Hunger for Science: The Politics of Black Women’s Exclusion

When I thought about the topic of the article, several questions came to my mind. We are hungry for many rights in Brazil. Hunger for justice, education, health, work and many other rights that are being taken away from Black, Indigenous, Quilombola people, women, Oceanic youth and other people living marginalized.

However, there is one topic that has been following me lately. A question that sometimes appears through questions. What will you do now that you have your doctorate? Do you want to be a teacher? Will you keep searching? Ask questions followed by pressure to complete the highest level of academic training.

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However, these questions are quickly answered when I see data regarding the participation of black and brown women in Brazilian scientific production. Alarming data that starts with a degree: According to the 2016 Higher Education Census, it is estimated that only 10.4% of black women have access to higher education and less than 3% are able to participate in teaching and research activities in academic institutions.

In graduate school, the data gets even worse. According to information from the IT field at CNPq, only 4.9% of black women are scholarship holders among the country’s PhD scholarship holders, while the proportion of white women is 30.9% and there are no indigenous people to benefit.

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This disparity permeates the journey of black women who, like me, are searching for better qualifications and living conditions. Despite recent changes, with the expansion of scholarship and advertising promoting access, participation in these social topics remains largely unequal.

The obstacles are great and can only be overcome when there are government policies that guarantee access to historically excluded populations, for example, quotas in universities, specific scholarships for blacks, and increased investments in Brazilian science.

* Luisette Vicente is a black movement activist, journalist, and holds a doctorate in communications from the Federal University of Ceara (UFC).

**This is an opinion article. The author’s vision does not necessarily reflect the editorial line of the newspaper Brazil in fact.

source: PDF Ciara

Edited by: Camila Garcia