Why it is (still) difficult to be a woman in science by Shobhana Narasimhan

Seminar

Why it is (still) difficult to be a woman in science

Speaker: Shobhana Narasimhan (Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research)

Date: Wed, 26 February 2020, 14:30 to 16:00

Venue: Emmy Noether Seminar Room, ICTS Campus, Bangalore


Abstract

In India, as everywhere else in the world, women constitute a minority group in science. Why is there this gender imbalance? Does it hurt science? Does it hurt women in science? Is the imbalance in numbers inevitable, or can efforts be made to correct it? What role is played by biases, implicit or otherwise? What are some of the success stories of women in science? These are some of the questions I will discuss.

0:00:00 Why it is (still) difficult to be a women in science
0:01:58 Life Was Not Easy for Marie Curie
0:05:27 Life Was Not Easy for Emmy Noether
0:07:57 Kampala Sohonie
0:09:42 Why is it difficult being a woman in science?
0:10:30 Few in Number
0:10:42 Historically, the number of women in science has been low
0:11:15 The world over, women in science are in a minority
0:12:06 You may be surprised by some of the numbers
0:12:57 The Enigma of India: 1
0:14:01 The Enigma of India: 2
0:14:41 The Enigma of India: 3
0:15:46 Percentage of Scientists who are Women
0:16:25 Very Few Women Physics Professors in India
0:17:51 Pressures due to Family Responsibilities
0:17:56 Societal & Familial Pressures
0:19:21 'Leaky Pipeline' in the USA
0:19:55 'Waterfall' in India
0:21:02 Breaks in Education & Career among women in India
0:21:32 Reasons for Break in Career
0:22:23 Becoming parent affects career progression: more so for women than men
0:23:18 Women scientists do most of the housework!
0:24:10 The Two-Body Problem
0:26:21 Age Limits for Jobs
0:27:53 Productivity Gap
0:29:10 Nepotism and sexism in peer-review
0:30:43 Science faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students
0:31:18 A Riddle
0:32:30 A Confession
0:33:26 Implicit Bias
0:34:29 Gender Stereotyping Starts Early!
0:34:57 Lack of Recognition - Top Science Administrators in India are almost all Male
0:35:31 Women in Science Academies
0:35:50 Nobel Prizes to Women
0:36:29 Bhatnagar Prizes to Women
0:36:55 Jocelyn Bell-Burnell
0:38:23 Isolation Lack of Peer Group & Mentorship
0:38:28 Being the only Woman in the Room... Still Happens!
0:38:55 The Importance of Informal Networks
0:40:13 Hostile Work Environment
0:40:15 "Boys will be boys..."
0:42:10 The Chilly Climate
0:42:31 Rosalind Franklin & Misogyny
0:44:00 Sir Aaron Klug on Rosalind Franklin
0:44:39 Manterrupting & Bropropriating
0:45:57 Sexual Harassment - Sexual harassment is widely prevalent
0:46:37 Proactive Measures & Success Stories
0:46:52 Career Development Workshops for Women in Physics
0:48:21 (And by the way, I do get along with my colleagues!)
0:49:05 Breaking into Male Bastions: India's Women Rocket Scientists
0:49:30 But...Rocket Scientists in 'Mission Mangal'!
0:50:05 Committees, Govt. of India
0:50:46 Concerted Efforts Needed to Change Numbers
0:52:16 Mentors and Friends Help a Lot!
0:52:35 Q&A
0:54:01 The 'Obvious' Measures