Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication
Being a woman is no obstacle in science if you are determined and have the will to succeed
I came across this quote when I was in school. Since then I wanted to be like an eagle - reaching the heights no adversity can touch. It made me go above the clouds whenever it rained. Now I welcome the rain and more challenges in my life!
Recently I read an article in SA. You too can read it here:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/07/12/women-in-...
It says being a woman is really an obstacle in science.
"Wait a minute", I thought after reading the article, "This attitude of women should change." And I am going to help them change it.
So I gave this reply to the author:
Yes, to some extent what you said is true in some parts of India and the developing world. But I never ever faced any discrimination just because I am a girl/woman. Nor did I suffer more than any man while pursuing my career in science in India.
In fact I feel this discrimination and suffering you talk about should make us more determined and strong. Don’t complain. Smash those glass ceilings and boulders in your way and let me see who dares to stop you. If you want equality, don’t expect someone else to give it to you or help you in getting it. Grab it with both hands and move forward. Nobody and nothing can come your way if you really have a will to follow your heart.
Agreed the system has loopholes. But women have waited for centuries for the system to get corrected. It might take much more time in the future too because you cannot correct the centuries old system overnight. If we wait for the perfect conditions to launch ourselves, it would take much much longer time for women to progress. So an effort must be made now at individual levels too!
Another one here says how stereotyping makes women scientists' confidence go low:
http://www.npr.org/2012/07/12/156664337/stereotype-threat-why-women...
My reply : Interesting article. But I never ever felt low before my male colleagues. I always feel confident because I am well informed about not only my subject but also has adequate knowledge about other things ( if you don't have good knowledge in your subject nobody will respect you!). Maybe that gave me real confidence! I was never psychologically effected by stereotypical statements like "women are not as good as men in science subjects". Why should you feel you are inferior to men when you are not just because somebody says you are? Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent!
How much truth is there in the above articles and statements? Here is a confident reply from a woman scientist with whom I fully agree:
Being a woman made it even more challenging, given the social norms, but the support of my parents, close family and teachers was overwhelming. It made me what I am today. I chose Nuclear Physics against electronics and solid state physics at BHU simply due to the “outstanding” set of teachers. I always admired women who worked through adversities and did pioneering work. In addition, my mother is the epitome, of diligence! My father had an amazing confidence in my abilities;
My dreams lay more on the basis of being able to do something meaningful and impactful in life than to just earn money. http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article3639263.ece?homepage=true
Women give several excuses for not moving forward in step with their male colleagues. Let me discuss a few now.
(1) They can't find men who can date them when they go into the fields of science like Physics! ( are they complaining unintentionally that it goes against their femininity to enter the male dominated fields and exhibit their grey matter and therefore have to choose between their femininity and science research/being good at doing several things?).
My view: This is funny. Because when I was doing my PG and Ph.D. in sciences, I used to run away from men/boys who pursued me constantly because I thought dating men was a hindrance to my work! And that these things were obstacles to my science career! The more I ran away from men, the more they followed me! Who says beauty (of feminine fame) and brains can't go together? It seems if a woman thinks that a man will always look at her intelligence and her looks as mutually exclusive properties, she will feel much more pressure to pick between the two. Women, you need not feel this pressure! You can have both the things at the same time confusing and driving men mad! And enjoy it too! I don't think this is a genuine excuse!
(2) They have to look after their young children.
My view: When two people are involved in a marriage alliance even the husbands have equal responsibilities in looking after children. Several men do help their wives. I have seen many successful women who can juggle several things at a time! Women are very good at these things! I looked after my old and ailing parents too - which was equally difficult. I set up a mini lab at home to continue working whenever I have to stay at home because of my responsibilities! If women think they can't do both things of bringing children up and scientific research at the same time, they can take some time off, take part time work, work from home or go back to work again after a few years (keeping in touch with their subject constantly during this off -period is important so that they don't lose their confidence), when their children have grown up.
Try new things. Take the unbeaten path. Just because everyone else is doing something, doesn’t mean you have to as well. When I couldn't work outside of my home for some time because of my responsibilities, I started communicating science which is as important as doing research in science.
(3)Women's treatment – both subtle and sometimes blatantly non-subtle – at the hands of their male peers, parents and society at large leads to low self-esteem and lack of self confidence in their ability to succeed in science.
