SYMP 4: Navigating a Gender-Biased World: Lessons from the Experiences of Women in Ecology Across Cultures and Generations

Session Organizer(s)

• Alejandra Martínez-Blancas

  Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
  Mexico City, , DF, Mexico

Moderator(s)

• Arona Bender

  Hampton University
  Hampton, Virginia, United States

Volunteer(s)

• Adounke Mahugnon Gilles Renaud

  wildlife Ecology, Laboratory of Applied Ecology
  Abomey Calavi, Benin

Women are a growing part of academia. However, the academic environment is still much more hostile for them compared to their male colleagues. Starting at school, girls are often discouraged to pursue scientific careers. The few women who manage to get a job in science often encounter difficulties to progress in their careers and are thus underrepresented at advanced career stages. In Ecology, papers authored by women have a lower acceptance rate and are less likely to be cited than papers written by men. Women also face additional challenges while working in the field. Despite these extra burdens, women have long been producing cutting-edge science, often without proper recognition. To make matters worse, gender biases may compound with other biases, such as those against people of color and immigrants. We believe the time is ripe for correcting centuries of injustice against female scientists, but in order to do that it is important to learn about the experiences of a variety of women in ecology from different generations, races, and countries in order to reflect on the current state of gender equality in ecology and to dismantle structures and practices that generate stereotypes and perpetuate gender inequalities in academia. We want to include women ecologists from different career stages to assess how the participation of women in ecology has changed and to understand if women are equally represented at advanced career stages. It is also important to learn from women of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds to understand the particularities of the challenges they have encountered. We hope this session will foster a dialogue between a variety of men and women ecologists with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds to reduce exclusion and discrimination towards female scientists.

Presentations:

• ON DEMAND

  Acts of survival: Working to change the unacceptable disparities in ecological participation
  

  Presenting Author: Maria N. Miriti – The Ohio State University
• ON DEMAND

  From fieldwork in rural communities to bioinformatics in Mexico City and back to the field: Lessons for women in ecology
  

  Presenting Author: Alicia Mastretta-Yanes – CONACYT - Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad
• ON DEMAND

  Research on gender biases as a tool for mentoring future ecologists
  

  Presenting Author: Ana Margarida C. Santos – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
• ON DEMAND

  Surviving racism and sexism in academia: Experiences and insights
  

  Presenting Author: Priyanga Amarasekare – University of California, Los Angeles