by Mary J Garson, Stephanie S Smith and Edeline Wentrup-Byrne
A recent report from ANU states that in 1992 only 16 out of 483 Australian chemistry academics were women. In 1995, there are over 30 full-time women chemistry academics. Recently ABC Radio National's 'Education Report' carried items discussing the topic of women in chemistry while a PHODS meeting (Professor and Heads of Chemistry Departments) in Canberra in February 1995 also discussed the issue of women in university chemistry. Mary Garson, Edeline Wentrup-Byrne and Stephanie Smith are three Brisbane-based chemistry PhDs who were interviewed by Radio National. The following is an edited version of a conversation they held in preparation for the radio interview on women in academic chemistry.
Mary: Why do so few women make academic chemistry their livelihood? I think many are put off by the working conditions. It disappoints me to hear comments that it is necessary to work 80 to 100 hours a week to be a successful chemistry academic. As a university academic, I work a solid 50 to 60 hour week on average. I like to have one day off completely each week as I find I get very stale if I do not break off and recharge my intellectual batteries. There are times when I work very hard, for example when writing grant proposals or marking exam papers, and once these tasks are complete I find it necessary to take a break. However, chemistry sits in the background of my life even when I am not at work. I often troubleshoot work- or chemistry-related problems while swimming laps at the pool on the weekend.
Stephanie: Chemistry is just one aspect of my life. I work as a private research consultant and run my own company, but it is equally important to me to spend quality time with my family and friends. I value being able to control when and how I work, and when I take time out to relax. Can you ever imagine having nothing but chemistry in your life?
Edeline: I do not believe that even the most hard-working male colleague I know consistently works 100 hours a week. I'm a full-time lecturer and a full-time wife and mother so my life is incredibly complex, yet my working life is not of this magnitude. I have to be super-organised, but I like to take time off for friends, music and films. I value the time I spend with my family, but I enjoy my chemistry also. I went to university in Ireland where I not only had female lecturers, but also the heads of the chemistry and zoology departments were women, so it never occurred to me there was anything unusual about women becoming scientists. It was only later on when I lived and worked in other countries that I discovered this was not the norm.
Mary: Yes, that was true for me too. I didn't have women lecturers, but I did have women tutors, and I lived in a residential/ academic environment at university which respected women's rights to education and the contribution they had made or would make in the future. Why do you think there are currently so few women in chemistry since we were all so positive about wanting to become chemists when we were in our twenties?
Stephanie: Historically, men have had a free hand in running higher education according to their own set of rules. Universities are very hierarchical. There is a male power structure, a 'Boys' Club', and women who are successful have often felt obliged to conform to the club rules. Another factor is that men are more easily seduced by material rewards and are prepared to pay a price for success that many women are not prepared to pay.
Edeline: Workforce conditions are designed for male breadwinners with a female support person. Look at the most successful male academics you know. As likely as not, behind them is an intelligent and supportive woman. Quite often these women have put their own careers on hold to combine a family with work and to continue the supportive role towards their partner. Many women who make it to the top can do so because they have a very understanding partner who is prepared to share tasks, or take an equal role in lifestyle decisions such as career moves.
Mary: Remember that in our lifetime, women had to resign from certain positions if they married, while men did not have to make any such sacrifices. That's one reason there are so few senior role models for women. The value of mentoring is clearly shown by Edeline and me, both of us having been encouraged by women colleagues to continue with science. I was also fortunate enough to be mentored by a physical and an inorganic chemist, both males, even though I am an organic chemist, so it is not necessary for the mentor to be in the same sub-discipline.
Edeline: Looking back, I now realise that in spite of the presence of successful female role models during my under-graduate studies, the complete lack of female mentors in later years was a very real hindrance to my career development. This is one reason I am so aware of the importance of mentoring today's young chemists.
Stephanie: I had some support during my postgraduate years, but really after that it was left up to me. I therefore became very independent. We need also to consider the biological clock which ticks for all women. It is difficult for women to choose between not having children or having children and doing the juggling act. However, the workforce is changing a great deal and more flexible work patterns are now acceptable and will assist women who want to have family and a job. The timing of these decisions is so important.
Mary: The greater ease of working from home is going to be a bonus. With e-mail, fax and modem linkups, a home office can be as productive as a university office. The push for universities to become part of the real world is also important. It's the practical v. the ivory tower. Women have always been practical, so I think they are well placed to respond to market-driven requests for 'real-life' universities.
Stephanie: Yes, women have always had to be resourceful. The skills that women have had to learn to survive in the family environment, such as time management, financial planning, communication and interpersonal skills, are important attributes in a modern day academic. Many male academics will resist acquiring these skills.
Mary: Science is no longer about individuals. Good quality science is about teamwork. Women work better in teams because they are more co-operative and more flexible, and do not have the same need as men to dominate events, or to be seen as in charge. An interesting comment was made by Professor Jorg Imberger when interviewed for Radio National. He stated that much of the quality work done in his civil engineering laboratory in Perth was being carried out by part-time women on his staff. He pointed out they were immensely loyal and represented excellent value for money.
Stephanie: Women traditionally put in a full-time work effort for part-time remuneration because they are desperate to keep a foot in the door and because they care about the quality of their work. Think about all the voluntary work done by women in hospitals, schools, and other caring environments. Why, society would collapse around us if women removed their services!