My view: Women, don't let the external factors dictate your life. If you think you have the ability to do a work, just do it and show the world what you are capable of. The world then will have no other go but to accept your talents and intelligence ( please read one of my poems "The power of a strong will" which says this here : http://kkartlab.in/group/theartofwritingpoems/forum/topics/the-powe...
(4) Lack of encouragement from their family members/ male colleagues:
My view: Ladies, haven't you heard about self motivation? If you have the determination, nobody or nothing can stop you!
(5) History tells how difficult it is for women (1) to win a Nobel prize or any other prestigious award. Highly accomplished women like Gertrude Elion, Emmy Noether and Gerty Cori had to play second fiddle to their less accomplished male counterparts even after publishing groundbreaking research. The example of Jocelyn Bell Burnell is well-known. Bell discovered the first pulsar while working for her advisor, Anthony Hewish. Ideally she should have shared in Hewish’s Nobel Prize but she didn’t.
My view: I feel before complaining women should think about Marie Curie, Christiane Nusslein-Volhard, Emmy Noether, Lise Meitner, Barbara McClintock, Chien-Shiung Wu, and Rosalind Franklin. These and other remarkable women struggled against gender discrimination, raised families, and became political and religious leaders. They were mountain climbers, musicians, seamstresses, and gourmet cooks. Above all, they were strong, joyful women in love with discovery. Derive inspiration from them, learn lessons from their lives and move forward. Why should we enter the field of science with thoughts that depress us instead of stories that inspire us?
(6) It seems even though women are 'gifted', because of the “slow drumbeat of being underappreciated, feeling uncomfortable and encountering roadblocks along the path to success” ( are we nervous?!) are stopping them from moving forward.
My view: But don't forget that if a woman is 'really gifted with abundant grey matter', she is also gifted with the ability to overcome these obstacles. Make this ability work at full throttle to overcome all the roadblocks, ladies!
(7) Being the only woman in the company of several males makes them uncomfortable !
My view: My dears, I myself faced this situation several times during my career! I was never nervous or felt I was a woman during these situations! I never felt I was different from men in any way! ( I will tell an interesting story here: Once we went into a forest to collect samples when I was doing my Ph.D. There were eight men and I was the only woman in the group. One of the men teased me and said: "Krishna, what will you do if we come across a Tiger now?" I casually replied, "I will do the same you guys would do". "We will climb trees. Can you climb a tree with this dress of yours? ( Yes, I was wearing a saree then), they all laughed. "Why not?" I said firmly without reacting much to their laughter. "I bet you cannot, wearing this dress", one of my male colleagues challenged me. " I can and I will", I said firmly. They all started laughing. I immediately kept my bag down, selected a nearby tall tree and to the astonishment of all my male colleagues, climbed up the tree! It wasn't easy, I was then - like I am now- a very delicate person, my hands and legs ached, blisters formed on them but still to show the men, they cannot take me lightly, I did this. The men were shocked into silence! They all started taking me seriously since then. And they took pictures of me climbing the tree and showed them to everybody in the university campus, especially my professors and although my professors smiled at them, they scolded me gently too. My colleagues tell me they still have those pictures with them! I am sure they learned the lesson of not taking my words lightly or doubting my ability to do things again! So?!)
I will again tell one of my other experiences. We had a conference on toxins in a very dangerous place of North India where we had to travel through a stretch of forest by train where you would frequently come across dangerous bandits. Our group leader was a woman. All my male colleagues refused to go with her because of the danger involved. Then one of my female colleagues and I volunteered to go with her. Our group leader spoke to my parents about the danger involved. Then my father told her he had faith in me to face the dangers and that he had no objection to send me to the conference. That gave me more confidence.
And we traveled to this place called Bhagalpur, a backward place in Bihar, we encountered the bandits on our way, faced them with tact and escaped, presented our papers and returned back safely. Then everybody started praising us - the group of women who bravely had gone to a place where men feared to go to present their science research papers!
Need I say more? This is a different situation but still I feel women have to take these chances to progress through the male dominated field of science.
{One lady said after reading this: The 'blood and sweat' people like you have had to expend to achieve in your field could have been used to even better effect to achieve even more, if we can acknowledge the obstacles that do exist.
