Renate is a Provisional Psychologist and the Research Manager of HMRI’s Imaging Centre and she originally hails from Germany.
Here she shares her thoughts on gender equity in science:
Do you think it’s harder for women to pursue a career in science? If so, why?
RT: Systemic gender bias issues, where from birth everything is tailored from stereotypic girls and boys toys, to expectation biases as to what a girl would like to do and how she should behave, etc.
Then later in life women tend to be less self-confident, which leads to less ability to stand up for yourself. In science and, particularly, the biomedical field, a strong hierarchy exists, which includes gender power imbalances. Then the default expectation is that females are the ones to stay home when they have children, which means their career gets interrupted and they accrue less super.
Have you encountered any obstacles?
RT: I have, in the past, experienced ingrained attitudes of gender stereotypes, in men, women, and myself. The latter is sometimes hard to make yourself aware of to then enable you to combat them.
This starts with little things such as women tend to attend more to jobs around social cohesion of a lab and offer their time and energy for organising lab meetings, dinners, etc. Women tend to also feel less allowed to follow their own passion but adhere to social norms in that they aim to please others, one of the social norms widely accepted by and for women.
What needs to change for things to be better?
RT: It needs to start early in education, but also needs to be picked up in research teams at work. Fortunately, our team is very progressive and we all have awareness of those stereotypes and aim to not abide by them.
Who has supported you in your career?
RT: I have had and have support by wonderful colleagues and supervisors.
And who supports you in your life, in general?
RT: In general, support amongst women is important, as often they still are more capable of seeing those biases that still seem to be invisible to a lot of men.
What advice would you give to other women hoping to follow in your footsteps?
“Get yourself female mentors!”
And where are you hoping to go? What are you aiming for in your career and life?
RT: I would love to combine my love for and experience in research and clinical work to help understand how psychological treatments target clinical disorder mechanisms.
HMRI Healthy Minds researcher and Psychology PhD student, Johanna, arrived in Australia from Berlin in 2017. Her current research focuses on online disclosure – how much are people willing to share online and do things like age and gender impact that?
Here she shares her experiences as a woman in science.
Do you think it’s harder for women to pursue a career in science? If so, why?
JV: I think it is harder for women to pursue a career in science but I think this links back to a lot of how the education system is currently set up.
For example, in Germany in both primary and secondary school science and extracurricular scientific courses are very much pushed and catered towards boys. This makes it feel as though science is not meant to be for females. For me, that made it seem like I didn’t quite ‘fit in’; I felt like I had to prove myself more because I didn’t feel deserving of being in a scientific field.
Have you encountered any obstacles?
JV: Yes, mainly to be regarded as lesser than my male counterparts - that I couldn’t be ‘as gifted’ as a male would be in this field, meaning that I always felt like having to do an excessive amount of work to prove that I was deserving of being where I am.
What needs to change for things to be better?
JV: I think it goes back to fostering science as a non-gendered subject, beginning early on in education. Also, I believe there is an image in society that when we think of a ‘scientist’ or a ‘doctor’, we see a male.
“In Germany where we use gendered language (e.g. sun is a female noun and moon is a male noun) – words including ‘scientist’ and ‘doctor’ are actually gendered as being male (Der Wissenschaftler, Der Arzt).”
I think more representation of female scientists, and this being pushed early on in education, would really help. If the image of who a scientist is changes, I believe people will feel less afraid to go into these roles as they won’t feel like they don’t fit in.
Who has supported you in your career?
JV: Other female researchers, including my supervisor Dr Michelle Kelly, have been role models to me. Also, my mum was always very supportive of my interest in science and research.
And who supports you in your life, in general?
JV: Currently, it is my supervisors who are supporting me in my PhD journey as well as other PhD candidates. I also have a very supportive mum and partner, who are there for me when life gets stressful!
What advice would you give to other women hoping to follow in your footsteps?
JV: Embracing what makes them different and realising that their unique ideas and skills are vital to the progression of scientific research. Not hesitating to speak up when they are feeling unfairly treated.
Reaching out to other female researchers and scientists that inspire them. Having a good support system and being confident in who they are.
JV: And where are you hoping to go? What are you aiming for in your career and life?
I am hoping to progress toward a career in academia. I currently am tutoring for some of the undergraduate courses at the University of Newcastle alongside my PhD and I love sharing my interests and passions with other students.
I hope to create a respectful and nurturing environment for all my students and would love to progress in academia to further this environment across scientific disciplines.
Sarah recently moved to Newcastle from America. She is the research coordinator for HMRI's systems neuroscience group and works closely with the research participants who volunteer their time for ongoing studies.
Currently her efforts are focused on the study that is running in partnership with the Australia Dementia Network, a nationwide study facilitating the development of effective therapies by providing detailed dementia screening of patients suitable for participation in clinical trials.
Here’s what her journey as a female scientist has been like so far:
Do you think it’s harder for women to pursue a career in science? If so, why?
SS: I wouldn’t say it is harder for women to pursue a career in science, but I do think it is more challenging for women to excel in science careers.
The larger proportion of senior scientist positions held by men means there are fewer role models for young women who are seeking mentors to help them grow into these roles. Other barriers, like raising children, can delay women’s careers and publications, which ultimately create a slight bias.
Have you encountered any obstacles?
SS: I do not feel I have encountered these obstacles directly, but I have witnessed other female colleagues struggle to gain promotions and grant funds.
Other friends of mine have left the field for a couple years to have children and have struggled to find a job returning to the field. I have not witnessed my male colleagues or friends struggle in this way.
What needs to change for things to be better?
SS: We need loud support for all young scientists, regardless of gender.
“We need to have women included as panel hosts, grant application reviewers, and senior staff positions. Greater visibility of gender equity will inspire all future scientists to know that they can succeed in this career, long-term.”
Who has supported you in your career?
SS: I have been lucky to have some incredible women role models that encourage me to succeed. It is empowering for me to see other women with successful careers and families, because it reminds me that this is something I can also accomplish.
And who supports you in your life, in general?
SS: My colleagues are all very supportive, and I have found a great network of friends through the Ultimate Frisbee community in Newcastle. Of course, my family and husband are wonderful supports as well.
What advice would you give to other women hoping to follow in your footsteps?
SS: I would say you should ask for everything that you want, even if you feel like maybe it is too much. The worst that someone can say is ‘no’ and the best case outcome is you start a conversation about your goals. If you start compromising on your goals before you even get them out in the open, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
And where are you hoping to go? What are you aiming for in your career and life?
SS: I hope that I can successfully balance a satisfying career in science and also have a loving family life.
Ultimately my husband and I would like to have some children of our own, and I recognise this will change my priorities from work to home life for a few years. My goal is to be able to return to the workforce and continue my career without feeling that I have fallen behind my male colleagues, and to always be appreciative of the love of my family.
