Introductory remarks

This symposium aims to highlight women’s research, focusing on how different stressors in agroecosystems affect interactions between crops, insect pests, natural enemies, pollinators and microorganisms. We will feature researchers from all career paths including students, early career, mid career, late career, academia, industry, government, and beyond. The goal of this symposium is to advocate for women’s research and spotlight successful women in entomology. A recent study published in PNAS found that after becoming a parent, 43% of women (compared to 23% of men) left full-time STEM employment to work part time, switch to non-STEM careers, or left the workforce altogether (Cech et al. 2019). Despite increased representation of women in entomology at the graduate and postdoctoral levels, women remain significantly underrepresented in permanent positions across academia and government agencies while earning significantly less at the highest government grade level (Walker 2018). Women in entomology still face significant barriers to career advancement. Aggie Women in Entomology (AWE), a student-run organization at Texas A&M University, was founded to promote gender diversity within entomology. AWE prepares women to assume roles in leadership, responsibility, and service to the entomological scientific community by promoting and supporting women’s research. Thus, the objective of this symposium is to highlight the AWEsome scientific research conducted by women at various career stages who also represent diverse job sectors such as academia, industry, government, and more.