And my reply to her: Most of these obstacles have been identified long back. Several Governments around the world took steps to tackle the problems too like giving monetary assistance to women and girls to get educated in the science subjects - sometimes even waiving fee, giving special preferences to women in jobs etc., relaxing age limits for women to enter the field of science and bringing laws to stop women being harassed in male dominated fields. I have seen all these positive steps being taken in this part of the world. Problems have been identified and corrective steps have been taken by the States. But it takes time to change the mind set of people. Laws alone cannot change them. We must do our bit too to counter backlash, resentment, and lack of respect and support from male colleagues because of affirmative actions and reservations.
The 'sweat and blood' aspect is common to both men and women in developing countries at higher levels of education and career. We struggle more here than the people in the developed countries. Are we wasting our time because of this? It isn't a waste of time as we develop new skills, learn how to do things creatively and efficiently with the limited resources we have {this came to light during studies on different systems (3)}, learn how to conserve things and how to increase our mental strength - especially our resilience and confidence. Like Shakespeare said, 'sweet are the uses of adversity' (only if you are a good learner!). And I have learned how to climb a tree, face bandits without fear and how to tackle them with tact, how to efficiently use my limited time for various things I do, above all how to progress efficiently as a woman with all the limitations around me. These lessons are as important in my life as my research in science! Like one of my female colleagues says - if a woman can work and succeed in a scientific research institute in India, she can face anything with confidence anywhere in the world! “Life without problems is like a school without classes. You don’t learn your lessons”.}
(8) They are paid less than men for doing the same work.
My view: Refuse to accept it. Challenge people to show that you are inferior to any man either in intelligence, creativity, ability to do the work, confidence, less skilled or any other thing that is responsible for such discrimination.
But then I was never discriminated. I was always asked politely to put forward my expectations of salary and was offered what I deserved and expected in all the fields I work in!
[ This in a region ( South Asia) where, according to recent UN reports (2), women to a greater extent than men – are in vulnerable employment, paid less than men, girls are more likely than boys to perform unpaid work ! According to these reports, in the less developed regions, many young girls aged 5-14 take on a large amount of household chores, including care-giving, cooking and cleaning, and older girls do so to an even greater extent. Here, girls generally work longer hours than boys. Long hours of work in developing countries to which India belongs, affect children’s ability to participate fully in education. Analysis shows that school attendance declines as the number of hours spent on household chores increases – and declines more steeply for girls than for boys. So, ladies, don't think the situation here favours women. In fact it is worse than developed countries! ]
So what is the reason for people making me one of the exceptions? It is because....
Whenever I participate in debates/conferences/seminars in any of the fields I am associated with, I try to be in the forefront, see that my voice will be heard and noticed by everybody, say things with confidence using reasoning and the right logic, make use of all my talents, and show people why they are wrong when they oppose me. This really made people respect me. So usually nobody dares to sideline me or ignore me. In fact people - including men - come to me for guidance and support! And when some men told me I was their inspiration, I was pleasantly surprised!
I am an introvert but knowledge in several fields gave me strength and the ability to move forward without any hindrance. It gave me the thrust and I am as good as any extrovert in putting my views across even in the presence of all experts. I am not worried about anything or anyone now. Knowledge has great power. So women get armed with it if you want to succeed in male dominated fields.
To show the world, especially men, my capabilities I entered all the three fields which are treated as 'reserved for intellectuals' - science, art and literature. I was trained only in science and developed skills in several other fields on my own. I became a polymath and display all my capabilities along with my name so that men can never belittle me - even if they do it they do it out of jealousy and not because of lack of abilities on my part! And you should feel proud if you can make any man jealous!
Once a person called me Lady Da Vinci. I told him not to call me a Da Vinci because although he was a legend (and I am not) - he was not known for his literary capabilities. Call me Krishna Kumari, with my own name. Let the world recognize and associate the name with female mind power!
Most of these 'obstacles' women say they face appear more daunting because of insecurity, nervousness, lack of confidence, self assurance and determination. So one must make an effort to tackle them first. Then you don't feel these road blocks at all!
To become successful in science for that matter in any field, you need perfect confidence, will to succeed, tight grip over your subject (this is a must!), awareness of the latest things happening in the field, creative capability to connect things, belief in your abilities and a little bit of support from your parents and teachers - if you don't get outside support, self -assurance works best. And, magic, magic, magic, magic, you will be on the top of the world. Gender has no other go but to become irrelevant!
- Don't speak…
- Just do it…
- Reach on the apex..
- So, revenge will have been done.
