Role Models Needed
Hi friends,
Laura Bonetta wrote last February about the importance of role models to women in science. As perhaps one of the rare kids who liked Tang, I resonated to her anecdote about Judith Weis. In the 1970's Tang shot a series of TV commercials featuring women scientists and their children. Judith Weis, who had recently joined the Rutgers University faculty at the time, was featured in one. In spring, 2009, she got email from a woman who had received the PhD in pathology in 1987 and who saw Judith in the commercial when she was a child. It said, in part, "I vividly remember the commercials and thinking-I can do that!" she wrote. "So, thank you-for deciding to make the commercial and become a positive role model, not only for me but hopefully many other women."
Weis herself was hired into a department where three women were in the tenure track. She notes that was quite rare at the time. She knew things were getting better when she went to a scientific conference and there was a line for the women's room.
In 2006 among postdocs, Bonetta's article points out, 53 percent of postdocs in psychology, 46 percent in social sciences, and 41 percent in biological sciences were women, clearly a hopeful sign. But women do not apply for tenure track jobs at the same rate as they become postdocs. She notes that, "while women received 45 percent of the Ph.D.s in biology from 1999 to 2003, they accounted for 26 percent of applicants to tenure-track positions."
She quotes Geraldine Richmond, University of Oregon chemist, that, "If you plan to have children, but don't see any women who have gone that path, you may not be sure it's possible." So seeing women in science with the kind of lifestyle a young woman desires may help her decide on a career. Richmond co-founded COACh, Committee on Advancement of Women in Chemistry. It has offered workshops and networking events to over 4000 women around the US since its inception. The article provides many more examples of successful mentoring activities of women in science.
What do you think?
A. Personal contact over a long time is necessary for effective mentoring
B Chances to talk with other women succeeding in science at networking events does provide role models
C Role models can be fleeting or long term, both can work
D I don't think role models have been very important in my career.
cheers,
Laura
Dear Melissa,
I posted on Wikipedia's sex ratio and hope you'll drop by and comment. Thanks,
Laura
Dear Laura,
I think B is my pick. I've enjoyed that especially at AWIS events where all the interesting women I meet are in science.
BTW did you see the note on wikipedia being authored mostly by men?
MKS
I think it's C; I've had inspiring interactions between role models for short times and a few wonderful mentors for long times. Without them, pretty much any and all of them, I might not be in science today.
Hi Selena,
No, but I will look around for it. It sounds terrible, and I"m sure some of my favorite blogs will have some details. Feel free to post leads like this in any comment track; I read all the comments so I'll get them.
best,
Laura
Hi Laura,
I wish you had a general comment track. Did you hear about the woman whose prof had the class vote on whether she should pass, fail, or what? I think she missed the class because of something related to her pregnancy.
Maybe I'm just in a cynical mood, but today it's D. I feel like no one was all that interested in how I was doing, so I had to do it for myself. I try to make sure that doesn't happen to my students, male or female.
FBP
Hi Laura,
Did you go back to this format because you got frustrated when everyone took the poll on the last posting and didn't post? I would have! Anyway, I am more with A this time. I can be inspired by a role model, but day-to-day mentoring for a long time mattered a lot more in my career.
I think networking at AWIS events is really good for letting me see other women making it in science, some with families. I don't have another easy way to see that. So I'd pick B on this one.
Interesting! I suppose it's the intensity of how you feel about the role model rather than the length of time, Scifeminista. And it's nice that seeing it work can help you feel better about your chances, Postdoc Cat.
cheers,
Laura
I pick C too. I have some doubt about how women can put together a career and family and do science, but it is settled back when I even see a successful woman who has pulled it off for a very short time.
I think one really convincing proof would convince me a woman with kids can succeed. That's probably why the Tang commercial worked. So, I am picking C this time.
The only female role model I can recall noticing is Joan Steitz from Yale, and I only saw her at one meeting. But she said something about her son, and I never forgot that.
