2025 RI Y6 GP T1 Essay Assignment Suggested Points

Raffles Institution Year 6 General Paper 2025 Term 1 Essay Assignment Suggested Points 1 1 To what extent is gender inequality a significant issue in the world of science? (2023 RI Y6 CT) Requirements ‘gender inequality’: In the context of the question, this implies male domination of the scientific sphere. Can be understood to indicate an imbalance in terms of representation, acknowledgement, attention to women and their issues/work. ‘significant issue’: This can be understood as implying that such inequality has caused severe harm to the disadvantaged gender; also implies that the harm extends beyond women to affect the rest of society. ‘world of science’: Response should show recognition that the realm of science includes a range of aspects – students can explore gender inequality in science as a career, scientific research topics, research subjects, research publications etc. Band 4 & Above Band 3 • Awareness of the key term ”significant issue” shown by evaluating reasons why this inequality is severely concerning or otherwise • Listing of how gender inequality exists in the scientific sphere • Band 2: Hijacks the question by discussing how science and tech causes/improves gender inequality Gender inequality in the sciences is an issue of little significance a. Gender inequality in the world of science may not be as significant an issue in some societies because of historical or contemporary policies that directly or indirectly result in greater parity for the genders in science. E.g. Many Eastern European countries have a legacy of encouraging female participation in science, a result of Soviet policies that pressed both men and women into scientific careers regardless of their gender, with a large proportion of women in Lithuania, Bulagria and Latvia being engineers. Universities in Poland and Serbia were ranked among the best in the world for sexual equality in research publications. Consequently, having many female researchers and scientists has been normalised in these societies. b. There has also been a tide of change thanks to activism that has brought greater equality in the scientific community. Efforts have been made to increase the number of female scientists and researchers in labs, as well as to change the perception of women’s role in science. E.g. Advocates for having more women in STEM have been encouraging girls to develop their passion for science despite traditional stereotypes that women are not suited for the sciences, most often through the creation of organisations and new programmes targeted specifically at women and girls, such as Carnegie STEM Girls in the United States and Girls2Pioneers in Singapore. These programmes provide internship opportunities to young women, and link them to female

Raffles Institution Year 6 General Paper 2025 Term 1 Essay Assignment Suggested Points 2 mentors who can guide them.E.g. There has also been an increase in efforts to change existing stereotypes and perceptions about women in science, often through highlighting the notable roles that female scientists have played in major discoveries, so that the general public can bett er realise their accomplishments. For example, Physicist Jessica Wade made over 1000 Wikipedia biographies for women scientists whose contributions to science would otherwise have gone unknown and uncredited. Changes are also taking place in the mainstream media – 2016’s Hidden Figures, a Hollywood film, emphasised the experiences and achievements of three female African-American mathematicians who worked for NASA. Gender inequality in the sciences remains a significant issue a. Unfortunately, it must be noted that despite the valiant efforts to give female scientists their due, there is still a lack of acknowledgement of female contributions to scientific disciplines, as they are often under -attributed in journals, given smaller research grants, or their work and discoveries are not celebrated. This, among other factors, contributes to a “leaky pipeline” where they may then leave the profession after years of struggling to have their work acknowledged. Beyond this fundamental unfairness, the loss of female researchers limits the talent pool for science as the proportion of women staying within the discipline dwindle, leading to a less diverse workforce, fewer fresh perspectives and reduced innovation for a world that is heavily reliant on science to deliver solutions. b. The loss of women and lack of diversity in the world of science further creates a gender bias in research focus, which has life-impacting consequences for women in general, as male researchers are less likely to be interested in and prioritise women’s experiences and issues as research topics. There is thus an underrepresentation of women as research subjects and women’s health suffer due to their bodies being less understood by science. For example, seat belts were designed with the average man’s height and weight in mind. Despite putting on seat belts, women, with their physiological differences, were more likely to sustain severe injuries during road accidents as compared to men. Furthermore, many drugs which were tested on an overwhelming number of men created adverse side effects on women due to the dosage levels determined during clinical trials which may not be well metabolised in women. These include common drugs such as aspir in, morphine and heparin. When research and design teams consist of mainly men, women’s needs are often ignored or grossly neglected. c. The underrepresentation of women in scientific leadership positions also creates a vicious cycle where female researchers are at greater risk of discrimination and sexual harassment in an extremely male -dominated culture and environment , which often results in them leaving science altogether, reinforcing the lack of women in science. In recent years, there have been several high- profile scientists from prestigious American institutions who have been investigated following allegations of sexual misconduct. E.g. Sexist comments from well-known male scientists within the

Raffles Institution Year 6 General Paper 2025 Term 1 Essay Assignment Suggested Points 3 labs and to the media perpetuate the idea of female scientists and researchers being incapable and reinforce sexist perceptions of women’s abilities. For example, Nobel - Prize winner Sir Tim Hunt dismissed female scientists as girls who fell in love with their male colleagues and who were prone to crying. Such flippant, disparaging comments belittle female researchers, despite the reality of their hard work and professionalism. 2 ‘In today’s society, people are slaves to technology.’ What is your view? (RI Y6 Prelim 2018) Requirements ‘Slaves’: This term needs to be explored in all its connotations and contexts. Primarily, it refers to a total loss of autonomy and control, addiction, lack of independence without it. Technology is a dominant part of our daily lives and we have become a slave to it: It’s demanding, intrusive and in many ways, regularly disappoints, yet despite this knowledge, we can’t live without it. Students must examine the alleged enslavement to technology as manifested in practice, behaviour and attitude of people in the context of modern society. To support their assessment of the alleged enslavement, students have to provide clear evidence of how people have become/or are not “slaves to technology”. Band 4 & Above Band 3 • Awareness of the key term ‘slaves’ shown by discussing reasons why this is worrying. • A list of how people use technology • A list of pros and cons of technology People are slaves to technology a. Far from empowering us, the increased accessibility and ease at which people are connected have made us become over dependent on it to the extent we have lost contro