Female success rate dips to 10 per cent in latest ERC grant round

Announced toady (30th June) – ‘female academics have won just 10 per cent of the latest tranche of the European Research Council’s flagship advanced grants

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In an article published in the Times Higher Paul Jump notes that ‘according to the statistics for the 2014 round, released on 30 June, women account for just 19 of the 190 awardees. Of the 25 award-making panels, 12 made no awards to females, including two out of the nine panels in the life sciences, six out of 10 in the physical sciences and engineering, and four out of six in social sciences and humanities.  In the previous round of advanced grants, in 2013, women accounted for 13 per cent of awardees. However, a spokesman for the ERC said that significantly fewer women had applied in this round. Of the 2287 applications, just 310 came from women, or 13.4 per cent of the total. The female success rate was 6.1 per cent, compared to 8.6 per cent for men. The spokesman also pointed out that in the most recent round of consolidator grants, aimed at mid-career researchers, women were slightly more successful than men, taking 28 per cent of the grants, with a success rate of 15.2 per cent, compared to 14.9 per cent for men.  He said the issue of low female representation among grantees was “something we are working on”.

The full article can be seen here – https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/female-success-rate-dips-10-cent-latest-erc-grant-round

 

What do you think? Is there anything that can be done to encourage more female staff to apply for these grants?  Should Departments/School’s/University’s be offering more support and/or encouragement?

World’s top 10 universities led by women

Published on 19th June in the Times Higher, Ellie Bothwell highlights that – ‘Just 14 per cent of the top 200 universities in the world are led by women.  It is a damning statistic and one that proves – if you needed any more evidence alongside the oft-reported gender pay gap and the dearth of women in senior positions – that gender inequality is still rife in the academy. However, there are examples of top universities that are leading the way when it comes to promoting women to the upper echelons of their institution.

This list is based on research conducted by Miguel Antonio Lim, EU Marie Curie doctoral fellow at Aarhus University in Copenhagen, who used data from the 2014-15 World University Rankings’

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To see the full list see – World’s top 10 universities led by women

Just picking institutions in the UK, number 8 is – University of Manchester:

  • Vice-chancellor: Nancy Rothwell
  • Appointed: 2010
  • Current world rank: =52
  • Dame Nancy Rothwell became the first woman to lead the University of Manchester in 2010.  Professor Rothwell is one of just two female leaders in the top 200 of the world rankings who is an academic in medical science, while the University of Manchester is one of only four UK universities on the list that has a female leader.

    Speaking to THE, Professor Rothwell said the reason why there are fewer female leaders is “most likely a combination of factors: huge time commitment, few role models, lack of confidence”. She added: “I have certainly never felt discriminated against but also never planned on being a vice-chancellor.”

Nancy Rothwell

Nancy Rothwell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number 2 is Imperial College London:

  • President: Alice Gast
  • Appointed: 2014
  • Current world rank: =9
  • Alice Gast is the first female president at Imperial College London and its 16th leader overall.  The university has won several awards for promoting women in fields where they are currently underrepresented, including medicine and aeronautics.  It also gives its own prizes and mentorship to female students excelling in subjects that are typically male-dominated , and has a fellowship award scheme for academics returning from maternity and adoption leave.
Alice Gast

Alice Gast

Room at the top: how to redress the gender imbalance

On the 14th May 2015 Amanda Goodall and Margit Osterloh published an article in the Times Higher on how to redress gender imbalance –  http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/how-to-redress-the-gender-imbalance/1/2020135.article

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‘Research suggests that men tend to exaggerate their abilities, whereas women typically have less self-confidence, creating a “confidence gap”. Overconfidence is more pronounced when men undertake tasks that are considered to be masculine – and, arguably, leadership may be one of these. If men and women are equally confident, researchers have found that there are no gender differences in competitive entry. This has been shown in the laboratory as well as in the field.’

What do you think?

‘Sexist’ peer review causes storm online

‘A postdoctoral researcher has spoken out about her “shock and disbelief” at “sexist”, “sarcastic” and “patronising” comments she received in a manuscript review.

An anonymous peer reviewer suggests that the paper, written by two female researchers, should include at least one male author to make sure that the data were interpreted correctly, and says that only men have the personality necessary to make it to the top jobs in science.

The journal in question said that it regretted the “tone, spirit and content” of the review.’

See the full article by Holly Else in the Times Higher published on the 30th April here – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/sexist-peer-review-causes-storm-online/2020001.article

Thank you to Wendy Matthews for highlighting this news story!

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Female science writers celebrated

‘A Royal Society discussion has considered the behind-the-scenes and often neglected roles that women have long played in the advancement of science. Held on 10 March to tie in with International Women’s Day, “Women Writing Science” brought together three historians to explore and celebrate the major contributions made by women even at a time when the doors to universities, learned societies and laboratories were largely closed to them.’

