tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/women-in-stem-20447/articlesWomen in STEM – The Conversation2023-12-14T04:06:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2198022023-12-14T04:06:45Z2023-12-14T04:06:45ZThe AI industry is on the verge of becoming another boys’ club. We’re all going to lose out if it does<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565707/original/file-20231214-23-2bm6wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=63%2C63%2C5993%2C3968&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/technology/ai-key-figures.html">article</a> released a list of people “behind the dawn of the modern artificial intelligence movement” – and not a single woman was named. It came less than a week after news of a fake auto-generated woman being listed as a speaker on the agenda <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tech-conference-fake-women-ai-generated-devternity-98ed551e90ec49e81589cc928715ae3c">for a software conference</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the omission of women from the history of STEM isn’t a new phenomenon. Women have been missing from these narratives for centuries.</p>
<p>In the wake of recent AI developments, we now have a choice: are we going to leave women out of these conversations as well – even as they continue to make massive contributions to the AI industry? </p>
<p>Doing so risks leading us into the same fallacy that established computing itself as a “man’s world”. The reality, of course, is quite different. </p>
<h2>A more accurate history</h2>
<p>Prior to computers as we know them, “computer” was the title given to people who performed complex mathematical calculations. These people <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/history-human-computers-180972202">were commonly women</a>.</p>
<p>English mathematician Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) is often referred to as <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/ada-lovelace-the-first-tech-visionary">the first computer programmer</a>. She was the <a href="https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/ada-lovelace">first person to realise</a> computers could do much more than just math calculations. Her work on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/Analytical-Engine">the analytical engine</a> – a proposed automatic and fully programmable mechanical computer – dates back to the mid-1800s.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565705/original/file-20231214-29-49fdp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565705/original/file-20231214-29-49fdp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565705/original/file-20231214-29-49fdp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565705/original/file-20231214-29-49fdp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565705/original/file-20231214-29-49fdp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565705/original/file-20231214-29-49fdp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565705/original/file-20231214-29-49fdp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565705/original/file-20231214-29-49fdp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A blue plaque in St James’s Square in London marks the location Ada Lovelace once lived.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>By the 1870s, a group of about 80 women worked as computers <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/9/26/women-computers-observatory/">at the Harvard Observatory</a>. They catalogued and analysed copious amounts of astronomic data for astronomer Edward Charles Pickering (who exploited the fact they’d work for less money than men, or even as volunteers).</p>
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<span class="caption">In 1886, Pickering put Williamina P.S. Fleming in charge of the Harvard computers. Over the course of her career she discovered 10 novae, 52 nebulae and hundreds of stars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span>
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<p>By the late 19th century, increased access to education meant there was an entire generation of women trained in maths. These woman computers were cheaper labour than men at the time, and so <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/history-human-computers-180972202/">employing them</a> significantly reduced the costs of computation.</p>
<p>During the first world war, women were hired to <a href="https://cs.brown.edu/courses/cs1951i/lightWhenComputersWereWomen.pdf">calculate artillery trajectories</a>. This work continued into the second world war, when they were actively encouraged to <a href="https://www.history.com/news/coding-used-to-be-a-womans-job-so-it-was-paid-less-and-undervalued">take on wartime jobs</a> as computers in the absence of men. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565699/original/file-20231214-17-msi71b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565699/original/file-20231214-17-msi71b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565699/original/file-20231214-17-msi71b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565699/original/file-20231214-17-msi71b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565699/original/file-20231214-17-msi71b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565699/original/file-20231214-17-msi71b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=880&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565699/original/file-20231214-17-msi71b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=880&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565699/original/file-20231214-17-msi71b.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=880&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Former NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA/Bill Ingalls</span></span>
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<p>Women continued to work as computers into the early days of the <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/women-nasa/">American space program in the 1960s</a>, playing a pivotal role in advancing NASA’s space projects. One of these computers was <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/katherine-johnson-biography/">Katherine Johnson</a>, who was responsible for quality-checking the outputs of early IBM computers for an orbital mission in 1962. </p>
<p>Many women made significant contributions to computing, yet few were recognised for these contributions – let alone financially compensated. <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=GWOIXDsLQWwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Recoding+Gender:+Women%2527s+Changing+Participation+in+Computing&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=salary&f=false">According to</a> Virginia Tech professor Janet Abbate, by 1969 a female computer specialist’s median salary was US$7,763, compared to US$11,193 for a male computer specialist.</p>
<p>Woman computers worked behind the scenes, while their male counterparts received recognition, awards and publicity.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-money-is-helping-subsidise-sexism-in-academia-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-218347">How your money is helping subsidise sexism in academia – and what you can do about it</a>
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<h2>Women in AI</h2>
<p>Computing and programming are the foundation of AI as we know it today. At a basic level, today’s generative and predictive AI systems work by analysing large amounts of data and <a href="https://medium.com/@stahl950/the-math-behind-predictions-in-ai-unraveling-the-magic-44b4fcb8af6">finding patterns in it</a>. </p>
<p>The women who pioneered computing from as early as the 1800s laid the foundations for this work. The work they were doing by hand for more than a century has now been replaced by machines capable of analysing much larger quantities of data in much a shorter time.</p>
<p>This transition does not diminish women’s contributions to the field of computing and, more recently, AI. Myriad women are doing pioneering work in the AI industry today, including the 12 women named is this recent <a href="https://medium.com/womenintechnology/ny-times-missed-these-12-trailblazers-meet-the-women-transforming-ai-ae522f52a8b7">Medium article</a>. </p>
<p>From Google’s ex-chief decision scientist Cassie Kozyrkov, to Canadian computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, to OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati (pictured in this article’s banner image) – these women are helping make AI safer, more accurate, more accessible, more inclusive and more reliable.</p>
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<span class="caption">Joy Buolamwini is a Rhodes scholar, Fulbright fellow, Stamps scholar, Astronaut scholar and Anita Borg Institute scholar. Her work focuses on reducing bias in AI.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Buolamwini#/media/File:Joy_Buolamwini_-_Wikimania_2018_01.jpg">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>And they’re taking these strides despite working in a heavily male-dominated industry. <a href="https://medium.com/element-ai-research-lab/estimating-the-gender-ratio-of-ai-researchers-around-the-world-81d2b8dbe9c3">One 2018 study</a> of 4,000 researchers who had been published in leading AI conferences found women made up just 12% of this group.</p>
<h2>The impact of omission</h2>
<p>The omission of women isn’t limited to the AI industry, or even to STEM. As historian Bettany Hughes notes, women occupy a <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/blog/blog-posts/why-were-women-written-out-of-history-an-interview-with-bettany-hughes/#">meagre 0.5%</a> of recorded history. Clearly, a lack of gender diversity in the workforce is part of a much larger, systemic problem – one that affects many more people than the individuals being excluded. </p>
<p>In 1983, NASA engineers suggested packing 100 tampons on the <a href="https://prospect.org/culture/books/astronaut-sally-ride-burden-first/">Challenger space shuttle</a> for astronaut Sally Ride – for a trip that was one week long. Such an incident is seemingly harmless on the surface. But what happens when gender bias and stereotypes bleed into the design and development of AI? </p>
<p>Research <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/12/tech/facebook-job-ads-gender-discrimination-asequals-intl-cmd/index.html">published in 2018</a> by international non-profit Global Witness found Facebook’s job ad platform, which uses algorithms to target users with ads, based its targeting on sexist stereotypes. For example, ads for mechanics were targeted mostly at men, while ads for preschool teachers were targeted mostly at women. </p>
<p>Another <a href="https://proceedings.mlr.press/v81/buolamwini18a/buolamwini18a.pdf">2018 study</a> found computer vision systems reported higher error rates for recognising women, and in particular women with darker skin tones. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-researchers-gender-imbalance/">lack of gender diversity</a> in AI has a demonstrated ability to harm and disadvantage women and, by extension, all of us. While many argue that improving AI training datasets could address the gender gap, others rightly point out that women should also be included in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carmenniethammer/2020/03/02/ai-bias-could-put-womens-lives-at-riska-challenge-for-regulators/?sh=35e1baed534f">data-collection processes</a></p>
<h2>Breaking the glass ceiling</h2>
<p>Speaking at the <a href="https://www.heforshe.org/en/join-us-heforshe-summit-2023">UN Women’s HeForShe summit</a> earlier this year, <a href="https://huggingface.co/">Hugging Face</a> research scientist Sasha Luccioni made a <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2023/09/heforshe-summit-discusses-gender-bias-in-ai-and-how-to-encourage-male-feminist-allies">salient point</a>:</p>
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<p>AI bias doesn’t come from thin air – it comes from the patterns we perpetuate in our societies.</p>
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<p>The recent New York Times article is an example of how both media and industry play a role in reinforcing a status quo that disproportionately favours men. This form of bias does nothing to help close a persistent and problematic gender gap.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/tie-research-funding-to-progress-on-diversity-stem-review-says-20230814-p5dw8j.html">millions of dollars</a> being spent to encourage women to take up careers in STEM, these fields are struggling to <a href="https://www.lgea.org.au/Scientists/News/2021_women_in_stem_report.aspx">retain woman workers</a>. </p>
<p>Women’s contributions to AI are not insignificant. Failing to acknowledge this can make the glass ceiling seem impossible to break through.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chief-scientist-women-in-stem-are-still-far-short-of-workplace-equity-covid-19-risks-undoing-even-these-modest-gains-143092">Chief Scientist: women in STEM are still far short of workplace equity. COVID-19 risks undoing even these modest gains</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zena Assaad does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For decades, woman ‘computers’ worked behind the scenes while their male counterparts received recognition. The AI industry must not be an example of history repeating itself.Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183472023-11-27T19:17:32Z2023-11-27T19:17:32ZHow your money is helping subsidise sexism in academia – and what you can do about it<p>It’s frightening to imagine where the world would be right now without mRNA vaccines. The COVID-busting technology <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/mrna-vaccine-revolution-katalin-kariko/">revolutionised vaccine development</a> at an internationally critical moment – with massive implications for people’s health, wellbeing and the global economy.</p>
<p>Yet imagine we must – because some of the research most crucial to the development of mRNA vaccines almost didn’t happen.</p>
<p>Biochemist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katalin-Kariko">Katalin Karikó’s</a> fascination with the therapeutic potential of mRNA began in the early 1990s, but she received little encouragement. She was undervalued and underfunded throughout her university career and eventually left academia.</p>
<p>When she went on to jointly win the Nobel Prize for Medicine for her pioneering role in developing the mRNA technology that allowed the world to take on COVID, Karikó’s former employer, the University of Pennsylvania, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/10/03/researcher-demoted-by-university-of-pennsylvania-wins-nobel-prize-for-mrna-discoveries-and-some-academics-urge-penn-to-apologize/?sh=227a13cb68b1">tried to take credit</a>.</p>
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<p>Yet during her time there, the university <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/10/03/researcher-demoted-by-university-of-pennsylvania-wins-nobel-prize-for-mrna-discoveries-and-some-academics-urge-penn-to-apologize/?sh=227a13cb68b1">sidelined and demoted Karikó</a>, eventually <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=514nzDeT7WM&ab_channel=NobelPrize">pushing her out</a> altogether. While it would be nice to think of Karikó’s experience as an aberration, her experience - as we highlight in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41578-023-00624-3.epdf?sharing_token=gTOgpetseLdnjca2_9Hgk9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0Os9buY1YZg369tprUI8R4tE1kHIVUshCsCo-QKEUAJYagHcGPxf5SREieGp6HtI5EFMB9XTL_gCHcjMmfBri6InvilMNKfPvtOiZntXCRh87wFh1PO_QOoKOPxvx_Jtcw%3D">our new paper</a> - is all too common for women in academia. </p>
<h2>Barriers to women’s success</h2>
<p>Academia is widely viewed as a meritocracy, a bastion of liberalism, and a place where people go to pursue a higher calling. The data, however, point to a dark side to the ivory tower.</p>
<p>For instance, a <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/sexual-harassment-in-academia">major report</a> published in 2019 by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine showed rates of sexual harassment in academia are second only to those in the military.</p>
<p>More common than overtly sexualised harassment, however, is gender bias. <a href="https://www.cell.com/article/S0896-6273(21)00417-7/fulltext">Studies reveal</a> women’s research receives tougher assessment, less funding, fewer prizes, and less citation than men’s. Women professors <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10755-014-9313-4">receive lower evaluations</a> and more criticism from students – both male and female – and face higher expectations as mentors.</p>
<p>Women often face chilly academic climates, isolation, job insecurity, stalled promotions and unequal or limited access to resources. These tendencies can easily verge on incivility, ostracism, online abuse, academic sabotage and malicious allegations. And these problems are worse for women of colour, and those who belong to <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06-women-underrepresented-groups-sexual-academic.html">sexual and gender minority</a> groups.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-women-of-colour-in-science-face-a-subtly-hostile-work-environment-130204">'Death by a thousand cuts': women of colour in science face a subtly hostile work environment</a>
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<p>When women are brave enough to speak out, it usually backfires. At best, they may face minimisation or silencing. More damaging is retaliation, including from institutions themselves. Women can find themselves <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00473-8">placed on probation</a>, under investigation, targeted for character assassination, facing retaliatory accusations, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01600-7#:%7E:text=08%20June%202022-,Max%20Planck%27s%20cherished%20autonomy%20questioned%20following%20criticism%20of%20misconduct%20investigations,investigations%20into%20them%20lacked%20transparency">demoted</a> or even <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01286-5">fired</a>.</p>
<h2>Bad for science and a waste of funding</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03251-8">massive study</a> of almost a quarter of a million US academics showed women are leaving academia at significantly higher rates than men.</p>
<p>They are also leaving for different reasons. While men are more likely to leave because they have been attracted by better opportunities, the number-one reason women cite for leaving is toxic workplaces.</p>
<p>The outcome of this gradual attrition is that women continue to be vastly underrepresented in senior academic positions: as full professors, research directors, and heads of research institutions and universities.</p>
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<p>The loss of so many women from research and higher education isn’t just a social or ethical issue. It’s also an economic one. Women in academia reflect investment. Their many years of post-secondary education, their training, their research – it all costs money. This money is wasted when they are pushed out of academia.</p>
<p>The worst bias and explicit harassment often comes as <a href="https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/2018/09/24/the-tallest-poppy-high-performing-women-pay-a-steep-price-for-success">women achieve greater success</a>. Rates of departure between men and women really start to widen <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03251-8">about 15 years</a> after academics finish their PhDs. </p>
<p>This means higher education and research are often losing women with the most experience and promise, and in whom the greatest funding investments have been made.</p>
<h2>Follow the money</h2>
<p>As current and former institutional heads and research leaders, we suggest it’s time to follow the money. Where does all this wasted money come from?</p>
<p>You, the taxpayer.</p>
<p>Higher education, research and science all are, in many parts of the world, funded mostly through public sources. This means when higher education and research organisations fail to tackle the persistent sexism, discrimination and harassment that are driving women out, they are throwing your money out the window.</p>
<p>Or you can think of it another way: your taxes are subsidising sexism.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-studied-309-544-patent-applications-and-found-inventing-is-still-a-mans-world-188600">We studied 309,544 patent applications – and found inventing is still a man’s world</a>
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<h2>The buck stops here</h2>
<p>The fact that tax money supports higher education and research also presents an opportunity: taxpayers can demand change in how their taxes are used.</p>
<p>They can demand efficiency in public funding – efficiency that will lead to less sexism in the institutions educating our children, and to more of the science we desperately need to address the collective challenges we face.</p>
<p>We call on governments to address sexism in higher education and research as a matter of urgency, such as by:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>acknowledging that self-regulation isn’t working</strong>. <br><br>Universities and research institutions have implemented gender equity initiatives and policies for decades. Yet gender biases remain entrenched.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>developing effective and transparent systems for measuring gender equity, and applying them to all publicly funded higher education and research institutions</strong>. <br><br> This means collecting and publishing data on recruitment, appointment, salaries, workload allocation, promotions, discrimination, harassment, misconduct, demotion, dismissal and departure.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>making funding in higher education and research dependent on the achievement of gender equity targets</strong>. <br><br> Institutions currently receive public funding regardless of whether they uphold a fair academic culture that provides equal opportunity for men and woman. <br><br>Disregard for rules, procedures and laws designed to achieve gender equity does not hold institutions back from receiving continued public funding. This lack of accountability helps perpetuate gender bias. It needs to change.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You can join us in pressing for these changes by contacting your local representative, organising and submitting petitions, or reporting concerns to organisations designed to investigate possible abuses of public funding (such as federal auditing offices).</p>
<p>The story of Karikó and the transformative research that almost never was should be the wake-up call we need to demand better.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-5-years-this-australian-astrophysics-lab-reached-50-women-heres-how-they-did-it-216632">In 5 years, this Australian astrophysics lab reached 50% women. Here’s how they did it</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susanne Täuber is affiliated with the Academic Parity Movement and the Network Against Power Abuse in Science. Both are non-profit organizations fighting harassment and power abuse in academia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet G. Hering, Nicole Boivin, and Ursula Keller do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Studies reveal women’s research receives tougher assessment, less funding, fewer prizes and less citation than men’s.Nicole Boivin, Professor, Max Planck Institute of GeoanthropologyJanet G. Hering, Director emerita, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologySusanne Täuber, Affiliated researcher, University of AmsterdamUrsula Keller, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ZurichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2166322023-11-16T19:03:50Z2023-11-16T19:03:50ZIn 5 years, this Australian astrophysics lab reached 50% women. Here’s how they did it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559803/original/file-20231116-21-9rnkm0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C37%2C6230%2C4110&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cristy Roberts / ASTRO 3D</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many organisations, from <a href="https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/newsroom/2019/12/19/who-are-our-members/">community sporting groups</a> to the <a href="https://www.ipu.org/news/statements/2019-03/womens-political-leadership-striving-50-cent-balance-in-2030">United Nations</a>, have set themselves a target of gender parity: ensuring half of staff or members are women. Gender parity is desirable because training and retaining equal halves of a population’s available talent influences an organisation’s growth, problem-solving capacity and future-readiness. </p>
<p>However, actually achieving gender parity is not always an easy feat. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-019-0954-1">In the astronomy sector</a>, somewhere between 25% and 35% of people identify as women. </p>
<p>At our research centre in Australia (the <a href="https://astro3d.org.au/">ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions</a>, or ASTRO 3D), we set out in 2017 to reach gender parity.</p>
<p>As some of my colleagues write in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02079-6">a new paper in Nature Astronomy</a>, the centre adopted a strategy based on evidence from the social sciences, and by 2022 we had increased women’s membership from 38% to 50%. This result shows it can be done – and offers some tips other organisations can use.</p>
<h2>How we did it</h2>
<p>The change was brought about by a broad range of diversity initiatives across recruitment, retention, leadership and workplace culture. The increase in women was at all levels from students to chief investigators, and – in case you were worried – did not come at the expense of men, as the centre’s membership grew over this period.</p>
<p>The centre took a “top-down” approach to gender parity, with five key elements:</p>
<ol>
<li>setting a diversity target with regular monitoring of progress</li>
<li>selecting a diverse set of team leaders</li>
<li>in-person diversity training for all organisation members</li>
<li>ensuring 50% women on selection committees for hiring postdoctoral researchers</li>
<li>ensuring 50% women on shortlists for postdoctoral positions.</li>
</ol>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-needs-true-diversity-to-succeed-and-australian-astronomy-shows-how-we-can-get-it-128122">Science needs true diversity to succeed -- and Australian astronomy shows how we can get it</a>
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<p>We found that when a “tipping point” of 40% women was reached, we saw more women students choosing to join ASTRO 3D – particularly within research teams led or co-led by women. </p>
<p>One of the most powerful messages to take away from the paper is the importance of monitoring and evaluation. That’s how we know the strategies applied by ASTRO 3D, built from evidence in the social sciences, were effective. Evaluating programs is crucial, and can be done using platforms like the <a href="https://evaluation.womeninstem.org.au/">Women in STEM evaluation portal</a>.</p>
<h2>Everybody wins</h2>
<p>The results underscore the continued need for women role models and leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. </p>
<p>We know gender parity <a href="https://theconversation.com/diverse-teams-can-improve-engineering-outcomes-but-recent-affirmative-action-decision-may-hinder-efforts-to-create-diverse-teams-209357">improves research quality</a> because it reduces the risk of bias and groupthink, which can affect the validity and reliability of scientific findings. Furthermore, diversity can lead to more innovative and creative solutions to scientific problems, as people from different backgrounds bring unique insights to the table. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-must-include-more-women-in-physics-it-would-help-the-whole-of-humanity-165096">We must include more women in physics — it would help the whole of humanity</a>
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<p>ASTRO 3D has shown that a multifaceted approach can be used to create a diverse workplace, which is better for everyone.</p>
<p>While astronomy may seem far removed from day-to-day concerns, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-has-the-nobel-prize-in-physics-ever-done-for-me-208859">everyone benefits from fundamental science</a>. </p>
<p>Astronomy is a gateway science and a training ground for our brightest minds. From schoolchildren to the general public, people are fascinated by questions of what’s out there in space, and how the elements fused inside stars end up in the air we inhale with every breath. </p>
<h2>When astronomy comes down to Earth</h2>
<p>While solving the mysteries of the universe, astronomy students and researchers develop skills in data analysis and problem-solving. Astronomy graduates and researchers are now highly sought <a href="https://wheretowithphysics.org.au/">in private industry</a>.</p>
<p>Their problem-solving skills are easily transferred from astronomy to sectors from biomedical and climate science, to mining and satellite technology, to energy and finance. Curating and analysing data from stars and galaxies is remarkably similar to predicting bushfires, decoding genomic data and making financial decisions.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/looking-at-the-stars-or-falling-by-the-wayside-how-astronomy-is-failing-female-scientists-159139">Looking at the stars, or falling by the wayside? How astronomy is failing female scientists</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Research and development teams in both academia and industry benefit from gender parity. It fosters an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute their best work. </p>
<p>The many astronomy graduates and postdocs who go on to work in industry take both problem-solving skills and lived experience of a positive research culture built on gender-parity goals. ASTRO 3D has shown how it can be done.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Ryan-Weber receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>With an evidence-based strategy and careful evaluation, gender parity in science is achievable.Emma Ryan-Weber, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3D (ASTRO 3D), Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107682023-08-21T12:24:46Z2023-08-21T12:24:46ZCaroline Herschel was England’s first female professional astronomer, but still lacks name recognition two centuries later<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543255/original/file-20230817-13660-rbgibr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=65%2C133%2C1998%2C1572&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Herschel Museum in Bath, England, has a new display of a handwritten draft of Caroline Herschel’s memoirs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Juvenile_instructor_(1866)_(14577404920).jpg">Internet Archive Book Images via Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caroline-Lucretia-Herschel">Caroline Herschel</a>, the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259930283_The_Hidden_Giants">first English professional female astronomer</a>, made contributions to astronomy that are still important to the field today. But even many astronomers may not recognize her name.</p>
<p>Most scientists care about the newest techniques, data and theories in their field, but they often know very little about the history of their discipline. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5CChghwAAAAJ&hl=en">Astronomers, like me,</a> are no exception.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until I taught an intro to astronomy class that I learned about Caroline. Now, thanks to a new display of her papers <a href="https://herschelmuseum.org.uk/">at the Herschel Museum</a> in Bath, England, others will get to learn about her too. Her story reflects not only the priorities of astronomy but also how credit is assigned in the field.</p>
<h2>Her path to astronomy</h2>
<p>Caroline Herschel, born in 1750, did not have an easy childhood. After a bout with typhus left her scarred at a young age, her family assumed that she would never marry and <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/82017/the-age-of-wonder-by-richard-holmes/">treated her as an unpaid servant</a>. She was forced to complete household chores, despite showing a keen interest in learning from a young age. She eventually escaped her family to follow her older brother <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Herschel">William Herschel</a>, whom she adored, to Bath.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542891/original/file-20230815-25-k6lyuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An illustration of two people, and man and a woman, leaning over a table. The man polishes a lens on the table. Other astronomical instruments are visible behind them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542891/original/file-20230815-25-k6lyuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542891/original/file-20230815-25-k6lyuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542891/original/file-20230815-25-k6lyuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542891/original/file-20230815-25-k6lyuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542891/original/file-20230815-25-k6lyuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1094&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542891/original/file-20230815-25-k6lyuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1094&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542891/original/file-20230815-25-k6lyuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1094&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caroline Herschel worked with her brother William on many pursuits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Sir_William_Herschel_and_Caroline_Herschel._Wellcome_V0002731_%28cropped%29.jpg">A. Diethe/Wellcome Images via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Caroline was a somewhat unwilling astronomer at first. She didn’t become interested in astronomy until William was already thoroughly engrossed in the subject. Although <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/013361a0">she spoke somewhat disparagingly</a> about how she followed her brother to different interests, including music and astronomy, Caroline <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/013361a0">eventually acknowledged</a> her real interest in studying astronomical bodies.</p>
