Kate at A K8, A Cat, A Mission chose a very good topic, “transcending the debate”, for this month’s Scientiae Carnival, which I am contributing to for the first time. Here goes.
I believe that transcending gender issues in STEM fields involves setting the expectations ourselves. That is, behaving in a way that embodies what we want from our lives and our careers and demanding that others regard us how we wish. There are many confounding factors that make science jobs difficult for women. But it’s the jobs that are hard, not the science. We can do the science if someone would just take away the bullshit. So, I believe that rising above the debate comes from having the chops and not letting anyone think we don’t.
Doing the science in a way that improves the outlook for women entails shaking the guilt for being passionate. We don’t need to feel guilty for working at work, even if we want to work for a really long time. For wanting to run experiments more than we want to clean the bathroom or decorate the living room. By the same token, we should not feel guilty about wanting to live, either. For wanting to leave after just 8 hours because we have a dinner date or want to get home in time to watch Lost (and not hiding those plans from our colleagues or bosses). Or not wanting to go to a conference because we really don’t want to miss little Susie’s recital that is scheduled for the same day. We should do what we want, whether it’s working more than our mother-in-laws approve of or working less than the men act like they do.
This is not their system to dictate how we work. It’s our system too. We can do what we want with it. We can create part time jobs for each other. We can lower the requirements for tenure just a little bit. We can demand daycare on site. We can show some sympathy when one of our ranks has to stop an experiment short to go home to a sick kid, even finish the experiment for that mother. Or father, because part of our expectations should involve demanding more from men. Expecting that they know what size shoes the kids wear. That they notice when the bathroom is dirty, too. That we can rest assured that there will be no sexist comments towards us, no matter how subtle.
I know that women continue to be under represented at higher ranks in many STEM fields despite the larger numbers of female students for many years. I wish that the women who have made a career in science could feel empowered to make it easier for those young women to join them. And I know that many women are so overwhelmed that the pressure of being a role model/activist/leader might feel like too much. I’m sure many (most?!) women have it much tougher than I have it in my majority female lab, but we’re all in this together. Some collective effort can make science a friendlier place for women and parents. Then we will be able to not just transcend the debate, but make it obsolete.
8 comments:
Well spoken and thanks for the contribution.
In Scandinavia we don't have a tenure-track system like in the US, but there should be more faculty positions that better matches the number of PhDs produced. It's hard for both men and women to stay in academia after a postdoc. I think that makes it even more difficult for women, especially since there is a lot of resistance from mediocre men.
Right on! Let scientists have a life!
I think your point about not feeling guilty is right on. Too often, we beat ourselves up for not being able to be the perfect scientist, perfect wife, perfect mother, perfect daughter, and perfect friend all at the same time. Whew...just thinking about it is making me tired!
I was lucky to spend the summer at a place where a 40-hour work week was encouraged. It was great - not only I had my evenings and weekends, my creativity went through the roof (as did my productivity while at work). I would argue that creativity is the most important in a research position, so as far as I am concerned, scientists need to have a life to do their jobs well.
I like your approach to this problem. It reminds me of how I deal with some of the more dysfunctional members of my family: I just behave in the way that I want, rather than trying to convince them that what I'm doing is okay. Because you can argue until you're blue in the face but it won't make a bit of difference!
I keep that same attitude at work, too, because there are always people who don't like the way you do things (and it may not have anything to do with your gender, either). Quite honestly, I love what I'm doing so much that other people's snide remarks about my reverse-traditional family setup usually slide right off me. I feel sorry for people who are so unhappy that they feel the need to lower my happiness down to their level.
Yes! Down with guilt! Down with letting other people's expectations dictate our lives!
Great post! Yes, instead of bemoaning the "system", why can't we change it, and create those part-time positions and flex-hours that will keep women (and men who want a life) going?
I'm enjoying all these Scientiae posts...
great post! I'm all for a life for scientists!
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