could be Femi Oke, soI didn’t try to copy anybody else. I just concentrated ondoing my best work and being myself, and then whatI had to offer would be unique. Nobody else can beFemi Oke, better than I can! Many years later I stillbelieve that, and perhaps that really is the secret tobeing a successful weather presenter.

J.T. — You have a great deal of fan mail. Do youperceive a difference in the reactions from men andwomen?

F.O.— We all get lots of mail at the World WeatherCentre, and it’s good to get the feedback. General com-

Femi Oke

ments about our weather service don’t really split downgender lines. However, when it comes to pen-palrequests and marriage proposals, they’re always frommen. My favourite letters are from youngsters andwomen; because I know when they give a complimentthey really are praising your work, rather than the wayyou look.

J.T. — What are the greatest rewards in your job?

F.O. — I am in the unique position of being able tobroadcast to millions around the world. I really enjoytalking to people on every continent, and being able totalk about every weather phenomenon in the world!I love to travel and meet people, and I’ve had lots ofopportunity to do that at CNN.

J.T. — What was your worst moment so far in yourprofessional life?

F.O. — My first week working as a weather presenter inLondon was rather dramatic. My weather shift wasquite long, so I would always record the late nightweather bulletin. One afternoon, I signed off my pre-recorded weather forecast with these words “Red sky atnight, shepherd’s delight, Red sky at morning, shepherd’shouse on fire”. It was a silly twist on an old weathersaying, and at the time it made the control room laugh.That evening a big domestic fire dominated the localnews, and then came my pre-recorded weather bulletin,complete with a humorous reference to a fire. Needlessto say, nobody was laughing this time, and the tele-phone lines lit up with viewers’ complaints. I was morti-fied and had a lot of explaining to do to my new boss.There was one silver lining to this rather dark day in mycareer, and that was a letter I received from a distin-guished London police detective. He said my funnycomment had cheered him up, after all the terrible newsthat day.

J.T.— What are the greatest challenges in yourwork?

F.O. — Getting weather information from distantregions quickly and making sure that what I forecast isas accurate as possible.

J.T. — You were a resource person for a WMOmedia-training workshop. How did this comeabout? Do you think this is a useful activity?

F.O. — I was contacted by the Information and PublicAffairs Officer in WMO, who had seen me on the TVand thought I might make a good resource person for aWMO media training workshop. I loved the idea butevery time I was invited I just wasn’t able to fit in train-ing around my on air commitments. WMO didn’t give

up and continued to ask me, until I was finally able tobe part of a Media Training Workshop in Buenos Aires,Argentina, in December 2001. It was an excellent expe-rience. I really enjoyed teaching meteorologists how topresent the weather on TV and the radio. I’d spent afew months earlier doing a crash course in Spanish, andwhile I shared my knowledge of broadcast meteorologywith the students, they taught me lots more Spanish.The WMO media training workshops give interna-tional meteorologists valuable training. In a few days,I watched the students with no television experienceblossom into broadcasters. I could see the transforma-tion and so could they, and I have no doubt that theyare all doing great work now.

J.T. — Would you recommend that a weather pre-senter be a meteorologist with additional trainingin journalism, or a journalist with additional train-ing in meteorology?

F.O. — This is an interesting and a controversial ques-tion! The debate has been going on for years. I am areporter who has trained in meteorology. The advan-tage of this is that I can tell an engaging story, and havestrong communication skills. I also know and admiremany meteorologists who are walking weather encyclo-pedias, and have learnt their broadcast skills later.I think there is enough room in the world of televisionfor both. Just think how boring it would be if everynewsreader and television reporter had exactly thesame background. The most important qualification isa genuine interest in weather.

J.T. — With such a busy job, do you have any diffi-culty balancing your professional and private lives?

F.O. — I’m married and have two grown-up stepchil-dren. I’ve always been a workaholic, so my husband isused to me spending a lot of time at work. Luckily forme, he’s also in the media business— he’s a radio talkshow host, so he doesn’t grumble too much!

J.T. — Is there anything in particular regardingyour career which you wish you had done differ-ently?

F.O. — Not at all, I think that bad decisions help tobuild up your experience, just as much as good ones.

J.T. — What advice would you give to someonewanting to follow a similar career? Would youradvice be the same for a woman/girl or a man/boy?