<p>Astronomers at the time were mainly interested in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/astronomy/Herschel-and-the-Milky-Way">finding new objects and mapping out the heavens</a> with precision. Using telescopes to look for new comets and nebulae was also popular. William Herschel became famous after his <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1781.0056">discovery of Uranus in 1781</a>, though he mistook the planet for a comet at first.</p>
<p>At the beginning of her career, Caroline worked as William’s assistant. She focused mostly on <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/82017/the-age-of-wonder-by-richard-holmes/">astronomical instrumentation tasks</a>, like polishing telescope mirrors. She also <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691148335/discoverers-of-the-universe">helped copy catalogs and took careful notes</a> about William’s observations. But then she began to make her own observations.</p>
<h2>Searching the skies</h2>
<p>In 1782, Caroline began recording the positions of new objects in her own logbook. It was through this work that <a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1212.0809">she discovered several comets and nebulae</a>. On Aug. 1, 1782, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1787.0001">she discovered a comet</a> – meaning she was the first to see it in a telescope with her own eyes. This was the <a href="https://herschelmuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Herschel-Museum-buys-Caroline-Herschels-memoirs-FINAL.pdf">first comet discovery attributed to a woman</a>. She went on to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caroline-Lucretia-Herschel">discover seven more comets</a> over the next 11 years.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543257/original/file-20230817-7412-iuf5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white portrait of an older lady wearing a ruffled bonnet, pointing at a paper. She's holding a magnifying glass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543257/original/file-20230817-7412-iuf5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543257/original/file-20230817-7412-iuf5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543257/original/file-20230817-7412-iuf5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543257/original/file-20230817-7412-iuf5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543257/original/file-20230817-7412-iuf5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=965&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543257/original/file-20230817-7412-iuf5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=965&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543257/original/file-20230817-7412-iuf5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=965&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caroline Herschel (1750−1848) was the first woman to receive a salary as a scientist.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ETH-BIB-Herschel,_Caroline_(1750-1848)-Portrait-Portr_11026-092-SF.jpg">ETH Library via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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<p>At the time of the Herschels’ work, it was the actual observation of an object that warranted public recognition, so Caroline was given credit only for the comets she saw through the telescope herself. For all of her other work, like recording and organizing all the data from William’s observations, she received less credit than William.</p>
<p>For instance, when Caroline took all of William’s observations and compiled them into a catalog, it was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41df1d85-a112-3847-84fe-5f10debf1250?seq=18">published under William’s name</a>. Caroline is mentioned only as an “assistant” in the paper.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, in recognition of her discoveries and her work as William’s assistant, King George III of England <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/82017/the-age-of-wonder-by-richard-holmes/">granted Caroline a salary</a>, making her the first professional female astronomer. </p>
<p>Later in life, Caroline reorganized the same catalog in a more efficient way, according to how practicing astronomers interested in looking for comets <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691148335/discoverers-of-the-universe">actually observed the night sky</a>. This updated catalog was later used as the basis of the <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1888MmRAS..49....1D/abstract">New General Catalogue</a>, which <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa91c9">astronomers still</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/science/ligo-neutron-stars-collision.html">use today</a> to organize the stars.</p>
<p>The Herschels also created the first – though not quite correct – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1785.0012">map of our galaxy, the Milky Way</a>.</p>
<h2>Who gets the credit in astronomy?</h2>
<p>Recognition for scientific work within the astronomical community is pretty different now than it was in the Herschels’ day. In fact, most of the astronomers who receive credit today are those whose work looks a lot like Caroline’s – recording and organizing data about astronomical observations. </p>
<p>Astronomers seldom put their eyeballs up to a telescope eyepiece anymore, and many of the most important discoveries are made by <a href="https://theconversation.com/james-webb-space-telescope-an-astronomer-on-the-team-explains-how-to-send-a-giant-telescope-to-space-and-why-167516">telescopes in space</a>. But astronomers still need to be able to make sense of all the data from these telescopes. Catalogs like the ones Caroline made are important tools for doing so. </p>
<p>Most people today haven’t heard of Caroline Herschel. Despite having several astronomical objects – and <a href="https://mailchi.mp/ace3dfcbde8a/dedicated_launch">even a satellite</a> – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_282">named after her</a>, she doesn’t have the same name recognition as the other astronomers of her time. Some of the lack of recognition is probably because her brother received all the credit for her catalog. Today, astronomers would give them both credit.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543270/original/file-20230817-17-oq5i48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photograph of a cluster of stars" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543270/original/file-20230817-17-oq5i48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543270/original/file-20230817-17-oq5i48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543270/original/file-20230817-17-oq5i48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543270/original/file-20230817-17-oq5i48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543270/original/file-20230817-17-oq5i48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543270/original/file-20230817-17-oq5i48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543270/original/file-20230817-17-oq5i48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cluster of stars NGC 7789 is unofficially nicknamed ‘Caroline’s Rose’ in honor of Caroline Herschel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caroline%27s_Rose_Open_Cluster_(NGC7789).jpg">Anton Vakulenko via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Herschel is just one in a long line of female astronomers who did not receive the credit they were due and whose work was used to justify prizes for male scientists instead. These issues aren’t just restricted to 18th-century science, but persist through modern astronomy as well. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jocelyn-Bell-Burnell">Jocelyn Bell Burnell</a>, who discovered the first radio pulsar, was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06210-w">left off the 1974 Nobel Prize</a>, and the award was <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-all-nobel-prizes-be-canceled-for-a-year-97996">instead granted to her Ph.D. adviser</a>. </p>
<p>Although astronomy has come a long way since the 18th century, astronomers still need to think carefully about how to fairly recognize the people who participate in scientific discoveries. Acknowledging the contributions of astronomers like Caroline Herschel is a small step toward giving credit where credit is due.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to acknowledge other women astronomers who preceded Herschel.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kris Pardo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Astronomer Caroline Herschel’s work discovering and cataloging astronomical objects in the 18th century is still used in the field today, but she didn’t always get her due credit.Kris Pardo, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093572023-08-15T12:34:52Z2023-08-15T12:34:52ZDiverse teams can improve engineering outcomes − but recent affirmative action decision may hinder efforts to create diverse teams<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542659/original/file-20230814-19-13t6qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2113%2C1409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While Black and Hispanic workers made up 14% and 19% of the population in 2021, they made up only 9% and 8% of the STEM workforce. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/workers-talking-in-factory-royalty-free-image/156410607">John Fedele/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It may seem intuitive that teams made up of people with a diversity of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds lead to more effective and inclusive outcomes. But the <a href="https://theconversation.com/affirmative-action-lasted-over-50-years-3-essential-reads-explaining-how-it-ended-209273">recent U.S. Supreme Court decision</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-chief-justice-john-roberts-uses-conflicting-views-of-race-to-resolve-americas-history-of-racial-discrimination-209670">curb affirmative action</a> in higher education could <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230726-how-changing-college-admissions-could-affect-the-us-workforce">hinder progress</a> toward <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-023-09739-6">increasing diversity</a> in the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/jacob-carter/supreme-court-rulings-will-reduce-diversity-in-stem-and-set-back-scientific-progress/">science and engineering fields</a>. </p>
<p>As a geographer and feminist scholar, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eqzjz_MAAAAJ">my work</a> centers on how diverse engineering teams can create space for better collaborations and outcomes. The first step to creating diverse teams is having diverse people with relevant engineering backgrounds, but this Supreme Court decision may <a href="https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-outlawing-collegiate-affirmative-action-will-impact-corporate-america/">create more roadblocks</a> for people from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing the sciences.</p>
<h2>Affirmative action</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/affirmative-action">Affirmative action</a> is the practice of universities giving special consideration to historically excluded groups, such as racial minorities and women. In addition to addressing past discrimination, the practice, born out of the 1960s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/us/politics/affirmative-action-history.html">civil rights movement</a>, ensures public institutions such as universities <a href="https://www.usnews.com/topics/subjects/affirmative_action">represent the populations they serve</a>. </p>
<p>Even with affirmative action, Black and Hispanic workers are already underrepresented in STEM fields. A 2021 study found they made up <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/04/01/stem-jobs-see-uneven-progress-in-increasing-gender-racial-and-ethnic-diversity/">only 9% and 8%</a>, respectively, of the total STEM workforce in the United States. At the same time, Black people and Hispanic people accounted for 14% and 19%, respectively, of <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045222">the national population</a>.</p>
<p>Even prior to the court’s decision, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-involve-more-women-and-girls-in-engineering-55794">higher education</a> pipelines underrepresented women and people of color in engineering.</p>
<p>Engineering offers high salaries and job stability, but it also <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/04/01/stem-jobs-see-uneven-progress-in-increasing-gender-racial-and-ethnic-diversity/">lags far behind other STEM fields</a> in integrating diversity and creating inclusive company cultures. Diverse teams can help make sure a company’s products and services are relatable to a wide range of customers.</p>
<h2>A pipeline issue in engineering</h2>
<p>Still, it is challenging to create genuinely inclusive cultures. And to have diverse engineers, you first need diverse engineering students.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.diversityinresearch.careers/article/how-diversity-makes-better-engineering-teams">diverse engineering team</a> has historically been one that includes different talents – engineers, but also designers, architects and so on. However, now when experts like me point out a pipeline issue in engineering, we’re prioritizing <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/">social diversity</a>. This includes gender, race, ethnicity, nationality and other identities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two engineers standing in a factory, the one on the left, a woman, is pointing, while the one on the right, a man, wears a hard hat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539619/original/file-20230726-19-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teams of engineers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives can lead to new innovations and create supportive spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1306841982/photo/female-engineer-presentation-robotic-welding-process-to-her-team-in-testing-area-of-research.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=jkjgmPS7_r7F8ZHFOncCHbjln1LDgYGA1L9runr_ZQw=">Nitat Termmee/Moment via Getty</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to women and people of color in the United States has <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-involve-more-women-and-girls-in-engineering-55794">grown little</a> since 1998. <a href="https://swe.org/research/2023/degree-attainment/">Women account for 22%</a> of bachelor’s degrees <a href="https://theconversation.com/only-about-1-in-5-engineering-degrees-go-to-women-185256">in engineering</a>. <a href="https://swe.org/research/2018/women-of-color-in-early-career-a-swe-nsbe-collaborative-study/">Less than 4%</a> of all engineering degrees went to African American, Hispanic and Native American women. <a href="https://ira.asee.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2018-Engineering-by-Numbers-Engineering-Statistics-UPDATED-15-July-2019.pdf">Hispanic and Black/African American students</a> account for 11.4% and 4.2% of engineering bachelor’s degrees, respectively.</p>
<p>Students cite <a href="https://www.higheredtoday.org/2021/02/11/lets-remake-racially-unsafe-stem-educational-spaces/">hostile climates</a> and racist and sexist stereotyping as reasons for leaving the major.</p>
<h2>Diverse teams in practice</h2>
<p>Despite these challenges, a year ago <a href="https://www.psu.edu/news/engineering/story/3d-printing-medical-devices-focus-2-million-nsf-grant/">I joined three senior women</a> guiding an intergenerational, diverse group of engineering researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Penn State University.</p>
<p>The exceptionality of our project’s all-female engineering leadership offers a rare on-the-ground opportunity to evaluate how diverse engineering teams can enhance innovation and teamwork. <a href="https://www.psu.edu/news/engineering/story/3d-printing-medical-devices-focus-2-million-nsf-grant/">Our early study findings</a> – which have not yet been peer-reviewed – suggest that a diverse team creates a place for an array of opinions and strategies to flourish. </p>
<p>Compared with experiences with mostly homogeneous groups, members of this multigenerational team reported less hierarchy in group discussions, stronger self-assurance and a sense of solidarity and shared vision. Senior members fostered belonging, while early career members felt mentored and supported. </p>
<p>For example, our project focuses on designing customized pediatric masks and other medical devices. The members of this team reported feeling that their peers all shared a drive to improve quality of life for patients.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/07/31/diversity-innovation-and-opportunity-why-you-need-a-diverse-product-engineering-team/?sh=380e1e903e33">Diverse engineering teams</a> bring a range of problem-solving skills together, which leads to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/27/895858974/creativity-and-diversity-how-exposure-to-different-people-affects-our-thinking">more creative outcomes</a>. In teams where members have a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences, experts see more <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter">collaboration, productivity and a focus on socially beneficial outcomes</a>.</p>
<p>Allowing all team members to contribute equally results in <a href="https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/feature-5-ways-diversity-enhances-engineering-projects">higher productivity</a>, boosts retention rates and creates smoother interactions. All this results in faster, more effective problem solving. </p>
<p>Homogeneous or nondiverse teams are more likely to experience <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/groupthink">groupthink</a>. During groupthink, members lapse into consensus thinking and agree with each other rather than bringing more ideas forward. Groupthink happens more often when stakes are high or there’s uncertainty. </p>
<p>On the other hand, diverse teams tend to focus more on facts and may process them <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-brain-work/202106/why-diverse-teams-outperform-homogeneous-teams">more carefully than homogeneous teams</a>. This is due to the <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/08/11/cognitive-diversity-leadership-styles-decision-making/">diversity of different experiences</a> that accompanies diverse workplaces. Carefully processing all the facts and considering multiple points of view can provide safer, more inclusive outcomes. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g_ugV9gO1-Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Diverse teams in engineering can lead to outcomes that work for more groups of people.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Diversity in human judgment, empathy and creativity is good for business, but it also benefits the common good. Creating opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds and experiences prepares all students – regardless of race or gender – for success in an <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/2020-united-states-population-more-racially-ethnically-diverse-than-2010.html">increasingly diverse nation</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209357/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorraine Dowler receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Diverse teams can not only solve engineering problems more effectively, but the outcomes tend to be more inclusive, as a geographer and feminist scholar explains.Lorraine Dowler, Professor of Geography and Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076972023-07-12T12:39:07Z2023-07-12T12:39:07ZFemale physicists aren’t represented in the media – and this lack of representation hurts the physics field<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536097/original/file-20230706-21-hnz1eu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4199%2C2690&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lise Meitner, in the front row, sits alongside many male colleagues at the Seventh Solvay Physics Conference in 1933. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/615305140/photo/participants-at-the-seventh-solvay-physics-conference-at-brussels-belgium-line-up-for-a-photo.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=7Dff1kI7GzHBNfEpiP6BXnoiWle7W-IgooUlgAH39z4=">Corbin Historical via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated movie “<a href="https://www.oppenheimermovie.com/">Oppenheimer</a>,” set for release July 21, 2023, depicts <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-Robert-Oppenheimer">J. Robert Oppenheimer</a> and his role in the development of the atomic bomb. But while the Manhattan Project wouldn’t have been possible without the work of many accomplished female scientists, the only women seen in the movie’s trailer are either hanging laundry, crying or cheering the men on.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uYPbbksJxIg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The only women featured in the official trailer for Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ are crying, hanging laundry or supporting the men.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.physicsandastronomy.pitt.edu/people/chandralekha-singh">physics professor</a> who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=y820d7MAAAAJ&hl=en">studies ways to support women in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – fields</a> and a <a href="https://www.filmandmedia.pitt.edu/people/carl-kurlander">film studies professor</a> who worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood, we believe the trailer’s depiction of women reinforces stereotypes about who can succeed in science. It also represents a larger trend of women’s contributions in science going unrecognized in modern media.</p>
<h2>Lise Meitner: A pioneering role model in physics</h2>
<p>The Manhattan Project would not have been possible without the work of <a href="https://theconversation.com/lise-meitner-the-forgotten-woman-of-nuclear-physics-who-deserved-a-nobel-prize-106220">physicist Lise Meitner</a>, who <a href="https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200712/physicshistory.cfm">discovered nuclear fission</a>. Meitner used <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/E-mc2-equation">Einstein’s E=MC²</a> to calculate how much energy would be released by splitting uranium atoms, and it was that development that would prompt Einstein to sign a letter urging President Franklin Roosevelt to begin the United States’ atomic research program. </p>
<p>Einstein called Meitner the “<a href="https://www.dpma.de/english/our_office/publications/ingeniouswomen/lisemeitner/index.html#:%7E:text=nominated%2048%20times%20for%20the,Max%20Born%20and%20many%20others.">Madame Curie of Germany</a>” and was one of a pantheon of physicists, from Max Planck to Niels Bohr, who nominated Meitner for a Nobel Prize 48 times during her lifetime.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536071/original/file-20230706-20-eet6hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young woman with her hands clasped together standing in front of a large plant and wearing a skirt, blouse and hat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536071/original/file-20230706-20-eet6hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536071/original/file-20230706-20-eet6hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=936&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536071/original/file-20230706-20-eet6hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=936&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536071/original/file-20230706-20-eet6hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=936&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536071/original/file-20230706-20-eet6hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1177&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536071/original/file-20230706-20-eet6hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1177&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536071/original/file-20230706-20-eet6hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1177&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lise Meitner, the accomplished physicist who discovered nuclear fission.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lise_Meitner12.jpg">MaterialScientist/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meitner never won. Instead, the prize for fission <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1944/summary/">went to Otto Hahn</a>, her male lab partner of 30 years in Berlin. Hahn received the news of his nomination under house arrest in England, where he and other German scientists were being held to determine how far the Third Reich had advanced with its atomic program. </p>
<p>Of Jewish descent, Meitner had been forced to flee the Nazis in 1938 and refused to use this scientific discovery to develop a bomb. Rather, she <a href="http://cwp.library.ucla.edu/articles/gold_meitn.html">spent the rest of her life</a> working to promote nuclear disarmament and advocating for the responsible use of nuclear energy.</p>
<p>Meitner was not the only woman who made a significant contribution during this time. But the lack of physics role models like Meitner in popular media leads to real-life consequences. Meitner <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15398776/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_3_nm_5_q_oppen">doesn’t appear as a character in the film</a>, as she was not part of the Manhattan Project, but we hope the script alludes to her groundbreaking work. </p>
<h2>A lack of representation</h2>
<p>Only around <a href="https://www.aip.org/statistics/women">20% of the undergraduate majors and Ph.D. students</a> in physics are women. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.14.020119">societal stereotypes and biases</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261375">expectation of brilliance</a>, <a href="https://www.aps.org/programs/education/su4w/index.cfm">lack of role models</a> and <a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=15784">chilly culture of physics</a> discourage many talented students from historically marginalized backgrounds, like women, from pursuing physics and related disciplines. </p>
<p>Societal stereotypes and biases influence students even before they enter the classroom. One common stereotype is the idea that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261375">genius and brilliance</a> are important factors to succeed in physics. However, genius is <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/where-are-all-the-female-geniuses/">often associated with boys</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-emphasis-on-brilliance-creates-a-toxic-dog-eat-dog-workplace-atmosphere-that-discourages-women-178525">girls from a young age tend to shy away from</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah6524">fields associated with innate brilliance</a>. </p>
<p>Studies have found that by the age of 6, girls are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah6524">less likely than boys</a> to believe they are “really, really smart.” As these students get older, often the norms in science classes and curricula tend <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216678379">not to represent the interests and values of girls</a>. All of these stereotypes and factors can influence women’s perception of their ability to do physics.</p>
<p>Research shows that at the end of a yearlong college physics course sequence, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.14.020123">women with an “A” have the same physics self-efficacy as men with a “C”</a>. A person’s physics self-efficacy is their belief about how good they are at solving physics problems – and one’s self-efficacy can shape their career trajectory. </p>
<p>Women drop out of college science and engineering majors with <a href="https://www.nsta.org/journal-college-science-teaching/journal-college-science-teaching-januaryfebruary-2022/gender">significantly higher grade-point averages</a> than men who drop out. In some cases, women who drop out have the same GPA as men who complete those majors. Compared to men, women in physics courses feel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.15.020148">significantly less recognized</a> for their accomplishments. Recognition from others as a person who can excel in physics is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.15.020148">strongest predictor of a student’s physics identity</a>, or whether they see themselves as someone who can excel in physics. </p>
<p>More frequent media recognition of female scientists, such as Meitner, could vicariously influence young women, who may see them as role models. This recognition alone can boost young women’s physics self-efficacy and identity.</p>
<p>When Meitner started her career at the beginning of the 20th century, male physicists made excuses about why women had no place in a lab – their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/23/sue-arnold-science-audiobooks-review">long hair might catch fire</a> on Bunsen burners, for instance. We like to believe we have made progress in the past century, but the underrepresentation of women in physics is still concerning. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536138/original/file-20230706-21-7m0oyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three students (two women and one man) watch a woman professor write equations on a whiteboard." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536138/original/file-20230706-21-7m0oyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536138/original/file-20230706-21-7m0oyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536138/original/file-20230706-21-7m0oyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536138/original/file-20230706-21-7m0oyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536138/original/file-20230706-21-7m0oyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536138/original/file-20230706-21-7m0oyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536138/original/file-20230706-21-7m0oyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A number of barriers keep young women out of the physics field, but having role models to look up to can lead them toward success.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/643999287/photo/professor-talking-to-students-in-college-classroom.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=hD3t9QFlVw5otISs1svH3wCCFJ9cXDR84xoqIJcja-4=">Hill Street Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Diversity as an asset to science</h2>
<p>If diverse groups of scientists are involved in brainstorming challenging problems, not only can they <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691138541/the-difference">devise better, future-oriented solutions</a>, but those solutions will also benefit a wider range of people. </p>
<p>Individuals’ lived experiences affect their perspectives – for example, over two centuries ago, mathematician <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/MAHC.2003.1253887">Ada Lovelace imagined applications</a> far beyond what the original inventors of the computer intended. Similarly, women today are more likely to focus on applications of quantum computers <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-quantum-computer-revolution-must-include-women/">that will benefit their communities</a>. Additionally, <a href="https://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/williamkamkwamba/book.html">physicists from Global South countries</a> are more likely to develop improved stoves, solar cells, water purification systems or solar-powered lamps. The perspectives that diverse groups bring to science problems can lead to new innovations. </p>
<p>Our intention is not to disparage the “Oppenheimer” movie, but to point out that by not centering media attention on diverse voices – including those of women in physics like Meitner – filmmakers perpetuate the status quo and stereotypes about who belongs in physics. Additionally, young women <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.6.3.20190513a">continue to be deprived</a> of exposure to role models who could inspire their academic and professional journeys</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The trailer for ‘Oppenheimer’ fails to include female physicists, which is indicative of a broader media trend that, if reversed, could lead to greater gender diversity in science.Carl Kurlander, Senior Lecturer, Film and Media Studies, University of PittsburghChandralekha Singh, Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2056492023-05-23T02:27:22Z2023-05-23T02:27:22ZFewer women receive research grants – but the reasons are more complicated than you’d think<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527474/original/file-20230522-17-f66dbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C79%2C4355%2C2855&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-entomologist-sea-491813269">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It likely comes as no surprise that women receive a smaller share of research funding than men. But untangling the underlying reasons is no small feat.</p>
<p>A recently published <a href="https://researchintegrityjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41073-023-00127-3">international review</a> spanning 45 years found that women accounted for just under a quarter of awards.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://osf.io/cpvqk/">our own study of 46,912 grants</a> awarded in Australia by the <a href="https://www.arc.gov.au/">Australian Research Council</a> and <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/">National Health and Medical Research Council</a> over 20 years points to a complex issue that extends beyond granting systems: fewer women researchers mean fewer women applicants, in turn leading to fewer women receiving grants. </p>
<h2>The international scene</h2>
<p>In the recent international review, the authors synthesised evidence from 55 studies from 14 countries including the United States and Canada, and the European Union, from 1975 to 2020. Their analysis explored gender differences in grant award outcomes, success rates and funding amounts. </p>
