Biophysical Society Newsletter | September 2017

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BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 16 SEPTEMBER 2017
On the State of Professional Opportunities
for Women in Biophysics
At last year’s BPS meeting, while talking with
several of you about how the Committee for
Professional Opportunities for Women (CPOW)
can better serve the BPS membership, I learned
— much to my surprise — that the perception of
gender equality and fairness in biophysics varies
widely among our colleagues. At one extreme,
some expressed disappointment that “not much
has changed” since CPOW was formed in 1972;
at the other, some declared “mission accom-
plished.” I suspect that like me, many of you will
disagree with both statements, but I cannot guess
where on the spectrum a consensus, if there is one,
may lie.
To investigate these perceptions, CPOW will
host a blog series on the Biophysical Society blog,
where members can express their views on the
subject by briefly answering these four questions:
In your opinion,
1. What is the current state of gender equality in
science and biophysics?
2. What is the value of having equality and true
inclusiveness?
3. What is one area that needs attention; and
4. What is the one thing that can be done right
away?
We kick off this initiative by publishing below
answers from our fearless BPS Past President
Suzanne Scarlata. You are encouraged to read and
comment on these blog posts at https://biophysi-
, and to volunteer your
own answers by emailing them to Laura Phelan at
.
Thank you for your engagement. I look forward
to hearing from you,
— Gabriela K. Popescu, CPOW Chair
What is the current state of gender equality
in science and biophysics?
Compared to where we were 20 years ago, we’ve
made a great deal of progress. Women now
populate key positions in companies, universi-
ties, and scientific organizations. While we are
still underrepresented especially in top positions,
our numbers are growing and the trend is going
up. However, we are far from shattering the glass
ceiling.
Women have a better support system than in years
past. In previous years when only a few senior
women were around, women had to rely on father
figures for advice in making their way through the
system, which, of course, could limit the content
of conversations. Now there are more women
mentors both locally and through groups like the
BPS that can bring together women to share their
thoughts.
For the most part, I feel that time is on our side.
Most colleagues my age and younger are fairly
unbiased and this percentage is increasing every
decade. Just a few years ago, I attended a meet-
ing where I was the only female speaker. One of
organizers was openly misogynistic which seemed
to bother my male colleagues even more than me.
What is the value of having equality and
true inclusiveness?
It goes without saying that having true inclusive-
ness and equality is invaluable. Everyone should
be able to have the opportunity to work at their
full potential and be appreciated and respected for
what they do.
What is one area that needs attention?
Scientifically, we need to continue to promote
ourselves (unfortunately, most of us are really bad
at self-promotion) and our female colleagues by
suggesting them for talks, for positions on edito-
rial boards, and other leadership positions. We
need to cite their articles when appropriate and
give women the credit they deserve.