A recent article in Newsweek tackles the issue of gender discrimination in journalism--even at Newsweek itself (though perhaps a bit soft-pedaled, that part). The authors tell an all-too-familiar storyline:
1) Sexism was really, really awful when women first started making major inroads in the workplace (the women at Newsweek were called "dollies;" they were told outright that women didn't write).
2) Now things are much much better!
3) Except.
Except men wrote 88% of the cover stories for Newsweek last year ("and two of those used the headline 'The Thinking Man.'"). Except women still earn less than men. Except women are still underrepresented on the masthead. Except, except, except...the equality isn't so very equal.
What I find interesting is that the type of metrics and stories that women tell about discrimination at today's magazines are so similar to what I hear in the sciences. Replace "cover stories" with "speaking invitations at conferences." Replace "underrepresented on the masthead" with "underrepresented on the faculty." Replace "earn less" with, uhh, "earn less."
In the biological sciences, women who join with confidence in graduate school are still disappearing, particularly at the postdoc-to-professor transition. Men still represent ~80% of the faculty.
(My department recently held a faculty job search. When I complained that an overwhelming percentage of the invited candidates were male, one faculty member told me that the department had recently hired several women, so I shouldn't worry. Well phew--thank goodness we've filled that quota! Now we don't have to concern ourselves with inviting the ladies for a while.)
The article made me think that efforts to address women's stymied progress in the sciences cannot be confined to financial solutions, like providing better campus childcare, but need to confront the systemic cultural attack on women.
Though, campus childcare would be a nice start.
15 years ago
8 comments:
I totally hear you. There was another article on CNN this week that women health-care executives make less than men, even when all other factors (education, awards, publications, etc.) were kept equal. My MRU dept. has held the same faculty search for two consecutive years (last year, the chosen one decided to go elsewhere, and the search was re-opened this year). Of the 8 candidates that have been invited to campus these past two years, not one was a woman. Being a postdoc, I wasn't privy to the search process, but my PI was on the first search committee and said there were several highly-qualified women applicants, but the committee could not reach consensus on their ranking, so they were not invited. Grrr. One of my students is a mom of three who returned to school to finish her degree. She was originally pre-med, and during her first time around, her organic chem prof told her that women's brains just weren't wired to handle certain "hard" subjects, such as chemistry (sadly, his comments sunk in enough that it contributed to her decision to leave school at the time). When she told me that, my jaw hit the floor. Double grrr.
This completely true. In my department, after the chair retired last year, there are no female assistant, associate, or full professors. We now have but one part-time professor that teaches a few labs.
As for female graduate students, well we are blessed there.There is a significant difference though.... There are TWO female american graduate students(myself being one)!! I find this incredibly difficult when it comes to inter-personal relationships. It's hard to make really good friends when another person's background is so different.
there were several highly-qualified women applicants, but the committee could not reach consensus on their ranking, so they were not invited
When this is the case, the default should ALWAYS be INVITE. Improve the demographics of your working candidate pool and give these women a chance to show their stuff to the naysayers.
Sigh. I'll give the appropriate response for Good Friday: AMEN.
or should I say, A(WO)MEN?
Anyway, I have to point out another sad fact: just giving women interviews isn't enough. I've been the token woman candidate, and you don't have a fair chance to get the job. You'd think it would help just to get your foot in the door.
It's. Not. Enough.
anyway, great post, great comments. It's cultural, it's not just science, and we aren't as far along as we should have been if things had been progressing forward for the last 100 years. But sadly, even when we made progress, there has been a lot of backsliding.
Keep up the great blogging.
Have you ever read the 'Reflections of A Woman in Science' blog before?
(http://reflectwomenset.blogspot.com/)
She talks about this topic quite a bit..Including this post on the leaky pipeline. She is really interesting.
Hi,
The Economist magazine also have been speaking a lot about women (in)equality recently and their difficulty in getting the top jobs - yet 80% of the Economist journalists are men.
Regarding childcare, I agree that having accessible childcare is a big steps for parents in general (including mothers).
But in my opinion (and experience), sexual discrimination and nepotism is the biggest factor that prevents women from making that postdoc to tenure transition.
Dr Jekyll - I love your blog! I have been thinking about this recently as an excellent postdoc has just left our lab to have her second child. Her grant money only covers her maternity leave so I don't think she is coming back, even if her PI does get that elusive grant! I find myself the only female member of my PhD cohort still seriously considering an actual science career, but lots of men are still there with ambitions. I don't know whether women are generally more willing to compromise (even without children) or I am thinking now that maybe the male scientists just lack imagination and are just happy keeping on going in academia cos that's what they know! I love science and don't want to do anything else but maybe other women just get fed up of the sh!t and can't be bothered any more?
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