<p>They found, on average:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>fewer awarded grants were led by women (24%) than men (76%)</p></li>
<li><p>30% of applicants were women. Success rates for grants led by women (23%) did not differ significantly from those led by men (24%)</p></li>
<li><p>women researchers received about half the amount of research funds per grant than men – an average of US$342,000 compared to men with an average of US$659,000. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>But this international analysis only incorporated one year of Australian data, limiting the degree to which those findings might pan out here.</p>
<h2>What about Australia?</h2>
<p>We, the research team at the Office of the <a href="https://womeninstem.org.au/">Australian Government’s Women in STEM Ambassador</a>, deployed a statistical model that enabled us to detect nuanced patterns by simultaneously considering not only gender, but also career seniority, field of research and time. This research is currently available <a href="https://osf.io/cpvqk/">as a preprint ahead of peer review</a>.</p>
<p>Echoing findings of the international study, our modelling revealed fewer awarded grants were led by women than men. However, we also found that career seniority mattered – increasingly fewer women researchers received grants at a senior level. The percentage of grants led by women was 36% among early-career, 30% among mid-career, and 21% among senior-career researchers. </p>
<p>We also found that gender differences in awarded grants varied by field of research. Proportionally fewer awarded grants were led by women in the fields of chemical sciences, mathematical sciences, Earth sciences, engineering, technology and physical sciences.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-women-are-studying-stem-but-there-are-still-stubborn-workplace-barriers-190839">More women are studying STEM, but there are still stubborn workplace barriers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We documented progress towards gender parity over the 20-year period, and the rate of progress depended on career seniority. The percentage of awarded grants led by early-career women rose from 29% in 2000 to 42% in 2020. The increase was from 21% to 40% for mid-career and from 14% to 30% for senior-career women researchers.</p>
<p>However, progress is slow and these percentages remain well below gender parity. </p>
<p>Importantly, we found that success rates for grants led by women did not differ significantly from men’s success rates. Based on this, we conclude it’s unlikely the main source of gender disparities in grant outcomes is how the research is assessed. </p>
<p>Unlike the findings from the international review, we found that funding amounts didn’t differ by gender. Women-led grants in Australia were awarded the same amount of funding per grant as men-led grants.</p>
<p>That said, because fewer awarded grants were led by women, the total funds showed a substantial difference: A$19 billion awarded to men lead investigators versus A$7.4 billion awarded to women lead investigators.</p>
<h2>What about the workforce?</h2>
<p>It is important to place these gender differences in the context of research workforce participation. According to available <a href="https://www.arc.gov.au/evaluating-research/excellence-research-australia">Australian data</a>, there are fewer women than men in the research workforce. In fact, for every 100 men researchers, there are only 75 women researchers on average. </p>
<p>When we considered the number of awarded grants relative to workforce participation, we found the award rate was actually higher for women than men, especially among senior career researchers. For every 1,000 women professors in the research workforce, eight led a successfully funded grant each year; whereas for every 1,000 men professors, five led a successfully funded grant each year. </p>
<p>Despite award rates favouring women over men (noting the workforce data are not as comprehensive as our grant funding data), fewer women researchers mean fewer women applicants, which means fewer women awardees overall. </p>
<p>Pulling all this together, it seems gender differences in Australian research grant programs may primarily arise from unequal workforce participation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-lack-of-confidence-thats-holding-back-women-in-stem-155216">It's not lack of confidence that's holding back women in STEM</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can we do?</h2>
<p>We need to support women entering the research workforce and ensure they remain there and can progress in their careers. Barriers to women’s workforce participation have been extensively <a href="https://www.science.org.au/support/analysis/decadal-plans-science/women-in-stem-decadal-plan">documented</a>. The responsibility to remove such barriers rests with several entities. </p>
<p>Higher education and research institutes have social and legal responsibilities to provide environments in which all researchers have an equal opportunity to excel. In Australia, <a href="https://sciencegenderequity.org.au/">Science in Australia Gender Equity</a> provides an accreditation framework to <a href="https://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12961-017-0177-9">identify and address inequities</a> and can <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/2/e032915">accelerate the increase of women in leadership positions</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1652926995163136002"}"></div></p>
<p>Governments and research funders can incentivise these and other gender-equity initiatives. Options include mandating workplace gender targets, equity plans or relevant accreditation as a condition of receiving government funds. These approaches are <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3975">shown to progress gender equity</a>.</p>
<p>Only when the whole sector comes together to contribute solutions across the research ecosystem will we see genuine, sustainable progress towards gender equity.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this article contained slightly different results of the analysis of ARC and NHMRC grants due to an issue with the data relating to career seniority. The authors have rectified the error, reanalysed the data, and here report the updated results. The pattern of findings and conclusions has not changed.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205649/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>As Senior Research Associate for the Australian Government's Women in STEM Ambassador, Isabelle Kingsley receives funding from the Australian Government that supports this work.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Johnston currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council for her Antarctic research. Professor Johnston has previously received funding from the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources that supported Australia's Women in STEM Ambassador and this research project.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa A. Williams receives funding from the Australian government (Australian Research Council; Department of Industry, Science, and Resources).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>As the Australian Government's Women in STEM Ambassador, Lisa Harvey-Smith receives funding from the Australian Government that supports this work. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eve Slavich does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Overall, women receive a smaller share of research funding – but it’s not due to how applications are weighed up. The problem starts with the workforce itself.Isabelle Kingsley, Senior Research Associate at the Office of the Women in STEM Ambassador, UNSW SydneyEmma Johnston, Professor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), University of SydneyEve Slavich, Statistical Consultant, UNSW SydneyLisa A Williams, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, UNSW SydneyLisa Harvey-Smith, Australian Government Women in STEM Ambassador, Professor of Practice, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2005522023-04-06T06:16:02Z2023-04-06T06:16:02ZSince the late 19th century, adventurous female ‘eclipse chasers’ have contributed to science in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519222/original/file-20230404-18-nwlh6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=135%2C0%2C708%2C378&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Elizabeth Campbell operating the Floyd Telescope, 1922 total solar eclipse. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library Western Australia 4131B/3/8, enhanced detail</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A total solar eclipse is a remarkable alignment of our Sun, Earth and the Moon, as the latter casts a perfect shadow across the former.</p>
<p>If you’re in the narrow path of the shadow of the Moon, at the moment of totality you are plunged into darkness. Stars and planets emerge in the sky, and the entire atmosphere changes. This immersion in a total solar eclipse is unforgettable. </p>
<p>As 21-year-old Australian Miriam Chisholm <a href="http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1924MmBAA..24...94C">reported in 1922</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I looked up from the telescope just an instant before totality and thought I saw the Corona, a pale fringe around the Sun […] and then the light went out and we saw it in all its glory.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516169/original/file-20230319-16-7iduc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photograph of the black totally eclipsed sun in the centre with a white haze of corona around it. The image was encapsulated in a glass plate slide to project for teaching at Sydney Observatory." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516169/original/file-20230319-16-7iduc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516169/original/file-20230319-16-7iduc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516169/original/file-20230319-16-7iduc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516169/original/file-20230319-16-7iduc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516169/original/file-20230319-16-7iduc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516169/original/file-20230319-16-7iduc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516169/original/file-20230319-16-7iduc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Photograph of the solar corona taken using the Floyd Camera by Elizabeth Campbell, 21 September 1922. The image was later used for teaching at Sydney Observatory. Collection Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Historically, total solar eclipses were a unique opportunity to conduct scientific research about our Sun, the closest star. Using special instruments called spectroscopes, it was possible to decipher the chemical composition of the gases emitted by the Sun – but only during a total eclipse. </p>
<p>As I write in my recently co-authored book <a href="https://ebooks.publish.csiro.au/content/eclipse-chasers#tab-info">Eclipse Chasers</a>, perhaps the best-known eclipse experiment was the proof of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. In the early 20th century this theory could only be tested during the minutes of totality, requiring a clear sky around the covered Sun so you could photograph the stars. </p>
<h2>Women in the field</h2>
<p>Accounts of well-known historic discoveries in astronomy might leave the impression this work was only undertaken by men. But in the late 19th and early 20th century, women in Australia already participated in astronomy as <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/publications-of-the-astronomical-society-of-australia/article/making-visible-the-first-women-in-astronomy-in-australia-the-measurers-and-computers-employed-for-the-astrographic-catalogue/AD35E9CECEBC784E926D7B8F35E3D4E0">female “computers”</a> and amateur astronomers. They were deeply involved in scientific expeditions to view total solar eclipses, but it was not easy. </p>
<p>The living conditions were rough, in tents with poor amenities open to the weather, and little or no privacy. The months needed to travel on solar eclipse expeditions meant leaving family responsibilities, one of the reasons it was unusual to find women in the field. When women did participate, they were usually the wives and daughters of male astronomers. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A young woman in a mortar board hat and gown." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516151/original/file-20230318-4441-paqzir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516151/original/file-20230318-4441-paqzir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1033&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516151/original/file-20230318-4441-paqzir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1033&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516151/original/file-20230318-4441-paqzir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1033&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516151/original/file-20230318-4441-paqzir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1298&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516151/original/file-20230318-4441-paqzir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516151/original/file-20230318-4441-paqzir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1298&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Annie Louisa Virginia Dodwell (1870-1924) graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Adelaide. Collection University of Adelaide. This image was taken with a group of other graduands around 1905. Enhanced.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first Australian woman whose total solar eclipse observations were officially reported was Annie Louisa Virginia Dodwell. She had a Bachelor of Science from the University of Adelaide and gained astronomy knowledge working with her husband George Dodwell, the South Australian Government Astronomer.</p>
<p>Together, they organised the Adelaide Observatory expedition to Bruny Island in Tasmania for the 1910 total solar eclipse. The party arrived by ship and for a month they camped in tents in almost constant rain to prepare. The eclipse day was clouded, nonetheless Annie successfully recorded the change in temperature, the only science of value that was achieved. </p>
<p>In the following years she presented <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4558317">talks about astronomy</a>, published poems and participated in the <a href="https://www.iau.org/science/meetings/past/general_assemblies/87/">inaugural International Astronomical Union assembly</a> at the Vatican Observatory in 1922. She arranged the logistics for her husband’s total solar eclipse expedition later that year, during which she <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4558314">transcribed his observations</a> to the newspapers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-century-ago-australia-was-ground-zero-for-eclipse-watchers-and-helped-prove-einstein-right-172605">A century ago, Australia was ground zero for eclipse-watchers – and helped prove Einstein right</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Seasoned eclipse chasers in the 1920s</h2>
<p>In 1922 an international team of astronomers, led by William Campbell, Director of Lick Observatory, and assisted by the Australian Navy, travelled to a remote location in Western Australia to confirm Einstein’s general theory of relativity during the September 21 total solar eclipse.</p>
<p>There were five women participating in this expedition: Elizabeth Campbell, Jean Chant with her daughter Elizabeth, Eleanor Adams and Mary Acworth Evershed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four women in 1922 aboard a ship." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516172/original/file-20230319-5719-57kj8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516172/original/file-20230319-5719-57kj8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516172/original/file-20230319-5719-57kj8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516172/original/file-20230319-5719-57kj8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516172/original/file-20230319-5719-57kj8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516172/original/file-20230319-5719-57kj8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516172/original/file-20230319-5719-57kj8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Four of the women who participated in the total solar eclipse expedition led by Lick Observatory to Wallal Downs on their way from Broome to Ninety Mile Beach, Western Australia, 1922. Left to right: Elizabeth Chant (1899-1982), Jean Chant (1870-1940), Mary Acworth Evershed (1867-1949), Elizabeth Ballard Campbell (1869-1961). Collection State Library Western Australia, 4131B/1/24. Colourised.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library Western Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While they were the wives and daughter of respective male astronomers, each woman was a seasoned eclipse observer in her own right. They knew how to operate and use technical equipment and contributed substantially to reporting the scientific work.</p>
<p>Elizabeth Campbell organised the supplies and operated spectroscopic and photographic telescope equipment during the eclipse. Eleanor Adams worked with her husband on the large 12-metre eclipse camera. Jean Chant observed the shadow bands and changing brightness of the sky, and Elizabeth Chant operated a prism that polarised light.</p>
<p>Mary Acworth Evershed was an established expert in solar physics and worked alongside her husband, director of the Kodaikanal solar observatory in India. She photographed the spectra of the Sun’s corona. In 1896, on return to England, she published a pocket-sized Easy Guide to the Southern Stars with star maps of the constellations visible from the southern hemisphere. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man and a woman in tent adjusting a piece of equipment that has a circular mirror and pivots on one axis." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517483/original/file-20230326-1899-vtbhf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517483/original/file-20230326-1899-vtbhf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517483/original/file-20230326-1899-vtbhf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517483/original/file-20230326-1899-vtbhf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517483/original/file-20230326-1899-vtbhf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517483/original/file-20230326-1899-vtbhf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517483/original/file-20230326-1899-vtbhf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mary Acworth and John Evershed adjusting a problematic instrument called a coelestat used to track the Sun. Lick Observatory Photographs. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, UC Santa Cruz. Photograph: Ernest Brandon-Cremer.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A long drive across the country</h2>
<p>On the other side of the continent, a very different eclipse expedition was organised by 21-year-old Miriam Chisholm with her school friend Frida Tindal. Chisholm’s father, Frank, drove them over 950 kilometres from Goulburn to southern Queensland.</p>
<p>They lost four days when their car was bogged in mud and almost didn’t make it to the line of totality. Thankfully, due to excellent time-keeping and navigation they had a successful eclipse. They drew the Sun’s corona, measured the temperature, observed how animals and birds became quiet and timed the shadow bands. <a href="http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1924MmBAA..24...94C">Their report</a> is descriptive, inspiring and filled with detailed observations. It is still a useful guide on how to make the most of a total solar eclipse experience.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Father and daughter stand in front of a car in 1922. He is drinking from a cup. A telescope is strapped to the side of the car." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516147/original/file-20230318-3576-mt1qvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516147/original/file-20230318-3576-mt1qvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516147/original/file-20230318-3576-mt1qvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516147/original/file-20230318-3576-mt1qvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516147/original/file-20230318-3576-mt1qvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516147/original/file-20230318-3576-mt1qvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516147/original/file-20230318-3576-mt1qvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Miriam and Frank Chisholm with their eclipse-chasing car. You can see her telescope strapped to the side of the car. Courtesy History Goulburn. Photograph: Miriam Chisholm, self-timer. Colourised image.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">History Goulburn</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On April 20 2023 a total solar eclipse will be visible from Exmouth in Western Australia. This is the first total solar eclipse in Australia since 2012, when thousands of people flocked to northern Queensland. I was there, and for two minutes and five seconds of totality, I experienced a beautiful “diamond ring” effect as the Moon totally covered the Sun, revealing its misty corona. </p>
<p>There are four more total solar eclipses in the next 17 years. Following in the footsteps of early 20th century eclipse chasers, large numbers of Australians will soon be able to share a total solar eclipse experience they will treasure, record and retell throughout their lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Toner Stevenson is affiliated with the University of Sydney, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Humanities.
She is currently Vice President of Sydney City Skywatchers, an amateur astronomy society, not-for-profit, and in voluntary capacity. The society was previously called the British Astronomical Association, NSW Branch. This society will be mentioned in the article. She is on the Board of the Australian National Committee of the International Council of Museums, voluntary role.
She is a co-author of the recently published 'Eclipse Chasers' book, the research for which informed this article.
</span></em></p>History might give you the impression astronomical discoveries were only done by men. But women were participating in scientific expeditions of eclipses too, even though it wasn’t easy.Toner Stevenson, Honorary history affiliate in the School of Humanities, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1939302022-12-08T23:04:04Z2022-12-08T23:04:04ZAda Lovelace’s skills with language, music and needlepoint contributed to her pioneering work in computing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499373/original/file-20221206-10118-sz9tym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C2435%2C1657&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, was more than just another mathematician.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Ada_Lovelace_portrait.jpg">Watercolor portrait of Ada King, Countess of Lovelace by Alfred Edward Chalon via Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ada Lovelace, known as the first computer programmer, was born on Dec. 10, 1815, more than a century before digital electronic computers were developed. </p>
<p>Lovelace has been hailed as a model for girls in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). A dozen biographies for young audiences were published for the 200th anniversary of her birth in 2015. And in 2018, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-ada-lovelace.html">The New York Times added hers</a> as one of the first “missing obituaries” of women at the rise of the #MeToo movement. </p>
<p>But Lovelace – properly Ada King, Countess of Lovelace after her marriage – drew on many different fields for her innovative work, including languages, music and needlecraft, in addition to mathematical logic. Recognizing that her well-rounded education enabled her to accomplish work that was well ahead of her time, she can be a model for all students, not just girls. </p>
<p>Lovelace was the daughter of the scandal-ridden romantic poet George Gordon Byron, aka Lord Byron, and his highly educated and strictly religious wife Anne Isabella Noel Byron, known as Lady Byron. Lovelace’s parents separated shortly after her birth. At a time when women were not allowed to own property and had few legal rights, her mother managed to secure custody of her daughter.</p>
<p>Growing up in a privileged aristocratic family, Lovelace was educated by home tutors, <a href="https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/adalovelace/2018/07/27/ada-lovelace-the-making-of-a-computer-scientist/">as was common for girls like her</a>. She received lessons in French and Italian, music and in suitable handicrafts such as embroidery. Less common for a girl in her time, she also studied math. Lovelace continued to work with math tutors into her adult life, and she eventually corresponded with mathematician and logician <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustus-De-Morgan">Augustus De Morgan</a> at London University about symbolic logic. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499374/original/file-20221206-8973-zv7gqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="antique black-and-white photograph of a woman in an elaborate outfit" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499374/original/file-20221206-8973-zv7gqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499374/original/file-20221206-8973-zv7gqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499374/original/file-20221206-8973-zv7gqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499374/original/file-20221206-8973-zv7gqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499374/original/file-20221206-8973-zv7gqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499374/original/file-20221206-8973-zv7gqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499374/original/file-20221206-8973-zv7gqi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A rare photograph of Ada Lovelace.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Ada_Byron_daguerreotype_by_Antoine_Claudet_1843_or_1850_-_cropped.png">Daguerreotype by Antoine Claudet via Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lovelace’s algorithm</h2>
<p>Lovelace drew on all of these lessons when she wrote her <a href="https://catalog.lindahall.org/discovery/delivery/01LINDAHALL_INST:LHL/12100178280005961#page=680">computer program</a> – in reality, it was a set of instructions for a mechanical calculator that had been built only in parts. </p>
<p>The computer in question was the <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/engines/">Analytical Engine</a> designed by mathematician, philosopher and inventor <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Babbage">Charles Babbage</a>. Lovelace had met Babbage when she was introduced to London society. The two related to each other over their shared love for mathematics and fascination for mechanical calculation. By the early 1840s, Babbage had won and lost government funding for a mathematical calculator, fallen out with the skilled craftsman building the precision parts for his machine, and was close to giving up on his project. At this point, Lovelace stepped in as an advocate. </p>
<p>To make Babbage’s calculator known to a British audience, Lovelace proposed to translate into English an article that described the Analytical Engine. The article was written in French by the Italian mathematician <a href="https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Menabrea/">Luigi Menabrea</a> and published in a Swiss journal. Scholars believe that <a href="https://www.mhpbooks.com/books/adas-algorithm/">Babbage encouraged her to add notes of her own</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J7ITqnEmf-g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ada Lovelace envisioned in the early 19th century the possibilities of computing.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In her notes, which ended up twice as long as the original article, Lovelace drew on different areas of her education. Lovelace began by describing how to code instructions onto cards with punched holes, like those used for the <a href="https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/the-french-connection">Jacquard weaving loom</a>, a device patented in 1804 that used punch cards to automate weaving patterns in fabric. </p>
<p>Having learned embroidery herself, Lovelace was familiar with the repetitive patterns used for handicrafts. Similarly repetitive steps were needed for mathematical calculations. To avoid duplicating cards for repetitive steps, Lovelace used <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/book/10.1145/28095230">loops, nested loops and conditional testing</a> in her program instructions.</p>
<p>The notes included instructions on how to calculate <a href="https://mathworld.wolfram.com/BernoulliNumber.html">Bernoulli numbers</a>, which Lovelace knew from her training to be important in the study of mathematics. Her program showed that the Analytical Engine was capable of performing original calculations that had not yet been performed manually. At the same time, Lovelace noted that the machine could only follow instructions and not “<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Innovators/Walter-Isaacson/9781476708706">originate anything</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499815/original/file-20221208-7231-ctxrb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a yellowed sheet of paper with spreadsheet-like lines" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499815/original/file-20221208-7231-ctxrb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499815/original/file-20221208-7231-ctxrb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499815/original/file-20221208-7231-ctxrb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499815/original/file-20221208-7231-ctxrb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499815/original/file-20221208-7231-ctxrb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499815/original/file-20221208-7231-ctxrb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499815/original/file-20221208-7231-ctxrb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ada Lovelace created this chart for the individual program steps to calculate Bernoulli numbers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, Lovelace recognized that the numbers manipulated by the Analytical Engine could be seen as other types of symbols, such as musical notes. An accomplished singer and pianist, Lovelace was familiar with musical notation symbols representing aspects of musical performance such as pitch and duration, and she had manipulated logical symbols in her correspondence with De Morgan. It was not a large step for her to realize that the Analytical Engine could process symbols — not just crunch numbers — and even compose music. </p>
<h2>A well-rounded thinker</h2>
<p>Inventing computer programming was not the first time Lovelace brought her knowledge from different areas to bear on a new subject. For example, as a young girl, she was fascinated with flying machines. Bringing together biology, mechanics and poetry, she asked her mother for anatomical books to study the function of bird wings. She built and experimented with wings, and in her letters, she metaphorically expressed her longing for her mother in the <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Ada_the_Enchantress_of_Numbers.html?id=jCKmtAEACAAJ">language of flying</a>. </p>
<p>Despite her talents in logic and math, Lovelace <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-78973-2">didn’t pursue a scientific career</a>. She was independently wealthy and never earned money from her scientific pursuits. This was common, however, at a time when freedom – including financial independence – was equated with the <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178165/leviathan-and-the-air-pump">capability to impartially conduct scientific experiments</a>. In addition, Lovelace devoted just over a year to her only publication, the translation of and notes on Menabrea’s paper about the Analytical Engine. Otherwise, in her life cut short by cancer at age 37, she vacillated between math, music, her mother’s demands, care for her own three children, and eventually a passion for gambling. Lovelace thus may not be an obvious model as a female scientist for girls today.</p>
<p>However, I find Lovelace’s way of drawing on her well-rounded education to solve difficult problems inspirational. True, she lived in an age before scientific specialization. Even Babbage was a <a href="https://theconversation.com/nobel-prizes-most-often-go-to-researchers-who-defy-specialization-winners-are-creative-thinkers-who-synthesize-innovations-from-varied-fields-and-even-hobbies-186193">polymath</a> who worked in mathematical calculation and mechanical innovation. He also published a treatise on industrial manufacturing and another on religious questions of creationism. </p>
<p>But Lovelace applied knowledge from what we today think of as disparate fields in the sciences, arts and the humanities. A well-rounded thinker, she created solutions that were well ahead of her time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193930/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Corinna Schlombs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Lovelace was a prodigious math talent who learned from the giants of her time, but her linguistic and creative abilities were also important in her invention of computer programming.Corinna Schlombs, Associate Professor of History, Rochester Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1937012022-12-05T21:29:31Z2022-12-05T21:29:31ZHow hiring more women IT experts improves cybersecurity risk management<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496840/original/file-20221122-22-gpfi1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=284%2C25%2C5190%2C3207&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When women are present on boards of directors, cyber risk management improves.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-hiring-more-women-it-experts-improves-cybersecurity-risk-management" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Despite the contributions women have made to the information and technology field, they continue to be underrepresented. <a href="https://www.famousscientists.org/ada-lovelace/">Ada Lovelace</a>, for example, was the world’s first computer programmer. <a href="https://www.famousscientists.org/grace-murray-hopper/">Grace Murray Hopper</a> developed the first compiler. And <a href="https://www.famousscientists.org/hedy-lamarr/">Hedy Lamarr</a> co-invented the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/spread-spectrum-communications">modern spread-spectrum communication technology</a>, which is found in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS technology.</p>
