There is no doubt that there are countless incredible women working in scientific research. Is there even a gender gap in academia? Surely not still!? Surely we don’t need to keep promoting women in science? Surely the job is done, right? Sadly, although the effects of the gender gap may not be immediately obvious, there is compelling evidence to suggest there is still a way to go towards equality.

Author: Jo Sharpe

A study published this year estimates that it will take 16 years for women and men to publish papers in equal numbers, but this isn’t the whole story…

• Women are substantially less likely to be the last author on a paper, but they are significantly over-represented in the first-author position; it will take a median of 38 years, rather than just 16 for this gap to close.
• the most prestigious journals were also those with the fewest women authors and invitations to publish are extended to men twice as often as to women.

This is indicative of the problem that we face. But why? Why are women less successful in scientific careers?

There have been a number of studies that suggest explanations for the gap, many of which lead to women leaving STEM careers early: women are less likely to be trained by elite laboratories, especially those run by men; they are paid less; they are more rarely often invited to give talks, and they must contend stereotypes about their intelligence and scientific acumen.

So that’s depressing. However, there are things we can do. Unsurprisingly, women often lack confidence to pursue the top positions, negotiate salaries, and to publish in more prestigious journals. I recently spoke to a new PhD student here at Manchester, Devin Simpkins. I know Devin from the University of York where we did our undergraduate degree together, and I was part of the Women In Science group that she founded in my last year. I was keen to learn more about how the group flourished after I left, and also to glean where her passion for promoting women in science came from.

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it – Maya Angelou.

We engaged in a  thought provoking discussion and covered topics ranging from unconscious bias in the workplace, to the lower value placed on jobs that are seen as “female” compared to typically “male” careers. We contemplated how the devaluation of women’s contributions to society may be negatively impacting on not only their wellbeing, but also their enthusiasm to invest in their careers. I picked out some highlights that will hopefully prove useful and interesting to other PhD students wishing to learn more about being a woman in science.

I asked Devin why she started the group and she reflected upon the the change in environment from academia to industry as a key moment, opening her eyes to the importance of promoting the inclusion and welfare of women in science. She saw colleagues she respected and admired making incredibly difficult decisions, choosing between a successful career and having a family, and for the first time made a connection between scary statistics and her own life. She returned to York with a mission to empower women studying science subjects to fulfil their potential and have happy and successful careers.

Devin is a first year PhD student in the School of Medical Sciences and studies the inflammatory therapeutics and the circadian cycle. She also enjoys swinging on ropes over bodies of water.

She started the Women In Science Society at the University of York. Together, the group organised talks, inviting women working in the department, including those who had successful careers in academic research and those who pursued other routes. In addition they put on workshops to dissect the stats, discuss tricky topics such as negotiating salary, and boost their confidence. Devin recollected how there was a real difference between how the women spoke at the start of the workshops compared to the end; open discussions in a safe space allowed passions to come to the fore and some really poignant and enthusiastic debates developed. The aim was not to focus on the negative aspects of being a woman in science, rather to empower women to instigate positive change in their own lives.

Devin emphasised the link between your research and making time for yourself, something that this blog has has referenced in previous posts. The importance of wellbeing cannot be understated, and in particular for women; Devin proposed that the additional pressures women may face in the workplace means that they need to remember to take time to invest in themselves. We discussed how there can be a tendency for PhD students, in particular women, to undervalue their own self-worth and as a result not view their wellbeing as a priority. She suggested that a lack of self-belief and the feeling of unimportance directly feeds into how you treat yourself and ultimately results in  a reduction in output. You will never do your best work if you’re running on empty. So invest time in your hobbies, take time to do nothing, and importantly see this as a priority, not an indulgence.

There are some fantastic examples of women who have had incredible success in their careers right here at the University of Manchester. It is important to celebrate these women as evidence to early career researchers and PhD students that you can be successful as a woman in science. You can read more about women in science at Manchester here.

If you want to read more about how scientists are looking into the gender gap, check out this interesting and thought provoking article.

If you want to speak to Devin or ask her any questions, her email is devin.simpkins@manchester.ac.uk, and for photos that appreciate the beauty in everyday: @devinsimpkins94.