F.O. — Everybody seems to have a different storyabout how he/she got into weather presenting. It isoften regarded as being the easy way to get a start intelevision, which I find really depressing. My advice

38

would be to have a real interest in the weather, to beprepared to work hard and not be disappointed byrejection. I always used to keep my rejection letters tokeep track of which television company I had writtento. When they piled up too high I’d throw them awayand then start a new collection. I sent a resume toCNN some five years ago enquiring about a job. I stillhave the polite letter at home, explaining that CNNwasn’t currently recruiting international weatheranchors. I sent another letter to CNN in 1999, andI landed a job, so it really is worth persevering andnever giving up. My advice is exactly the same for menand women.

J.T. — How do you view the future?

F.O. — That is another interesting question! CNNbroadcasts to more than 160 million householdsaround the globe. So where do you go after broadcast-ing to the biggest television audience of your life?Weather is my passion but I do have many other inter-

ests too, so I’d definitely like the opportunity to exploremy full range as a broadcaster away from the world ofweather. Although times are changing, women are stillscrutinized far more for their looks on television thanmen. There’s a lot of competition, but I’ve had a longand interesting career so far. I’ve been in the media forover 20 years, and my ambition is a very simple one, tokeep working and doing the job I love. I have nevermentioned this in public before, but I think this is theperfect place to reveal that I have a secret ambition towork for an international organization, such as theUN, when I retire from television. Maybe somebodywill remember this interview in 20 years time and giveme a job!

J.T. — Thanks for an interesting and enjoyableinterview. You are obviously a “people person” andyour enthusiasm for the weather and your job ismost exhilarating. I am sure your example willinspire many young people.

39

Dr Heidi Cullen is currently a scientist at theNational Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)in Boulder, Colorado, USA, andhas done applications-drivenresearch in the Middle East, the LaPlata Basin of South America, andthe south-west USA. Her workfocuses on the use of climate fore-cast information in sectors such aswater-resource management anddrought mitigation. In July 2003,she w ill move to The WeatherChannel in Atlanta, Georgia, asClimate Programme Manager. Anauthoritative source of weatherand weather-related information,The Weather Channel will beginto devote more coverage to climate,its influences and impacts. Inaddition, Dr Cullen has recently been selected to jointhe World Climate Research Programme’s (WCRP)Climate Variability (CLIVAR) Scientific SteeringGroup, an international project aimed at identifyingmodes of variability of the coupled ocean-atmospheresystem, understanding their underlying mechanisms,

and attempting to use these as a basis for extendingeffective climate predictions.

Heidi agreed to respond tosome questions put to her by theWMO Bulletin. We wish her muchsuccess and enjoyment in her newventure.

I was born and raised onStaten Island, New York. My fathergrew up in Brooklyn and was apolice officer in Manhattan, whilemy mother moved to New Yorkfrom Germany when she was 19.Neither had the opportunity to goto college and I’m the first personin my family to receive a Ph.D.

At secondary school,I enjoyed science but found ithard. In all honesty, my favourite

subjects were outside the math and physics depart-ments. But more importantly, I loved learning andhave always felt fortunate to have had the opportunityto study. I spent two months in a small village in theMiddle East during graduate school and saw how dif-ficult it was for the village girls to attend school. It

AAAA cccc aaaa rrrr eeee eeee rrrr iiii nnnn cccc llll iiii mmmm aaaatttt eeee rrrreeee ssss eeee aaaa rrrrcccc hhhh ffff rrrr oooo mmmm aaaa cccc aaaa dddd eeee mmmm iiii aaaatttt oooo tttt eeee llll eeee vvvv iiii ssss iiii oooo nnnn :::: DDDD rrrr HHHHeeee iiii dddd iiii CCCCuuuu llll llll eeee nnnn

Heidi Cullen

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simply is not considered a priority to educate girls—yet the girls clearly loved the time they had in school.

Concerning my undergraduate studies, I didwhat was called a 3-2 Programme at Columbia Uni-versity (New York) andJuniata College (Hunt-ington, Pennsylvania).This programme takesfive years, after whichone receives a B.S. inEngineering and a B.A.in Liberal Arts. Afterworking for a year, Iwent on to get a Ph.D. inEarth and Environmen-tal Sciences from theLamont-Doherty EarthObservatory of Colum-bia University. My dis-sertation focused on the dynamics and impacts of theNorth Atlantic Oscillation.

