Category: Yleinen

The Nordic Network for Diversity in Physics, NORNDiP, was created in 2017. The organization aims to “establish a strong, wide, and inclusive network of women and men in physics and related sciences, who live, work, study or have scientific collaborations within the Nordic countries, in order to increase awareness on important topics such as equality, gender balance, and diversity and decrease the gap at all levels between male and female scientists.”

The network will have its first large-scale event, the first annual NORNDiP conference on diversity in physics on October 24-25 at the Albanova Centre in Stockholm, Sweden. The conference will feature a mix of scientific talks, talks on topics related to diversity, and a phenomenal panel discussion. Everyone is very welcome!

You can find the conference details and registration information at: https://norndip.com/nordip-conference-2018/

I had the joy and privilege to participate in the 10th European Conference on Gender Equality in Higher Education (link), 20 – 22 August 2018 in Dublin Ireland with the kind support of the Finnish Cultural Foundation (Suomen Kulttuurirahasto). The University of Helsinki hosted the very first European Conference on Gender Equality in Higher Education in 1998. The next one will take place in Madrid in two years.

This conference was useful and pleasant for the same reasons that all the conferences are useful and pleasant: I learn useful information about the subject, I meet and network with great people – and I get extra confidence that I am doing the right thing for my work. Or, in the case of gender equality, I am doing the right thing for my side activity. After all, my main activity is to run a laboratory and study radiation detectors for particle physics.

Throughout the conference, several outstanding speakers emphasized that gender equality is equality for both men and women. It is widely acknowledged that diverse communities make better decisions. The significant underrepresentation of women in higher education institutes is not only injustice towards competent individuals but also a terrible loss of human potential. European countries just cannot afford to lose so many women in higher education.

Students are important for us in the Academic World. Several recent studies reveal that girls perform excellently in all the disciplines at school, including mathematics and physics. Nevertheless, at the Faculty of Science of the University of Helsinki, we see that young women are less interested than young men to enter the STEM disciplines. At that stage, role models play an important role: we women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics can show that this is the right place to be for everyone.

The importance of informal women’s networks (such as our Women in Kumpula network) were emphasized. These networks are not only for discussing gender issues and improving gender awareness but also for discussing scientific topics, providing role models and mentoring, and exchanging ideas. Networks can act as structures that are needed to fight the consequences of unconscious bias – a significant obstacle for female careers in science.

I gave a well-attended presentation about sexual harassment in Finnish Academia, based on the recent study by the Helsinki Association of Women Researchers (HelWoR). We investigated the frequency of occurrences of sexual harassment; the difficulty of defining what sexual harassment is; how seldom people report their experiences; and the negative responses people get when they report. Our study also revealed critical areas, which should be considered to prevent sexual harassment in future.

One confusing thing there was in this conference: European colleagues kept asking me why gender equality does not interest Finland. They were surprised that, among the 364 conference participants in this conference, only me and a lady from Tampere were from Finland. In addition, it was HelWoR who sent me, not my university. Nevertheless, let us be positive: let us hope that gender strategies will turn into good gender practices in Finnish Academia!

500 Women Scientists is an international network of women in STEM and their supporters, with a mission to serve society by making science open, inclusive and accessible.  These goals are achieved by:
– Empowering women to grow to their full potential in science;
– Increasing scientific literacy through public engagement;
– Advocating for science and equality.

The network is made up of local associations called “pods”.  The inaugural meeting of the Helsinki Pod of 500 Women Scientists was held at Tiedekulma on June 12th.  Half of the 13 already-registered members of the pod were in attendance.  It was a lively meeting with good spirits all around!  After short introductions, the members agreed on a first action item that aligns very closely with the goals of the organization.  In order to enhance the visibility of women specialists in media, the pod is preparing a press contact package with information and contact details of local women scientists and distributing it to newspapers, radio, television and other media outlets in in the Helsinki area.  The members also agreed to conduct all pod business in English, to maximise accessibility and to best complement other ressources and networks in Helsinki.

You can reach the Helsinki Pod of 500 Women Scientists on Twitter: @500WSHelsinki or by email at: 500WomenSciHki (at) gmail

You can sign up as an expert or request a scientist communicator for your activities at: https://500womenscientists.org/request-a-scientist/

I had the joy and privilege to participate in the Second LERU Gender Conference, 14 – 15 June 2018 in Zurich Switzerland (link) with the kind support of Finnish Cultural Foundation (Suomen Kulttuurirahasto).

The special theme of the conference was implicit bias, or unconscious bias, in Academia. Dr. Emma Terämä presented the same theme at the annual meeting of the Helsinki Association of Women Researchers, more info here. Recently, LERU (League of European Research Universities) has published an interesting report: ”Implicit bias in academia: A challenge to the meritocratic principle and to women’s careers – And what to do about it”, see the report.

In general, unconscious biases are stereotypes about groups of people that others form without conscious awareness. Unconscious bias in assessing excellence is one of the major problems affecting women in science. Then, the gender discrimination takes place in subconscious level. It is an accumulative disadvantage playing a strong role in the recruitment, working conditions, career advancement, and research funding situations of women in Academia. Unfortunately, women are not any better towards other women, especially if they themselves have been successful with their careers.

Changes in the culture have proven to be hard and slow. This is visible e.g. in the “gender scissors”, see below. The career position is related to money, power and status – and the situation have remained practically the same for the last 20 years. The competence, ambition and priorities of women researchers keep on being questioned although hundreds of studies and metastudies have found that in science there are no systematic gender differences in anything. The sad story in Academia is that researchers tend to regard themselves objective, although the unconscious bias is especially strong when people are not cautious about it.

Implicit bias affects especially young women in the beginning of their careers. The post-doc stage is very important for staying in the Academia. For example, the strong – but questionable – requirement for international mobility at post-doc stage is probably the major contribution for the leaky pipeline, clearly visible in the “gender scissors”. Namely, family constraints affect especially young women. Furthermore, the experiences of sexual harassment, affecting mostly young females, may play a significant role, too.

Luckily, there are methods to change unconscious bias to conscious awareness. First, general consciousness about the existence and character of unconscious bias must be raised. This can be done via training. The role of construal and committed leadership is important, too. Other effective methods to fight unconscious bias include positive role models, mentorship programs, women’s networks, bias-free language, and structural changes in research institutes.

In this conference, some good practices and advice were discussed: Do not publicly look down or undermine other women! Do not listen or distribute rumors or “hear-says”, especially in evaluations! Give recommendations emphasizing professional skills and excellency over character and temperament! And last but not least: Although important, it is not enough just to establish women’s networks / equality officers / antibias training / whatever written rules and formal policies – and imagine that the issue is solved. Gender equality is a process. Little things matter. Be courageous!

More info about implicit bias: watch this video.