• Question: have you faced any prejudice in the science industry against your gender?

    Asked by mans449jag on 28 Jan 2022.
    • Photo: Valerie Vancollie

      Valerie Vancollie answered on 28 Jan 2022:

      Not that I am aware of, but some of it may not be immediately visible as it could be down to a CV not being read or you not getting an interview whereas I might have if I’d been male. That is part of why a lot of discrimination can be hidden.

      But once I started my first job, I was lucky as the assistant manager (who became manager soon afterwards) was both female and LGBT+, so that helped ensure a good, open environment on the team.

    • Photo: Melanie Krause

      Melanie Krause answered on 30 Jan 2022:

      That’s a great question!
      I have never been told outright that I was not chosen for anything because of my gender, but there have been instances where me and an equally qualified male colleague had the chance to give a presentation on something and the chance as given to my male colleague.. same with award applications or promotions.. the annoying bit is you never know for sure if it because of your gender or something else

    • Photo: Mercede Lee

      Mercede Lee answered on 7 Feb 2022:

      Hi, I absolutely agree with both Valerie and Melanie.
      I have not been discriminated against directly but I am not sure I have been discriminated against indirectly.
      From my experience, I would say that, if one felt prejudice then don’t be afraid to speak up and ask for clarification. Sometimes there is a clear reason and sometimes the other party was unaware of their own prejudice. If all fails, there are many excellent opportunities elsewhere too!

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