Money talks: Funding fuels gender inequity in STEMM leadership

by Dr Jessica Borger

Universally, women are underrepresented in senior academic leadership in science, technology, engineering, maths, and medicine (STEMM).

In a recent paper published in the journal Immunology and Cell Biology, my colleague, Professor Louise Purton, from St Vincent’s Hospital, and I report that – at almost every level – women are held back by their gender in funding, their publications (quality and quantity), international reputation, invitations to speak at conferences, and contributions to scientific committees.

See more:

• Full Monash Lens article
• This essay can be read as background for an NHMRC consultation with a presentation by Professor Anne Kelso, NHMRC CEO, on "Options to reach gender equity in Investigator Grants" this coming Friday, 5 August. See event details and register
  

We need to address gender bias in medical research peer review: Jess Borger

Dr Jess Borger, CCS Gender Equity
Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Reproduced from Women's Agenda 28 February 2022

Having explored data on whether Australia’s largest medical research funding body was doing enough to retain women in STEMM on Women’s Agenda (with figures later picked up by Nature), Dr Jessica Borger was recently asked to present on the topic of “breaking the bias”.

Jessica shares the below piece based on the presentation, highlighting opportunities for Australia to lead on opportunities on achieving equality in medical research.

Petition for NHMRC to create gender equity needs your signature

Female senior academics inequitably receive less funding than males.

Forwarded on behalf of the CCS GEDI committee

A petition has been released calling on medical researchers and the greater scientific community of Australia to challenge the NHMRC to urgently commence at strategic overhaul of current funding schemes to ensure Equitable funding for Women in STEMM.

STEMM the flow: More work needed to support women in medical research

by Dr Jessica Borger, Central Clinical School and Professor Louise Purton, head of the Stem Cell Regulation Unit at St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research

Federal government investment in the National and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has remained unchanged in recent years, which, together with newly-revised funding schemes, have resulted in a reduction in the number of successfully-funded research projects.

Leadership lessons from women academics — why men and women need female mentors

Research group leaders in the Department of Immunology and Pathology
share their thoughts on mentoring. L-R upper row: A/Prof Margaret Hibbs,
Prof Nicola Harris, A/Prof Natasha Smallwood, Prof Anne Holland;
L-R lower row: Prof David Tarlinton, A/Prof Menno van Zelm,
Dr Malcolm Starkey.

by Drs Zhoujie Ding and Jessica Borger*
Central Clinical School, Monash University

The topic of women in science usually draws immediate mention of Marie Curie, the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, first in Physics in 1903 (with her husband Pierre), and then in Chemistry in 1911. Or more recently, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier’s ground-breaking work in gene editing, which won them the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Their win marked the first time a science‐related Nobel Prize was shared by women and no men. 

Trailblazing women immunologists of Australia and New Zealand

L–R: Professor Katharina Gaus, Professor Barbara Heslop, Professor Margaret Baird, Miss Dora Lush,

Dr Margaret Holmes and Miss F Eleanor Williams MBE ARRC. The authors were unable to obtain
photos of Dr Lucy M Bryce CBE and Dr Hildred Butler. Image: Immunol Cell Biol.

Dr Jess Borger,  Catriona Nguyen-Robertson and Dr James Harris, have published an essay on trailblazing women immunologists of Australia and New Zealand.

See their lively, informative essay in the journal Immunology and Cell Biology, where they have pulled together previously scattered or difficult to locate information to showcase the achievements of these outstanding female immunologists.

Borger JG, Nguyen-Robertson CV, Harris J. Trailblazing women immunologists of Australia and New Zealand. Immunol Cell Biol. 2021 Apr;99(4):338-343. doi: 10.1111/imcb.12454. PMID: 33860547.