My scientific career followed a pretty standardtrack—although people always saw me as pursuingnon-traditional paths! I’ve always been interested inapplied scientific research—perhaps because of myengineering background—but I’m also very inter-ested in the process of applying scientific informa-tion. It is clear that there are moral issues, such as theequitable distribution of information, that need to beincorporated into the decision-making process.

My interest in climatology began when I was fin-ishing my engineering coursework at Columbia. I hadalways been interested in environment issues, such asglobal warming, air quality and the state of the ocean.Understanding how our environment worked seemedto be an important part of sustainable living.

After completing my degree, I received a NOAA-UCAR Climate and Global Change Fellowship to thenewly established International Research Institute forClimate Prediction (IRI). The focus of my researchduring this time was on the application of climateforecast information in the La Plata Basin. I workedwith colleagues from South America learning howbest to incorporate climate forecast information, forexample, El Niño forecasts, at Itaipu (Brazil/Paraguay), one of the world’s largest hydroelectricpower generation facilities.

During this time I also became interested in thesevere drought in Central Asia, including Afghanistan.While I was at the IRI, we got a call from the StateDepartment wanting to know why it had stoppedraining in Central Asia. The State Department wasattempting to create an aid package and wanted to

know which regions had been hardest hit. I saw thisas exactly the kind of research I wanted to be doing—helping relief organizations understand and plan fornatural hazards. With the advances made in forecast-

ing large-scale climatephenomenon such as ElNiño, the hope is that wecan progress from post-disaster aid to a moreforward-looking, long-term strategy.

I have been asked ifmy career decisions wereaffected by the fact thatI am a woman andwhether this made memore inclined to workon the applications/social aspects of climate.

It is a difficult question to answer. I know that my per-sonality is such that I need to contribute to society insome way. I also know that “the road to hell is pavedwith good intentions”, so it’s important to understandhow your work affects society. I try to conductresearch that concentrates on long-term, large-scaleissues. Most people are required to think on muchshorter time-scales—weakly deadlines, annual per-formance reviews—and even government institutionstend to work to a four-year plan. Scientists, especiallyclimate scientists, think about the world 50, 100, andeven 1 000 years from now. I think this is an importantand difficult job. For example, communicating theimportance of issues such as natural climate variabil-ity and global climate change is something I see ascritical. Global warming, for example, always seems faraway on the horizon, especially in the world we live intoday. The challenge to scientists is to communicatethe importance of thinking long-term, and to demon-strate how our daily decisions do make a difference inthe long run.

I saw my move to the private sector as an oppor-tunity to be on the front line, speaking directly to thepublic about the importance of natural climate vari-ability and global climate change. In the USA, we’vewitnessed the impacts of a severe drought in the westand the potential for severe water shortages this sum-mer. There needs to be a forum where this can be dis-cussed scientifically. Moving into the private sector isa big jump for me. However, part of my job at TheWeather Channel will be to continue my research onthe hydrology of Central Asia. I will continue to doresearch by working with postdoctorate candidatesand students at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

A snapshot of the television screen with Heidi Cullen in action on The WeatherChannel

While I am a big fan of the scientific method, evenmore rewarding for me is finding ways to bring myresearch to an arena where it can be used. For example,we’re currently providing seasonal climate forecasts forCentral Asia in order to help guide relief efforts byagencies like USAID develop their long-term droughtmitigation strategies.

My general advice to young people wishing to havea similar career is that it is important to balance familyand career. I don’t think it’s an easy thing to do, but thesooner you make it a priority to respect both aspects ofyour life, the better you’ll be able achieve a certaindegree of balance. If I could give advice to someonepursuing an advanced science degree, it would be havea strong network of friends and mentors. At some

point, whether you are male or female, you reach a pointwhere you begin to question your abilities. If you have astrong network you can get through anything. And besure to thank them all when you write up the acknowl-edgements section of your dissertation!

My new job with The Weather Channel is a veryspecial opportunity. The Weather Channel is movinginto the climate and global change arena and representsthe climate community’s first occasion to present theirresearch to the public. I see this as an important chal-lenge. The basic idea is to provide seasonal outlooks oflarge-scale climate variations, such as El Niño and theNorth Atlantic Oscillation, as well as providing the pub-lic with a clear, scientifically based picture of the globalwarming debate.

