URI welcomes chapter of Association for Women in Science, addresses gender discrimination in the field

11/10/09 - Last night, Dr. Joanne Kamens, the founder of the Boston chapter and chair of the national chapter of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) discussed gender biases and strategies for success at the kickoff meeting of the Rhode Island chapter of AWIS. The event, held in the University of Rhode Island's Memorial Union, aimed to address these issues."There are all these inherent biases that lead to women getting less grant money, getting fewer tenure positions, not even getting on tenure track," Kamens said.

The chapter was created this past summer by URI Assistant Professor of Chemistry Radha Narayanan. Narayanan said "it's a national advocacy organization" and membership is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff. Narayanan got the idea from her own membership in the Georgia Tech chapter during her graduate school years.

The meeting opened with a welcoming statement from URI Professor Winnie Brownell, Dean of Arts and Sciences. Following Brownell's opening remarks, Kamens gave a lecture, titled "What can AWIS do for you and what you do for AWIS?"

Kamens presented a study that has proven there are many gender biases in recommendation letters written by both sexes. Letters about female students often say that the applicant "trains, teaches or applies herself well," while male applicants' letters are associated with phrases like "good research, good ability." Kamens said this discrepancy implies males are inherently better-quality students, while females may have to work to achieve a similar status.

She said surveys have shown that successful female scientists who are satisfied with their profession have several things in common: They choose their marital partners carefully, opt for flexible jobs and balance work with their personal lives. Kamens said these women also spend money on such things as childcare and household help to make their life more manageable. This is true of Kamens herself, who said, "I haven't used a vacuum in twelve years."

She said the steps to create a more supportive environment for women in the sciences include mentoring, networking and encouraging collaboration over competition. Kamens said networking was one of the advantages of AWIS, which is an organization that "provides a support system" and "enriches collaborations."

"People do not get jobs from sending out resumes," Kamens said but by "building relationships with people in [their] field."

After graduating with a Ph.D. in genetics from Harvard Medical School's Division of Medical Sciences, Kamens was able to interview for many positions, thanks to the connections provided by her advisor.

Kamens also spoke about how women have the ability to select research labs suitable to their needs. In her lecture, Kamens encouraged women to look for "gender-blind, supportive" mentors and to steer clear of any sexist faculty, regardless of how impressive their research may be.

One group of gender-biased people Kamens has come across throughout her professional career are the scientists working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"MIT faculty are notoriously discriminatory," Kamens said.

Size and level of competitiveness are two main factors Kamens suggested women consider when choosing a lab.

Another factor affecting lab compatibility is the ability for the head researcher to deal with conflict. Kamens said that she once worked in a laboratory in which a love triangle involving two grad students and a post-doc ended up in glassware being thrown and harmful fumes emitted. Needless to say, the two senior laboratory researchers ignored the issue.

Kamens also suggested for women interested in the sciences to contact lab alumni and ask for candid accounts of their experience. She said it is important to find out if they were "happy in their training." Investigating this decision is worth the time she said, because it's "a choice of where you want to spend six years or more."

According to Kamens, AWIS was first founded about 40 years ago and around 60 active chapters now exist. Anyone interested in joining the AWIS-RI can contact Professor Narayanan to find out more.