
“Cookie-chasing”
The word “ally” is often used to describe someone, usually a man, who advocates on behalf of women in STEM. But I want to unpack our usage of this term, because it has unfortunately resulted in the phenomenon known as “cookie-chasing”. What do I mean by this? I’ll let the wonderful artwork of Tatsuya Ishida explain it.In other words, it’s the act of seeking approval and praise for doing something that we should all be doing anyway. Believing that women should receive equal pay for equal work, or that women shouldn’t be sexually harassed, or calling out sexist comments online are all examples of things that we should all be doing anyway and doesn’t deserve special kudos.
A flickr user demonstrated this by baking actual “ally cookies,” which are hilarious and look delicious at the same time.Sadly, CSHL science history meetings consistently have low % of female speakers http://t.co/48mUrqX0JT #STEMWomen pic.twitter.com/mPbKRaKdx1
— Jonathan Eisen (@phylogenomics) June 30, 2015
“Why does it have to be a race-thing?”
Something I have noticed in a lot of these discussions about feminism and science is how we rarely discuss “intersectionality”. Intersectionality means that we must recognise there is often overlap (or intersection) between different types of discrimination and oppression. For example, this means that we can’t uncouple the racism and sexism that a black woman scientist will face as she navigates a career in academia. The so-called “double jeopardy” effect highlights this, and discussed some of the findings of a recent study that explores this phenomenon. Even though all women are affected by some form of gender bias, some women (such as minorities and transgender women) experience these biases more than others. For example, the “prove it again” bias describes how women are asked to provide more proof than men for their scientific assertions. In other words, men are presumed to be more competent, while women often have to prove their competence over and over again. This effect is actually worse when race is taken into account; 77 per cent of black women scientists reported experiencing the “prove it again bias” as opposed to 66 per cent of other women. It’s worth reading the many excellent summaries of the full report to understand these effects.“Leaning in vs falling over”
In summary…
I want to change the way we try to bridge the gender gap in STEM. This is not just a “women’s problem”, and we need to stop framing it as such. We need everyone’s help to fix this. We need to be inclusive and welcoming; people of all races and all genders must work together. We need to implement change at every level, from the institutions down to the individual attitudes. Finally, we all need to listen when women share their experiences, and find ways to make a meaningful difference. Buddhini Samarasinghe is the founder of STEMWomen. Concerned with issues surrounding gender diversity in business? Don’t miss the Real Business First Women programme: Drawing on years of the First Women movement and the phenomenal network of pioneering women the Awards has created, this programme features The First Women Awards and The First Women Summit – designed to educate, mentor and inspire women in all levels of business.Share this story