"As a woman in a STEM field, I have come to realise the extent of under-representation of women in related fields. My experiences in the Research School of Chemistry have been very male-centred, with my floor of the RSC – composed of PhD, Post-doctoral, Honours and Masters students – consisting of roughly 20-30% women. To a greater extent, the under-representation of women in academia throughout the RSC and into other STEM fields is astounding, with not a single female academic staff located on my floor, and as many as I could count on one or two hands sparsely arranged throughout the building. However, I do believe that this is not a result of the patriarchy as such, but instead concerning a lifestyle lack-of-fit for many women in rigid and competitive academic environments.

 

It is common for a lot of women to show an ardent desire to start a family and have children. This presents an issue for women seeking academic standing in many ways, but in the context of science fields, the academic lifestyle requires that you expose yourself to environments which may be harmful to the unborn child – for example, certain chemicals or pathogens. This means that during your pregnancy you can no longer work in the lab and since you cannot progress in your research to satisfy the conditions of your grants, that means nine months without an income –placing unnecessary strain on your finances and relationships, a largely unsustainable position during the production of the most financially and emotionally demanding aspect of your life: children. Not to mention, when you return to work after nine months (if you still have a job), having lost all of your grant money and being behind on the newest and most critical developments in your field, how do you re-immerse yourself in such competitive territory when you are no longer at the height of your game?

 

 

Often this proves too difficult to have both the life and the career, and many women would rather choose the life they want and find another more flexible career. To simultaneously hold a strong representation of women in STEM academia when the environment does not flex to the inherent needs and archetypal expectations of the woman is perhaps too much to ask?"