I’ve been lucky enough to never experience anything like this directly, but unfortunately I know that this does happen. This shouldn’t be a deterrent to going into science though as almost every scientist I’ve ever met has been very friendly. A bit odd sometimes, but always friendly!
I am lucky that in pregnancy research there are far more female scientists than their are in other fields. This isn’t very surprising as its one of the only biomedical fields that deals only with women!
Sexism in science definitely does still occur, but there are so many female scientists now that we can stand up for ourselves.
On the plus side, my young nieces think its super cool that I’m a scientist! It’s great to be a role model to the next generation. Which is also why it’s important to do things like I’m A Scientist. Girls like you need to know that you can be a female scientist and that there’s lots of us out there who will support you in becoming one!
There’s a great book called Inferior by Angela Saini about sexism in research. Not just about how female scientists have been treated in the past but also about how biased research is towards men. It’s a great read! She also has a new book about racism in science called Superior – that one is more about the science into the differences between races and how its all tainted by racism. It’s important to remember that scientists are people too and so many have prejudices that affect not only how they treat other scientists but how they interpret their research. We need to be aware of our biases and those of other scientists.
I’ve never been looked down on for being a female scientist. Most people are usually interested in why I chose this as a career.
When I was at school I was the only girl in my year interested in science so it seemed unusual but when I went to uni at least half the students were female.
It can sometimes be hard to be recognised but I don’t think any more so than in other professions.
Being a female technician is more of a challenge but I have a lot of experience in my field and once researchers realise this they tend to give you the respect you deserve.
Definitely don’t see this as a problem if you are interested in pursuing a career in science.
In a very male-dominated field I’ve had a few negative experiences with this, but in general all the people I’ve worked with have been very respectful, and there are definitely improving attitudes and initiatives to support and encourage women in these roles in the future. Most universities and workplaces have zero tolerance policies towards discrimination on gender so you will always find help if you encounter anything like this. I’m proud to be a female mathematician and want more young girls to enter the field!
In my 10 years out of school I have only had one negative experience. One of my colleagues in my gap year job wanted one of the male year in industry students to do a piece of work for him despite me being the only one available. The company was great though and supported me through it. The rest of my experiences were great and my fellow students and co-workers have been very supportive. Where I work now the balance is almost equal between men and women at my career stage despite me being the only British female on my undergraduate mechanical engineering course.
I think most of the negative bias people face in science is ‘unconscious bias’ – i.e. not the type that anyone is aware of having, so in other words, a lot of the bias is unintentional because of historical societal ‘norms’ or cultural experiences. This type of bias is very hard to measure and identify but we are all capable of it (and likely apply it without realising it every day). There is a lot more awareness of this in science now so many scientists are trained to recognise this in themselves and others. The only way of effectively reducing this is for a diverse range of people to get involved in science, learn what they can, do their best, and gradually over time the landscape will change, the stereotypes will be ironed out and a ‘diverse’ scientific workforce will become the new ‘norm’. Come join us!
This is a great question and also a very brave one to ask – well done! I think some of the barriers that women used to face getting into science and being scientists have come down, and now it’s a lot easier to find other women doing science and we even have groups on social media like ‘Women in STEM’, and conferences like ‘Women Deliver’, where there are lots of female scientists coming together to talk about science and gender issues.
I worked in Surgery, which (when I was training), was mainly an all-male environment. I was often the only girl in the room! Luckily, I found some great female role models, and funnily enough at the time, I never even noticed most of the time that I was the only girl around!
I have found that sometimes in life, people will try and put you down and you might have to work a bit harder to prove yourself at times, but I think this is changing for the better now, as more and more women get into science. When people try and put you down, it always says more about them than it does about you, and it is usually because you are good at what you do, when they try to do that! So now I take it as a real compliment! I think if you are good at what you do, work hard and are consistently good, then people start to take notice, respect you and will acknowledge your work.
Never. I think most people admire that I’m a female scientist. After all, studying science if often seen as difficult and so mostly I get people saying I must be very smart (which is funny, because I’m not, I’m just like everyone else but I love working in science that’s all)
Yes, sexism exists, and yes, some fields of science are currently male-dominated, but this is changing. Many organisations are taking sexism very seriously and making the environment more welcoming to women, because otherwise they will miss out on incredible talented staff. For me, I have never experienced overt sexism in the workplace, and generally STEM is becoming more and more LGBTQ friendly as well.
Comments
Alex commented on :
In a very male-dominated field I’ve had a few negative experiences with this, but in general all the people I’ve worked with have been very respectful, and there are definitely improving attitudes and initiatives to support and encourage women in these roles in the future. Most universities and workplaces have zero tolerance policies towards discrimination on gender so you will always find help if you encounter anything like this. I’m proud to be a female mathematician and want more young girls to enter the field!
Ettie commented on :
In my 10 years out of school I have only had one negative experience. One of my colleagues in my gap year job wanted one of the male year in industry students to do a piece of work for him despite me being the only one available. The company was great though and supported me through it. The rest of my experiences were great and my fellow students and co-workers have been very supportive. Where I work now the balance is almost equal between men and women at my career stage despite me being the only British female on my undergraduate mechanical engineering course.
Nina commented on :
I think most of the negative bias people face in science is ‘unconscious bias’ – i.e. not the type that anyone is aware of having, so in other words, a lot of the bias is unintentional because of historical societal ‘norms’ or cultural experiences. This type of bias is very hard to measure and identify but we are all capable of it (and likely apply it without realising it every day). There is a lot more awareness of this in science now so many scientists are trained to recognise this in themselves and others. The only way of effectively reducing this is for a diverse range of people to get involved in science, learn what they can, do their best, and gradually over time the landscape will change, the stereotypes will be ironed out and a ‘diverse’ scientific workforce will become the new ‘norm’. Come join us!
Shobhana commented on :
This is a great question and also a very brave one to ask – well done! I think some of the barriers that women used to face getting into science and being scientists have come down, and now it’s a lot easier to find other women doing science and we even have groups on social media like ‘Women in STEM’, and conferences like ‘Women Deliver’, where there are lots of female scientists coming together to talk about science and gender issues.
I worked in Surgery, which (when I was training), was mainly an all-male environment. I was often the only girl in the room! Luckily, I found some great female role models, and funnily enough at the time, I never even noticed most of the time that I was the only girl around!
I have found that sometimes in life, people will try and put you down and you might have to work a bit harder to prove yourself at times, but I think this is changing for the better now, as more and more women get into science. When people try and put you down, it always says more about them than it does about you, and it is usually because you are good at what you do, when they try to do that! So now I take it as a real compliment! I think if you are good at what you do, work hard and are consistently good, then people start to take notice, respect you and will acknowledge your work.
Emma commented on :
Never. I think most people admire that I’m a female scientist. After all, studying science if often seen as difficult and so mostly I get people saying I must be very smart (which is funny, because I’m not, I’m just like everyone else but I love working in science that’s all)
Yes, sexism exists, and yes, some fields of science are currently male-dominated, but this is changing. Many organisations are taking sexism very seriously and making the environment more welcoming to women, because otherwise they will miss out on incredible talented staff. For me, I have never experienced overt sexism in the workplace, and generally STEM is becoming more and more LGBTQ friendly as well.