Countering gender bias at conferences

Description

Academic conferences are much more than just an opportunity to travel to new cities and score some swag at the exhibition hall. They are a chance to network with other researchers, pick up new ideas, and present results. Despite all they have to offer, many of them have fallen victim to a critical failing: a lack of gender equity. Given that hiring, tenure, and promotion decisions rely heavily on the types of opportunities that conferences can offer, it’s crucial that they not be biased against women, says Jennifer Martin, a structural biologist at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia, in Australia. “I don’t want the next generation to live with the stereotypes of the past.”