Colors and Shapes of Welcome or Not
Hi friends of women in science,
Michelle Franci wrote in Nature Chemistry recently about "Sex and the Citadel of Science." She had some interesting summary material about Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, and raised the question of why their frequency has not increased while women studying chemistry have become more numerous. I think that question remained unanswered, but she then turned to why women feel science isn't a good fit for them. In that interesting section of the article, she pointed out that the standard laboratory furniture fits most men but only a small minority of women, that the colors chosen for lab decor imply "male" to panels asked to say if they identify a sex with those colors, and she wonders if unconsious bias against women is reinforced daily by their childish look in too-big chairs and their misfit with the color schemes.
Would these subliminal signals really result in fewer invitations to speak or receive awards? Perhaps, because when you think about inviting someone, someone powerful is the subtext. So what do you think, forum readers, should we redesign labos in a more female-friendly way? Small pink chairs? Or does it seem to you not to be that subtle difference we seek? Is it all history and practice or do we reinforce it with daily misfit vibes?
cheers,
Laura
Laura,
Loved your bathroom story. In grad school I had an office on the top floor, which had only a men's room; I did a lot of stairclimbing. Since then, they added on to the floor to house the TV network. Since much of that population was female, they put a women's room in their spaces. But, it is off-limits to grad students!
I think most of us oldtimers have gotten used ignoring the maleness of our enviroments; we have had bigger issues. However, it can be off-putting.
I've been ignoring stuff like this a long time. Marian, I almost got thrown out of grad school over bathrooms. When Kline Biology Tower opened at Yale, each floor had one bathroom, either male or female. I lobied hard for unisex bathrooms to the point that the dept chair told me to shut up about it if I wanted a degree. I lost.
So, four months ago when I was visiting my research collaborator in Kline Biology Tower, lo and behold there were unsex bathrooms! I loved it.
cheers,
Laura
Laura,
Forget chairs, I've been to meetings/experiments where the women's restroom was in another building! Can you imagine how welcome I felt? A restroom break was a minimum 20-30 minute excursion!
In less extreme terms, I think that most science workplaces scream "male". I've ignored it for so long that it no longer bothers me. I make an effort to personalize whatever space I have and find that others feel more comfortable in my space than in some others.
This is just another area where science and male are equated; there are many in our society!
Certainly posture is important at meetings. And appearing dwarfed in a too large chair makes it difficult to achieve a posture of authority, but it is not impossible. Simple techniques to adopt a comfortable but dominant posture during meetings helps with confidence as well as perception by others even if the furniture is not built to scale.
As for the lab question, certainly we grapple with that all the time. Achieving good ergonomics in any lab setting is critical for maintaining a healthy environment, and there are many work-arounds for those who are petite to adjust their environment to suit them better!
Does any of this make science less welcoming? Probably it does as being uncomfortable makes our perceptions of any experience less pleasant. But the alternative is to make the majority physically uncomfortable, and I doubt that is a viable way to go.
