Women and Minorities in Science: Levelling the playing field

Author: Linda van Bijsterveldt

In light of a recent publication in Angewandte Chemie, which was quickly retracted, I thought it would be important to the highlight the cultural change that is still needed to support the personal and professional growth of all scientists, regardless of gender or ethnicity.

Prof. Hudlicky, the author of an essay published in the German, peer-reviewed academic journal Angewandte Chemie, stated that: “In the last two decades many groups and/or individuals have been designated with ‘preferential status’. This in spite of the fact that the percentage of women and minorities in academia and pharmaceutical industry has greatly increased. It follows that, in a social equilibrium, preferential treatment of one group leads to disadvantages for another.” Even though many men of course support gender equality and actively promote it, some, including Prof. Hudlicky, seem to feel threatened by it and actively argue against “radical feminism”. Given that respected scientists, such as the author of this opinion piece, often serve as a role model for the new generation of scientists, it is imperative that we, as young researchers, emphasize the responsibility of leaders in science to actively promote equality and diversity.

Each year, women scientists have a 19.5% higher risk of dropping out of academia than male scientists, leading to subsequent gaps in career length and productivity that are particularly obvious in the fields of biology and chemistry

Although the recent attempts to level the playing field have resulted in a gradual increase in the fraction of women in STEM, a recent study has shown that the gender disparities in productivity and impact have only continued to increase [1]. Despite the advance towards closing the gender “participation gap”, men continue to outnumber women 2 to 1 in the scientific workforce. Each year, women scientists have a 19.5% higher risk of dropping out of academia than male scientists, leading to subsequent gaps in career length and productivity that are particularly obvious in the fields of biology and chemistry [1]. These observations highlight that discrepancies remain as women continue to fail moving up the career ladder, due to causes potentially related to the perception of talent and resource allocation. Hence, simply increasing the participation of women and minorities in academia and pharmaceutical industry does not achieve true gender equality, and certainly has not led to “another” already privileged group (i.e. men as Prof. Hudlicky would argue) being disadvantaged in their career progression. The problem lies not only in getting women and minorities to enter the STEM field – it is also the difficulty of getting them to stay there in face of internalized sexist biases and microaggressions.

Therefore, it is critical for young researchers to share any encounters they may have had with the pervasive and biased systems that continue to limit the full participation and potential of women and other minority groups in science

Linda van Bijsterveldt

Therefore, it is critical for young researchers to share any encounters they may have had with the pervasive and biased systems that continue to limit the full participation and potential of women and other minority groups in science. Let me be frank: in the 21st Century, you would not expect a leading scientist to ask a young woman like myself, at an interview, whether or not they have a boyfriend whom is going to interfere with their study. Equally, you would expect that it would be rare for me to hear my female peers be told that there isn’t much point for them to pursue an academic career because eventually they would "have the desire to have a child and give it all up, anyway” [2]. I still remember the occasions where I failed to dilute my assertiveness with more stereotypically feminine traits and was told that “having confidence would make it hard for me to take advice and do little to advance my career”. Tales of the obstacles that women and other minorities face do not end here and this illustrates how far we still need to go to achieve the goal of equal participation and success.

As a young scientist in Oxford enjoying the pursuit of my career of choice with, thankfully, a set of mentors who have always positively contributed to the change that needs to happen to bring about equality in the world of academia, it still feels strange to discuss how it is substantially harder for a woman to progress in her academic career compared to her male counterparts today. The battle has not been won but it surely is one worth keeping to fight for.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the policy or position of the University, division or department.

1. Huang, Junming, et al. "Historical comparison of gender inequality in scientific careers across countries and disciplines."Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences117.9 (2020): 4609-4616.

2. Rosser, Sue Vilhauer. Breaking into the lab: Engineering progress for women in science. NYU Press, 2012.