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From hairspray to high-pressure cells, the role of theCanadian broadcast meteorologist is finding itselfundergoing a slow but steady metamorphosis. Foryears, Canadian TV viewers have been bombarded byUS TV channels. As the USA has begun to “smartenup” its own weather presenters, Canadians havestarted demanding more from their own native on-air counterparts. The once superficial facade of ourscience is gradually becoming knowledgeable, edu-cated and truly passionate about the field of meteor-ology.

But it has, and in fact continues to be, a ratherstormy transition. Most Canadian television newsdirectors still view the “weather presenter” job(within a newsroom) merely as an industry trainingposition. In their eyes, delivering the weather was,and is, for ex-disc jockeys (both male and female)who already possess certain broadcaster qualities.These “ex-jocks”, working as TV station weather pre-senters, are expected to do little more than hone thefollowing skills:

• To ad-lib fast and to think and react quickly ontheir feet;

• To develop the composure to go “live” in allweathers and all situations;

• To fill time on an impromptu basis; and

• To go on air “timed” but unscripted (whichcan be likened to asking a circus performer todo a complicated trick without the aid of asafety net!).These are all admirable qualities for someone

with aspirations to be a career broadcaster. But show

TTTT hhhh eeee eeee vvvv oooo llllvvvv iiii nnnn gggg ffff iiii eeee llll dddd ooooffff bbbb rrrr oooo aaaa dddd cccc aaaa ssss tttt mmmm eeee tttt eeee oooo rrrr oooo llll oooo gggg yyyyiiii nnnn CCCC aaaa nnnn aaaa dddd aaaa ffff rrrr oooo mmmm aaaa wwww oooo mmmm aaaannnn’’’’ssss pppp eeee rrrr ssss pppp eeee cccc tttt iiii vvvv eeee

By Claire MARTIN*

* Chief Meteorologist, Global TV Edmonton, Canada

Claire Martin

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business then overshadows the science and, let’s faceit, the science should really be the fundamental partof the weather presentation.

The irony of all this is the fact that science—contrary to popular belief—“sells”! Television con-sultants across Canada and the USA unconditionallyagree that “breaking news” and “weather” are thesingle biggest audience draws on local TV newsshows. Armed with that knowledge, those in chargeof TV newscasts are beginning to understand howhaving an expert in house adds value to the newsand, furthermore, can be a significant potentialaudience draw.

So the tide is slowly turning.And there has been great support for profes-

sional meteorologists who have turned to the field ofbroadcasting from within the ranks of the Canadianscientific world. The Canadian Meteorological andOceanographic Society (CMOS), again following thelead of their counterparts in the USA, have set aboutto promote broadcasters with a solid science back-ground through an endorsement programme. Quali-

fied candidates—both male and female—areencouraged to seek endorsement to bolster their on-air credibility.

CMOS guidelines for endorsing weather presen-ters state:

Ideally, the Society would like to see the presenta-tion of weather information carried out by pro-fessionally trained meteorologists with appropri-ate communication skills or by professionalbroadcasters with appropriate training in weatheranalysis and forecasting and in applications ofmeteorology and climatology.There is a list of “endorsed” weather broadcast-

ers on the Canadian Meteorological and Oceano-graphic Society’s Website (http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/cmos/). The list is a compilation of on-air presenters who have been judged by various Soci-ety panel members to have “increased scientific com-petence as well as effective communication skills.”Once the candidate has been endorsed by the Society,he/she is able to prominently display the CMOS logoon-air as a tangible sign to their audience that he/she

THANK GOODNESS, EINSTEIN WASN’T PRETTY!

Is it just me, or are other broadcast meteorologists out there tired of hearing “you gotta look good for theboob tube, baby”? Oh and “don’t forget to dumb it down”! How many of us with solid academic back-grounds, fluent in forecasting, and articulate in atmospherics have been told to leave our science at the doorand do weather the old showbiz way.

In fact why did the television stations come after the “meteorologist” in the first place? What was wrongwith buxom “Barometric Barbie” and square-jawed “Cumulus Ken” delivering the weather to the masses?