The full article in the Times Higher by Matthew Reisz can be seen here – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/female-science-writers-celebrated/2019101.article

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Pay gap worse in industry for women with PhDs

Research by Ute Schulze (a Research Assistant at the University of Freiburg) has found that ‘female PhD holders who leave academia face a larger gender wage gap that those who stay in University research.’

Holly Else discusses the research in an article published today (12th March 2015) in the Times Higher – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/pay-gap-worse-in-industry-for-women-with-phds/2018990.article

‘Analysing the results of more than 1,000 respondents, Ms Schulze found that, on average, women with a PhD earned almost £5,000 less than men 42 months after graduation. This gap is “driven almost entirely” by the pay premium men enjoy outside academia, she says in the paper, The gender wage gap among PhDs in the UK.’

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Janet Beer on leadership diversity: don’t hold out for a hero

Published today (12th March 2015), John Morgan examines why Janet Beer (Liverpool’s new Vice-Chancellor) believes there should be more women and ethnic minorities at the top.  To see the full article in the Times Higher follow this link –

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/janet-beer-on-leadership-diversity-dont-hold-out-for-a-hero/2019009.article

‘Janet Beer, who took over as vice-chancellor of the University of Liverpool last month, has a persuasive theory about why there are so few female university leaders in the UK. There is, she argues, a misconceived ideal of “heroic leadership” that holds that leaders must be “more Zeus than Athena”.

Athena v Zeus: Janet Beer says a “heroic leadership” ideal fails women

Athena v Zeus: Janet Beer says a “heroic leadership” ideal fails women

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The work to do…is about unconscious bias,” she said. “We need more thought about what leaders look like in the sector; less concentration on some kind of heroic model of leadership, something more about consensus-building and collaborative and partnership working at all levels.”

What do you think?

How to beat writer’s block

Roberta Gilchrist highlighted an article by Matthew Reisz in the Times Higher published on the 22nd January 2015 –  ‘Learning to accept ‘good enough’ as a benchmark can help academics escape a writing rut.’

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/how-to-beat-writers-block/2017995.article

Peer pressure: look beyond scholarly insecurities to focus on a specific goal

Peer pressure: look beyond scholarly insecurities to focus on a specific goal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘PhD students often procrastinate because they feel they have “not yet had a breakthrough in their thinking, have not yet crossed the conceptual threshold”. Others get bogged down by the impostor syndrome, “the feeling that you do not yet have anything important enough to say” or that the real experts “will immediately attack what you do say as rubbish”

‘Finally, at those ghastly moments when the gears seem to seize up completely, don’t just sit there staring at the screen. Instead, recommends Professor Wisker, “stop writing, go for a walk, do anything other than write, and let your mind flow around the issues when it wants to. The breakthrough in thinking, understanding and expression often comes when your mind is freer. Then catch it, build on it and write.”

Do you procrastinate?  Are you able to say ‘this is good enough.’  Can you take a ‘helicopter view’ of your work?

 

Gender split on fellowship scheme ‘unacceptable’

In an article published on the 2nd March 2015 in the Times Higher, Holly Else examines why ‘the Royal Society has not been able to find any reason why so few women were successful in securing awards from one of its fellowship schemes in 2014.’  In 2014 only 2 of its 43 University Research Fellowships went to women.

The full article can be seen here – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/gender-split-on-fellowship-scheme-unacceptable/2018831.article

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#AdviceForYoungAcademics: THE-initiated Twitter trend takes off

This article by Chris Parr was published in the Time Higher on the 19th February 2015 – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/adviceforyoungacademics-the-initiated-twitter-trend-takes-off/2018570.article

‘Twitter is often painted as a frivolous tool for procrastination; a distraction from academic life rather than an integral part of it.

It can, however, be a valuable avenue for academics to expose their work to a wider audience, and there are also examples of lecturers embracing the social networking site to make their lessons more engaging. A third use, particularly pertinent for those just starting out on their academic careers, is advice.’

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Just some of the advice:

Guarding against becoming overworked was a popular theme. “Seek out mentoring; take lots of advice,” tweeted Lee Jones (@DrLeeJones), senior lecturer in international politics at Queen Mary University of London. “Learn when to follow it. Be collegial. Learn when to say no.”

Debby Cotton (@ProfDcotton), professor of higher education at Plymouth University, said the best advice for young academics she had ever heard was: “Be nice to people on the way up; you’ll meet them again on the way down!” Laura Olabisi (@Lkshumaine), assistant professor in the department of community sustainability at Michigan State University, also had some sage words. “Everyone feels like an impostor some of the time – it’s not just you,” she tweeted.