tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post6672182410013129189..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: Spot the ScientistFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-77840477545281367372013-03-03T09:48:07.006-06:002013-03-03T09:48:07.006-06:00I'm a PhD PI of a biomedical research lab at a...I'm a PhD PI of a biomedical research lab at a famous academic institution. Apparently, I dont look like that!<br /><br />When I started my lab 13 years ago, I got mistaken for my dept head's secretary (once), dept head's grad student (twice), dept head's postdoc (too many to count) and even dept head's daughter (once). Only 8 years ago I attended a national scientific meeting where I was an invited speaker for a platform lecture. I brought along my entire lab group of 5 people. During those few days, multiple other scientists assumed my postdoc (male, Indian) was the lab PI, and some others assumed my tech (female, but taller than me) was the PI. At other scientific meetings I have several times been told by other scientists that I should check out so and so's work, because they are doing the same thing...when they are actually talking about my own higher profile papers.<br /><br /> I now dress differently, yes I wear the ill-fitting rumpled black suit uniform, and I always try to wear heels. Typicially now I get mistaken for an MD student or resident, which I suppose is progress. Karen Irishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12516823330044288126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-10836547288924945562012-04-25T12:57:37.570-05:002012-04-25T12:57:37.570-05:00I can spot a scientist... also an ecologist here. ...I can spot a scientist... also an ecologist here. The sandals with socks, conference t-shirts and/or REI, Patagonia gear is a dead giveaway.<br /><br />Sadly, we had a graduating senior some years ago (went on to advanced degrees in environmental science) that was overlooked for the campus scholar award. His interview was tops, but the committee bristled at his wild hair and uncomfortable response to wearing a suit. "He just doesn't look like a professional". <br /><br />No amount of convincing on my part could get them past his "unprofessional" appearance - the award went to a well-tailored business major.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-16678279674685600782012-04-24T18:03:21.660-05:002012-04-24T18:03:21.660-05:00I don't get spotted as a scientist...in fact t...I don't get spotted as a scientist...in fact they just assume that I am a useless mute there to dress up the room...sometimes it's fun playing to their ignorance/preconceived ideals then drops the bomb that I'm actually scientistAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-8556097239805308422012-04-24T13:33:02.776-05:002012-04-24T13:33:02.776-05:00I am a young, curvy female who often wears casual ...I am a young, curvy female who often wears casual or quirkily attire..... People are usually shocked when I tell them what I do, even though I live mainly in a College Town. However, I prefer not to tell strangers that I am a psychologist, so I usually say I "work at the Uni." Most assume I'm a secretary.Psycgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13476028853857792495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-48046334644109537862012-04-24T11:37:43.053-05:002012-04-24T11:37:43.053-05:00Thanks to a homeless person, I got the password to...Thanks to a homeless person, I got the password to log into the Athena system of computers at MIT libraries, computer rooms etc. This was 20 odd years ago, so don't ask me for the password now. This allowed me to work in the library and access research materials. I even volunteered for the student newspaper at one point. All without paying a dime.<br /><br />Not related to your original question, but inspired by the previous comment. Thanks for stirring up the memories.Aravindanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-77587682697932085902012-04-24T05:33:54.027-05:002012-04-24T05:33:54.027-05:00A colleague once told me this story about a confer...A colleague once told me this story about a conference we attended: he was walking with a colleague near the conference center, and the colleague pointed to a young man sitting on the ground and said it was terrible, the homeless problem in this city. The young man he pointed to was one of my graduate students!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-60202901582716831792012-04-24T05:28:56.851-05:002012-04-24T05:28:56.851-05:00I'm impressed by how many can spot conference ...I'm impressed by how many can spot conference attendees - just last year when I attended a conference in the States (I'm a tenured faculty member at a European university), another attendee (older, male) asked me when I would be bringing the coffee. Ok, I wasn't wearing a conference badge, but I had just arrived. And I was dressed more-or-less like everyone else.<br /><br />Seriously - if there is one place in the world where "scientist" should actually be the default assumption, it's a scientific conference. Even if the person in question is a youngish blonde female. <br /><br />So to answer your original question, no, I don't think anyone can guess what I do just by looking at me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-60178419032803264732012-04-23T21:45:18.310-05:002012-04-23T21:45:18.310-05:00Grumpy people at the end: quit being grumpy. The p...Grumpy people at the end: quit being grumpy. The point is you shouldn't say "Wow, you're black/female/young -- you couldn't be a scientist!" But what's wrong with saying, "Look at that combo of REI items -- you look like a geologist!"