Women! Speak up to build career in science

New York, Jan 7: Encouraging women to speak during scientific meetings could pave the way for more women charting a successful career in science.

In a ground-breaking research, researchers found that increasing the number of women in convening committees translates into more women speakers during scientific meetings, which, in turn, help them leap in their careers.

“If you’re a woman scientist, speaking at scientific meetings can be an important feather in your cap – an achievement that can help you get ahead in your career,” said study co-author Arturo Casadevall of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York.

“Increasing the number of women who present their work at key meetings at various science and research institutions could translate into more women succeeding in science,” added Casadevall.

After analysing 460 scientific symposia, the researchers established that inclusion of at least one woman on a convening committee increases the proportion of female speakers by as much as 86 percent, said the paper published in the online journal ‘mBio’.

The researchers classified two large meetings according to whether they had been convened by two men, a man and woman, or two women.

They then tallied the gender representation among speakers for each symposium.
They found that at both meetings, the participation of women on a convening team increased the participation of women speakers significantly.

“This suggests that female conveners boosted the participation of women in other ways,” said Casadevall.