<p>Today, the leading figures in the IT field are all men. Although 39 per cent of the board members of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies are women, all the chairpersons and CEOs are men: <a href="https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2011/11/15enCA-Apple-Names-Arthur-D-Levinson-Chairman-of-the-Board/">Arthur D. Levinson</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tim-Cook">Tim Cook</a> for Apple, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Satya-Nadella">Satya Nadella</a> for Microsoft, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeff-Bezos">Jeff Bezos</a> and <a href="https://ir.aboutamazon.com/officers-and-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=7601ef7b-4732-44e2-84ef-2cccb54ac11a">Andrew Jassy</a> for Amazon, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</a> for Meta, and <a href="https://hennessy.stanford.edu/biography/">John L. Hennessy</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sundar-Pichai">Sundar Pichai</a> for Google. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A watercolour painting of a woman dressed in 19th century fashion" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496839/original/file-20221122-25-freza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496839/original/file-20221122-25-freza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496839/original/file-20221122-25-freza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496839/original/file-20221122-25-freza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496839/original/file-20221122-25-freza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1083&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496839/original/file-20221122-25-freza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1083&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496839/original/file-20221122-25-freza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1083&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A watercolour portrait of Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, circa 1840.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Science Museum Group)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But progress is being made. A study from Osler, a business law firm, found that <a href="https://www.osler.com/osler/media/Osler/reports/corporate-governance/Osler-Diversity-Disclosure-Practices-report-2022.pdf">23 per cent of S&P/TSX 60 company boards seats were held by women</a>. This is an increase from data we — as accounting researchers — collected <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04717-9">on Toronto Stock Exchange companies between 2014 and 2018</a> that found the following: 11.7 per cent of companies had one woman on the board of directors, 27.7 per cent had two women, and 56.3 per cent had at least three women. </p>
<p>But when it came to the number of women IT experts on boards, the number was even lower. Only 22 out of 683 board members in 2018 were women IT experts. Although this number had doubled since 2014, it remained very low. It’s important to increase the number of women working in IT — not just for equality reasons, but because women improve key organizational outcomes.</p>
<h2>Cybersecurity is key for success</h2>
<p>Our recent research on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04717-9">the impact of board gender diversity on how corporations respond to cyber risk</a> shows that, when women are present on boards of directors, cyber risk management improves. Proper cyber risk management is key to the success of tech companies.</p>
<p>Cybersecurity involves taking appropriate actions and making ethical decisions to mitigate cyber risks. In particular, it addresses the financial and technical risk caused by <a href="https://home.kpmg/us/en/home/insights/2020/09/digital-acceleration.html">digital acceleration</a> — the increased rate of digital transformation caused by the pandemic. </p>
<p>Because of digital acceleration, organizations are more vulnerable to unethical uses of technology. Facebook and Google’s history of <a href="https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/business-technology-and-ethics-the-need-for-better-conversations/">inappropriate and unethical uses or suppression of information</a> has shined a spotlight on the importance of an ethical approach to cybersecurity. The most high-profile example of this occurred when <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-scandal-fallout.html">Facebook sold data to companies that were trying to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ada-lovelace-and-others-inspire-women-in-tech-but-we-must-make-careers-worth-their-while-32975">Ada Lovelace and others inspire women in tech, but we must make careers worth their while</a>
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<p>Organizations <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-unified-cybersecurity-strategy-is-the-key-to-protecting-businesses-182405">should construct cybersecurity based on ethical principles</a> concerning privacy, data collection, deposit and use, artificial intelligence and algorithms development and profiling.</p>
<p>One way to approach cybersecurity is through a <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/corporate-governance-4e-9780198809869?q=bob%20tricker&lang=en&cc=ca">board of directors</a>. Boards represent stakeholder interests, monitor firm management and troubleshoot any problems that arise between the shareholders that own publicly listed firms and the firm’s management. They also have a duty to ensure their companies adopt appropriate and effective cybersecurity measures.</p>
<h2>Women improve cybersecurity</h2>
<p>Our study found a positive association between the level of cybersecurity disclosure and board gender diversity. In other words, the presence of women IT experts on boards resulted in improved cyber risk management — board monitoring, management supervision and corporate governance in particular. </p>
<p>Women brought new perspectives to the decision-making process and added a greater variety of skills and capabilities, which in turn, improved boards’ decision-making. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman sitting at the head of a board meeting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496838/original/file-20221122-11-qexdt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496838/original/file-20221122-11-qexdt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496838/original/file-20221122-11-qexdt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496838/original/file-20221122-11-qexdt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496838/original/file-20221122-11-qexdt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496838/original/file-20221122-11-qexdt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496838/original/file-20221122-11-qexdt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The presence of women IT experts on boards resulted in improved cyber risk management.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women are more informative, meaning they tended to value communication and disclosures more than men did, and collaborated better with stakeholders. Women also <a href="https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/risk-appetite-and-risk-tolerance-whats-the-difference">had lower risk tolerance</a>, enhanced ethical practices and engaged less in fraudulent practices. </p>
<p>These specific skills, combined with their IT expertise, meant women improved the cybersecurity risk monitoring of their companies. Ultimately, having more women IT experts on boards could result in a more integrative cybersecurity approach that brings technological, business and ethical perspectives together.</p>
<h2>Suggestions for improving equality</h2>
<p>To close the gender gap, there must be a concerted effort to provide girls and women with IT-related education and skills. Firms should develop programs to promote the presence of women with IT skills and fund scholarships and grants for women. </p>
<p>Women should be encouraged to choose IT-related education and careers. At the earliest stage, schools should motivate tech-related curiosity and interest in children. While there are universities that offer graduate programs, diplomas and certificates in cybersecurity, more should be created. NGOs can also be a part of the solution by embracing and championing women IT experts. </p>
<p>Another way to close the gender gap is to promote more women to executive positions. As of 2020, the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2018_8/page-2.html#docCont">Canada Business Corporations Act requires public companies</a> to provide information on policies and practices related to diversity on boards and within senior management. More young women should be promoted to IT leadership positions to feed the pool of potential candidates for the board.</p>
<p>Updating the skills of existing board members should also be a priority. Ethics and cybersecurity should be a training priority for all board members. As such, <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2020/10/07/board-practices-quarterly-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/">updating ethics and cybersecurity skills of all board members</a> is a step towards improving the skills of women on boards.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Camélia Radu receives funding from Social Sciencies and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Canadian Academic Accounting Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nadia Smaili does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study finds that women improve cyber risk management by bringing new perspectives and skills to the decision-making process of company boards.Camélia Radu, Associate Professor in Accounting, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Nadia Smaili, Professor in Accounting (forensic accounting), Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1951802022-11-30T13:37:38Z2022-11-30T13:37:38ZBeware of ‘Shark Week’: Scientists watched 202 episodes and found them filled with junk science, misinformation and white male ‘experts’ named Mike<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497069/original/file-20221123-20-w4v0g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C3%2C2035%2C1358&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hammerhead sharks schooling near Costa Rica's Cocos Island.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/GqmhHb">John Voo/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Discovery Channel’s annual <a href="https://www.discovery.com/shark-week">Shark Week</a> is the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/07/24/shark-scientists-explain-whats-right-and-whats-wrong-with-shark-week/">longest-running cable television series in history</a>, filling screens with sharky content every summer since 1988. It causes one of the largest temporary increases in U.S. viewers’ attention to any <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000146">science or conservation topic</a>. </p>
<p>It’s also the largest stage in marine biology, giving scientists who appear on it access to an audience of millions. Being featured by high-profile media outlets can help researchers attract attention and funding that can help super-charge their careers. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, Shark Week is also a missed opportunity. As scientists and conservationists <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/what-shark-experts-really-think-about-shark-week/">have long argued</a>, it is a major source of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2015/07/06/420326546/after-sketchy-science-shark-week-promises-to-turn-over-a-new-fin">misinformation</a> and <a href="https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2013/08/05/shark-week-megalodon-fake-discovery-channel/">nonsense</a> about sharks, the scientists who study them, and how people can help protect endangered species from extinction.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xb7noGAAAAAJ&hl=en">marine biologist</a> who worked with five colleagues in 2022 to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256842">scientifically analyze the content of Shark Week episodes</a>. We tracked down copies of 202 episodes, watched them all and coded their content based on more than 15 variables, including locations, which experts were interviewed, which shark species were mentioned, what scientific research tools were used, whether the episodes mentioned shark conservation and how sharks were portrayed. </p>
<p>Even as longtime Shark Week critics, we were staggered by our findings. The episodes that we reviewed were full of incorrect information and provided a wildly misleading picture of the field of shark research. Some episodes <a href="https://www.earthtouchnews.com/oceans/sharks/experts-shark-weeks-zombie-sharks-harasses-animals/">glorified wildlife harassment</a>, and many missed countless chances to teach a massive audience about shark conservation. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tKXd8Ud1sOo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Sharks are apex predators that are key to maintaining healthy ecosystems, but a 2020 study that surveyed 371 coral reefs found that 20% had no sharks present.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Spotlight real solutions</h2>
<p>First, some facts. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-sharks-skates-and-rays-2075391">Sharks and their relatives</a>, such as rays and skates, are among the most threatened vertebrate animals on Earth. About one-third of all known species are at risk of extinction, thanks mainly to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.062">overfishing</a>. </p>
<p>Many policy solutions, such as setting fishing quotas, creating protected species lists and delineating no-fishing zones, are enacted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12265">nationally or internationally</a>. But there also are countless situations in which increased public attention can help <a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12267/why-sharks-matter">move the conservation needle</a>. For instance, consumers can avoid buying seafood produced using <a href="https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/act-for-the-ocean/sustainable-seafood">unsustainable fishing methods</a> that may accidentally catch sharks.</p>
<p>Conversely, focusing on the wrong problems <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0058">does not lead to useful solutions</a>. As one example, enacting a ban on shark fin sales in the U.S. would have little effect on global shark deaths, since the U.S. is only involved in about 1% of the global fin trade, and could <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.08.026">undermine sustainable U.S. shark fisheries</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497065/original/file-20221123-24-qt5nyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A shark caught in a fishing net dangles over the side of a boat with a crew member reaching out." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497065/original/file-20221123-24-qt5nyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497065/original/file-20221123-24-qt5nyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497065/original/file-20221123-24-qt5nyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497065/original/file-20221123-24-qt5nyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497065/original/file-20221123-24-qt5nyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497065/original/file-20221123-24-qt5nyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497065/original/file-20221123-24-qt5nyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A crew member aboard a commercial fishing boat off the coast of Maine tries to cut a shark loose from a gillnet. Sharks often are caught accidentally by fishermen pursuing other species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/crew-member-aboard-a-commercial-fishing-boat-tries-to-cut-a-news-photo/1243631026">Mailee Osten-Tan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Discovery Channel claims that by attracting massive audiences, Shark Week <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/07/24/shark-scientists-explain-whats-right-and-whats-wrong-with-shark-week/">helps educate the public</a> about shark conservation. But most of the shows we reviewed didn’t mention conservation at all, beyond vague statements that sharks need help, without describing the threats they face or how to address them. </p>
<p>Out of 202 episodes that we examined, just six contained any actionable tips. Half of those simply advised against eating <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/shark-fin-soup">shark fin soup</a>, a traditional Asian delicacy. Demand for shark fin soup can contribute to the gruesome practice of “<a href="https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/fish/what-is-shark-finning-and-why-is-it-a-problem/">finning</a>” – cutting fins off live sharks and throwing the mutilated fish overboard to die. But finning is not the biggest threat to sharks, and most U.S.-based Shark Week viewers don’t eat shark fin soup.</p>
<h2>Spotlighting divers, not research</h2>
<p>When we analyzed episodes by the type of scientific research they featured, the most frequent answer was “no scientific research at all,” followed by what we charitably called “other.” This category included nonsense like building a submarine that looks like a shark, or a “<a href="https://www.ffjournal.net/item/12437-wasp-water-armor-shark-protection.html">high tech” custom shark cage</a> to observe some aspect of shark behavior. These episodes focused on alleged risk to the scuba divers shown on camera, especially when the devices inevitably failed, but failed to address any research questions.</p>
<p>Such framing is not representative of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1643/OT-19-179R">actual shark research</a>, which uses methods ranging from tracking tagged sharks via satellite to genetic and paleontological studies conducted entirely in labs. Such work may not be as exciting on camera as divers surrounded by schooling sharks, but it generates much more useful data. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/punSQuf-ZwQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, describes findings from his lab’s analysis of shark genetics.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who’s on camera</h2>
<p>We also were troubled by the “experts” interviewed on many Shark Week shows. The most-featured source, underwater photographer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7t7jl8e0Mw">Andy Casagrande</a>, is an award-winning cameraman, and episodes when he stays behind the camera can be great. But given the chance to speak, he regularly claims the mantle of science while making dubious assertions – for example, that <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC4EXPLORE/status/1285972513328070689">shark diving while taking LSD</a> is a great way to learn about these animals – or presents well-known shark behaviors as new discoveries that he made, while <a href="https://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/mega-shark-episode-criticized-as-a-low-point-for-shark-week/">misrepresenting what those behaviors mean</a>.</p>
<p>Nor does Shark Week accurately represent experts in this field. One issue is ethnicity: Three of the five most-featured locations on Shark Week are Mexico, South Africa and the Bahamas, but we could count on one hand the number of non-white scientists who we saw featured in shows about their own countries. It was far more common for Discovery to fly a white male halfway around the world than to feature a local scientist. </p>
<p>Moreover, while <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.842618">more than half of U.S. shark scientists are female</a>, you <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-dark-side-of-being-a-female-shark-researcher/">wouldn’t know this from watching Shark Week</a>. Among people who we saw featured in more than one episode, there were more white male non-scientists named Mike than women of any profession or name. </p>
<p>In contrast, the Discovery Channel’s chief competitor, National Geographic, is partnering with the professional organization <a href="https://www.misselasmo.org/">Minorities in Shark Sciences</a> to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/building-a-community-and-fostering-a-love-for-sharks">feature diverse experts</a> on its shows.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1585646957233512450"}"></div></p>
<h2>More substance and better representation</h2>
<p>How could Shark Week improve? Our paper makes several recommendations, and we also participated in a workshop, highlighting diverse voices in our field from all over the world, that focused on <a href="https://safesharks.org/diversifying-shark-media/">improving representation of scientists in shark-focused media</a> </p>
<p>First, we believe that not every documentary needs to be a dry, boring science lecture, but that the information shared on marine biology’s biggest stage should be factually correct and useful. Gimmicky concepts like Discovery’s “<a href="https://www.discovery.com/shows/naked-and-afraid/episodes/naked-and-afraid-of-sharks-2">Naked and Afraid of Sharks 2</a>” – an endurance contest with entrants wearing masks, fins and snorkels, but no clothes – show that people will watch anything with sharks in it. So why not try to make something good? </p>
<p>We also suggest that more scientists seek out media training so they can take advantage of opportunities like Shark Week without <a href="https://gizmodo.com/shark-week-lied-to-scientists-to-get-them-to-appear-in-1619280737">being taken advantage of</a>. Similarly, it would be great to have a “Yelp”-like service that scientists could use to rate their experiences with media companies. Producers who want to feature appropriately diverse scientists can turn to databases like <a href="https://500womenscientists.org/">500 Women Scientists</a> and <a href="https://diversifyeeb.com/">Diversify EEB</a>. </p>
<p>For a decade, concerned scientists and conservationists have <a href="https://www.npr.org/2015/07/06/420326546/after-sketchy-science-shark-week-promises-to-turn-over-a-new-fin">reached out to the Discovery Channel</a> about our concerns with Shark Week. As our article recounts, Discovery has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256842">pledged in the past</a> to present programming during Shark Week that puts more emphasis on science and less on entertainment – and some episodes <a href="https://twitter.com/whysharksmatter/status/620417258406318080?lang=en">have shown improvement</a>.</p>
<p>But our findings show that many Shark Week depictions of sharks are still problematic, pseudoscientific, nonsensical or unhelpful. We hope that our analysis will motivate the network to use its massive audience to help sharks and elevate the scientists who study them. </p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: The Conversation US contacted Warner Brothers Discovery by phone and email for comment on the study described in this article. The network did not immediately respond or offer comment.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Shiffman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A study offers evidence that marine biology’s biggest stage is broken, and suggests ways to fix it.David Shiffman, Faculty Research Associate in Marine Biology, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1886002022-09-25T20:03:19Z2022-09-25T20:03:19ZWe studied 309,544 patent applications – and found inventing is still a man’s world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485752/original/file-20220921-27-1wjkec.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C68%2C5015%2C3295&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Are women as successful as men in securing a patent for their invention? </p>
<p>We set out to investigate gender bias in patent outcomes at IP Australia – the government agency responsible for administering intellectual property rights.</p>
<p>To do so, we <a href="https://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/04-Huang-Patrick-Finch.pdf">analysed</a> 309,544 patent applications from across a 15-year period (2001-2015), and categorised close to one million inventors’ names based on whether they sounded male or female.</p>
<p>We found that having a male-sounding first name increases the odds of securing a patent. This gender bias can have serious implications for women’s health, female career progression and equity policies in STEM. But what’s causing it?</p>
<h2>Women are increasingly applying for patents</h2>
<p>Patents provide a 20-year monopoly over a new invention and are a well-known measure of the output from STEM-based industries. </p>
<p>Global studies show the number of patent applications from female inventors (while still lower than the number from men) has grown significantly over the past 20 years. What has been less clear is whether these applications convert to granted patents. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484502/original/file-20220914-23-zvcpay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The proportion of female inventors associated with patent applications worldwide has grown from 1915 to 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Intellectual Property Office UK, Gender Profiles in Worldwide Patenting: An Analysis of Female Inventorship (2019 edition)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4120">Studies</a> of data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office unfortunately reveal inventors with a female-sounding first name are less successful at having their patent granted than those with a male-sounding first name. </p>
<p>This is irrespective of the technical field and the gender of the <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3828216#:%7E:text=We%20find%20evidence%20that%20the,the%20examiner%20of%20the%20application.">patent examiner</a>, and despite evidence that female inventor patents are <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1508287">just as good</a> as male inventor patents. </p>
<p>We wanted to investigate whether a similar gender bias exists for patents filed at IP Australia, where most applications come from non-residents. Inventors who plan to operate internationally will often file in multiple jurisdictions, including filing in Australia. </p>
<p>So unlike studies of the US Patent and Trademark Office, where the majority of patents come from US residents, a study of patents at IP Australia reflects more worldwide applications.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484494/original/file-20220914-22-1qjanc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A profile of 2020 patent applications to IP Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IP Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A gender gap persists</h2>
<p>Our analysis of 309,544 patent applications submitted over 15 years found 90% of applications had at least one male inventor. Just 24% had at least one female inventor (typically as part of a mixed-gender team).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484509/original/file-20220914-13-oa7x6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The percentage of applications per year, per team composition (male, female, ambiguous, unidentified).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We then examined whether these applications converted into a successful patent grant. We found inventors with a female-sounding first name had slightly lower odds of having their patent granted.</p>
<p>Also, as the number of males on a team increased, so did the odds of the team being granted a patent – whereas adding a female had a negligible impact. In other words, bigger teams of inventors had more patent success, unless the additional inventors had female-sounding names.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484511/original/file-20220914-12-2u0kw6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This graph shows the pattern that emerges when you vary the composition of a single-gender team. You can see more men increases chances of success, whereas more women does not.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>But why is it like this?</h2>
<p>One question for us was whether this gender disparity could be explained by the types of fields patents were being granted in, and whether women simply work in less “patentable” fields such as life sciences.</p>
<p>We found more than 60% of female inventors were clustered in just four of 35 technical fields (the 35 science categories recognised in patents). These were all in the life sciences: chemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical technology. </p>
<p>We also found patents in three of these fields had a lower-than-average success rate. In other words, it’s generally harder to get a patent in these fields, regardless of whether you’re a woman or man.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, even after we statistically controlled for the effect of participating in a less successful field, we still found a gender disparity – male-named inventors did better than female-named inventors. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An old-timey depiction of a male inventor in black and white." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485489/original/file-20220920-12-awunyy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women are responsible for some of the greatest inventions, yet inventorship remains a male-dominated field. We’ll have to fight historical biases against women if this is to change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Women in STEM must be supported</h2>
<p>The implications of women falling out of the patent system are significant for a number of reasons. For one, patents with female inventors are more likely to focus <a href="https://theconversation.com/too-few-women-get-to-invent-thats-a-problem-for-womens-health-162576">on female diseases</a>. </p>
<p>Also, getting a patent can be important for career progression and for securing investment capital. And <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-talented-kids-from-low-income-families-become-americas-lost-einsteins-89126">research has</a> shown a lack of female inventors today impacts the rate at which girls aspire to be the inventors of tomorrow. </p>
<p>The next step in our research is to find out why there is a gender gap in successful patent applications. </p>
<p>We don’t believe it’s a simple case of gender bias at the patent office. We suspect the issues are complex, and related to the systemic and institutional biases that hold back women’s progress in STEM more generally. </p>
<p>Country and cultural differences may also be at play, particularly since more than 90% of patent applications received by IP Australia come from non-Australian inventors (and overwhelmingly from the United States). </p>
<p>We want to look deeper into our results to figure out what’s driving the gender disparity, and what we can do to support female inventors. </p>
<p>The first step in fixing a problem is acknowledging it exists. We hope our research starts a conversation that prompts people to reflect on their own biases. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/caring-or-killing-harmful-gender-stereotypes-kick-in-early-and-may-be-keeping-girls-away-from-stem-169742">Caring or killing: harmful gender stereotypes kick in early — and may be keeping girls away from STEM</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188600/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Although female inventorship has grown over the years, 15 years’ worth of patent outcomes from IP Australia suggests inventing is still a luxury for women.Vicki Huang, Senior Lecturer, Intellectual Property, Deakin UniversityCameron Patrick, Statistical Consultant, The University of MelbourneSue Finch, Statistical Consultant, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1908392022-09-20T22:55:04Z2022-09-20T22:55:04ZMore women are studying STEM, but there are still stubborn workplace barriers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485231/original/file-20220919-67457-2t01r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C280%2C7441%2C4638&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/GzDrm7SYQ0g">ThisisEngineering RAEng/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, the Australian government released the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/stem-equity-monitor">STEM Equity Monitor 2022</a> – the nation’s annual scorecard on gendered participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. </p>
<p>These data are more relevant than ever. Australia is facing unprecedented <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-education-or-immigration-the-answer-to-our-skills-shortage-we-asked-50-economists-189388">skills shortages</a> in critical areas – we need highly qualified people to help address our economic, environmental, and technological challenges.</p>
<p>Future careers in all sectors will rely heavily on STEM skills. But a lack of diversity means we have a limited workforce, and it’s missing a broad range of perspectives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-more-engineers-and-more-of-them-need-to-be-women-130282">Australia needs more engineers. And more of them need to be women</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What does the scorecard say?</h2>
<p>We start with some positive news – the number of women enrolling in university STEM courses increased by a whopping 24% between 2015 and 2020, compared with a 9% increase among men. There was a more gradual rise in vocational STEM enrolments, where only 16% are women. </p>