The only bird that dares to peck an eagle with its beak is the crow.
She sits down on the eagle's back and pecks him in the neck.
The eagle does not react or fight with the crow. He doesn't waste time or energy on the crow.
Instead, he simply opens his wings and begins to soar higher into the sky. The higher he flies, the harder it is for the crow to breathe and eventually the crow just falls down because it lacks oxygen.
Learn from the eagle and don't fight the crows, just keep climbing higher.
They may still be sitting on you, but they will soon fall down.
Don't get distracted.
Concentrate on the things above you and keep climbing up.
The Lesson of the Eagle and the Crow, Solara
References:
1. http://www.amazon.com/Nobel-Prize-Women-Science-Discoveries/dp/0309...
2. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/Worldswomen/WW_full...
3. http://www.ted.com/talks/navi_radjou_creative_problem_solving_in_th...
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Replies to This Discussion
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/sparks-fly-over-royal-soc...
Sparks fly over Royal Society gender study
As a new inquiry prepares to look at sexism in British science, one PhD student says it is asking the wrong question
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http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11837-013-0652-x.pdf
Article about Women in Science and Engineeringhttp://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issue...!
From the Lab Bench to the U.N.
"I wanted to use my scientific knowledge for the common good, in ways that I could measure, in the real world." —Marga Gual Soler
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d3ea9832-eee4-11e2-b8ec-00144feabdc0.html...
The Italian scientist on how her work on the Higgs boson can be linked to a love of nature and music
Last summer scientists at Cern, the European nuclear research centre, promised to answer the ultimate question in confirming that the mass-giving Higgs boson, the so-called “God particle”, had finally been detected by the underground Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. They did not disappoint – the Higgs had indeed been discovered – and the press conference announcement was greeted with excitement around the world.
The interiors also reflect her love of art, literature and music. For while Gianotti may have made a name for herself in physics, her schooling in Italy was focused almost exclusively on the classical humanities. It is a cliché, she says, that scientists are only interested in data and hard facts.
“There are many links between physics and art,” Gianotti says. “For me, physics and nature have very nice foundations from an aesthetic point of view, and at the same time art is based on physics and mathematical principle. If you build a nice building, you have to build it with some criteria because otherwise it collapses.”
An accomplished pianist, Gianotti would not be happy if she could not indulge in her love of music. Back in Italy she used to own a mini grand piano but here in she has had to settle for a modern upright. Playing it, often late at night on a mute setting, is, she says, her favourite pastime.
In Gianotti’s mind musical harmonies are just another manifestation of physics. The musical notes of her favourite composers – Beethoven, Bach and Schubert – are in that sense, she says, just another type of equation. “There is clearly an underlying physics and mathematics. The artist then puts his or her inventiveness, fantasy and artistic feeling on top of this. So there is a very strong connection, which is why many scientists are also excellent painters and musicians,” she adds.
In fact, it is fair to say that Gianotti sees a connection to physics in almost everything around her. A modern triptych painting featuring a collection of chaotic golden squiggles and bands hangs on the wall of her sitting room. She says she bought the piece because it reminded her of string theory.
Meanwhile, the small kitchen, adjacent to the dining room, is more of a lab for biochemical experimentation than the process otherwise known as cooking. “You cannot just put ingredients together in a random way,” she says. “There is a minimum of mathematics. You have to follow a recipe.”
As an Italian, Gianotti takes an especially serious approach to coffee and has been known to scold anyone who dares drink a cappuccino in her presence after midday. “In Italy, all coffee is espresso.” she says, pointing to a traditional stove-top pot.
Cern, of course, is a cultural melting pot crammed with some of the world’s brightest and most creative minds. And to some degree the facility, with its gigantic scientific instruments, is just as much Gianotti’s home as anywhere else. “There is nothing more exciting than having a life devoted to fundamental knowledge and to contributing to advance the borders of knowledge,” she says.
In Gianotti’s mind musical harmonies are just another manifestation of physics. The musical notes of her favourite composers – Beethoven, Bach and Schubert – are in that sense, she says, just another type of equation. “There is clearly an underlying physics and mathematics. The artist then puts his or her inventiveness, fantasy and artistic feeling on top of this. So there is a very strong connection, which is why many scientists are also excellent painters and musicians,” she adds.
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http://elsevierconnect.com/could-i-should-i-overcoming-ambivalence-...!