Edeline: The next ten years are going to be crucial for women academics. The system is tough, almost unfair, since total dedication is required and this cuts across caring duties. This is, of course, true for all young academics, male and female, setting out on a career. Men with wives and young families who intend pursuing their careers are going to find the journey tough, since chemistry is a very unattractive career path. To succeed requires spending long hours at the laboratory bench, or antisocial hours on 24-hour access instruments and many families won't tolerate this kind of challenge to their togetherness. It's fine if you can get established very quickly, before the age of 30 for example, then you can take time out for family duties, but very few academics get a serious appointment before that age. In addition to these obstacles faced by everyone, women have the extra issues of the biological clock and the attitude of male colleagues. We have yet to be accepted as equal voices and this has a lot to do with the gender balance we are discussing.
Mary: I have been talking to women chemistry colleagues. There are 30 to 40 of us in universities (the ANU figures quoted earlier were from a 1992 publication and refer only to chemistry women with viable research programs who would be appointable at ANU, so they exclude part-time and lecturer A women). Most of the women colleagues I talked to really enjoy their work, but they are frequently pessimistic and often think about giving up their jobs. All of us suffer from loss of confidence, because our colleagues are not as supportive as we would like. Many men do not understand a woman's need for reassurance, even when she is very competent.
Stephanie: I think it is time we changed the meaning of the word success. It is not necessary for every chemist to be a professor. Living a balanced life which includes challenging and inter-esting work as a major component must be defined as success.
Edeline: Women have compromised for so long. It's now time for men to become more conciliatory. Unfortunately many of our male colleagues have very limited experience of working with women so they lack judgment in this regard. They like to have female graduate students, but they often provide better backing for their male students in providing contacts, or passing on jobs or consultancies. The sexual harassment issue has complica-ted these matters, of course. Men are scared to be seen on good terms with their women students or colleagues. This is a pity. Now that everyone is aware of sexual harassment guidelines, it should be possible for colleagues to establish good working relations.
Stephanie: Some chemistry men are already asking, 'Who is going to look after us?' now that there is so much emphasis on improving the number of women in chemistry. The system has evolved to cater so well for some of these individuals that they now feel threatened by our attempts to modestly increase our presence. Only 3 per cent of the senior members of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) are women. In my opinion, any profession which bases itself on drawing senior members from only 50 per cent of the population cannot flourish in the long term.
Mary: Women have perhaps developed a more balanced view of the real priorities in life and are not prepared to sacrifice relation-ships and caring duties. Many men have a distorted view of priorities and play power games. Some women have succeeded by also being tough and rough in their professional life, but what is now being recognised in many professions is that, for these women, the cost of the job may be greater than its rewards. I find that I am more conciliatory and flexible with women colleagues because I respect them more.
Edeline: What it really comes down to for both men and women is the question of balance; working hard in a profession which brings so many rewards but still finding time for the rest of one's life. Women academics know how hard it is to succeed in academe. Maybe it is now time for men to acknowledge that they need to change their idea of what constitutes success in their lives and take a more pro-active role in family life.
Stephanie: I couldn't agree more! Perceptions of male-female relationships have to change. Many women still view men as breadwinners and men still view women as support partners. A few men regrettably see women just in terms of their sexuality. The next generation of professionals will have grown up in a home environment in which both parents may well have gone out to work, so they will be more tolerant and understanding of the career needs of their own partner. Men will want their wives to work and many wives will encourage their husbands to take an active role in the home.
Mary: Time to be positive. Many, but not all, Australian universities now have a female staff member in their chemistry department. Getting the issue discussed at the PHODS meeting in Canberra was a great initiative of the National Secretariat of RACI and brought the topic out into the open. At the 10th National Convention of RACI in Adelaide in September there is an open forum on 'Women in Chemistry' with male and female panel members. A number of centres around the country, including Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, now have women's chemistry breakfasts once or twice a year. These are important networking activities for women.
Stephanie: I feel increasingly positive about the future as a result of the dialogue that is now taking place and the role of WISENET, Women in Chemistry (WINC; a group in the Victorian branch of RACI) and our informal breakfasts.
Edeline: A number of men have also attended the breakfasts. I think this is healthy provided they do not dominate the event. The purpose is for women to share and compare experiences in an environment which is non-competitive and supportive. The breakfast was good too!
Dr Mary Garson has a PhD in organic chemistry from Cambridge. After a traditional post-doctoral path overseas, she moved to Australia with a research fellowship, then took up a lectureship at Wollongong University. She is now a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland where her research interests lie in the chemistry of marine invertebrates. She is President-elect of the Queensland branch of RACI and a member of the National Committee for Chemistry. Her other interests include women in science and biodiversity issues.
Dr Stephanie Smith is the director of Research Directions Pty, a consulting company. After completing a PhD in organic chemistry in 1981, she worked as a clinical scientist and a research scientist before transferring to a position as business manager with a university commercial operation. Her career path was interrupted as she has three children, now aged 26, 17 and 13. She is the President of the AFUW Queensland Fellowship Fund Inc, a philanthropic organisation which raises money for women's postgraduate study through academic gown hire.
Dr Edeline Wentrup-Byrne is a lecturer in chemistry at the Queens-land University of Technology. After a BSc(Hons) at University College Dublin and a PhD at Lausanne, she worked as a translator and copy editor of scientific articles while her three children, now aged 17, 14 and 13, were small. She started work as a tutor at QUT in 1988, took advantage of a re-entry post-doctoral fellowship to reestablish a research career and is now setting up an independent research program on the vibrational spectroscopy of bio-molecules and biological tissues.