Semaine de la Pensée: exchanging together around gender inequalities

Sophie, can you tell us in few words what the Thought Week event is and how it began?

S.G: The project was born in 2016 and was originally called "Le Jour de la Pensée", "The Day of Thought." My predecessors wanted to organize, through a symbolic day (based on the revolutionary calendar), a celebration common to all PSL students. The first edition consisted of circulating among the PSL schools & institutes, where stands were set up to meet and present the University. The following year, we wanted to expand the event and take the time to exchange around several events: that's why the Day became the Week. This year, the theme revolves around the issue of gender and gender inequalities, and the programming is rich: a PSL Night, an exhibition, an evening with screenings & debate, a scientific conference, a simulation modeled on the UN and an Eloquence contest.

Through events such as the Week of Thought, PSL offers a way to experience a community.

Why did you choose this theme? In what way can it interest the whole community?

S.G: We did not choose it by chance: the news lent itself to it, the recent positions taken, the movements such as “Me Too” seemed to us to be a good departure point. Last year, during the election period, we focused on politics. We study such diverse specialties, that in order to make the link between a maximum number of PSL communities, it is necessary to propose themes on which everyone can express their opinion in different ways. News are important, but the theme must be as open as possible too. This issue of gender and gender inequality now seems fundamental to us as young women and men in a common environment.

W.G: And for this edition, we intend to attract a maximum of students. We are better informed and we have more people who know us and participate in our events: in the eloquence contest which I am one of the co-organizers, for example, we had many more candidates for the pre-selection last January than for the 2017 edition. And the candidates came from all of the institutions, which is an incredible diversity.

Werner, what is the Eloquence Contest and when is it held in Thought Week?

W.G: The Eloquence Contest is a public speaking contest that takes place at PSL in several phases. The finalists who were selected during the Winter Campus will speak on a public stage (note: you can attend the finals at MINES ParisTech on April 13th) and will start with a provocative quote related to the theme. The eloquence contest highlights the weight of words, the strength of language that can, through a speech, defend untenable issues or condemn them in the most convincing way.

Jémilie, what is the difference on the format with a MUN, for example?

J.J: A MUN is a debate really, inspired by the United Nations model. Each participant represents one of the countries that is part of the UN and speaks on behalf of their country. There are rules that need to be known upstream, so before the April 10th event, we train the participants. This is a theme that obviously speaks to us highly already, and many themes are connected with the model of a MUN: we have retained the theme of "refugee women", a hot topic. Moreover, organizing the PSL MUN alongside the PSL Union seemed in itself obvious, and the theme is unifying enough to make it an extremely rich week.

During this week, the Arts are also in the mix…

S.G: Yes, an art exhibition will take place at EnsAD: we have received many different projects. Many photo projects, videos, sculptures, styling ... It is really interesting to see how everyone appropriates the theme. The exhibition will also be an opportunity to (re) discover the theater troupe La Découpe, which will also perform at the opening.

B.C: The screening & debate evening is an event where art and social sciences mix, organized at 62 bis rue Gay Lussac. The idea? Presenting film excerpts, a panel of recent and older, well-known versus lesser-known films that question gender stereotypes. It is the Master’s degree students of the EHESS "Gender, Sexuality and Politics" who will present these excerpts, then they will debate with the public. Art is a fabulous means of expression; it also crystallizes and transcribes an era. The point is to debate, not only the stereotypes that the cinema conveys, but also the broad topic of gender in social evolution.

The program also offers a scientific conference entitled "Is the brain based on gender? Are occupations based on gender?" Julien, can you tell us more?

J.C: Catherine Vidal, a neurobiologist at the Institut Pasteur and author of the book “Is the Brain based on gender?”  accepted our invitation: she will give a conference at the Ecole normale supérieure on Monday, April 9th and there will also be a lecture by Françoise Vouillot, a senior lecturer at the CNAM and member of the High Council for the Equality between Women and Men, and author of the book, “ Are occupations based on gender?” The speakers will discuss their work and debate with the public. What seems very interesting to us here is to have an exchange built around the theme with scientific insight: does the environment in which we operate have a direct influence on our neuronal activity? How do stereotypes influence us?

What is your perception on the matter? As part of your studies, for example?

W.G: There are some inequalities, which suggests that there is some form of social conditioning. We notice in the PSL Schools in the Humanities and Social Sciences, like mine (note: the EPHE) that there are as many (or more) women than men, which is not the case by example at MINES ParisTech.

How would you explain it?

SG: Beyond the real and concrete inequalities that persist today, there are also a lot of studies in the humanities and social sciences that show that girls have a stronger tendency to self-censor because they lack confidence in themselves and their children. The more we advance in the studies, the more the difference is important ...

All our inequalities, whether rooted in our daily lives or the fruit of psychological motivations, are experienced from early childhood! Deconstructing takes time, it is inter-generational work, and we have means today to reverse trends.

Is it systematic? If we examine the Bachelor's program of the CPES PSL for example, we see that in the 3 streams, there are more girls than boys. Where does the infatuation with what we hear in the science sector for example come from?

J.J: There are certainly already fewer "stakes" for us in undergraduate degree, so maybe we don't self-censor as much because the competitive aspect seems less stifling. The "multidisciplinary" side can be reassuring too. Finally, my opinion is that it would be interesting to make a study focused on the courses of these students, to see the track they will follow after the degree. It would be interesting to see if all of the theories in social sciences apply.

SG: Even in the Arts, some trainings seem "gendered": for example in music, there are very few women who come out of a training as Conductor, and they do not play certain instruments... We are becoming increasingly aware of it, but the gap remains significant in many training programs.

W.G: The Eloquence Competition is also an example of this phenomenon. Last year, we had an overwhelming majority of men (75%) and many more women withdrawing, maybe because they have had more trouble finding their place, more difficulty expressing themselves in the public space. I want to say that it has nothing to do with the background! This year, things have improved a little, but there is some way to go still.

What solutions could be put forward to avoid this self-censorship?

W.G: Do not hesitate to communicate, to put women at the heart of our actions. For example, for this year's Eloquence Competition, finalists are a man and a woman. Highlighting her profile the following year, show that women are obviously as fit as men and that the movement has already launched ; a possible initiative would be to spread the question " why not me?". Representing women in spaces where they are in the minority can help deconstruct this conditioning, this stereotype.

J. C: I am at Chimie ParisTech and I note that diversity occurs perhaps more often here than in other schools in the hard sciences. That's the way I perceive it. Then according to the tracks, there are certain classes with more women than men and vice versa. But this self-censorship seems to me much less present. Maybe because historically, the first French woman who graduated in chemistry comes from Chimie ParisTech?

S.G: I agree with Werner on the impact of communication in the evolution of morals. All our inequalities, whether rooted in our daily lives or the fruit of psychological motivations, , are experienced from early childhood! Deconstructing takes time, it is inter-generational, and we have means today to reverse the trends. In the political field, in daily life, in artistic representation ... Our week is not controversial: it is enriching through complementary events.

J.C: In the end, This event gives us the opportunity to see social evolutions beyond our institutions, to expand our horizons. PSL provides an opportunity to really feel and experience a community.