Editorial
In this journal we are delighted to have Margaret Friedel’s account of her work and life in the (not so isolated) Northern Territory. There is also a lively contribution from Patricia Mather entitled Women and Biology. Not everyone might agree with Patricia’s views and WISENET invites readers to comment. We also profile Jo O'Neil, our new link in Victoria.
Sue Keay discusses the importance of mentoring in career development and bemoans the shortage of suitable mentors for women. Mentoring is mentioned a few times in this journal. Various groups within WISENET have been discussing this issue and what role, if any, WISENET could take in setting up a mentoring program. There is general agreement that mentoring is great when it happens, but some believe that it works best when the link is forged spontaneously, not arranged.
Also, who should be targeted? We speak of the ‘leaky pipe’ – the tendency for women to embrace the educational opportunities, but move away from science fairly early in their careers. Is this the group that would benefit most?
If WISENET were to participate in a mentoring scheme, or perhaps a web-based networking facility, we are too small to do it alone. Also, we are currently lacking in volunteers to run WISENET itself, without taking on additional responsibilities. If funding were available, a manager could be appointed to administer the plan, as pointed out in Jo O’Neil’s report (Page **). Carmen Lawrence suggested to the Melbourne Roundtable that groups with a common interest, who put forward joint requests for funding might fare better. So perhaps we could extend the initiative of the Victorian group and contact more like-minded organisations to see if they would be interested in a joint proposal. Any volunteers?
The WISENET Central Link Team gets the blues when we dwell on the shortage of active members, and the possibility of an organisational vacuum; see the AGM report on page **. And yes, this is a less than subtle way of calling for help.
However there are some exciting times ahead, most notably the second Women Achieving in Science Conference (WAIS2), planned to be over two days in Sydney in August 2002.
Julie Evans
Welcome to our new Members:
Alison Edwards (ACT)
Judith Hazel (ACT)
Lyn Hinds (ACT)
Kate Loveland (VIC)