On Wednesday 7th February, I had the pleasure of attending 'How can we solve science's problem with women?' by EquationX Events. It was everything I'd hoped it'd be, and I left the event feeling not only more motivated for change, but also more understood.
As usual, I was extremely early to the event (one hour early! I just didn't want to be late!). This worked out perfectly and allowed me to talk to the event's organisers, Angela Saini and Alex O'Brien. They co-founded EquationX Events and this was their first event. They were very interested in hearing about me and my passions, my studies and even my plans for the future! It was an amazing start to the evening. Alex O’Brien opened the debate with a personal anecdote about the excitement she had to interview a Nobel Prize winner - which was met with disappointment from him with the realisation that Alex was a woman. For the rest of the interview, she was too afraid to take up more space and, as she put it, “overstay her not-welcome”. We have all encountered such a feeling when we are made so excruciatingly aware of our status as a minority. We just want to curl into a ball and take up as little space as possible. The advice from that evening? Do not curl up into that ball.
As Angela Saini said in her keynote speech, women and other minorities have been excluded and repressed for centuries. Although the culture has changed and is a lot kinder to women now, we still have a long way to go. Every woman on the panel has had their own recent story of misogyny: from Roma Agrawal, a structural engineer, being too afraid to speak up at a site about the naked pictures of women on the walls, lest they retort with: ‘this is why we don’t let women…’, to the discrimination Dr Emma Chapman faced when she went on maternity leave during her PhD and her access to all academic papers – including her own papers – was suspended. We cannot say women have equality right now when they are so clearly being discriminated against, not just within science, but in all fields. As cliché as the saying is, the only way this will change is if we be the change we wish to see.
A word that kept cropping up in that debate was solidarity. Emma Chapman beautifully summarised this as "making sure you do not pull the ladder up after you are done using it." It is all about being an ally. Emma bravely shared her own story of sexual harassment by a senior. Her case lasted an agonising 21 months and, as the cherry on top, was settled without her knowledge. It was with the help of the 1752 group that Emma was able to cope with everything. The onus tends to be on the person without the privilege to call out the belittling behaviour, however, it shouldn't be that way. Being an ally isn't strictly limited to minorities. As Adam Rutherford expressed, "it's a tricky thing to call out...but you do." There is power in numbers, and, as Roma advised, you have to use your privilege to support others. Support is a very broad term; it ranges from actively calling out unacceptable behaviour, to simply commending a woman: "I really like her idea". Often, people don't even notice that their behaviour is problematic, which was the case for Emma, when she was suspended from accessing academic papers. After she emailed them, their policy was changed. You don't just shed light on the issue, you let them know how to fix the issue.
As much as we want the entire world to be understanding and inclusive towards everyone, it isn't. There isn't much we can do about that. Clay Shirky encapsulated this perfectly in the quote: "some people are so accustomed to privilege that equality feels like oppression." We have to accept that we aren't going to change certain people's minds. And that's okay!