<p>Women’s workforce participation is gradually increasing too. The proportion of STEM-qualified jobs held by women was 15% in 2021 – that’s an increase of 2% in just 12 months.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two charts showing comparison between women's and men's participation in STEM workforce" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485450/original/file-20220920-16502-4s04q1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stem Equity Monitor Data Report 2022</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But just 23% of senior management and 8% of chief executive officers in STEM industries are women. On average, women are paid 18% less than men across all STEM industries – although this gap closed by 1% last year.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three charts demonstrating the gender pay gap in all STEM, all health and all industries" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485451/original/file-20220920-17325-bnbvqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stem Equity Monitor Data Report 2022</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although we are doing a better job at attracting women to some university STEM courses, very few women are still going for vocational STEM education. And there’s far too little attention paid to actually <em>keeping</em> STEM-qualified women in the workforce.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/May%202021/document/stem-equity-monitor-highlights-report-2021_0.pdf">five-year study of STEM graduates</a> from the year 2011 found that by 2016, only 1 in 10 STEM-qualified women worked in a STEM industry, compared with more than 1 in 5 STEM-qualified men. Data on other gender identities were not collected.</p>
<p>The huge difference in retention rates should come as no surprise when we consider the gendered roles our society enforces, and the vastly different experiences people face, both in workplaces and in society at large.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1556431859046764545"}"></div></p>
<p>It is important to acknowledge the major gaps in these data, for example on other gender identities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic factors, disability, and race. Broadening the data captured will enable us to better understand the full impact of the many intersecting barriers to participation that people face.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/educators-can-help-make-stem-fields-diverse-over-25-years-ive-identified-nudges-that-can-encourage-students-to-stay-178578">Educators can help make STEM fields diverse – over 25 years, I've identified nudges that can encourage students to stay</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>We need structural workplace changes</h2>
<p>Businesses suffering chronic skills shortages can’t keep focusing on programs designed to grow the pipeline, in the hope that the system will fix itself. We need structural workplace changes.</p>
<p>One avenue is to introduce more flexible work options and broaden access to paid parental leave. <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020-21_WGEA_SCORECARD.pdf">According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency</a>, gender-equal primary carer’s leave was offered by 3 in 5 employers in 2020-21. </p>
<p>Thanks to a concerted effort by many employers, 12% of this leave was taken by men last year, almost twice as much as the year before. This figure was even higher (20%) in management roles.</p>
<p>Bias, discrimination, and sexual harassment are major factors that drive people from workplaces. Solving these issues receives too little funding and attention.</p>
<p>Workplace sexual harassment costs Australia A$3.5 billion per year and inflicts a terrible personal toll on those affected. Women are more likely to be sexually harassed than men, and people from racial minorities, people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ individuals suffer disproportionately.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/antarctic-stations-are-plagued-by-sexual-harassment-its-time-for-things-to-change-189984">Antarctic stations are plagued by sexual harassment – it's time for things to change</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>According to the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/respectwork-sexual-harassment-national-inquiry-report-2020">Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report</a>, sexual harassment is more prevalent in male-dominated industries. The Australian government recently committed to implementing all 55 recommendations of that report – a significant, positive step.</p>
<p>Businesses must urgently put robust systems in place to prevent discrimination, bias, and sexual harassment. There are many excellent tools available to guide this work, for example these provided by the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/education/employers">Australian Human Rights Commission</a>, <a href="https://cew.org.au/respect-its-everyones-business/">Chief Executive Women</a>, the <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/take-action">Workplace Gender Equality Agency</a>, <a href="https://workplace.ourwatch.org.au/">Our Watch</a>, and the <a href="https://www.atse.org.au/news-and-events/article/diversity-and-inclusion-toolkit/">Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering</a>. </p>
<h2>Crashing barriers</h2>
<p>Ultimately, we need rigorous and well-resourced initiatives to reduce barriers to workforce participation. My office has created a <a href="https://womeninstem.org.au/national-evaluation-guide/">national evaluation guide for STEM equity programs</a> for this purpose.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Several charts showing the proportion of women receiving research grants" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485452/original/file-20220920-325-8d079p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women are underrepresented in teaching and research roles in STEM.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stem Equity Monitor Data Report 2022</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rather than the usual PR campaigns and cupcake drives, we need investment in evidence-based solutions to address systemic issues affecting people who face discrimination in the workforce. </p>
<p>Nothing short of strong, decisive, and coordinated action from governments and the business sector will shift this pattern. The Australian government has already committed to this path, by <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/husic/media-releases/paving-pathway-diverse-science-and-tech-workforce">announcing</a> a review of existing government women in STEM programs.</p>
<p>This review will determine the impact of these programs, to drive future investments into measures that are proven to strengthen Australia’s STEM workforce. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1566988923381121026"}"></div></p>
<p>The key to diversifying STEM workplaces is respect – and reducing power differentials that appear along gendered, cultural and other lines.</p>
<p>Greater respect for every person will build a stronger, more cohesive society ready to tackle future challenges. And it will ensure that Australia’s fast-growing sectors – like space, advanced manufacturing, quantum technologies and cybersecurity – are well supported by a qualified workforce into the future.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-law-on-workplace-gender-equality-is-under-review-heres-what-needs-to-change-172406">A law on workplace gender equality is under review. Here's what needs to change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>As Australia's Women in STEM Ambassador, Lisa Harvey-Smith receives funding from a Commonwealth grant. </span></em></p>With unprecedented skills shortages looming in Australia, more than ever we need gender equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Here’s what needs to happen.Lisa Harvey-Smith, Australian Government Women in STEM Ambassador, Professor, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1785782022-09-12T12:13:26Z2022-09-12T12:13:26ZEducators can help make STEM fields diverse – over 25 years, I’ve identified nudges that can encourage students to stay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483056/original/file-20220906-26-49l9q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7951%2C5297&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Connecting studies to the real world, mentoring and building community make all the difference.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-dancing-celebrating-in-the-university-royalty-free-image/1282170217">FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Jen, a student I taught early in my career, stood head-and-shoulders above her peers academically. I learned she had started off as an engineering major but switched over to psychology. I was surprised and curious. </p>
<p>Was she struggling with difficult classes? No. In fact, Jen’s aptitude for math was so strong, she had been recruited as an engineering prospect. In her first year, her engineering classes were filled with faces of other women. But as she advanced, there were fewer and fewer women in her classes – until one day, she realized she was the only woman in a large lecture class of men. </p>
<p>Jen began to question if she belonged. Then she started to wonder if she cared enough to persist in engineering. Her quest to understand what she was feeling brought her to my psychology class.</p>
<p>Jen’s experience in engineering shows that human behavior is driven by a few fundamental social needs. Key among them is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497">need to belong</a>, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68">need to feel competent</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037637">need for meaning or purpose</a>. These three motivations influence whether people approach or avoid a range of social situations, including academic ones. </p>
<p>What Jen experienced in engineering is called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(02)80009-0">social identity threat</a> – negative emotions aroused in situations where individuals feel their valued identities are marginalized or ignored. It raises doubts about belonging and depletes interest, confidence and motivation. In the long run, social identity threat may lead individuals to withdraw from activities altogether. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=zCt9j34AAAAJ">social psychologist</a> and the founder of the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/diversitysciences/">Institute of Diversity Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst</a>. For the past two decades, my research has focused on evidence-based solutions: How do we create learning and work environments that fulfill young people’s feeling of belonging, nurture self-confidence and connect their academic and professional pursuits to purpose and meaning? I’m particularly interested in the experiences of girls and women, students of color and working-class college students.</p>
<h2>Connecting to the real world</h2>
<p>With my team, I have been designing and testing interventions in classrooms, labs and residence halls to see if they protect young people against social identity threat in science, technology, engineering and math – or STEM – environments. My work shows that, just as a vaccine can protect and inoculate the body against a virus, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2011.607313">features of learning environments can act as “social vaccines”</a> that protect and inoculate the mind against noxious stereotypes. </p>
<p>In one study, we found that when teachers highlight the social relevance of math and connect it to social good, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">it makes a big difference to students</a>. We followed almost 3,000 adolescents taking eighth grade algebra and tracked their progress for one academic year. Some teachers in our study illustrated abstract concepts using socially meaningful examples. For instance, exponential decay was explained using depreciation of car values or the dilution of medicines in the bloodstream. Others taught such concepts using abstract equations only. </p>
<p>We found students got excited and motivated when they could apply abstract math to socially meaningful problems. They got better grades, reported math was important to them personally and were more active participants in class. We also found that students working in small collaborative peer groups got better end-of-year grades than those working alone. These benefits were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">especially noticeable for kids of color</a>.</p>
<h2>The importance of role models</h2>
<p>Another low-cost but powerful “social vaccine” is to introduce young people entering a STEM college program to a fellow student who is a couple of years older and shares their identity.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two college age women sitting in front of a computer, one explaining something to the other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483772/original/file-20220909-12278-xmlyya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Near-peer mentoring can yield dramatic results.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/smiling-student-discussing-with-friend-in-computer-royalty-free-image/1339976329">Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>We conducted a field experiment in which 150 first-year women interested in engineering were randomly assigned a female peer mentor, a male peer mentor or no mentor. Mentoring relationships were limited to mentees’ first year of college. Mentees’ academic experiences were measured each year through college graduation and one year after graduation.</p>
<p>We found that a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613117114">one-year mentoring relationship with a female peer mentor</a> preserved first-year women students’ emotional well-being, feeling of belonging in engineering, confidence, motivation to keep going and aspiration to pursue postgraduate engineering degrees. Women with male mentors or no mentors showed a decline on most of these metrics. Women who had female peer mentors were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613117114">significantly more likely to graduate with STEM bachelor’s degrees</a> compared with those who had male peer mentors or no mentors. A follow-up study that is under review shows that these benefits endured four years after the mentoring intervention ended. </p>
<h2>A community of peers</h2>
<p>First-generation college students are <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED580935">twice as likely to leave college</a> without earning a bachelor’s degree than students whose parents have college degrees. My team and I combined a cocktail of ingredients to create a strong social vaccine to protect this group of young people. Participants were selected from three incoming classes of first-year students at the University of Massachusetts who were interested in biology. All were working-class, and the majority were students of color.</p>
<p>Eligible students were invited to apply to a living-learning community. From the applicant pool, we randomly selected 86 students to become “BioPioneers,” while the remaining 63 students comprised our no-intervention control group. </p>
<p>BioPioneer participants lived together in the same residential college. They took introductory biology and a seminar as a group. Participants in the no-intervention group took introductory biology in a large lecture class with the general student body. The same instructor taught both classes – the course content, teaching style, assignments and grading system were identical for BioPioneers and the no-intervention group. </p>
<p>We brokered authentic relationships between BioPioneers and faculty instructors and academic advisers. We also provided BioPioneers access to student mentors two years ahead of them in the same major. </p>
<p>Results showed that BioPioneers students developed a stronger sense of belonging in biology than students in the no-intervention group. They were more confident about their science ability, less anxious and more motivated to persist. They also received better grades in biology than the no-intervention group. </p>
<p>One year after the program ended, 85% of BioPioneers participants remained biological science majors compared with 66% of students in the no-intervention group. We also compared BioPioneers with a group of 94 honors students, mostly from middle-class and upper-middle-class families, who were in a different living-learning community. We found BioPioneers closed the achievement gap between first-generation students and honors students in terms of belonging, confidence and retention in biology majors. We are currently preparing to submit our findings to a peer-reviewed journal. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Seven diverse college students studying together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483060/original/file-20220906-4740-a8mhml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">STEM graduates will be tackling some of the world’s biggest problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/college-students-studying-together-royalty-free-image/55962362">Andersen Ross Photography Inc/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>I’ve begun to see a pattern in 25 years of research. When educators <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000377">connect science and engineering to social good</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021385">build relationships</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1422822112">create communities</a> that intentionally draw in people who are usually invisible, we automatically attract and advance the talents of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. </p>
<p>In my view, not only is this the right thing to do morally, but research shows that <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691138541/the-difference">diverse viewpoints invigorate problem-solving</a>, <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter">reduce the impact of personal biases</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2200841119">promote higher-impact scientific discoveries</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178578/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nilanjana Dasgupta receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Reboot Representation, a coalition of technology companies working to close the gender gap in technology. She is a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Advancing Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM Organizations. </span></em></p>Research shows underrepresented people in STEM studies thrive in learning environments that address their need to belong, feel competent and find meaning in their work.Nilanjana Dasgupta, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1899652022-09-08T20:05:45Z2022-09-08T20:05:45Z3 ways the fossil fuel industry failed women (and how clean energy can learn from its mistakes)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483153/original/file-20220907-18-t8vvsk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C3%2C2552%2C1697&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://internationalwim.org/photogallery/">Papa Aliou Sylla/IWiM</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A crucial outcome of Australia’s jobs summit last week was the commitment <a href="https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/husic-orders-review-of-women-in-stem-20220905-p5bffr">to review</a> programs aimed at boosting the number of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. </p>
<p>Energy is a particularly <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/stem-equity-monitor/stem-qualified-occupations">male-dominated</a> STEM industry, with clean energy on the brink of massive expansion. However, to ensure the clean energy industry is truly sustainable, it must learn from the mistakes of the mining and fossil fuel industry. </p>
<p>If mining workplaces are anything to go by, the clean energy sector will have their work cut out for them to retain women in the workforce.</p>
<p>It’s easy to understand why women are leaving careers in the fossil fuel sector. For example, a Western Australian <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/commit.nsf/(Report+Lookup+by+Com+ID)/EF1DF1A3F5DF74A848258869000E6B32/$file/20220621%20-Report%20No%202.pdf">parliamentary inquiry</a> earlier this year revealed appalling reports of widespread sexual harassment and assault in the state’s fly-in-fly-out mining industry.</p>
<p>As a woman who used to work in and with the mining sector, these findings were no surprise to me. Only by creating workplaces that are inclusive of women and other underrepresented groups will the clean energy sector unlock the economic and innovation benefits of a diverse workforce. </p>
<h2>By the numbers</h2>
<p>At a glance, it seems Australia’s clean energy industry is making great progress.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://assets.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/documents/resources/reports/Empowering-Everyone-Diversity-in-the-Australian-Clean-Energy-Sector.pdf">2021 Clean Energy Council survey</a> found 39% of Australia’s clean energy workforce identify as women. Compare this to 32% of the global renewables sector, 25.9% in <a href="https://data.wgea.gov.au/comparison/?id1=90&id2=240">Australia’s</a> oil and gas sector, and 17.5% in coal mining. </p>
<p>However, the Australian result was based on a voluntary survey of the renewables sector, which people who feel marginalised by their diversity are more likely to opt into. This means the percentage of women in the sector actually may be lower. </p>
<p>The male-dominated renewables construction sector also had low representation in survey responses, further skewing results.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trailblazing-women-who-broke-into-engineering-in-the-1970s-reflect-on-whats-changed-and-what-hasnt-167502">Trailblazing women who broke into engineering in the 1970s reflect on what's changed – and what hasn't</a>
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<p>If we look at the mining sector overall, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/census">census data</a> reveals that at junior levels there is a relatively even gender split, with women comprising roughly 40% of 20-27 year olds in the industry. </p>
<p>But this gender split doesn’t persist for long. The proportion of women in mining begins to decrease from age 28, so that in the 56-59 age bracket, women comprise less than 15% of the workforce. The census data also reveal there has been little improvement in these numbers in the last 15 years.</p>
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<p>So why are women leaving the mining industry? There are three main reasons.</p>
<h2>1. Sexual assault and harassment</h2>
<p>The mining industry, including the fossil fuel industry, can be a dangerous place for women. </p>
<p>In early 2022, an <a href="https://www.riotinto.com/-/media/Content/Documents/Sustainability/People/RT-Everyday-respect-report.pdf">external review</a> of Rio Tinto’s workplace culture found bullying, sexism and racism are systemic across the company. </p>
<p>In the last five years, 28% of women had experienced sexual harassment at Rio Tinto worksites, and 21 women were victims of actual or attempted rape or sexual assault.</p>
<p>This finding is consistent with the WA <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/commit.nsf/(Report+Lookup+by+Com+ID)/EF1DF1A3F5DF74A848258869000E6B32/$file/20220621%20-Report%20No%202.pdf">parliamentary inquiry</a>, which found sexual harassment is, and has long been, prevalent across the industry. It is fostered by gender inequality, power imbalances and exacerbated by high alcohol consumption.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/antarctic-stations-are-plagued-by-sexual-harassment-its-time-for-things-to-change-189984">Antarctic stations are plagued by sexual harassment – it's time for things to change</a>
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<p>The inquiry’s report highlighted that when women tried to report harassment and assault they were bullied, threatened or lost their jobs. </p>
<p>The parliamentary inquiry made a number of recommendations to improve the safety of women in the FIFO mining industry, such as an overhaul of reporting structures within companies.</p>
<p>So far Rio Tinto is the only major mining company that has announced <a href="https://www.riotinto.com/news/releases/2022/Rio-Tinto-releases-external-review-of-workplace-culture">their plan</a> to overhaul their systems to protect women. There has been no word from governments outside of WA on any action in the face of this damning parliamentary inquiry.</p>
<h2>2. Biases against women</h2>
<p>Women tend to face more obstacles to progression and job satisfaction than men do, because there are systematic biases against them. While a minority belief persists that biases against women simply do not exist, we have <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.159.3810.56">known</a> of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650211418339">bias</a> <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1075547012472684">in science</a> <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1018839203698">for a long</a> <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1211286109">time</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia, as in many nations, <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/4_fathers_and_work_1909_0.pdf">women do more household and caring work</a>, and STEM fields are generally male dominated. Our expectations of the roles of each gender are influenced accordingly, creating <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650211418339">implicit bias against women in science</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-lack-of-confidence-thats-holding-back-women-in-stem-155216">It's not lack of confidence that's holding back women in STEM</a>
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<p>Research shows these biases negatively affect all decisions made about women in a professional context, including <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1211286109">hiring</a>, promotion, <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2003EO310005">awards</a>, the value of their work, and <a href="https://www.catalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Mentoring_Necessary_But_Insufficient_for_Advancement_Final_120610.pdf">other professional opportunities</a>. </p>
<p>This means once women are in STEM careers, especially in male-dominated industries such as the mining industry, they encounter <a href="https://www.science.org.au/files/userfiles/support/reports-and-plans/2019/gender-diversity-stem/women-in-STEM-decadal-plan-final.pdf">more barriers</a> to success than their male colleagues.</p>
<h2>3. Parental leave</h2>
<p>It’s clear having children isn’t the sole cause of women leaving STEM careers, otherwise we’d see a flood of childfree women in leadership positions throughout the STEM sector, and this is certainly <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/stem-equity-monitor/workforce-and-gender-equity-policies-in-stem-and-other-industries">not the case</a>. </p>
<p>However, in Australian heterosexual couples, women generally <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/4_fathers_and_work_1909_0.pdf">shoulder the bulk</a> of childcare. This is perhaps in part because men are not ordinarily <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fatherhood-penalty-how-parental-leave-policies-perpetuate-the-gender-gap-even-in-our-progressive-universities-160102">given equal access to parental leave</a> and flexible working arrangements. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fatherhood-penalty-how-parental-leave-policies-perpetuate-the-gender-gap-even-in-our-progressive-universities-160102">The fatherhood penalty: how parental leave policies perpetuate the gender gap (even in our 'progressive' universities)</a>
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<p>When both parents have equal access to parental leave, families can structure home and outside work equitably. On the other hand, providing birth mums vastly more leave can incentivise inequality, since families may be better off financially or otherwise by not using childcare.</p>
<p>Some mining companies recognise that <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/resources/policy-and-practice-papers/fly-fly-out-workforce-practices-australia-effects-children-and">flexible working conditions</a> could increase retention, and have policies allowing any employee to work flexibly. Others have “family friendly” FIFO rosters, which tends to involve prescription of the roster they believe to be family friendly.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483154/original/file-20220907-14-l6tjc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman standing in front of mining machinery" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483154/original/file-20220907-14-l6tjc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483154/original/file-20220907-14-l6tjc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483154/original/file-20220907-14-l6tjc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483154/original/file-20220907-14-l6tjc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483154/original/file-20220907-14-l6tjc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483154/original/file-20220907-14-l6tjc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483154/original/file-20220907-14-l6tjc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">39% of Australia’s clean energy workforce identify as women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://internationalwim.org/photogallery/">Marta del Pozo/IWiM</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>We need systemic change</h2>
<p>Like the fossil fuel industry, women in renewables face barriers to retention and promotion. </p>
<p>Representation of university-qualified women <a href="https://assets.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/documents/resources/reports/Empowering-Everyone-Diversity-in-the-Australian-Clean-Energy-Sector.pdf">decreases</a> in leadership roles and above age 40. Women in the renewables sector make up just 32% of senior leadership or executive roles, 19% of board positions, and 62% of administrative roles.</p>
<p>In Australia’s mining and energy sector, some people are pushing for change and equity, but the problems are widespread and can be difficult to detect.</p>
<p>We need sector-wide, systemic change. This must be brought about by thoughtful and insightful leadership at our most senior levels, guiding new policies and procedures to make workplaces more inclusive of women. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-more-men-into-nursing-means-a-rethink-of-gender-roles-pay-and-recognition-but-we-need-them-urgently-184829">Getting more men into nursing means a rethink of gender roles, pay and recognition. But we need them urgently</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Research shows achieving greater gender balance leads to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/smj.1955">better economic performance</a> and outcomes, and more innovation. In many STEM industries, we have a strong pipeline of women university graduates being lost to other sectors in their early to mid-careers. </p>
<p>In fact, shifting only 1% of Australia’s workforce into STEM jobs would <a href="https://www.pwc.com.au/pdf/a-smart-move-pwc-stem-report-april-2015.pdf">add $57.4 billion</a> to the nation’s gross domestic product over 20 years.</p>
<p>The clean energy sector has an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the mining and fossil fuel sector and harness the untapped potential of women in Australia’s STEM-trained workforce. Doing so will deliver even greater economic and environmental benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Finch has previously received funding from an Australian Postgraduate Award and a Society of Economic Geologists Graduate Student Fellowship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Finch receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is the President of Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences Australasia (WOMEESA).</span></em></p>If mining workplaces are anything to go by, the clean energy sector will have their work cut out for them to retain women in the workforce.Emily Finch, Research Affiliate, Monash UniversityMelanie Finch, Lecturer in Structural Geology and Metamorphism, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1876172022-07-28T20:03:46Z2022-07-28T20:03:46ZPeople stationed in Antarctica menstruate too – and it’s a struggle. Here’s how we can support them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476442/original/file-20220728-15-wakxb4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C634%2C6134%2C3449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women have been doing fieldwork in Antarctica for more than 40 years. Yet they comprise just 25% of expeditioners in the Australian Antarctic Program. Despite decades of progress, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0209983">historical issues</a> with sexism and gender bias continue in extreme field environments set up for men. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0966369X.2022.2066635">Managing menstruation</a>, in particular, is an overlooked challenge for women working in Antarctica and other extreme, male-dominated environments.</p>
<p>If we want to build a diverse and inclusive polar workforce, we need to openly and willingly address the challenges that women, trans and non-binary menstruators face in the field. </p>
<h2>Who gets to work in Antarctica?</h2>
<p>Over the decades, toileting has been a primary way for men to control who has access to extreme environments. For instance, until the late 1970s women were being told they couldn’t work in Antarctica because there were no <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2154896X.2017.1373915">facilities</a> for them on station. </p>
<p>Women have been similarly excluded from space travel because their hormonal bodies were deemed to be too <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/grggenl19&div=26&g_sent=1&casa_token=72OeEM7szM0AAAAA:tgtCvnSQJPkYNQRiCUBu4SVHPqarTDVPNFS2ZI2sgSY0puKfBMYxBU1OMh-qV56_rU8oclCo&collection=journals">unpredictable</a> by NASA’s male leaders.</p>
<p>Sally Ride’s 1983 mission on the Space Shuttle Challenger heralded a new era of progress for women’s access to Antarctic fieldwork. If women could go to space, they could certainly go to Antarctica! It was around this time the British, United States and Australian National Antarctic Programs began to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2154896X.2017.1373915">allow women</a> to do fieldwork in Antarctica.</p>