Once upon a time, in a faraway place, some since forgotten television news director, desperate to win aratings war, decided to put the weather “expert” on air. The argument being that “if you build it (credibility),they will come”. Average-looking scientists were thus plucked from their poorly lit labs and thrust in front offloodlit, lime-green chroma-key screens.

News directors however—driven by consultants of dubious cognition—were still told over and overagain to “keep it simple, stupid”, that showing national satellite maps, regional radar loops and synopticanimations (with—horrors—isobars on them) was the self-serving practice of a scientifically starved weatherexpert.

So what happens when every station has a fully endorsed, knowledgeable but slightly unattractivebroadcast meteorologist on air? Now who has the competitive edge?

News directors today are finding themselves pining after their old pretty presenters. After all, brains arenice, but is not beauty somehow better, more believable—or more importantly—more marketable? Thankgoodness Albert Einstein wasn’t brought up in the TV age.

Now I’m not suggesting that every weather presentation should be turned into a doctoral dissertation onthe finer points of atmospheric meteorology, but if television stations insist on having well-educated, endorsedbroadcast meteorologists on air, then at least let us teach the public some of what we know.

Of course, if news directors really do just want brainy beauties, here’s some free advice. Go to yourlocal college campus and tell all the deep-voiced jocks and beautiful blondes to switch their majors to meteor-ology with the promise that it is still the best way to become a local TV star.

has achieved a high degree of credibility from his/herscientific peers.

To date, women make up only 19 per cent of theCanadian on-air meteorologists who have beenendorsed. The fact remains, therefore, that, althoughthere is absolutely nothing in this profession thatwomen cannot do, we do not exactly thrive in mete-orology in Canada.

The future looks bright, however. CMOS Presi-dent Ron Bianchi is also Vice President, Meteorol-ogy, of The Weather Network (TWN)/MeteoMedia,Canada’s national weather broadcast network. Withan estimated weekly audience of 10.5 million view-ers, and ranked as one of the top five specialty chan-nels in Canada, TWN has achieved a great deal ofsuccess with the on-air delivery and dissemination

of weather products, providing high-quality weatherand weather-related programming 24 hours a day,seven days a week. Bianchi has also pledged supportfor his own on-air staff (male and female) toachieve the academic requirements needed to applyfor CMOS endorsement. (To date, all TWN’s “bureaucorrespondents” are women, and TWN has sevenfemale weather presenters on national TV out of atotal of 16 presenters. Five of these hold a CMOSendorsement.)

On a personal level, I would encourage everyfemale scientist who happens upon this article to doone thing: if you see a female student exhibiting aninterest or an aptitude in this wonderful field—encourage her—mentor her—and maybe, gradually,one by one, we’ll see our numbers swell.

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IndiaS. Stella

First Indian woman meteorologist on expedition to the Antartic

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) hasbeen sending male scientists to the Antarctic since1982. This male bastion was broken in the new mil-lennium when Miss S. Stella was selected by the IMDto be the first woman meteorologist to join an expe-dition to the Antarctic.

Miss Stella is 28 years old and holds an M.Phil.degree in mathematics. After two and half years atthe Central Forensic Science Laboratory, she joinedthe IMD as a meteorologist in 1998. Her initial train-ing programme led her to take up environmentallyrelated climate issues. From that time onwards, shehad a yearning to take up Antarctic climate research.In the 20th Indian Antarctic expedition (2000-2001),she was specifically given the project “AntarcticaOzone Studies” and concentrated mainly on ozoneobservations during her stay.

She took her role so seriously that her male col-leagues were impressed by her enthusiasm and dedi-cation; every day at 0600 without fail, she was thefirst one to wake up and operate the Brewer spec-trophotometer to find the total column of ozone.Once a week, also, she released ozone sondes for thevertical profiles of ozone and temperature. During

her spare time she wenton exploratory missionsand discovered manyscenic spots.

She says that shewill always cherish hervisit to the beautifuland pristine continentof Antarctica and itsunique wildlife. For thiswonderful and uniqueexperience, she isthankful to Dr R.R.Kelkar, DGM, IMD New Delhi, and to Shri A.K. Bhatna-gar, DDGM, RMC, Chennai, for their confidence in her.Her special thanks go to Dr N. Jayanthi, Director-in-charge and senior woman meteorologist of the IMDfor her continuous support and encouragement (seeBulletin 50 (2) (Ed.)).