Could I? Should I? Overcoming ambivalence in career choices
Scenario workshops help women in science set career goals and confront gender bias
- See more at: http://elsevierconnect.com/could-i-should-i-overcoming-ambivalence-... -
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http://tenureshewrote.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/upsides-of-being-a-w...!
upsides of being a woman in science.We get to do science. This is THE reason people stick with it. When you’re in the lab, or at the computer, or reading an article, doing bench work or analysis or just reading, all that matters is that you’re a scientist. And that is a thoroughly kick-arse thing to be.
You stand out. Whether it’s a department full of men, a job interview where you’re the only female candidate, speaking at a conference where more than half of the speakers are men, or sitting on a grant review panel with >50% men. You are different, and therefore noticeable and memorable. Capitalize on it.
Tokenism can get your foot in the door. This requires the (not trivial) assumption that women are taken seriously. Many committees, organizations, are eager to have (and/or require) women on board, which means that there will be opportunities for experiences that others won’t have access to right away, and the opportunity to network with people that you may not have otherwise met. These can also be opportunities to get your foot in the door, always a big part of the battle.
We are allowed to express emotion. Yes, there can be issues with crying. And yet, imagine the fall out if a man were to cry. But it’s not just crying – women have much more leeway to express excitement and happiness, and yes, in many cases, cry (or admit to crying) out of sadness, frustration, or anger, too. It would be advantageous for this to be more true, and for men as well as women.
Interactions with people are different. We have probably all seen that stereotyped confrontation between some males. The one where an aggressively worded question at a talk (or in the corridor) turns into chest beating and posturing? Sometimes that chest beating looks like fun. Sometimes watching them practice is just amusing. Often someone gets smacked down. Either way women usually get to bypass the chest-beating and measuring of size that can taint interactions between men. Of course interactions with individuals is primarily determined by the personalities involved, and yes, there are pretty strong cultural norms (and biases) that influence both how others will interact with you and what behaviors are seen as “more appropriate”, but the typical masculine role does not have a monopoly on the “good” side of these.
Relationships with people are different. Related to #5, and largely due to sociocultural norms, women are expected to have different kinds of relationships with people around them than men do. And for better and for worse, it’s often true. My relationships with my mentors are quite different than any of my male colleagues – I tend to have closer personal friendships alongside the working relationship. Yes, relationships are determined more by personality than gender. The point is that men don’t have a monopoly on the “best” kind of relationships to have with colleagues, mentors, trainees. Capitalize on the relationships you have. Ask for all the support you can. Ask for introductions. Ask for letters and collaborations. Use networking events (see #7) to build new relationships.
Resources. There are a lot of available resources for women in STEM. From Women in Science networks, to Women’s lunches at conferences of all sizes. Yes, these exist in part to address an imbalance, but there is a lot of mentoring and career development, and networking advice and events readily available to women in science. If you don’t know of a women-in-science group at your university or at conferences you attend, get ye to google. Seek them out. Take advantage of all the resources that are out there.
More options for what to wear. I get to choose whether to wear these or these to work. Yes there are expectations, yes I often go with the latter because, quite frankly, I like it when it isn’t automatically assumed I’m a grad student because I’m small and female, but very occasionally I go like this. The point is, even though I very carefully arrange my wardrobe so I don’t have to think too hard about it, I do have a lot of options.
We are not in the humanities. AKA: we are talking about problems of women in science/academia and of being a woman in science/academia. This was the surprising to me: people assume that science is a masculine pursuit, and humanities a more feminine pursuit, but the humanities have similar problems to STEM in terms of leaky pipelines, sexism, harassment of women, bias, fewer women than men speaking at conferences, and a general dominance of older white men. But there’s a feeling that, in some fields, there is less concerted effort and many fewer resources directed to support, discussion, and solutions to problems of women in their fields than in STEM right now. -
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http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/a/MarieCurie.htm?nl=1
Marie Curie
One of the Most Important Scientists of the 20th Century -
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http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=2417876&type=me...
Women are giving up their chance to shine - how can we get more female speakers to present at scientific conferences?
As someone who has actively tried to work towards increasing the visibility of female engineers, scientists and industry leaders at international conferences and in speaking roles I was shocked to see a recent report that claims it is the women themselves who spoil their chance to shine in the limelight by turning down opportunities when asked to present their research.