<p>Ride’s mission also uncovered NASA’s inexperience with menstruation. In re-designing the space flight kit for her, NASA engineers famously asked Ride if <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/space/how-do-women-deal-with-having-a-period-in-space">100 tampons</a> would be enough for a one-week mission.</p>
<p>In my latest <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0966369X.2022.2066635">research</a>, I spoke to dozens of women expeditioners about how they negotiated the hurdles associated with menstruating in Antarctica. They revealed that managing menstruation remains taboo, and has been made even more difficult by a culture of silence. </p>
<p>As one expeditioner told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I haven’t had great conversations with other women because there haven’t been any that I’ve worked with. I’ve been very much by myself with these things.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Life as a woman expeditioner</h2>
<p>So why is menstruating in Antarctica difficult?</p>
<p>Well, for one, you can only toilet in certain places due to environmental protection laws. You must collect all your bodily waste in sealed containers, which are carried back to a station for incineration. </p>
<p>Because expeditioners may have to keep used menstrual products with them for several weeks in the field, they need to consider not only what products they will use, but how they will dispose of them. </p>
<p>Re-usable menstrual cups are often preferred because they produce no waste and can be left in the body longer (4-8 hours) than disposable products. However, cups must be emptied and <a href="https://www.mooncup.co.uk/blog/toxic-shock-syndrome/">cleaned</a> at least three times within 24 hours to minimise the risk of toxic shock syndrome.</p>
<p>As one expeditioner explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Cups are amazing but [they are] also a huge learning curve. I started
learning to use them for [an expedition] because I’m like I can’t carry used tampons around in my bag anymore […] The hard thing is cleaning them discreetly.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Menstruators must also be prepared to manage their menstruation in small, shared spaces. The women I interviewed described the complexity of doing this in male-dominated teams:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The first time I went to Antarctica I was out on a boat […] It was me and [a group of] men. It’s my period and I’m like, oh, my god, what do I do here?</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476443/original/file-20220728-23-xvx9rw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Menstrual products line the supermarket shelves" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476443/original/file-20220728-23-xvx9rw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476443/original/file-20220728-23-xvx9rw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476443/original/file-20220728-23-xvx9rw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476443/original/file-20220728-23-xvx9rw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476443/original/file-20220728-23-xvx9rw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476443/original/file-20220728-23-xvx9rw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476443/original/file-20220728-23-xvx9rw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women on the field in Antarctica work in extreme conditions, yet the onus is on them to figure out how to menstruate with limited resources, sanitation and support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All Antarctic expeditioners wear many thick layers to protect themselves from the extreme conditions. However, women need to be able to change menstrual products without exposing their skin to the cold for prolonged periods. The participants in my study came up with creative ways to cope: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I sewed myself underpants that I could Velcro on the side so that I didn’t have to take all the layers off my legs and my feet to change my undies…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To avoid these challenges during long-duration expeditions, menstruators often rely on menstrual suppression <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-women-can-deal-with-periods-in-space-58294">technologies</a>. These include the combined oral contraceptive pill, or long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) such as an intrauterine device or injection. </p>
<p>These methods prevent a period and pregnancy. And this is critical in extreme environments, where pregnancy is extremely high-risk. </p>
<p>LARC is convenient because it requires no extra supplies and little maintenance following insertion. That said, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/birth-control/expert-answers/seasonale-side-effects/faq-20058109#">breakthrough bleeding</a> or spotting can be a side effect:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Having my period [in Antarctica] was a nightmare. Somebody told me that they had an [Depo Provera] injection before they went […] and I thought, “Well, that wouldn’t be a bad idea, to not have a period for that particular time” […] but I had my period the whole time I was in the field. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>How to support menstruators</h2>
<p>Apart from their other already-demanding work, my research shows women must also undertake additional psychological and physical labour to manage menstruation in extreme environments. Whether in Antarctica or on military deployment, women will often:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>change their menstrual products without privacy or adequate sanitation</p></li>
<li><p>carry bloody menstrual products around with them in the field for a long time</p></li>
<li><p>improvise menstrual products when none are available</p></li>
<li><p>keep menstrual products in their bodies for longer than recommended because they aren’t provided with adequate toilet stops </p></li>
<li><p>alter their hormonal balance with medication to make menstruation less inconvenient. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The bottom line is this: menstruation in these settings has largely been treated as an individual problem, and not a site for organisational attention. This needs to change. </p>
<p>Some simple changes can be applied in any field environment where menstruation is difficult for women. Organisations should make it a priority to: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>destigmatise menstruation and acknowledge the unique needs of diverse menstruators, including trans people and non-binary folk</p></li>
<li><p>update field manuals to include relevant information about toileting and menstruation </p></li>
<li><p>provide menstrual health education to all expeditioners – especially cisgender men leading field teams</p></li>
<li><p>make toilet stops standard operating practice</p></li>
<li><p>provide menstruators with free menstrual products, and make period underwear available as part of field gear. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I recently supported the Australian Antarctic Program to revise its field manual and help reconsider how field environments can be sensitised to the needs of menstruators. This is an important first step. But success will only come when inclusive operational measures happen by default.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/supporting-menstrual-health-in-australia-means-more-than-just-throwing-pads-at-the-problem-161194">Supporting menstrual health in Australia means more than just throwing pads at the problem</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187617/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Meredith Nash was Senior Advisor - Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity at the Australian Antarctic Division from 2020-22.</span></em></p>We’ve come a long time since women were deemed too “hormonal” to be sent into space. Yet gender bias is an issue women in the field still reckon with every day.Meredith Nash, Professor and Associate Dean - Community, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1852562022-06-23T11:50:39Z2022-06-23T11:50:39ZOnly about 1 in 5 engineering degrees go to women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469564/original/file-20220617-15-euge0j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C6017%2C4011&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows women who study engineering do better when mentored by other women.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/milling-machine-setup-process-female-african-royalty-free-image/1350414597?adppopup=true">Nitat Termmee/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469516/original/file-20220617-24-upljnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469516/original/file-20220617-24-upljnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469516/original/file-20220617-24-upljnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469516/original/file-20220617-24-upljnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469516/original/file-20220617-24-upljnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469516/original/file-20220617-24-upljnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469516/original/file-20220617-24-upljnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite various efforts to <a href="https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/broadening-participation/supporting-women-and-girls-stem">encourage more women to study STEM fields</a> in college, the percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees earned by women in the United States hasn’t increased much in the 21st century. Specifically, it has risen from 18% in 1998 to 22% in 2018. </p>
<p><iframe id="PkKnG" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/PkKnG/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Of all the fields in STEM – or science, technology, engineering and mathematics – the engineering workforce <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/01/09/diversity-in-the-stem-workforce-varies-widely-across-jobs/">has the lowest proportion of women</a>, at 14%.</p>
<p>That low participation matters for several reasons. Women are not only being left out of some of the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm">highest-paying jobs in STEM</a>, but companies are losing out as well. Research shows that gender-diverse teams <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriklarson/2017/09/21/new-research-diversity-inclusion-better-decision-making-at-work/?sh=71ea3baa4cbf">make better business decisions</a> than teams that are all-male.</p>
<p>So why aren’t women going into engineering? And what, if anything, can be done to help women who decide to study engineering stay the course? The Society of Women Engineers reports that <a href="https://alltogether.swe.org/2019/11/swe-research-update-women-in-engineering-by-the-numbers-nov-2019/#_ednref7">over 32% of female STEM majors switch to another major</a>. Research shows this rate is <a href="https://www.rise.hs.iastate.edu/projects/CBiRC/IJEE-WhyTheyLeave.pdf">typically higher</a> than the rate at which men leave engineering. Of those women who leave the engineering profession, 30% cite the workplace environment as the reason, the society reports. A 2017 study of over 5,000 women who earned bachelor’s degrees in engineering <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00875">found that 10% never entered the field and 27% left the profession</a>.</p>
<h2>Colleges intervene</h2>
<p>These are all issues I’ve been <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sZGzlnMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researching</a> as associate director of the <a href="https://cwit.umbc.edu/mission-vision/">Center for Women in Technology</a> at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, or UMBC. In 2018, several colleagues and I found that computing and engineering students who are supported by the center <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3159450.3159533">graduate within four years at a rate of 61.2%</a> – a <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2143/A_Model_for_Increasing_Gender_Diversity_in_Technology.pdf?1655991489">full 19 percentage points higher</a> than students who are not supported by the center. The center supports students through scholarships and extensive academic and social support; in the 2021-22 academic year, 73% of students supported were women.
And recently two alumnae of the center – one in <a href="https://umbc.edu/stories/fourteen-umbc-students-and-recent-alumni-receive-fulbright-awards-setting-new-record/">2019</a> and one in <a href="https://umbc.edu/stories/umbc-2022-fulbright-student-scholars/">2022</a> – have become <a href="https://us.fulbrightonline.org/">Fulbright Scholars</a>.</p>
<p>The program at UMBC is by no means the only campus-based program in the nation that supports female students in their plans to enter engineering and computer science – two areas in which women are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/01/09/diversity-in-the-stem-workforce-varies-widely-across-jobs/">persistently underrepresented</a>. Through my research, I have discovered that there are more than two dozen such programs or initiatives at colleges and universities throughout the nation. They include, for example, the
<a href="https://sites.udel.edu/wie/">Women in Engineering Program</a> at University of Delaware, the <a href="https://wise.ncsu.edu/">Women in Science and Engineering program</a> at North Carolina State University and the <a href="https://awe.seas.upenn.edu/#:%7E:text=Women%20make%20up%20approximately%2040,and%20opportunities%20to%20Penn%20Engineering.">Advancing Women in Engineering</a> program at the University of Pennsylvania. </p>
<p>To better understand the necessity of such programs, consider the abundance of research that has found women who study STEM report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0072">“chilly” and “negative” experiences</a> in the classroom and on campus. This includes being subjected to gender-based harassment and a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0072">perception that women are unable to ‘do science.</a>’” Colleges also have long struggled with how to help women <a href="https://www.ijemst.net/index.php/ijemst/article/view/293/141">see themselves as part of the scientific community</a>.</p>
<h2>Proven strategies</h2>
<p>It doesn’t have to be that way. Research shows that when female engineering students are mentored by female peers, they feel less anxious about their ability, have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613117114">more positive academic experiences</a> and are more likely to stick with STEM as a major. Peer-based tutoring has also <a href="https://peer.asee.org/examining-the-effectiveness-of-scholars-assisting-scholars-program-among-undergraduate-engineering-students">been shown to help students get their grades up</a>.</p>
<p>With support from an approximately $233,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, I have also been looking at <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2025349&HistoricalAwards=false">what kinds of academic experiences and supports</a> help female engineering students stay the course.</p>
<p>Based on my analysis of 356 female engineering students at UMBC from 2007 to 2016, what follows are preliminary findings from my National Science Foundation research:</p>
<h2>1. High school math and grades make a difference</h2>
<p>Starting college in a higher level of college math and having a higher high school GPA both help. Specifically, starting college at a higher level of college math – such as Advanced Calculus or Differential Equations – increases the likelihood of graduating with an engineering degree within five years by 8% over those who start at lower levels of college math. Having a higher high school GPA increases the likelihood even more.</p>
<p>To boost the number of women who earn engineering degrees, educators must help girls get on track at the high school level. This means establishing a strong record of success in their high school math and science courses.</p>
<h2>2. Gateway engineering courses matter</h2>
<p>By “gateway” courses, I mean classes that are required to officially declare the engineering major and that faculty identified as critical for success. In other words, classes that make or break an engineer. This would include courses such as Principles of Digital Design in computer engineering, Statics in mechanical engineering and Chemical Process Thermodynamics in chemical engineering.</p>
<p>I found that women who took more gateway engineering courses were less likely to leave their intended engineering major.</p>
<h2>3. Freshman and sophomore years in college are critical</h2>
<p>For those who eventually left engineering, making it through the first four semesters is critical. Among women students who left engineering, 59% – or about three out of five – did so during the first four semesters.</p>
<p>This points toward the need for colleges and universities to provide very deliberate academic and social supports – such as tutoring and mentoring – for female engineering students at the very start of their college careers.</p>
<p>If only 1 in 5 bachelor’s degrees in engineering are awarded to women, it may take these efforts and more to get the number anywhere close to being on par with the proportion that are awarded to men.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185256/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danyelle Tauryce Ireland works for the Center for Women in Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>A negative environment dissuades many women engineering students from staying in the field. Can colleges and universities do anything to reverse the trend?Danyelle Tauryce Ireland, Associate Director of the Center for Women in Technology and Research Assistant Professor in the Engineering and Computing Education Program, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1830722022-06-15T14:55:41Z2022-06-15T14:55:41Z‘Moms in Proteomics’ aims to bring together a community for supporting mothers in STEM<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468512/original/file-20220613-19-o5st40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7587%2C4550&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Moms in Protoemics works to remove barriers so people can flourish and pave the way for the next generation of scientists to advance even further.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“A mother’s job is never done.” We’ve all heard this phrase, but do we ever stop to think about what it truly means? How does this simple statement define the overwhelming feelings of motherhood and all its facets? </p>
<p>As a mother and scientist, I know that balancing and succeeding in both professional and personal situations requires strong mentorship and a supportive community — and sometimes, neither of these are available.</p>
<p>While many scientific disciplines, such as chemistry, computer science, physics and biochemistry are traditionally male-dominated, accessibility and opportunity for women and other members of equity-seeking groups across these disciplines are changing and improving.</p>
<p>Despite this improvement, it is crucial to recognize <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700616114">the importance of varied perspectives and lived experiences</a> that diverse people bring to the table. We need to train, mentor and support these individuals to foster an environment for productivity and success.</p>
<h2>Moms in proteomics</h2>
<p>As a woman, mother and scientist, I find my definition of success is constantly shifting between professional and personal goals and achievements. I realized that to maintain this balance I needed an outlet for sharing ideas and accepting feedback, so I founded <a href="https://momsinproteomics.ca">Moms in Proteomics</a>.</p>
<p>Moms in Proteomics recognizes and highlights the unique needs of mothers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Specifically, the <a href="https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/online/courses/proteomics-an-introduction/what-is-proteomics/">scientific theme of proteomics</a>, a field dedicated to the identification and monitoring of protein production under different conditions. </p>
<p>Members of Moms in Proteomics not only work together to advance our understanding of diverse diseases impacting humans, animals and plants and make discoveries that have global benefit, including increased food security and improved health — I recently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2124-0">published a book with several members as contributors</a> — we’re here to support one another.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A mother and daughter do a science experiment in the kitchen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468516/original/file-20220613-21-jdqh0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468516/original/file-20220613-21-jdqh0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468516/original/file-20220613-21-jdqh0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468516/original/file-20220613-21-jdqh0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468516/original/file-20220613-21-jdqh0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468516/original/file-20220613-21-jdqh0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468516/original/file-20220613-21-jdqh0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Moms in Proteomics hopes to provide a network for women around the world to discuss ideas, share stories and provide guidance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our Moms in Proteomics community is an international network of women, mothers and their supporters — undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, professors, administrators, as well as industry and government scientists. Most members have children or are thinking about having children and some are supervisors, mentors and peers wanting to learn how to best support the mothers around them.</p>
<p>We provide a forum to share experiences, answer questions and identify means to support mothers at every stage of their career. </p>
<p>I was recently invited to publish <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibs.2022.03.012">an article</a> for <em>Trends in Biochemical Sciences</em> about Moms in Proteomics. I talked about the importance of sharing stories of success and challenges, and building a community of mothers in STEM to support each other and the next generation. </p>
<p>I also highlighted six themes critical to a mother’s inclusion, productivity and well-being. These themes are how to build connections; achieve a healthy work-life balance; the role and importance of mentors; timing of having a family; activities and strategies for success; and how to have realistic expectations for yourself.</p>
<h2>Prioritizing well-being</h2>
<p>A key priority for us includes finding balance. And we do this by considering and combining mental health and well-being initiatives with professional and personal commitments. Suggestions for success include recognizing your own limitations, setting priorities and boundaries and finding time each week for mindful activities (like exercising, reading). </p>
<p>We also pride ourselves in helping mothers find a supportive mentor, which we hope will turn into a productive and beneficial relationship throughout their career. We also acknowledge, however, that the role of a mentor may shift over time. </p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/london/2021/09/women-and-work-the-decision-to-have-a-child-whilst-pursuing-a-career">considering having children, expectations, timing and the fear of losing momentum and access to opportunities is paramount</a>. During this time, speaking with mothers who have already navigated these decisions and experiences is valuable. Later, as a mother excels and advances, a mentor may play a guiding role in how to balance the newfound role as a leader and mentor while raising young children.</p>
<h2>Removing barriers</h2>
<p>The goal of Moms in Proteomics is to provide a network for women around the world to discuss ideas, share stories and provide guidance. Members actively navigate the ultimate test for <a href="https://www.verywellfamily.com/finding-balance-as-a-working-mom-4780377">a healthy work-life balance: motherhood</a>. </p>
<p>Within the community, members experience opportunities for career advancement — they’re often invited to seminars and scientific collaborations. We also make sure to recognize and celebrate achievements, like nominations and promotions. </p>
<p>Over the next six months, Moms in Proteomics is establishing an industry-supported training program. Members will receive hands-on training with state-of-the-art instrumentation and advanced computational platforms to drive innovation and make ground-breaking discoveries. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women work at a computer while a child wears a VR headset" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468521/original/file-20220613-15-8w7c54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468521/original/file-20220613-15-8w7c54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468521/original/file-20220613-15-8w7c54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468521/original/file-20220613-15-8w7c54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468521/original/file-20220613-15-8w7c54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468521/original/file-20220613-15-8w7c54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468521/original/file-20220613-15-8w7c54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A key priority for Moms in Proteomics is finding balance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I’ve received emails from members expressing their gratitude for the initiative and appreciation for an opportunity to connect and share with other moms. Members have met at scientific conferences and collaborative research projects have been started. </p>
<p>The value and impact of building this community is to raise the profile of mothers in their scientific careers, share information and best practices to enhance the experiences and improve institutional policies for better support.</p>
<p>Moms in Proteomics hopes to ensure a sustainable and productive international community of expertly trained scientists, coupled with the necessary resources and tools to balance motherhood. We’re working to remove barriers so individuals can flourish and pave the way for the next generation of scientists to advance even further.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183072/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Geddes-McAlister is founder of Moms in Proteomics.</span></em></p>Moms in Proteomics hopes to ensure a sustainable and productive international community of expertly trained scientists, coupled with the necessary resources and tools to balance motherhood.Jennifer Geddes-McAlister, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1785252022-03-23T12:35:14Z2022-03-23T12:35:14ZAn emphasis on brilliance creates a toxic, dog-eat-dog workplace atmosphere that discourages women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453088/original/file-20220318-15-sgs1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=544%2C352%2C4568%2C3050&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Zero-sum competitive environments that set up winners and losers may be less appealing to women.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/businessmen-runnin-g-on-track-royalty-free-image/138585509">Photo and Co/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Workplaces that emphasize brilliance are perceived to have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12289">masculine work culture</a> that undermines gender diversity, according to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211044133">new investigation</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IJj4sPUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">I</a> conducted with colleagues <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-DZfNWIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Andrei Cimpian</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9FWBle8AAAAJ&hl=en">Melis Muradoglu</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3Exv3SEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">George Newman</a>.</p>
<p>We wanted to understand why women are underrepresented in fields that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261375">prize raw intellectual talent</a> – what some people call “brilliance.” This includes many academic disciplines, such as philosophy, mathematics and economics, and industries like information technology. Despite the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104020">stereotype equating brilliance with men</a>, women’s continued underrepresentation in these fields is not due to gender differences in intellectual ability. For instance, <a href="http://www.nagc.org/2018-2019-state-states-gifted-education">girls are about half of the gifted student population</a> in the U.S. Why do fewer women go on to enter these professions?</p>
<p>Our research identifies a possible reason. We asked academics in more than 30 fields to reflect on their own disciplines, and we conducted two additional experiments with laypeople. We found someone who believed brilliance was required for success in academia and other professional contexts was more likely to perceive these work environments as having a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12289">masculinity contest culture</a>” – a dog-eat-dog atmosphere of ruthless competition that glorifies the more negative aspects of masculinity, like aggression.</p>
<p>To thrive or even survive in these work cultures, employees must appear tough, conceal any weakness, put work above all else, be willing to step on others, and constantly watch their backs.</p>
<p>Our research suggests that it’s not the emphasis on brilliance that discourages women from some work spheres, but rather the aggressively competitive culture that seems to come along with it. The demands of a masculinity contest culture affect all workers. But traditionally <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.t01-1-00066">women are taught to be modest, kind and cooperative</a>. So they may find such a work culture much less appealing or encounter more difficulties navigating it, potentially explaining persistent gender gaps in brilliance-oriented professions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453183/original/file-20220321-19-dnjik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two dogs snarling at one another" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453183/original/file-20220321-19-dnjik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453183/original/file-20220321-19-dnjik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453183/original/file-20220321-19-dnjik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453183/original/file-20220321-19-dnjik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453183/original/file-20220321-19-dnjik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453183/original/file-20220321-19-dnjik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453183/original/file-20220321-19-dnjik0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rather than lacking the brilliance necessary to compete, women may prefer to steer clear of toxic dog-eat-dog work cultures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/high-angle-view-of-dogs-snarling-on-field-royalty-free-image/677136407">Silvia Hohaus/EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The persistent gender gaps in disciplines where brilliance is prized continue to be of <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/in-focus/2022/02/in-focus-international-day-of-women-and-girls-in-science">great concern</a> to academic institutions, policymakers and the public.</p>
<p>Our findings shed new light on a key reason this focus on brilliance is so harmful: It apparently gives rise to a negative workplace culture that is discouraging to women. And for both women and men in our study, the perception of a masculinity contest culture was associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000669">feeling like an impostor who does not belong</a>.</p>
<p>The results of our experiment illuminate possible ways to address gender gaps in fields that prize brilliance. For instance, we asked participants to imagine they had an acquaintance who works at a brilliance-oriented company. When the imaginary acquaintance described the work environment as a masculinity contest culture, women were less interested than men in applying for a job at this company, and more likely to expect they wouldn’t belong there.</p>
<p>But if the acquaintance described a cooperative company culture where employees “have each others’ backs,” men and women were equally interested in working there. Nothing changed in what our participants knew about the company’s emphasis on brilliance. Changing how the culture was described was enough to eliminate gender gaps in interest and sense of belonging.</p>
<p>Our research focuses on just one part of why women are underrepresented in many fields – additionally, there may be <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000427">biases that block women’s access</a> or a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2011.620935">lack of effective role models</a>, among <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732220980092">other factors</a> at play.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>People often equate competition with high quality – believing that, in a battle for success, the best ideas will rise to the top. But masculinity contest cultures entail a zero-sum noncooperative mentality that does not necessarily drive excellence. Of course, competition in itself need not be a bad thing; but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12280">everybody suffers</a> in a culture focused on attaining status and dominance at any cost.</p>
