Category Archives: Equality

Unconscious Bias Training Isn’t a Magic Wand

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Athene Donald

This week saw a sober assessment of the impact – both positive but also depressingly negative – of schemes to improve gender equality. As the Athena Swan Review Group wrestles with how to improve their own awards, it is important … Continue reading →

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The Matilda Effect and Jean Purdy

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Athene Donald

There are well-known instances of women in science being apparently overlooked for a Nobel Prize: Jocelyn Bell Burnell, springs to mind, as do Lisa Meitner and Rosalind Franklin (if one ignores the inconvenient fact that she was dead by the … Continue reading →

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Letting It Go

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Athene Donald

To many people Steve Shirley is an early entrepreneur in software development who made a fortune; a woman who rebranded herself with a man’s name in order to avoid being ignored by the blue chip companies she wanted to use … Continue reading →

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Does Leadership Need to be More Touchy-Feely?

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Athene Donald

If our sector is to see more minorities rise through the ranks to positions of power, indeed if any sector is to achieve this and go on, for instance, to remove the typical gender pay gap, then inclusive leadership needs … Continue reading →

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We Need to Work at Breaking the Barriers

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Athene Donald

Leaders in science are generally those who are excellent at their science, but no one may have checked their leadership credentials. Someone like Lord Rutherford may have got away with barking instructions at his underlings (for which loud voiced behaviour … Continue reading →

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