On Tuesday 11th October, Biological Sciences celebrated Ada Lovelace day by holding an event for postgrads on plugging the ‘leaky pipeline’ – overcoming barriers in making the PhD to postdoc hurdle
A major issue in nearly all STEM subjects (including Biology) in the UK is that while over 50% of undergrads in Biology are female, and roughly 50% of PGRs are female, these numbers drop steadily the higher up the academic hierarchy we go – something that is known as the ‘leaky pipeline’. At Southampton, Biology addressing these issues is through the Equality and Diversity committee (E & D) identifying specific policies and actions within the department that can help change these numbers.
This very successful E & D event helped to address this ‘leaky pipeline’ and included a moderated discussion with our postgrads over how to make the leap from PhD to postdoc level, with a particular emphasis on the challenges women face (given the leaky pipeline). This event took place between Tuesday Oct 11th , as this is Ada Lovelace day in which events take place worldwide to celebrate the role of women in science.
The event was attended by approximately 30 postgrads (female AND male!; see photos) – and consisted of getting the postgrads to anonymously write down their key challenges/questions. A committee of academics, including Head of Biological Sciences, Prof Keith Jones, and Dr Judith Lock, Dr Mark Coldwell and Dr Felix Eigenbrod went through these suggestions and came up with common themes. These themes, which included issues such as how to reconcile work-life balance with a career in academic biology were discussed in an open discussion, which focused on the academics present giving their views on how to overcome such barriers. The discussion was extremely lively and the issues identified will be further analysed by the E & D committee as part of their efforts to make Biology a better place to work and study for everyone. This event was organized by the postgrad rep for Biology on the E & D committee Fabrizia Ratto, E & D co-chair Judith Lock, and E & D chair Felix Eigenbrod.