<p>Rather than trying to revise <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261375">deep-rooted beliefs about the value of brilliance</a>, it may be more fruitful to change workplace cultures, setting strong norms that curb competition for intellectual dominance and that favor free exchange and openness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178525/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Vial does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A focus on raw intellectual talent may unintentionally create a cutthroat workplace culture. New research suggests women’s preference to avoid that environment may contribute to gender gaps in some fields.Andrea Vial, Assistant Professor of Psychology, New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1784732022-03-04T13:21:44Z2022-03-04T13:21:44ZWomen’s History Month: 5 groundbreaking researchers who mapped the ocean floor, tested atomic theories, vanquished malaria and more<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449925/original/file-20220303-8225-r5fm6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=281%2C74%2C3403%2C2477&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tu Youyou shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nobel-medicine-prize-2015-co-winner-chinese-youyou-tu-news-photo/500814006">Claudio Bresciani/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Behind some of the most fascinating scientific discoveries and innovations are women whose names might not be familiar but whose stories are worth knowing.</p>
<p>Of course, there are far too many to all fit on one list.</p>
<p>But here are five profiles from The Conversation’s archive that highlight the brilliance, grit and unique perspectives of five women who worked in geosciences, math, ornithology, pharmacology and physics during the 20th century.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349770/original/file-20200727-35-1udrgwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C1198%2C883&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Marie Tharp at work drafting a map at her desk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349770/original/file-20200727-35-1udrgwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C1198%2C883&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349770/original/file-20200727-35-1udrgwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349770/original/file-20200727-35-1udrgwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349770/original/file-20200727-35-1udrgwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349770/original/file-20200727-35-1udrgwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349770/original/file-20200727-35-1udrgwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349770/original/file-20200727-35-1udrgwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marie Tharp with an undersea map at her desk. Rolled sonar profiles of the ocean floor are on the shelf behind her.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/join-us-celebrating-marietharp100">Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the estate of Marie Tharp</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Revealing and mapping the ocean floor</h2>
<p>As late as the 1950s, wrote Wesleyan University <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ruUF3z4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">geoscientist Suzanne OConnell</a>, “many scientists assumed the seabed was featureless.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349741/original/file-20200727-15-69lzu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="sketches of undersea features based on sonar" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349741/original/file-20200727-15-69lzu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349741/original/file-20200727-15-69lzu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349741/original/file-20200727-15-69lzu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349741/original/file-20200727-15-69lzu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349741/original/file-20200727-15-69lzu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1216&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349741/original/file-20200727-15-69lzu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1216&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349741/original/file-20200727-15-69lzu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1216&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An illustration of Marie Tharp’s mapping process. (a) Shows the position of two ship tracks (A, B) moving across the surface. (b) Plots depth recordings as profiles. (c) Sketches features shown on the profiles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://mirrorservice.org/sites/gutenberg.org/4/9/0/6/49069/49069-h/49069-h.htm">The Floors of the Ocean, 1959, Fig. 1</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/marie-tharp-pioneered-mapping-the-bottom-of-the-ocean-6-decades-ago-scientists-are-still-learning-about-earths-last-frontier-142451">Enter Marie Tharp</a>. In 1957, she and her research partner started publishing detailed hand-drawn maps of the ocean floor, complete with rugged mountains, valleys and deep trenches. </p>
<p>Tharp was a geologist and oceanographer. Aboard research ships, she would carefully record the depth of the ocean, point by point, using sonar. One of her innovations was to translate this data into topographical sketches of what the seafloor looked like.</p>
<p>Her discovery of a rift valley in the North Atlantic shook the world of geology – her supervisor on the ship dismissed her idea as “girl talk,” and Jacques Cousteau was determined to prove her wrong. But she was right, and her insight was a key contribution to plate tectonic theory. That’s part of why, OConnell writes, “I believe Tharp should be as famous as Jane Goodall or Neil Armstrong.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/marie-tharp-pioneered-mapping-the-bottom-of-the-ocean-6-decades-ago-scientists-are-still-learning-about-earths-last-frontier-142451">Marie Tharp pioneered mapping the bottom of the ocean 6 decades ago – scientists are still learning about Earth's last frontier</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>2. Sympathetic observation of bird behavior</h2>
<p>Margaret Morse Nice was a field biologist who <a href="https://theconversation.com/margaret-morse-nice-thought-like-a-song-sparrow-and-changed-how-scientists-understand-animal-behavior-123734">got into the minds of her study subjects</a> to garner new insights into animal behavior. Most famously she observed song sparrows in the 1920s and ‘30s.</p>
<p>Rochester Institute of Technology professor of science, technology and society <a href="https://www.rit.edu/directory/kjwgla-kristoffer-whitney">Kristoffer Whitney</a> recounted what Nice called her “phenomenological method,” acknowledging the obvious “affection and anthropomorphism” you can see in her descriptions. </p>
<p>“When I first studied the Song Sparrows,” Nice wrote, “I had looked upon Song Sparrow 4M as a truculent, meddlesome neighbor; but … I discovered him to be a delightful bird, spirited, an accomplished songster and a devoted father.”</p>
<p>Despite earning no advanced degrees and being considered an amateur, Nice promoted innovations like the “use of colored leg bands to distinguish individual birds,” gained the respect of her better-known peers and enjoyed a long, successful career.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/margaret-morse-nice-thought-like-a-song-sparrow-and-changed-how-scientists-understand-animal-behavior-123734">Margaret Morse Nice thought like a song sparrow and changed how scientists understand animal behavior</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. A medical researcher in Maoist China</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449932/original/file-20220303-25-wxv1nj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man and woman working at lab bench" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449932/original/file-20220303-25-wxv1nj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449932/original/file-20220303-25-wxv1nj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449932/original/file-20220303-25-wxv1nj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449932/original/file-20220303-25-wxv1nj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449932/original/file-20220303-25-wxv1nj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449932/original/file-20220303-25-wxv1nj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449932/original/file-20220303-25-wxv1nj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Tu Youyou in a pharmacology lab with a colleague in the 1950s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/oct-5-2015-undated-file-photo-shows-tu-youyou-right-front-a-news-photo/491452698">Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>At the height of China’s Cultural Revolution, a young scientist named Tu Youyou headed a covert operation called Project 523 under military supervision. One of her team’s goals was to identify and systematically test substances used in traditional Chinese medicine in an effort to vanquish chloroquine-resistant malaria. </p>
<p>Emory University <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hLDgM4QAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">historian Jia-Chen Fu</a> described how “contrary to popular assumptions that Maoist China was summarily against science and scientists, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-secret-maoist-chinese-operation-that-conquered-malaria-and-won-a-nobel-48644">Communist party-state needed the scientific elite</a> for certain political and practical purposes.”</p>
<p>Tu followed a hunch about how to extract an antimalarial compound from the qinghao or artemisia plant. By 1971, her team had successfully “obtained a nontoxic and neutral extract that was called qinghaosu or artemisinin.” In 2015, she was honored with a Nobel Prize.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-secret-maoist-chinese-operation-that-conquered-malaria-and-won-a-nobel-48644">The secret Maoist Chinese operation that conquered malaria – and won a Nobel</a>
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<h2>4. A mathematician who wouldn’t be diverted</h2>
<p>Not everyone gets called a “creative mathematical genius” by Albert Einstein. But Emmy Noether did.</p>
<p>Rutgers University <a href="https://sites.math.rutgers.edu/%7Etl548/">mathematician Tamar Lichter Blanks</a> wrote about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/emmy-noether-faced-sexism-and-nazism-100-years-later-her-contributions-to-ring-theory-still-influence-modern-math-163245">roadblocks Noether faced as a Jewish woman</a> who wanted to pursue a math career in early 1900s Germany. For a while, Noether supervised doctoral students without pay and taught university courses listed under the name of a male colleague.</p>
<p>All the while, she conducted her own research in theoretical physics, contributing to Einstein’s theory of relativity. Her most revolutionary work was in ring theory and is still pondered by mathematicians today.</p>
<p>Noether died less than two years after emigrating to the U.S. to escape the Nazis.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/emmy-noether-faced-sexism-and-nazism-over-100-years-later-her-contributions-to-ring-theory-still-influence-modern-math-163245">Emmy Noether faced sexism and Nazism – over 100 years later her contributions to ring theory still influence modern math</a>
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<h2>5. Testing nuclear theories one by one</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383299/original/file-20210209-23-13scq0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Forever stamp with portrait of Chien-Shiung Wu." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383299/original/file-20210209-23-13scq0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383299/original/file-20210209-23-13scq0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383299/original/file-20210209-23-13scq0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383299/original/file-20210209-23-13scq0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383299/original/file-20210209-23-13scq0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1187&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383299/original/file-20210209-23-13scq0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1187&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383299/original/file-20210209-23-13scq0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1187&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A 2021 U.S. postage stamp featuring Chien-Shiung Wu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2021/0201ma-nuclear-physicist-chien-shiung-wu-to-be-honored-on-forever-stamp.htm">U.S. Postal Service</a></span>
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<p>While sometimes called the “Chinese Marie Curie” in her home country, nuclear physicist Chien-Shiung Wu is less well-known in the U.S., where she did the bulk of her work. Rutgers University-Newark <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-x2wJigAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">physicist Xuejian Wu</a> considered Chien-Shiung Wu (no relation) “an icon” who inspired his own career path.</p>
<p>As a grad student, Wu traveled by steamship to California in 1936, where she <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-postage-stamp-honors-chien-shiung-wu-trailblazing-nuclear-physicist-154687">fell in love with atomic nuclei research</a> at UC Berkeley, home of a brand new cyclotron. She worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.</p>
<p>Among her many accomplishments, Wu’s careful experimental work discovered what’s called parity nonconservation – that is, that a physical process and its mirror reflection are not necessarily identical. Her colleagues who focused on the theoretical side of this breakthrough won the 1957 Nobel Prize in physics, but Wu was overlooked.</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-postage-stamp-honors-chien-shiung-wu-trailblazing-nuclear-physicist-154687">New postage stamp honors Chien-Shiung Wu, trailblazing nuclear physicist</a>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Discover the stories of five trailblazing women – Tharp, Nice, Tu, Noether and Wu – who worked in STEM during the 20th century.Maggie Villiger, Senior Science + Technology EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1691702022-02-09T14:02:50Z2022-02-09T14:02:50ZScience academies and disciplinary groups have work to do on gender equality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424421/original/file-20211004-19-wvgis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women have a valuable role to play across scientific disciplines - but can't do this without proper support.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Katleho Seisa/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women remain <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/fs55-women-in-science-2019-en.pdf">under-represented</a> in science careers and research all over the world. There are several reasons for this, including <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0270467616655951">stereotypes</a> about what kind of work women “can” or “should” do; patriarchal attitudes; and a lack of support for women pursuing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers.</p>
<p>This isn’t just an abstract concern. Gender equality matters for many sound reasons. For one, it’s enshrined in <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/VC/docs/international/UN%20Human%20Rights.pdf">international human rights law</a> and it is one of the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. </p>
<p>It also makes good economic sense for countries to invest in and fully utilise their total populations. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/141107-gender-studies-women-scientific-research-feminist">Inclusive scientific leadership</a> in which women are equally represented is best suited to the needs of modern society. Plus, valuing diversity and multiple perspectives sparks creativity and innovation. Both are important hallmarks of scientific endeavour.</p>
<p>So, how are the world’s science academies and international disciplinary associations doing when it comes to getting – and keeping – women on board as members and leaders. That’s what we set out to examine in <a href="https://genderinsite.net/sites/default/files/GenderEqualityInScience_TwoGlobalSurveys.pdf">our new study</a>. We focused on science academies and disciplinary unions because together, these organisations represent a large proportion of global scientific endeavour. They have the potential to be powerful change-makers and leaders.</p>
<p>The study followed <a href="https://www.interacademies.org/publication/women-science-inclusion-and-participation-academies-science">a 2015 survey</a> on gender inclusion in academies. This allowed us to pinpoint whether and how academies had made any progress in certain areas. There were some encouraging findings: for example, women’s membership of academies increased from 13% to 17% and women’s leadership on governing bodies from 21% to 29%. Young academies, which generally represent early career scientists, fared far better than their senior counterparts, which is a promising sign for the future.</p>
<p>But there’s still plenty for young academies to do. Most still have less than a quarter women’s representation, though there was one bright spot: <a href="https://www.sayas.org.za/">South Africa’s Young Academy of Science</a> is ranked highest in the world when it comes to female membership; 57% of its members are women. </p>
<p>The report sets out several recommendations for furthering gender representation and equality globally. These include developing and maintaining a central repository of gender-related policies and actions as well as working intensively with disciplinary associations where improvement is needed in women’s representation. </p>
<h2>Key findings</h2>
<p>The study was coordinated by <a href="https://genderinsite.net/">GenderInSITE</a> (Gender in Science, Innovation, Technology and Engineering), an initiative aimed at promoting the role of women in these disciplines and demonstrating how the application of a “gender lens” leads to more effective, equitable and sustainable development. It was a collaboration with the <a href="https://www.interacademies.org/">InterAcademy Partnership</a> and the <a href="https://council.science/">International Science Council</a>. </p>
<p>The academies and disciplinary organisations surveyed are all members of the InterAcademy Partnership or the International Science Council. In total, they represent more than 250 unique organisations. That means the results we collected provide important baseline information for taking transformative action at a global level.</p>
<p>Here are some of the key findings:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Young academies are setting the pace when it comes to gender equality. On average, women’s share of their membership is 42%; ten young academies are ranked ahead of the highest ranked senior academy in terms of percentage of women members.</p></li>
<li><p>The highest ranked senior academy is the Academy of Sciences of Cuba. It increased its share from 27% in 2015 to 33% in 2020.</p></li>
<li><p>There are big disciplinary differences in women’s representation. This perpetuates <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-women-in-a-stem-field-leads-people-to-label-it-as-a-soft-science-according-to-new-research-173724">familiar patterns</a> evident also in women’s representation in research fields. For instance, representation was relatively higher in biological sciences (28%) and social sciences, humanities and arts (27%). It was lowest in the mathematical sciences (8%).</p></li>
<li><p>The Tanzania Academy of Sciences was among those academies that grew their representation of female scientists the most, increasing from 4% in 2015 to 12% in 2020. The Ethiopian Academy of Sciences now has the lowest representation of women members on the continent, at 9%. </p></li>
</ul>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-must-include-more-women-in-physics-it-would-help-the-whole-of-humanity-165096">We must include more women in physics — it would help the whole of humanity</a>
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<p>We also found a big divide between actions and words. For instance, 68% of international disciplinary organisations said they were committed to diversity and inclusivity. But only 32% said they were taking action by, for instance, developing policies that would drive diversity and inclusion. Only 16% of these organisations reported that they had a budget for activities related to gender equality. </p>
<p>One of our most disappointing findings was that only six science academies of the 72 that participated last time discussed the 2015 survey report and its recommendations at a strategic planning session. This has prompted us to recommend that the IAP and ISC establish centralised monitoring and evaluation frameworks that require regular reporting of gender statistics by their member organisations. </p>
<h2>Recommendations</h2>
<p>The new survey contains a number of recommendations, which GenderInSITE, the InterAcademy Partnership and the International Science Council are committed to taking forward. </p>
<p>One of our next steps is to extend the survey to other global science organisations. This will contribute to a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of gender equality in global science. The report also recommends developing and maintaining a central repository of gender-related policies and actions as a way of encouraging those organisations committed to gender transformation to learn from best practice examples. </p>
<p>GenderInSITE, the InterAcademy Partnership and the International Science Council have all committed to using their regional presences to gain insights and advance the gender equality agenda. This is especially so in countries or regions that are lagging. The same sort of work will be undertaken in disciplines that have been found wanting in terms of women’s representation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/moves-are-afoot-in-africa-to-keep-more-women-in-science-careers-133641">Moves are afoot in Africa to keep more women in science careers</a>
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<p>Our three organisations will also establish centralised monitoring and evaluation frameworks that require regular reporting of relevant gender statistics by our member organisations. This reporting will happen at a high strategic level. In this way, we hope that gender transformation is prioritised.</p>
<p>It’s also important to note that we’re not merely focusing on numbers, since these are only part of the picture. Science academies and disciplinary organisations are also being encouraged to focus on making diversity and inclusion central to their institutional cultures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roseanne Denise Diab receives funding from The Elsevier Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter McGrath works for the IAP, which receives core funding from the Government of Italy</span></em></p>Young academies, which generally represent early career scientists, fared far better than their senior counterparts - a promising sign for the future.Roseanne Denise Diab, Director: GenderInSITE, UnescoPeter McGrath, Researcher, Biosciences, The InterAcademy PartnershipLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1737242022-01-24T13:26:05Z2022-01-24T13:26:05ZMore women in a STEM field leads people to label it as a ‘soft science,’ according to new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441846/original/file-20220120-9679-19vyjxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=533%2C301%2C5844%2C4164&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How seriously people take particular scientific disciplines partly depends on how many women enter them.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/large-group-of-happy-college-students-celebrating-royalty-free-image/1175414396">skynesher/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>One factor that influences the use of the labels “soft science” or “hard science” is gender bias, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104234">recent research</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Qw6dPwUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">my</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_SS0alEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">colleagues</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=SK2z4YsAAAAJ">and I</a> conducted. </p>
<p>Women’s participation varies across STEM disciplines. While women have nearly reached gender parity in biomedical sciences, they still make up <a href="https://www.computerscience.org/resources/women-in-computer-science">only about 18% of students</a> receiving undergraduate degrees in computer science, for instance.</p>
<p>In a series of experiments, we varied the information study participants read about women’s representation in fields like chemistry, sociology and biomedical sciences. We then asked them to categorize these fields as either a “soft science” or a “hard science.”</p>
<p>Across studies, participants were consistently more likely to describe a discipline as a “soft science” when they’d been led to believe that proportionally more women worked in the field. Moreover, the “soft science” label led people to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104234">devalue these fields</a> – describing them as less rigorous, less trustworthy and less deserving of federal research funding.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Over the past decade, a growing movement has <a href="https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/the-stem-gap/">encouraged girls and women to pursue education and careers</a> in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. This effort is sometimes described as a way to reduce the wage gap. </p>
<p>By encouraging women to enter high-paying fields like science, technology and engineering, advocates hope that women on average will <a href="https://www.urban.org/2016-analysis/promote-stem-grade-school-fight-wage-gap-and-grow-economy">increase their earning power relative to men</a>. Others have hoped that, as women demonstrate they can be successful in STEM, <a href="https://sciencepolicyreview.org/2020/08/reducing-gender-bias-in-stem/">sexist stereotypes about women’s ability and interest in STEM</a> will erode.</p>
<p>Our research suggests this may not be the case. Stereotypes about women and STEM persist, even in the face of evidence that women can and do productively participate in STEM fields. These stereotypes can lead people to simply devalue the fields in which women participate. In this way, even science and math can end up in the “<a href="https://internationalwim.org/how-pink-collar-jobs-have-changed-since-1940/">pink collar</a>” category of heavily female fields that are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/low-pay-caring-industry-2014-2">often devalued and underpaid</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441848/original/file-20220120-9047-15poc0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man at white board, two women facing him with microscopes in foreground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441848/original/file-20220120-9047-15poc0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441848/original/file-20220120-9047-15poc0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441848/original/file-20220120-9047-15poc0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441848/original/file-20220120-9047-15poc0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441848/original/file-20220120-9047-15poc0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441848/original/file-20220120-9047-15poc0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441848/original/file-20220120-9047-15poc0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">What does a ‘scientist’ look like in your mind’s eye?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teacher-talking-to-students-in-lab-royalty-free-image/500046159">ER Productions Limited/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>Other research has found that explicit <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00415">“science equals men” stereotypes were weaker</a> among people who majored in science disciplines with high participation by women, like biological sciences, compared to those who majored in fields with few women, like engineering. This finding suggests that exposure to women in your own field can shift the gender stereotypes you hold. </p>
<p>But our studies more closely align with other research suggesting that, rather than reducing gender stereotyping, women’s increased participation results in the devaluation of more heavily female fields. </p>
<p>When women make up more than 25% of graduate students in a discipline, men – and to a lesser extent women – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070708000102">become less interested in pursuing that discipline</a>, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/upshot/as-women-take-over-a-male-dominated-field-the-pay-drops.html">salaries tend to go down</a>. Other studies have found that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00354.x">same job is seen as deserving a lower salary</a> when positioned in a “female field” than when it is listed in a “male field.” Together, this suggests that the presence of women, and not characteristics of the job or field, is what leads to devaluation and lower pay.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Participants who worked or planned to work in science were just as likely as the rest of the population to use gender as a cue to categorize soft vs. hard sciences. But in scientists, we found no connection between that tendency and their beliefs about women’s ability in science and math. That is, scientists’ levels of sexism, as measured by self-report, were unrelated to their inclination to call fields with many women “soft sciences.”</p>
<p>We don’t know how scientists and non-scientists ended up making the same connection between gender and soft science labels. It’s possible that people who work in science are just more aware of norms against expressing such gender stereotypes – meaning their self-reports are less likely to reflect their true beliefs and actually more closely match those of non-scientists. </p>
<p>But it’s also possible that something else is driving their use of the “soft science” label. For example, to our surprise, women who worked in science were more likely compared to men in science to label fields with many women as “soft sciences.” This could reflect the tendency for some women who experience sexism in their fields to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.12.007">distance themselves from other women</a> as a way to protect themselves from being targets of sexism.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Science advocates must grapple with the fact that women’s work in scientific fields can result in fields being devalued. For society to benefit fully from the broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, advocates may need to address gender stereotypes more directly.</p>
<p>Gender stereotypes about STEM could also affect which fields talented students choose to pursue. The label of “soft science” might be a turnoff for high-achieving students who want to prove their strengths – or, conversely, students who are insecure about their abilities might avoid a major described as a “hard science.”</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=science&source=inline-science-favorite">Weekly on Wednesdays</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173724/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alysson Light does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The proportion of women in a discipline influences how rigorous and trustworthy people rate the field overall, as well as whether they categorize a STEM field as a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ science.Alysson Light, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of the SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1733212021-12-16T13:28:19Z2021-12-16T13:28:19ZSurveys of scientists show women and young academics suffered most during pandemic and may face long-term career consequences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437659/original/file-20211214-27402-1j8amls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C201%2C6448%2C4245&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Working from home comes with many distractions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mother-working-from-home-with-children-in-royalty-free-image/1273890998?adppopup=true">MoMoProductions/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On March 6, 2020, universities across the U.S. announced systematic <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/coronavirus-college-campus-closings.html">laboratory closures, social distancing policies and travel bans</a> to cope with the growing coronavirus epidemic. These actions, while prudent and necessary, had immediate negative impacts on the academic enterprise of science in the U.S. and around the world.</p>
<p>We are a team of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DGHsTEgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">researchers</a> who <a href="https://spa.asu.edu/content/lesley-michalegko">study</a> the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CG9lGUgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">role of science</a> and technology <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=AXfiRyYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">in society</a>. We are also part of a collaborative, multi-university project, called SciOPS, that seeks to improve <a href="https://news.asu.edu/20210128-global-engagement-sciops-gives-us-look-scientists-minds">how scientists communicate with the public</a>. As the pandemic wore on, researchers began telling us about the work stoppages, data losses and other hardships they were experiencing. We felt this was important information, so we conducted two surveys to understand how the pandemic was affecting researchers.</p>
<p>The pandemic’s hardships in academia have been widespread and lasting, but our analyses revealed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00823-9">female and early career scientists faced more negative impacts</a> than other groups. These differences are likely aggravating already existing disparities and potentially altering career trajectories. The negative outcomes may last well beyond the end of the pandemic. </p>
<h2>A survey of researchers</h2>