? It's not bad to say someone looks like a scientist. (See last paragraph.)<br /><br />Lots of people start dressing like the people in their field -- it's something humans do in order indicate affiliation and cement group identity. If you don't do it, that's fine. If you do do it, why not comment on it? It's a situation that can quite fraught if you have multiple group identities that seem contradictory. Liz, you seem in particular to find it offensive that many geologists or computer scientists dress a certain way, and I think that it's because you like to dress a different way but still want to maintain your "scientist" affiliation. While you may wish to ignore the fact, it is simply true that it's easy to spot the majority of the scientists on the street during a conference. Just because you'd be less easily pegged as such does not mean you are less of a scientist!<br /><br />For anonymous at 5:52 especially, the difference here is between including people and excluding people. Daughter picking out people as scientist and accepting others as well as scientist is inclusive. If daughter said "You are member of *** group and thus are not a scientist" as people seem to do to mother/blonde/black woman/fashionable woman/twenty-something above, that's rather different. Inclusivity is different than exclusivity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-84582225101657006532012-04-23T20:31:51.322-05:002012-04-23T20:31:51.322-05:00I'm a black female engineering professor- also...I'm a black female engineering professor- also happen to be petite and young looking. I recently had someone ask me a question at a bus stop; I answered and he looked at me and said, "you sound like a professor." I was _shocked_. No one pegs me as a scientist/engineer and certainly not a professor. I usually get something like pre-school teacher...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-21571672544776353592012-04-23T17:52:10.746-05:002012-04-23T17:52:10.746-05:00FPS, I feel that the fact that your daughter is pi...FPS, I feel that the fact that your daughter is picking out sceintists based on appearance alone sort of contradictory to the message that you often speak about here about how we shouldn't make judgements about scientists based on their gender/age/other outwards appearanceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-56245343336175393752012-04-23T17:46:27.057-05:002012-04-23T17:46:27.057-05:00I honestly don't understand how you would spot...I honestly don't understand how you would spot the scientists walking down the street in a city during a conference (if there is no poster tube/conference tote bag). It seems that there have been a good many posts on this bog speaking to the fact that a scientist doesn't fit a specific mold (contrary to what many folks in society think)and yet here we have a discussion going on about how we can pick out scientists on the street based on their "nerdy" look or ill-fitting clothes. <br /><br />Maybe I'm just in a grumpy mood but, as a sceintist who enjoys fashion and takes pride in being well-dressed, for some reason I find this a little off-putting, coming from a group of what I assume to be mostly scientists.Liznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-4996448336540894172012-04-23T15:21:56.470-05:002012-04-23T15:21:56.470-05:00I'm refining my nerd spotting ability to guess...I'm refining my nerd spotting ability to guess which field my fellow nerds are in - ecology, geology, or physics. Turns out, it's fairly easy to tell the difference. <br /><br />As far as whether or not I look the part, in context, I am constantly asked "who do you work with" or "whose student are you". Sigh. I'm a mid-career FSP. Worst so far was going through customs when the female customs agent asked what business I was in as part of routine screening and then refused to believe me. Even after I produced my business card, she was incredulous, saying "you can't be a professor".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-69578923152385442232012-04-23T13:46:43.567-05:002012-04-23T13:46:43.567-05:00Being an Asian looking guy in a small town researc...Being an Asian looking guy in a small town research university in the States, there's no way one can miss me being as a scientist or engineer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-43524970933295629552012-04-23T13:42:16.110-05:002012-04-23T13:42:16.110-05:00It seems that EVERY person (outside of the campus)...It seems that EVERY person (outside of the campus) I meet is surprised I am a female and engineering professor. In fact, the majority of the people look confused. This entertained me for a year or two, but after becoming a mother, the surprise on people's faces is even more pronounced. It seems very hard for people to reconcile an image of a mother with both "engineer" and "professor".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-51164519777349954372012-04-23T12:27:56.909-05:002012-04-23T12:27:56.909-05:00Spot the Librarian is a classic conference-going a...Spot the Librarian is a classic conference-going activity in my circles, but it's not a very challenging game because of librarians' tendency to re-use conference tote bags. People are sometimes surprised when they find out what I do - sometimes not. I think that some of the people who are surprised have never really considered that anyone is a librarian in real life.amdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00006788946984295168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-89189704622302215862012-04-23T11:33:20.795-05:002012-04-23T11:33:20.795-05:00On campus I am easily mistaken for a Dean or a mem...On campus I am easily mistaken for a Dean or a member of a design or communications about to meet with someone off campus. No one suspects I teach math -- well worn polished shoes, pressed shirts, stylish but not hip ties and a jacket or vest. It is only my Cosco jeans that could give me away. I am 33 ...