Of Male Mice and Men - Gender Bias and Inequality

32160 Words129 Pages
Of Male Mice and Men: Gender Bias and Inequalities in Nuclear Policies, Legislation, Regulation and Research and the Lack of Women’s Participation and Representation CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 Introduction 2 Background - from a woman’s perspective 3 A. Gender-blindness 5 B. Male-dominated and Biased Decision-making 6 1. Female Participation in industry, government and nuclear regulatory bodies 6 2. Local participation and representation 8 3. Invisibility and biased agendas 9 4. Openness and transparency 11 C. Attitudes, Risk Perceptions and Behaviour 12 1. Gender differences in attitudes and perceptions 12 2. Male bias in the definition of risk 13 3. Men’s greater risk-taking behaviour 15 4. Probabilities and consequences 16 5. The ‘white male effect’ 17 6. Influence and consideration of children 17 7. Opinion polls 18 D. Radiation and Women’s Health 19 1. Women are more sensitive to radiation 19 2. Women have no reason to trust men with their health 21 2.1 Male bias in tests on humans 22 2.2 Male bias in tests on animals 25 2.3 The care and dwindling variety of animals in laboratories and the implications 27 E. The ICRP and Radiation Protection Models 33 3.1 Reference Man 35 3.2 Phantom development 37 3.3 Debates over risk assessment practices based on the concept of dose 38 3.4 Questionable practices and interpretation 43 3.5 Inter-disciplinary conflicts 47 F. International Conventions and Other Legal Instruments 47 1. Women’s Human Rights 48 2. Ethical considerations 50 G. Conclusions - déjà vu 52
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