PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Boost careers of female scientists: Make sure women help choose meeting speakers

2014-01-07
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Kim Newman
sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu
718-430-3101
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Boost careers of female scientists: Make sure women help choose meeting speakers January 7, 2014 — (BRONX, NY) — More women are choosing science careers, yet women are notoriously underrepresented in senior academic positions—often because they abandon their careers due to pessimism about advancement. New research suggests that putting more women in decision-making roles on the teams that organize symposia could offer a simple, effective step forward.

Women have made dramatic gains in obtaining science degrees over the past four decades. Only 13 percent of Ph.D.s in life sciences went to women in 1970, whereas 52 percent of Ph.D.s in life sciences went to women in 2011. However, in its 2010 report on gender differences in scientific careers, the National Research Council found that "women continued to be underrepresented among academic faculty relative to the number receiving science and engineering degrees."

Now, a study in the January/February 2014 issue of the journal mbio and led by a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has identified a strategy for helping women climb the academic ladder. "Put at least one woman on the team that organizes a scientific symposium, and that team will be much more likely to invite female speakers," said study co-author Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of microbiology & immunology at Einstein, director of the College of Medicine's Center for Immunological Sciences, and attending physician at Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein.

The authors looked at scientific symposia involving nearly 2,000 speakers at three large general meetings sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology in 2011 through 2013. They focused on 104 all-male "convener teams" and 112 teams that included at least one woman.

The symposia convened by all-male teams contained 25 percent female speakers on average. For the symposia in which the convener teams included at least one woman, women comprised an average of 43 percent of speakers—which meant that including at least one woman among the conveners increased the proportion of female speakers by 72 percent compared with symposia convened by men alone.

"Participating in meetings as a speaker is an extremely important factor for academic advancement," said Dr. Casadevall. "It's a cascade effect – once you're a speaker, your work is recognized, and you are more likely to make connections, have your work funded, and to be invited to speak again. And when you speak at a meeting, your reputation at your home institution also improves, and that helps your chances of promotion. So being an invited speaker at these meetings can definitely help advance your scientific career."

Having a woman involved in choosing the speakers also reduced the chance that all of a symposium's speakers would be men: About 30 percent of the symposia at these meetings had rosters of all-male speakers in cases where the convening team contained only men. But the percentage of all-male speakers was only about nine percent for symposia in which at least one member of the convening team was a woman. "All-male sessions can be a turn-off for younger female scientists," said Dr. Casadevall. "They can send the message that the field has few women and that the upper echelons are dominated by men."

The American Society for Microbiology has alerted its committees to the findings from this study. "We'll see if this translates into changes," Dr. Casadevall said. "The lack of women in leadership positions is a big problem in our field, but our findings suggest an easy remedy. I also hope that people in other fields take a look at this issue, and if they find they have similar gaps that they begin to talk about how to deal with it."

The title of the paper is "The presence of female conveners correlates with a higher proportion of female speakers at scientific symposia." Dr. Casadevall's co-author was Jo Handelsman, Ph.D., of Yale University.

### About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2013-2014 academic year, Einstein is home to 734 M.D. students, 236 Ph.D. students, 106 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 353 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2013, Einstein received more than $155 million in awards from the NIH. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore Medical Center (http://www.montefiore.org/), the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Through its extensive affiliation network involving Montefiore, Jacobi Medical Center–Einstein's founding hospital, and five other hospital systems in the Bronx, Manhattan, Long Island and Brooklyn, Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States. For more information, please visit http://www.einstein.yu.edu and follow us on Twitter @EinsteinMed. END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Similar characteristics of brain DTI for healthy adult rhesus monkey and young people

2014-01-06
Similar characteristics of brain DTI for healthy adult rhesus monkey and young people Diffusion-tensor imaging can be used to observe the microstructure of brain tissue. Fractional anisotropy reflects the integrity of white matter fibers. Fractional anisotropy of ...

Mannotriose promotes survival of hippocampal neurons

2014-01-06
Mannotriose promotes survival of hippocampal neurons The main component of the Chinese herb Rehmannia, mannotriose, can improve learning and memory. Dr. Lina Zhang and colleagues from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China used 1 × 10 mol/L ...