<br /><br />At several conferences I have been mistaken for staff.<br /><br />I see more and more young people like Colleen that have an individual sense of style. There was a time that wearing jeans and a T-shirt was somehow counter cultural. Now, it is just the opposite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-66708860704113355702012-04-23T11:09:26.187-05:002012-04-23T11:09:26.187-05:00I'm late 20's female biomedical grad stude...I'm late 20's female biomedical grad student and I don't tend to 'look like a scientist'. When non-scientists find out what I do they almost always say "Wow! You must be smart!" or else they don't know how to respond and the conversation ends there. I appreciate that the general public I encounter thinks scientists are smart and is not disbelieving that a cute girl can do science.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-5848395245239214282012-04-23T11:02:59.775-05:002012-04-23T11:02:59.775-05:00As a fashion-conscious, African American woman I a...As a fashion-conscious, African American woman I am GUARANTEED to go undetected as a scientist. I am young (and look younger than I am), but I suspect I will remain stealth as I get older because I for the above two reasons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-39517635198526229012012-04-23T10:25:23.429-05:002012-04-23T10:25:23.429-05:00Amateurs. When I lived in Pasadena, CA I could tel...Amateurs. When I lived in Pasadena, CA I could tell the computer geeks from the physicists from the geologists on the streets!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-25882641776000880092012-04-23T09:57:48.018-05:002012-04-23T09:57:48.018-05:00I'm in ecology research, and like geologists (...I'm in ecology research, and like geologists (a la unlikelygrad's post), we're super easy to pick out. Sandals (often with socks), shorts, earth tones in general, and well, just whatever you'd find at your local REI. Part of this is practical: I need to be crawling around among the plants all afternoon, so why bother putting something different on in the morning. And part of it is -- well, why not? Field clothes tend to be quite comfortable. Why dress up in neck-strangling ties or high-heeled shoes when you don't need to? I for one am glad to wear comfortable clothes on a daily basis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-8323649026016465932012-04-23T09:49:58.810-05:002012-04-23T09:49:58.810-05:00I am a young male associate professor of engineeri...I am a young male associate professor of engineering and people are constantly shocked at what I do. The current mental picture of a professor is an old man and hence the surprise at female versions or young versions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-88564229050138134032012-04-23T09:48:17.016-05:002012-04-23T09:48:17.016-05:00> the tendency of conference-going scientists t...> <i>the tendency of conference-going scientists to roam in packs on city streets</i><br /><br />Heh! I'm in Big Science (tm) so we meet with <i>the same people</i> over and over again and the packs can develop into creature with lives of their own albeit intermittent ones.<br /><br />In any case Erica's "slightly unpolished professional" is a good marker as are backpacks or satchels with otherwise professional garb: I don't know many academic scientist who carry breifcases but there is stuff you have to bring to the conference.EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-40251253649515116262012-04-23T09:10:14.378-05:002012-04-23T09:10:14.378-05:00I've attended work-related events with my SO (...I've attended work-related events with my SO (his work, which is engineering). Unfortunately, I frequently get asked "do you work?". Not "what do you do?", but whether I even work at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-25547845643215024572012-04-23T09:02:55.567-05:002012-04-23T09:02:55.567-05:00We live in a little cluster development where many...We live in a little cluster development where many (most?) of the moms stay at home. It has been funny to see the reactions of the kids who come by to play with my daughter when I tell them that I'm a scientist. The girls so far have been impressed and are interested in exactly what I do. The little boy who found out the other day seemed slightly disgusted and a little incredulous. I tell them that I get to solve mysteries and it's so much fun!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-57568015248839601482012-04-23T08:59:49.531-05:002012-04-23T08:59:49.531-05:00A combination of gender and SES assumptions: when...A combination of gender and SES assumptions: when we first moved to this blue-collar city we bought a house in a neighbourhood near the steel mills. Our neighbours of course asked what brought us here. On hearing that I had just started a job at the university (which also includes a hospital), every single person said, "oh, you're a nurse!"Cardinalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07414881253034623223noreply@blogger.com