<p>The SciOPS team conducted its first COVID-19 survey in May 2020, with a follow-up exactly a year later in May 2021. For each, we invited faculty from a random sample of 21 U.S. research universities who work in biology, engineering and biochemistry to participate in the study, and about 300 scientists responded each time. Through a series of multiple choice and open-ended questions, the surveys asked how researchers had been affected both professionally and personally by the pandemic. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437661/original/file-20211214-17-1mdremf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A sign in a door saying that a university building is closed indefinitely." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437661/original/file-20211214-17-1mdremf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437661/original/file-20211214-17-1mdremf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437661/original/file-20211214-17-1mdremf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437661/original/file-20211214-17-1mdremf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437661/original/file-20211214-17-1mdremf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437661/original/file-20211214-17-1mdremf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437661/original/file-20211214-17-1mdremf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Closures of schools and labs forced many scientists to work from home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakColorado/a2a120dd5a6d45048f24e863314e6e33/photo?Query=university%20closed%20virus%20sign&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=8&currentItemNo=4">AP Photo/David Zalubowski</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How the coronavirus disrupted science</h2>
<p>Our first survey found that disruptions at work and home negatively affected research activities for a vast majority of the scientists who responded. </p>
<p>On the <a href="https://www.sci-ops.org/surveys/covid-19-survey-ii-2021-impacts-on-scientific-research">research side</a>, 93% of respondents experienced university shutdowns and 88% faced lab work disruptions. Over 80% dealt with conference cancellations and travel restrictions. Some researchers also had to quickly adapt to financial issues, and this, along with other hurdles, saw many scientists delaying data collection, applying for timeline extensions or ending data collection early.</p>
<p>Challenges at <a href="https://www.sci-ops.org/surveys/covid-19-personal-impacts">home also affected scientists’ work</a>. Roughly 80% of respondents said they were unable to concentrate on research activities, 72% had anxiety about contracting COVID-19 and 36% had to manage unexpected child care responsibilities. </p>
<p>The May 2021 survey showed that a year later, not much had changed. Responses were nearly identical: 92% of scientists reported difficulties from university closures, 89% experienced lab work disruptions and 84% had collaboration disruptions that had interrupted their research over the past year.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sci-ops.org/surveys/covid-19-survey-ii-2021-personal-impacts">Issues at home were nearly the same</a> as the year prior, too. The only major difference was that 11% percent of respondents reported coping with a family member’s illness, compared to only 3% in 2020.</p>
<p>Inevitably, these stressors all took a toll on researchers’ well-being. Nearly 60% indicated that their overall mental health and happiness had decreased because of the pandemic. This is higher than a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that found <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6932a1">40% of the U.S. general public were facing mental health issues</a> in June 2021. As one researcher stated, reiterating the sentiments of many others in our study: “The mental impact of lockdown affected every researcher in my lab, including me. It was far more damaging than anything else we experienced and caused huge drop-offs in productivity.” </p>
<h2>Younger researchers and female researchers faced more difficulties</h2>
<p>Some scientists felt the added stress from a lack of boundaries between home and work much more acutely than others. The unexpected rises in parental child care and virtual schooling fell most heavily on female and early career faculty. </p>
<p>In our 2020 survey, 34% percent of female scientists reported disruptions due to unexpected child care responsibilities, compared to 21% of males. Early career faculty struggled more too. Roughly 43% of assistant professors indicated unexpected child care duties caused major disruptions to their research, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00823-9">30% more than their most senior colleagues</a>. In total, nearly 50% of both female respondents and assistant professors reported an inability to concentrate on research activities, while only 29% of male colleagues and 36% of senior colleagues reported the same.</p>
<p><iframe id="6vK2B" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6vK2B/8/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>These unequal burdens barely changed between 2020 and 2021. If anything, issues got worse for female scientists. Many reported other unanticipated complications such as management of other family members’ mental health, divorce and limited space at home. </p>
<p>Given the extra burdens young researchers and female researchers are facing, it’s no surprise their work suffered. Other research has shown that during the pandemic, female scientists had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0921-y">significantly less time to work on research</a>. Many were not able to meet deadlines, and so they <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663252">submitted fewer manuscripts</a> compared to pre-pandemic levels. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, these impacts on productivity were <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663252">even worse for women with children</a>. Research has shown that home disruptions can cascade over time and result in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0921-y">delayed promotions and tenure</a>. Even pre-COVID-19, working mothers in academia left their respective fields at much higher rates than their male colleagues, and this trend was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202006-589IP">further amplified by the pandemic</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437662/original/file-20211214-27-11jx78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A screen with many faces on it participating in a video conference." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437662/original/file-20211214-27-11jx78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437662/original/file-20211214-27-11jx78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437662/original/file-20211214-27-11jx78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437662/original/file-20211214-27-11jx78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437662/original/file-20211214-27-11jx78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437662/original/file-20211214-27-11jx78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437662/original/file-20211214-27-11jx78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Researchers figured out ways to work around challenges posed by the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/social-teleconference-during-covid-19-royalty-free-image/1217489268?adppopup=true">GabrielPevide/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Adapting to the new world</h2>
<p>Undoubtedly, the pandemic has had devastating effects on academic research and those who do it. But hidden among the gloom of our surveys were a few bright spots that highlight the resilience of the scientific community.</p>
<p>In our 2020 survey, 37% of scientists said that they developed new research topics to pursue, and 22% developed new collaborations. Virtual meetings proved to be a valuable transition for some. As one researcher noted, “Through regular videoconference discussions, new and long-distance collaborations have been initiated and maintained between four labs in the U.S. This would have been never envisaged prior to the Zoom era.”</p>
<p>The pandemic highlighted existing problems within science but also offered lessons to be learned. Many in academia want to avoid <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2021/02/10/without-intentional-interventions-pandemic-will-make-higher-education-less-diverse">deepening existing inequities in the scientific workforce</a>, and studies have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001100">outlined ways to do this</a>. By implementing programs such as tenure clock extensions, advocating for affordable child care and allocating funds to support early career women researchers, the scientific community could enable broader participation, capacity and production for all scientists. </p>
<p>Looking forward, we believe it is critically important for universities and research funders to proactively address the continuing challenges posed by the pandemic, particularly for female and early career faculty. With so much in flux, there is an opportunity to change and improve a system that wasn’t working for a lot of people prior to the pandemic.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=weekly&source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173321/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many scientists stuck at home during university closures dealt with increased domestic responsibilities. But some groups had it worse than others.Lesley Michalegko, Research Project Manager of Public Policy, Arizona State UniversityEric Welch, Professor & Director, Center for Science, Technology & Environmental Policy Studies, Arizona State UniversityMary K. Feeney, Professor and Lincoln Professor of Ethics in Public Affairs, Arizona State UniversityTimothy P. Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Public Administration, University of Illinois ChicagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1711632021-12-14T13:27:45Z2021-12-14T13:27:45ZComic book introduces kids to key concepts and careers in cybersecurity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437268/original/file-20211213-19-11nlx6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5725%2C3837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The number of cybersecurity jobs is expected to grow up to 33% in the near future.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/elementary-age-children-learn-computer-coding-in-royalty-free-image/947554314?adppopup=true">fstop123/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435435/original/file-20211202-17-1wdszbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A paper wheel with different symbols sits on a desk. " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435435/original/file-20211202-17-1wdszbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435435/original/file-20211202-17-1wdszbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435435/original/file-20211202-17-1wdszbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435435/original/file-20211202-17-1wdszbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435435/original/file-20211202-17-1wdszbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435435/original/file-20211202-17-1wdszbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435435/original/file-20211202-17-1wdszbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students crack a secret message using this Caesar wheel as part of a challenge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CryptoComics</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Three 9-year-old girls are huddled around a Caesar wheel, an ancient tool for sharing secret messages.</p>
<p>Cracking a code is one of many challenges the girls complete to help characters in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmQzIhL9vzk&t=5s">CryptoComics</a> escape a mysterious cyberworld into which they’ve been drawn.</p>
<p>CryptoComics is a curriculum designed to teach elementary school children – particularly girls of color – about <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/about-cisa">cybersecurity</a> – the practice of keeping digital information safe – and related careers. It also <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/cryptology">teaches about cryptology</a> – the science of making and breaking codes. The girls partake in this program as part of their after-school activities in Atlanta.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430385/original/file-20211104-27-1cqoq0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A computer screen shows a teacher going over a lesson plan." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430385/original/file-20211104-27-1cqoq0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430385/original/file-20211104-27-1cqoq0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430385/original/file-20211104-27-1cqoq0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430385/original/file-20211104-27-1cqoq0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430385/original/file-20211104-27-1cqoq0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430385/original/file-20211104-27-1cqoq0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430385/original/file-20211104-27-1cqoq0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers can go over important lesson plans with students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CryptoComics</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Led by a team of <a href="http://cryptocomics.org/team/">educators and researchers</a>, <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1849768&HistoricalAwards=false">CryptoComics</a> strategically integrates a digital comic book, apps and unplugged activities, such as painting rocks with ancient symbols and making invisible ink. It also features stories about cybersecurity professionals who are women. CryptoComics is freely available on <a href="http://cryptocomics.org/">cryptocomics.org</a>.</p>
<p>We are both researchers in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=S078Z_EAAAAJ&hl=en">educational technology</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=J1XAg5IAAAAJ&hl=en">STEM education</a>. We are examining how the program – which we both helped develop – increases awareness about careers in cybsecurity.</p>
<p>The overall objective of the program is to spark girls’ interest in careers in cybersecurity. While it will take years to determine whether the program has the desired effect, <a href="http://cryptocomics.org/research/">early research</a> shows that participants come out knowing about more potential jobs in cybersecurity than they did before.</p>
<p>Kids who’ve participated in the program have told researchers they “liked those jobs introduced in CryptoComics because they keep us safe from hackers.” They also liked that “you get to work on a team to figure out codes and break them.”</p>
<h2>Vast reach of cyberattacks</h2>
<p>Cybersecurity touches just about everyone in some way or another – from adults in the workplace and banking to schoolchildren. For instance, cybercriminals have been launching cyberattacks against U.S. schools at a record pace – as many as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-08-09/schools-brace-for-more-cyberattacks-after-record-2020">two per school day</a> in 2020. Hackers also target individuals who use <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-safely-use-public-wi-fi-networks">public Wi-Fi</a>.</p>
<p>Cybersecurity professionals will likely be <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm">in demand for the foreseeable future</a>. The federal government <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm">projects 33% growth in jobs</a> in cybersecurity and related fields over the next decade or so. Yet women are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-lack-of-women-in-cybersecurity-leaves-the-online-world-at-greater-risk-136654">highly underrepresented</a> in the profession, making up <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm">only 11%</a> of information security analysts. </p>
<p>Part of the reason is that young girls <a href="https://theconversation.com/stereotypes-about-girls-dissuade-many-from-careers-in-computer-science-172279">often don’t see themselves</a> going into a field like computer science. But research shows that the attitudes elementary school children have toward STEM careers like cybersecurity <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-018-9358-z">can be changed</a>. CryptoComics was designed to bring cybersecurity learning and career awareness to third to fifth grade girls through an engaging after-school curriculum.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430386/original/file-20211104-17-muwfci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cartoon depiction of the four main characters standing together." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430386/original/file-20211104-17-muwfci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430386/original/file-20211104-17-muwfci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430386/original/file-20211104-17-muwfci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430386/original/file-20211104-17-muwfci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430386/original/file-20211104-17-muwfci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430386/original/file-20211104-17-muwfci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430386/original/file-20211104-17-muwfci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Akila, Bai, Carly and Jabari must solve a series of puzzles from the cyberworld.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CryptoComics</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The comic book, designed by media artist <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-a-jackson-a5933ba/">D.A. Jackson</a>, begins when three friends – Akila, Carly and Bai – find a West African souvenir box belonging to Akila’s grandma. Akila takes a picture of the box with her tablet. Suddenly, she and her friends are sucked into a mysterious cyberworld. </p>
<p>As Akila narrates the story, students follow the girls and her little brother, Jabari, who communicates with the girls through the tablet. They crack codes and ciphers and solve puzzles. They also learn the history of cryptology and basics of cybersecurity to help the girls escape the cyberworld.</p>
<p>The six chapters of the comic book progress from basic information about codes and symbols to current cybersecurity practices such as creating safe passwords. Children explore important historical developments in cryptology approaches and technologies like the <a href="https://www.intelligence.gov/index.php/people/barrier-breakers-in-history/453-navajo-code-talkers">Navajo Code Talkers</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/WAVES-United-States-naval-organization">WAVES program</a>. The Navajo Code Talkers were U.S. Marines of Navajo descent who used their native language to send secret messages over radio waves during WWII. WAVES – Women Accepted for Voluntarily Emergency Service – was a division of the U.S. Navy in which female cryptologists worked during WWII. </p>
<p>Children also use a variety of ciphers and codes to encrypt and decrypt information. This helps the comic book characters during their cyberadventure. Activities are grounded in symbols from different cultures such as a scytale from Greece, pictograms from West African and Native American culture and <a href="https://cyber.org/news/home-activity-encryption-pigpen-cipher">Freemason Pigpen ciphers</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430387/original/file-20211104-19383-1a62kra.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="In one panel a pink and blue colored heart is painted on a rock. Another panel shows missing letters in a text, and a final panel shows a soldier holding a spear in his hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430387/original/file-20211104-19383-1a62kra.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430387/original/file-20211104-19383-1a62kra.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430387/original/file-20211104-19383-1a62kra.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430387/original/file-20211104-19383-1a62kra.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430387/original/file-20211104-19383-1a62kra.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430387/original/file-20211104-19383-1a62kra.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430387/original/file-20211104-19383-1a62kra.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Symbols and codes from different cultures hold important information for the main characters to use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CryptoComics</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The curriculum culminates with games and simulations in which the children learn about cybersecurity. They learn to defend their device against the person who hacked Akila’s tablet. They learn about safe password practices and how to protect themselves from <a href="https://www.imperva.com/learn/application-security/brute-force-attack/">brute force</a> password cracking – that is, using a program or guesswork to try every possible password combination; <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/attempts-to-gain-your-personal-information/phishing">phishing scams</a> that use fake emails to get people to click on malicious links; and <a href="https://www.webroot.com/us/en/resources/tips-articles/what-is-social-engineering">social engineering</a> attacks.</p>
<p>[<em>Too busy to read another daily email?</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-toobusy">Get one of The Conversation’s curated weekly newsletters</a>.]</p>
<p>For example, the comic book characters learn about social engineering when they go back in time to the British Government Code and Cypher School – now known as <a href="https://www.gchq.gov.uk/">GCHQ</a>. This is where they meet a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/WAVES-United-States-naval-organization">WAVES</a> servicewoman named Dorothy who turns out to be Akila’s grandma. They also meet <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/obituaries/alan-turing-overlooked.html">Alan Turing</a>, a real-life WWII cryptoanalyst.</p>
<p>Dorothy, Alan and the comic book characters work to crack a briefcase password using a letter found on a spy. Meanwhile, students participating in the curriculum work to crack the code via a simulation. Students learn that social engineering is a process hackers use to figure out passwords based on personal information such as a birth dates or names of family members.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430389/original/file-20211104-27-8zsukc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A comic book panel shows a letter written from a young girl asking her grandfather to attend a birthday party." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430389/original/file-20211104-27-8zsukc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430389/original/file-20211104-27-8zsukc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430389/original/file-20211104-27-8zsukc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430389/original/file-20211104-27-8zsukc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430389/original/file-20211104-27-8zsukc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430389/original/file-20211104-27-8zsukc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430389/original/file-20211104-27-8zsukc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social engineering tactics are a gateway for hackers to get private information.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CryptoComics</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Preparing for cybersecurity careers</h2>
<p>Over 200 elementary school-age students – 73% girls – from diverse backgrounds in 16 after-school programs across the Southeastern U.S. have participated in <a href="https://stemforall2021.videohall.com/presentations/1925">CryptoComics</a>. <a href="http://cryptocomics.org/research/">Preliminary research</a>, which we oversaw, has found that children enjoy the curriculum, learn how to encrypt and decrypt information in different ways and demonstrate awareness of cybersecurity professions. They also transfer knowledge and skills gained in CryptoComics to real-life experiences.</p>
<p>Teachers we have spoken with also say the curriculum “can be a game changer” for participating girls. The teachers report that students “quickly retained” concepts such as enciphering and deciphering – making and breaking different kinds of messages and codes.</p>
<p>Some students struggled with reading the comic book. They said they wanted audio support but they didn’t want a monotone computer voice. Instead, they wanted the audio “to act like the characters.” As a result, we recruited <a href="http://cryptocomics.org/team/">local voice actors</a> to narrate the comic book. </p>
<p>The narration can be used by students who struggle with reading or who simply prefer listening to stories. Teachers confirmed that “the narrated version of the actual comic book itself has helped tremendously.” It has made the curriculum more accessible for struggling readers.</p>
<p>Tremendous <a href="https://www.isc2.org/-/media/ISC2/Research/2020/Workforce-Study/ISC2ResearchDrivenWhitepaperFINAL.ashx?la=en&hash=2879EE167ACBA7100C330429C7EBC623BAF4E07B">career opportunities</a> exist in cybersecurity. CryptoComics represents just one way to better position young children – and especially young girls – to take advantage of these opportunities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171163/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kara Dawson receives funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Material presented here is based upon work supported by the NSF under Grant #1849768</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pavlo Antonenko receives funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Material presented here is based upon work supported by the NSF under Grant #1849768.</span></em></p>A comic-based curriculum for after-school programs could hold the key to unlocking girls’ interest in careers in cybersecurity.Kara Dawson, Professor of Educational Technology, University of FloridaPavlo Antonenko, Associate Professor of Educational Technology, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1718272021-12-12T19:09:44Z2021-12-12T19:09:44ZTeacher gender bias is real and has lasting effects on students’ marks and study choices<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436822/original/file-20211209-13-1hrhvhq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5615%2C3741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two important patterns in education are true world-wide. First, females outperform males in most subjects, and boys <a href="https://www.school-news.com.au/news/study-reveals-patterns-in-stem-grades-of-girls-versus-boys/">do not outperform</a> girls in high school maths and physics. Second, more females than males enrol in higher education. However, female enrolments in science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) degrees are disproportionately low.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w26021">My research</a> with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lavy">Professor Victor Lavy</a> has shown teacher gender bias at least partly explains these low enrolments. We measured this bias in an innovative way based on how teachers graded different sets of students. We tracked the effects over many years, showing this bias distorts students’ grades in school and their post-school study choices.</p>
<p>We also found an association with teaching quality: the most effective teachers have a gender-neutral attitude.</p>
<h2>What did the study look at?</h2>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4955357/">evidence</a> that beliefs about a specific group can determine individuals’ behaviours toward members of that group. And these behaviours, whether conscious or unconscious, may affect outcomes for the individuals exposed to them. So we explored the question: if you have a pro-boy maths teacher, how does it affect students’ performance in the subject a year later and their likelihood of enrolling in a maths degree two years later?</p>
<p>To answer this question, we used administrative data from Greece that match students, teachers and classrooms. Our study sample included more than 400 teachers from 21 high schools over eight years. The data record the progress of students from grade 10 through to grade 12, and are linked with university admission. </p>
<p>Thus, we can see students’ trajectory, including results in tests in year 11, standardised high-stakes exams in grade 12, attendance, the quality of the tertiary institution they enrol in, as well as degree choices.</p>
<h2>How was teacher bias measured?</h2>
<p>To measure teacher gender bias we exploited the difference between two tests that every student takes in all subjects in grade 11. One test is external, graded by an external examiner, and student names and thus gender are concealed. For the other test, graded by a school teacher, student names and their gender are revealed. </p>
<p>These tests cover the same curriculum and examine the same skills. Both tests are high-stakes, because results count for university admission two years later. </p>
<p>We calculated gender differences in outcomes in the two tests for each class a teacher taught in the sample. This measure shows whether teachers do consistently give higher or lower grades when they know the genders of students (compared to the external assessors who do not know this). In this way, we could identify a teacher’s gender biases in grading. </p>
<p>We were able to track outcomes for teachers over the eight years to get a persistent measure of their bias in different classes with different sets of students. We found teacher gender biases exist and are persistent. A teacher who acts in one class in a pro-boy way is very likely to act in the same way in a different class even seven or eight years later. </p>
<p>Our findings indicate these biases are deeply rooted in teachers’ attitudes and behaviours. Only 15% of teachers were gender-neutral in their behaviour. </p>
<p>Many teachers favoured boys, and many teachers favoured girls, with these behaviours varying by subjects. For instance, there was more pro-boy grading behaviour by teachers in algebra rather than in history or ancient Greek. </p>
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<h2>Teacher biases affect students a lot</h2>
<p>We then investigated the impacts of these biases on students’ maths grades in high school and on university admission. We found lasting effects. Male students who had a pro-boy maths teacher in grade 11 did better in maths in grade 12. The opposite happened to female students in their maths class – they did significantly worse the next year. </p>
<p>Studies from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775718307714">France</a> and <a href="https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0047272708000418?token=4A28F6AD5D1ADE2B019CAC4DA9844F6F3C4195AC53454F417AAAD30ABB5847239C25E1215F8B73420D1E56DE6E998DDE&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20211206122122">Israel</a> found a similar pattern. However, these studies used a weaker definition for teacher gender biases and could not follow the same teacher over time.</p>
<p>Using detailed student attendance data, we also found students with teachers biased in favour of their gender are less likely to miss classes without a reason and less likely to be expelled from the class. This suggest students exposed to biased teachers might be less motivated to attend class or less engaged with learning.</p>
<p>After school, teacher biases continue to have a significant effect on students’ probability of enrolling in tertiary education, quality of university and study program. These effects are similar for males and females. </p>
<p>However, only for female students do teacher biases have a significant effect on the chosen field of study. Female students who had pro-boy teachers in maths or physics in grade 11 were less likely to enrol in university maths or physics courses two years later. Teacher gender biases seem to have little effect on male students’ degree choices. </p>
<p>This could be partially explained by a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.440">discouragement effect</a> on girls that lowers their self-confidence and their beliefs in their abilities and prospects of success. </p>
<h2>The impacts are long-term</h2>
<p>Teacher gender biases seem to have longer-term implications for females, affecting their career prospects and earnings.</p>
<p>In Australia, only <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/stem-equity-monitor/university-enrolment-and-completion-in-stem-and-other-fields">35% of university degrees in STEM disciplines</a> are awarded to women. Although <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/publications/higher-education-enrolments-and-graduate-labour-market-statistics">58% of students</a> in higher education are females, the rates are much lower in STEM subjects: 40% in architecture and building, 17% in information technology and 16% in engineering and related technologies. </p>
<p>These STEM degrees are associated with high salaries. This means women are underrepresented in high-paying occupations. This trend is true for most <a href="https://www.oecd.org/gender/data/why-dont-more-girls-choose-stem-careers.htm">OECD countries</a>.</p>
<h2>Gender-neutral teachers are more effective</h2>
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<p>Our final important finding is that the most effective teachers have gender-neutral attitudes. This suggests less effective teachers can harm their students twice: first by being ineffective and second by discriminating against one of the genders. </p>
<p>From a policy perspective, training that improves teacher quality will also likely reduce gender discrimination in schools.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rigissa Megalokonomou undertook the research discussed in this article with Professor Victor Lavy of the University of Warwick and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.</span></em></p>Research tracking teachers, classes and their grades over many years shows gender bias has long-term impacts on students’ performance and their post-school study choices.Rigissa Megalokonomou, Lecturer in Economics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.