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Julia wrote:
>> Maybe I'm getting old and cynical, but I for
> one am sick and tired of people pointing to labs with 30-50% female postdocs
> and a few jr professor hires and saying that this means women now have equal
> opportunity.
Equal opportunity really means equal access to power. The article in the
NEJM points out that women aren't getting to the power, because they
aren't advancing. Once I heard a senior professor say half jokingly,
"we hire women, we just don't promote them!"
The hard part is getting power. That means achieving
recognition and influence. (By the way did anyone see the article in
THE SCIENTIST about paucity of women getting awards? Link on the
W-i-B launch page, below). It's all very well to let us in to the
bottom floor of their structure, but we have to get to the top
to make the changes. And that means even average women have to get in
to where average men have been.
> Part I'm frustrated because its taken too long to get just
> this far
And of course it doesn't seem so far now that we've got here, and are
looking at where we want to go.
> and partly I'm frustrated because many people seem
> content to stop at opportunity itself-whether its equal or not.
Interesting point. I think it's our nature to be grateful when
something works out, and not want to rock the boat. But also
it might be exhaustion--how long can you keep fighting an
endless battle?
> Or is it better to strive for the highest goal despite the burnout?
Some women withhold themselves from the system
until it changes--but it won't change unless
pushed, and their silence isn't noted.
Some women get into the system and work to various degress to
change it--though at some point, they have to work with it just to
stay inside. And some women never stop pushing. Not sure anyone can
keep going forever--cynicism and just plain exhaustion
creep in. I think that we have to do it in stages, and recognize
that we will not get there in one trip.
I think shooting for equity is a good start. Sadly we have a long
way to go.
--
-susan
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DON'T REPLY to the email address in header.
It's an anti-spam. Use the one below.
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S L Forsburg, PhD forsburg at salk.edu
Molecular Biology and Virology Lab
The Salk Institute, La Jolla CA
http://pingu.salk.edu/~forsburg/lab.html
Women in Biology Internet Launch Page
http://pingu.salk.edu/~forsburg/bio.html
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"These are my opinions. I don't have
time to speak for anyone else."
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