Picture a Scientist: Insights into Gender and Racial Harassment of Women Scientists

Abstract

Mankind’s technological progress and transition into an industrialised society is intended for the welfare of society, including women. But due to patriarchy’s construction of multiple gender binaries (men/women, reason/emotion), the field of science and technology has become male occupied and dominated. Therefore, in the present scenario, the underrepresentation of women in science, due to gender bias, discrimination, and harassment exists across science disciplines and research worldwide. Women scientists’ work in the STEM field includes visiting and working in remote field sites that require extensive hiking and camping, late nights in observatories, working with male colleagues, etc. National Academies of Science, Medicine, and Engineering in STEM fields report (2018) states that “about 50% of women faculty and staff experience sexual harassment” (PAS1:20:06-19:59) in which sexual harassment as a form of gender harassment comprises “subtle exclusions, being left off an email, not being invited to collaborate, vulgar name-calling, obscene gestures, hostility, passed over for promotions, relentless pressure for dates” (PAS1:18:41-26), etc. The present paper attempts to study the various facets of gender and racial discrimination, and harassment experienced by both white women and women of colour scientists/researchers/faculty members in the science disciplines by analysing the testimonios of three women scientists in Cheney and Shattuck’s documentary Picture a Scientist (2020). In Picture a Scientist biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring share their day-to-day life experiences of gender inequality and racial discrimination in their professional field. These women’s narratives not only expose the bias of the patriarchal mindset in the male dominated field of science which drifts women scientists toward gender and racially biased unequal scientific society but also provide new perspectives on how to make science more diverse, equitable, and bias-free for women.