The article on "Science and women is a great mix, but a few things still don't add up" appeared in The Telegraph and states that "According to a study of conference speakers in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, women are still underrepresented at academic symposia" and found that "The problem doesn't seem to be that women are not being asked, but that they are more likely to turn down invitations than the men are. The data found that in 2011 for example, 50 per cent of women declined an invitation to speak compared to 26 per cent of men. Balancing conference attendance with other responsibilities, which can be very disruptive to a household schedule, seems to figure in those decisions. "
Their conclusion was "Without a rethink on the way in which academic conferences are structured - especially considering the internet technology for remote access to live events is widely available - is there any excuse for conference organisers to keep doing things the same old way?"
So do we need better technology or is there another way to get more women onto the speaker podium?
Find the full article here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10141467/STEM-and-wome...
Science and women is a great mix, but a few things still don't add up... telegraph.co.ukMy reply:
I will tell my own experience. We had a conference on toxins in a very dangerous place of North India where we had to travel through a stretch of forest by train where you might come across dangerous bandits. Our group leader was a woman. All my male colleagues refused to go with her because of the danger involved. Then one of my female colleagues and me volunteered to go with her. Our group leader talked to my parents about the danger involved. Then my father told her he had faith in me to face the dangers and that he had no objection to send me to the conference. That gave me more confidence.
And we traveled to this place called Bhagalpur, we encountered the bandits on our way, faced them with tact and escaped, presented our papers and returned back safely. Then everybody started praising us - the group of women who bravely had gone to a place where men feared to go to present our science research papers!
Need I say more? This is a different situation but still I feel women have to take these chances to progress through the male dominated field of science. -
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http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.in/2013/09/on-reverse-discriminati...!
Women In Astronomy
On reverse discrimination -
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http://www.asianscientist.com/academia/study-indian-women-scientist...
Study Says Indian Women Scientists Lagging
A gender profile of Indian scientific output in the life sciences sees women trailing behind men in productivity and impact. -
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Men and women’s brains are wired differently…Really?
Looking at the website of Women in the City, an organisation that promotes women in financial professions, I was surprised to read about their latest venture, Project Diamond. In their own words, Project Diamond, launched in Google’s offices, is designed to explain the differences between male and female approaches to business. The handbook which they launched for the occasion explains “the science behind the theory of why the way male and female brains are wired makes for differences in behaviours (we’re just different)” (quote taken from the Women in the City website; emphasis added).Whilst I can understand that it suits Women in the City to perpetuate the myth that men and women are wired differently, I am amazed that an organisation like Google supports this philosophy!
So I thought it would be useful to outline our philosophy and approach to women in the workplace and women in technical professions:
We do not believe that women and men are fundamentally different in their brain. They are not “wired differently”, women are not by definition left-brain oriented, nor or men automatically right-brain oriented. We feel that such stereotypical thinking is not helpful, and damages women’s opportunities.
We do however firmly believe that through generations of cultural stereotyping, both men and women tend to have an unconscious bias against women’s ability for STEM subjects, and against women in senior positions in the workplace. People can “suffer” from unconscious bias in various degrees, and in some cases not at all. Women themselves can make choices and judgements based on their own unconscious bias, which can lead to a lack of confidence in one’s own ability, a preference to leave the workplace and conform to the stereotypical role model, or in some cases even bullying against other women.
We do believe that women can overcome their bias and become more confident in their own ability through coaching, mentoring and training. We also believe that women’s networks can lead to increased performance.
Yet we don’t believe in segregation. We don’t believe that mentoring for women by women, conferences for women by women and the like are the solution to greater gender equality. We need to get the balance right between supporting women and educating men. The debate needs to be open to both genders.
We do believe in choice. Not everyone wants to climb the corporate ladder; some men and women will genuinely prefer to work part time, not at all, or in roles below their ability. We do believe though that if given real choice, more women would take the chance to develop fulfilling careers.
We do not like linking the debate about women in the workplace to flexible work, life/work balance etc. We believe that the debate around a more flexible approach to working hours is for everyone, men and women alike. When we live in a truly equal society every household should be able to make their own individual choices about career, working hours and balance. In some instances men will work flexible hours, sometimes women, often both. We need to promote a culture which supports choice regardless of gender, or we will continue to be stereotyped.I don’t expect everyone to agree with our approach to gender equality. We challenge our own thinking constantly and would love you do to the same!
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