Why we shouldn’t blame women for gender disparity in academia: perspectives of women in zoology

By

Slobodian, Veronica
Soares, Karla
Falaschi, Rafaela Lopes
Prado, Laura R.
Camelier, Priscila
Guedes, Thaís Barreto
Leal, Laura C.
Hsiou, Annie S.
Del-Rio, Glaucia
Costa, Eliza R.
Pereira, Karla R.C.
D’angiolella, Annelise B.
De A. Sousa, Shirliane
Diele-Viegas, Luisa M.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021-2-26

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

38

Pages

1--9

Subjects

Academic settings , diversity , gender gap , gendered metrics , stem , Women in science

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zoologia.38.e61968

 

Abstract

The following letter, from a network of women zoologists, is a reply to the article of AlShebli et al. (2020), which suggests that female protégés reap more benefits when mentored by men and concludes that female mentors hinder the success of their female protégés and the quality of their impact. This contribution has two parts. First, we highlight the most relevant methodological flaws which, in our opinion, may have impacted the conclusions of AlShebli et al. (2020). Second, we discuss issues pertaining to women in science, bring a perspective of Women in Zoology and discuss how current diversity policies are positively changing our field.