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Yanti, a scientist developing new chemical agents to treat inflammatory diseases like arthritis, says there is no significant gender gap in Indonesia, at least not in her field. Yanti, who like many Indonesians uses one name, is a researcher and lecturer in biotechnology at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta.
    So is Noryawati Mulyono, who is developing a new type of biodegradable plastic. She says today there are more opportunities for women to compete with men in the field of science.
    While the United Nations credits Indonesia with near gender parity in the field of science, overall in Asia women only constitute 18 percent of researchers. And despite parity in some fields, Indonesia still has a gender gap in the overall literacy rate. Poverty plays a large part in that situation, by keeping many girls out of school, although Indonesia has always valued education for girls as well as boys.
    Education advocates say in a world where technological innovation is key to development, a gender gap in science can put countries at a competitive disadvantage.
    Both Yanti and Mulyono recently received fellowships for their research from the cosmetic company L’Oreal. The awards are given to support gender equality in science. Both women are passionate about their work.
    Mulyono prefers to spend her vacation, or refreshing time as she calls it, collecting new samples of damar, a substance found in certain trees in Indonesia that she uses in her research. Yanti says the most rewarding aspect of being a scientist is the process of discovery.
    Despite their recent recognition, neither woman says she feels like a role model or a pioneer because in their experience, women scientists are nothing extraordinary.