Dr Jenny Koenig is Chair of the Cambridge branch of the Association for Women in Science and Engineering. In the lead up to the Cambridge Science Festival, and appropriately on International Women's Day, she answered our questions about the issues surrounding women in science... Why are there so few women in science and engineering? A lot of girls are put off at school and it's very hard to change that cultural barrier. I think that's partly because there aren't the role models. There are quite a few women who go into the biological sciences, but they just don't progress to a senior level. Do you think there's a fundamental difference between the male and female brain, making men in general better at systematising and analysing, and therefore better scientists? Or is that just a common misconception?
I think that's a misconception, because while that's very valid research in its own context, the argument to make against that is to be a good scientist you have to have many different characteristics - so systematising is helpful, yes, but it's only one part of being a scientist. What extra skills can women bring to science? Are they better at communicating? Yes, communication skills and good team-working skills are all factors of being a good scientist. When you've done your experiment you need to write it up and present it in such a way that inspires and enthuses other people. I would argue that if you're the sort of systematising person who borders on the Autistic, you're not going to be in a very good position to be working well in a team and standing up in a conference. | "The ability to think creatively and originally and look at things from another viewpoint is a real advantage." | | Jenny Koenig |
Women can also be more sensitive, they're able to look at things from another viewpoint, which is a really important skill. If you think your great theory is right and you set off to prove it, if you start to get some evidence which suggests your great theory isn't right, then the ability to think creatively and originally and look at it from another viewpoint is a real advantage. We need to pay a bit more attention to just what we think a good scientist should be, and a good scientist is not just a good systematiser. What are the difficulties that women face if they do decide to go into a career in science? Why don't they progress to senior levels? Women tend not to progress because of the way the career structure is set up. Typically, in an academic research career, you're on short-term contracts until you reach your mid-thirties, by which time you're supposed to get a permanent position. Commonly, a lot of women will be trying to get their permanent position just at the time when they're starting a family. That really puts a massive burden on them because they're trying to deal with all the problems of pregnancy, having a family, sleep deprivation - all those things, at the same time as really needing to be able to work very, very hard. It's really not that compatible. Some people do it, it's not impossible, but it just makes it that much more difficult. You're also supposed to be very mobile in scientific careers, able to move to a different area if necessary, and that's very difficult if you've put down roots or if your husband can't move. So what is being done to encourage more women into the field, and is it getting better?
The number of 'Women Returners' schemes have really increased in the last five years or so. Quite a lot of universities and research institutes initiated their own schemes for women returning to scientific careers, so that's one area that has been addressed. The government has bought in the part-time flexible working legislation, but I don't think that's been particularly well implemented in a lot of academic environments. It's certainly not seen as an acceptable thing to do if you're a 'serious scientist'. And of course there's AWiSE! Tell us about AWiSE's work... It has three functions really... networking, mentoring and information. As a networking organisation we organise a series of meetings where women can come together and learn from each other. We have a range of different speakers, often very inspirational role models. It's also a chance to meet people outside your immediate environment. We're affiliated to the Mentoring Set Scheme, a charity set up to link women 'mentees' with mentors. There's quite a strong presence for it in the Cambridge area because we've been promoting it so much. And then we have a lot of information, advice and support. We're just about to launch our new website that will contain information about our part-time and flexible working questionnaire along with lots of helpful links. We try to do quite a lot - but it's all a voluntary effort and I think that's fantastic.
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