At present, she works as an aviation forecasterat Chennai Airport. Apart from her shift duties, shehas undertaken some operational research on north-east monsoon and aviation-related issues under theguidance of Dr N. Jayanthi.

Miss Stella wishes to mention the role played byher parents in encouraging her in all she has done.She hopes that her initiative will encourage otherwomen meteorologists, particularly the youngerones, to follow in her footsteps.

WWWWoooo mmmm eeee nnnn wwww oooo rrrr kkkk iiii nnnn gggg iiii nnnn mmmm eeee tttt eeee oooo rrrr oooo llll oooo gggg yyyy aaaa nnnn dddd hhhhyyyy dddd rrrr oooo llll oooo gggg yyyy

S. Stella

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Islamic Republic of IranMahnaz EsmaeliAn example to her colleagues

Mahnaz was born on 14 February 1954 in Tehran. Shewas brought up in a kind and supportive family thatappreciated education and training. For this reason,throughout her career, she has continued with regu-lar education and on-the-job training courses. She

did her primary, juniorand high-school educa-tion in Tehran andreceived her high schooldegree in mathematicsin 1973. Mahnaz thentook two years of mili-tary service and partici-pated in rural develop-ment programmes.

She was admitted tothe College of Meteorol-ogy and Atmospheric

Sciences in 1975 to follow her higher nationaldiploma course in meteorology; Mahnaz had alwaysbeen eager to understand the physical processes inthe atmosphere. She graduated in 1977 and wasimmediately employed by the Iranian MeteorologicalOrganization to serve as a junior forecaster in theweather forecasting department. She later marriedanother young and enthusiastic forecaster, who isnow a weather presenter on TV, so meteorology andand weather-related issues are family matters!

In view of her interest in education and acquir-ing scientific knowledge, she continued her studies inmeteorology and was accepted to follow a B.Sc. coursein 1987. Mahnaz obtained excellent results and provedthat she was capable of achieving greater accomplish-ments. She took a nationwide exam and was admittedto follow an M.Sc. course in Marine Meteorology andPhysical Oceanography and completed her M.Sc.degree in 1993.

Mahnaz served as a senior forecaster and wasdesignated head of the forecasting centre in 1998. Sheis proud of her role in natural disaster operations,especially in cases of flooding. She says “I am so dedi-cated to my job that, whenever I issue weather-relatedwarnings and disaster forecasts, I become so restlessthat I cannot sleep but observe the evolution of eventsand make sure that the preparations have been madeto respond effectively to the disaster so that people aresafe. But when the disaster occurs and I find that theforecasts have saved many lives, I feel great joy, peaceof mind and relief. That is why I love my job”.

In the more than 27 years of her career, Mahnazhas participated in many domestic and internationaltraining courses, such as on CLICOM and numericalweather prediction, as well as various computer pro-gramming courses, a monsoon training course inChina, short-term courses on METSAT, Metcom andMetis in the Netherlands, Windows and English lan-guage courses, to name but a few. Furthermore, she isalso actively involved in meteorological research activ-ities such as wave modelling, urban air pollution inmajor industrial cities and review of floods. She is cur-rently head of the forecast centre at the Islamic Repub-lic Iran Meteorological Organization. Mahnaz has twochildren, one of whom is at school and the other is atuniversity. She has successfully combined family andprofessional life and is regarded with great affection byher colleagues, for whom she is an example.

South AfricaGaborekwe Esther Nkambula

The first black woman meteorologistin South Africa

Esther was born on 7 December 1960, the youngest of12 children in a rural area of North West Province.She was brought up in a strict but caring and sup-portive family. In 1987, she married Sipho, a teacher,and together they have created their own happy fam-ily with two sons aged 14 and 15.

Her father was a miner and then a farmer. Heloved nature and encouraged his children to observethe clouds and the wind and to tell him if it wasgoing to rain or not. In Esther’s words: “He under-stood science, although he was not educated”. He wasa major influence in her choice of a career.

