Improving gender equity in academia depends on the workplace environment
Sreetama Bhadra1,2, Gabriella Damasceno1,3, Daniela Hoss1,2
1German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Elife
|April 7, 2025
Summary
Supportive academic environments foster open discussions on gender inequity, enabling bottom-up solutions for women in science. Unsupportive settings require top-down policies to address these critical issues.
Area of Science:
- Biodiversity research
- Academic environment
- Gender equity studies
Background:
- The iDiv Female Scientists initiative addresses gender inequity in academia.
- Workplace environments significantly impact women in scientific careers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss the influence of workplace environments on women in academia.
- To propose actionable recommendations for promoting gender equity.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of experiences within the iDiv Female Scientists initiative.
- Discussion of "bottom-up" (supportive environments) and "top-down" (unsupportive environments) approaches.
Main Results:
- Supportive environments facilitate open dialogue and "bottom-up" solutions for gender inequity.
- Unsupportive environments necessitate "top-down" legislative policies for improvement.
Conclusions:
- Creating supportive academic workplaces is crucial for addressing gender inequity.
- A multi-faceted approach involving individuals, institutions, and policymakers is needed to promote gender equity in science.
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