Dr Joanna Bagniewska (Teaching Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading), has written a blog post on Soapbox Science about gender discrimination in particular at conferences:
‘Because I’m a zoologist working in a rather gender-balanced and female-friendly environment, I have for a long time thought that the discrimination of women in STEM is a largely exaggerated problem. But then it hit me with the force of a charging elephant (the one that’s in the room). A couple of years ago I found myself at an engineering conference, eager to develop collaborations for a biotelemetry project. My enthusiasm for networking was, however, curbed very quickly – to be precise, at the point when the organisers gave “a warm welcome to the engineers and the beautiful ladies”. From then on things went downhill………….’
Do you have any similar experiences? Follow this link to read the full blog post – Soapbox Science
Soapbox Science is a public outreach platform for promoting women scientists and the work they do. If you are interested in getting involved or participating in one of their events then follow this link to contact the organisers – Events
Could we hold similar events in Reading?