Thread by @MVEG001

There is no difference in the capability of women, underrepresented individuals & men to design & perform outstanding STEMM research & innovation, yet the current ecosystem has deeply entrenched biases in systemic structure, culture & metrics that afford men an unfair advantage.

With funding, this is largely due to the restrictive, limited metrics by which we measure a researcher’s track record & research ‘success’ in Australia.

It is also due to a lack of funding streams that could create more opportunities for women to succeed & accelerate their career trajectory.

Track record, as it is currently measured, is impacted by career disruptions, which have a compounding effect over the course of the career. Since more women are carers and experience more career disruptions, they are automatically more affected, and disadvantaged.

Peer review relative to opportunity does not adequately address this due to the deeply entrenched culture, method and metrics in STEMM.

There are limited opportunities for women to lead on large research grants and fellowships due to track record requirements.

Blue sky research streams and mentored grants that bridge to leadership are non-existent, and retired academics with exceptional expertise and track records continue to draw service and funding opportunities away from earlier career researchers.

Women have fewer opportunities to serve on decision-making boards and committees, of sponsorship, and are often burdened with more non-promotable activities.

Organisational culture and unconscious and conscious biases also play a significant role.

And it is worse for women with multiple points of intersection: women of colour, black women, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander women, culturally & linguistically diverse women… (cont…)

…women living with disability (visible & not visible), women who identify as lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and queer & non-binary individuals as well.

It is also worse for women in laboratory research and in field-based research. Sixty percent of women in STEMM experience sexual harassment. More women in leadership will spark a culture shift.

To drive positive change in culture and behaviour, we need more women and underrepresented people in leadership, alongside men. We must partner and collaborate for progressive change.

Greater diversity, equity, equality, inclusion and allyship will foster a sense of belonging, trust, safety and respect. To get more women into leadership requires more equitable funding practices and opportunities, and broader metrics and more progressive peer review.

Visionary leadership and courageous action now will have massive benefits for all Australians in the future.

Be part of the solution and consider signing: change.org/p/scientists-s… #petition #nhmrc #womeninSTEMM