While studying geography at high school herinterest in meteorologywas once again stimu-lated. When sheenquired about careersin meteorolog y, how-ever, she was told thatcourses were reservedfor whites only. Esthernevertheless insistedon being accepted as astudent of meteorologyat the Technikon North-ern Transvaal, whereshe completed herDiploma in Meteorology in 1987. She is proud of thefact that she was the first black woman in SouthAfrica to obtain this diploma. In 1989, she obtained

Mahnaz Esmaeli

Gaborekwe Esther Nkambula

a higher diploma in Meteorology at the PretoriaTechnikon.

Esther began her professional career as a fore-caster in the Central Forecasting office. In 1995, shebecame Chief Meteorological Officer and, in 1998,Assistant Director of the Aviation Forecasting Centre.She has served on the Agricultural and HydrologyCommittees in North West Province and on theNational Association of Clean Air.

Esther says that it was tough and uncomfortablefor her as a black woman when she joined the organi-zation, but she was determined to survive and to proveto her colleagues that black people could succeed.

When asked what she would reply to a youngperson interested in a career in meteorology, Estherreplies:

If you love nature and meteorology, go for it ... butweather knows no holidays, you must be preparedto work shifts and holidays.Meteorology is a challenging scientific field andcannot be taken lightly. One has to keep studyingto keep abreast with changes. Keep readingupdated journals and magazines and keep pacewith change.Enjoy studying and your passion for meteorology.Esther made a career change in 2001 and is now

Deputy Director of Marketing: she wanted to try anew mix of science and business that would benefitthe Weather Service. She says that she would be happyto attain bigger goals—and is currently studying foran MBA.

United Arab EmiratesSheikha Mowza Ali Hamad Al-Mualla

Director of her Service and PermanentRepresentative of the United Arab Emirates with WMO

Sheikha Mowza obtained a degree in geography andsociology from the University of the United Arab Emi-rates (UAE) in 1983 and then worked as a secondary-school teacher of geography. To update her knowl-edge, she attended many training courses in UAE andabroad and pursued her postgraduate studies, obtain-ing a master’s degree in applied geography from theUniversity of Alexandria (Egypt) in 1997.

In 2000 Sheikha Mowza joined the Ministry ofCommunications as Head of the Department ofWeather Forecasting in the Meteorological Directorate.Later the same year, she was appointed Acting Directorand was nominated Permanent Representative of theUnited Arab Emirates with WMO. As of 2001 she was infull charge of the Meteorological Directorate.

She has a clearvision of what she wantsto achieve. Her strategicgoals are geared towardsthe development of theMeteorological Servicesin UAE to the highestinternational standards.

Sheikha Mowzahas already achievedthe following:

• Restructuring ofthe Departmentwith the creation of new sections and centres tomeet expanding activities;

• Introduction of the latest meteorological tech-nology and know-how;

• Establishment of new automatic weather observ-ing stations throughout the country;

• Links with the UAE Meteorological Departmentand the German Meteorological Service throughthe Regional Meteorological Data Communica-tions Network ;

• Adapting new technology to improve the data-base and establishing a databank, in addition toa library with a large number of books, periodi-cals and an Internet facility.Sheikha Mowza is aware that more facilities are

required to improve the quality of meteorologicalservices in the UAE and her ambitions are boundlessin this respect. Those who know her are quite sure thatshe is capable of doing a lot more. Her plans include:

• Unifying the bodies that provide similar servicesin the country under one autonomous NationalMeteorological Service;

• Working closely with sister bodies in the Gulfregion;

• Developing and training nationals to create abase for native expertise in the field, which isnow operated almost entirely by expatriates.Sheikha Mowza is concerned about environmen-

tal preservation issues. She has established a sectionin the Department for environmental studies and isan active member of the Board of Directors of theFederal Environment Agency as well as the NationalCommittee to Combat Disasters.

Despite her responsibilities and a long workingday, Sheikha Mowza misses no opportunity to attendconferences, symposiums and training courses towiden her scope of knowledge and experience.

Her management style is one of support and car-ing for the welfare of her staff. She attempts toincrease employment benefits in the belief that only

45

Sheikha Mowza

motivated and satisfied staff can assist her in achiev-ing her targets.

In recognition of her capabilities, Sheikha Mowzahas been recently promoted Assistant Under-Secretary

of Finance, Administration and TelecommunicationsAffairs. This is, of course, in parallel with her job asPermanent Representative of UAE with WMO.

uaemetwx@emirates.net.ae

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