Gabapentin inhibits central sensitization during migraine

2014-01-06
Gabapentin inhibits central sensitization during migraine Gabapentin is a gamma-aminobutyric acid derivative, and was approved for the treatment of neuropathic pain by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002. However, little evidence is available on the effects ...

A single-domain antibody that specifically recognizes amyloid-beta 42 oligomers

2014-01-06
A single-domain antibody that specifically recognizes amyloid-beta 42 oligomers Earlier amyloid-beta assemblies may be one of the most important causes of Alzheimer's disease. Passive immunization of anti-amyloid-beta antibodies can reduce amyloid-beta burden and ...

Intraoperative monitoring of SSEPs is a new measure to avoid iatrogenic spinal cord injury

2014-01-06
Intraoperative monitoring of SSEPs is a new measure to avoid iatrogenic spinal cord injury Currently intraoperative monitoring using somatosensory evoked potentials has been widely recognized to prevent iatrogenic spinal cord injury. Previous studies only reported ...

Newly discovered 3-star system could debunk Einstein's theory of General Relativity

2014-01-06
Newly discovered 3-star system could debunk Einstein's theory of General Relativity A newly discovered system of two white dwarf stars and a superdense pulsar--all packed within a space smaller than the Earth's orbit around the sun -- is enabling astronomers to probe ...

Supernova's super dust factory imaged with ALMA

2014-01-06
Supernova's super dust factory imaged with ALMA Galaxies can be remarkably dusty places and supernovas are thought to be a primary source of that dust, especially in the early Universe. Direct evidence of a supernova's dust-making capabilities, however, has ...

1 'villain' of the housing crisis played only a small role

2014-01-06
1 'villain' of the housing crisis played only a small role Mortgage defaults still high after predatory lenders forced out COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One of the major factors blamed for the subprime mortgage crisis may have actually played only a minor role in the housing meltdown, ...

Marriage promotion has failed to stem poverty among single moms

2014-01-06
Marriage promotion has failed to stem poverty among single moms On 50th anniversary of War on Poverty, expert says new approach needed COLUMBUS, Ohio – As the United States marks the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty this month, a new report suggests one ...

Researchers find that computer components can be damaged by key manufacturing processes

2014-01-06
Researchers find that computer components can be damaged by key manufacturing processes Manufacturers of increasingly minute computer chips, transistors and other products will have to take special note of research findings at the University of Huddersfield. The ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AI revives classic microscopy for on-farm soil health testing

Fig trees convert atmospheric CO2 to stone

Intra-arterial tenecteplase for acute stroke after successful endovascular therapy

Study reveals beneficial microbes that can sustain yields in unfertilized fields

Robotic probe quickly measures key properties of new materials

Climate change cuts milk production, even when farmers cool their cows

Frozen, but not sealed: Arctic Ocean remained open to life during ice ages

Some like it cold: Cryorhodopsins

Demystifying gut bacteria with AI

Human wellbeing on a finite planet towards 2100: new study shows humanity at a crossroads

Unlocking the hidden biodiversity of Europe’s villages

Planned hydrogen refuelling stations may lead to millions of euros in yearly losses

Planned C-sections increase the risk of certain childhood cancers

Adults who have survived childhood cancer are at increased risk of severe COVID-19

Drones reveal extreme coral mortality after bleaching

New genetic finding uncovers hidden cause of arsenic resistance in acute promyelocytic leukemia

Native habitats hold the key to the much-loved smashed avocado’s future

Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air

Machine learning potential-driven insights into pH-dependent CO₂ reduction

Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor

How game-play with robots can bring out their human side

Asthma: patient expectations influence the course of the disease

UNM physician tests drug that causes nerve tissue to emit light, enabling faster, safer surgery

New study identifies EMP1 as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression and poor prognosis

XPR1 identified as a key regulator of ovarian cancer growth through autophagy and immune evasion

Flexible, eco-friendly electronic plastic for wearable tech, sensors

Can the Large Hadron Collider snap string theory?

Stuckeman professor’s new book explores ‘socially sustainable’ architecture

Synthetic DNA nanoparticles for gene therapy

New model to find treatments for an aggressive blood cancer

[Press-News.org] Boost careers of female scientists: Make sure women help choose meeting speakers