Gender bias in academia: A lifetime problem that needs solutions

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2021.06.002

Review

. 2021 Jul 7;109(13):2047-2074.

doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.06.002.

Gender bias in academia: A lifetime problem that needs solutions

Anaïs Llorens¹, Athina Tzovara², Ludovic Bellier³, Ilina Bhaya-Grossman⁴, Aurélie Bidet-Caulet⁵, William K Chang³, Zachariah R Cross⁶, Rosa Dominguez-Faus⁷, Adeen Flinker⁸, Yvonne Fonken⁹, Mark A Gorenstein¹⁰, Chris Holdgraf¹¹, Colin W Hoy³, Maria V Ivanova¹², Richard T Jimenez³, Soyeon Jun¹³, Julia W Y Kam¹⁴, Celeste Kidd¹², Enitan Marcelle³, Deborah Marciano¹⁵, Stephanie Martin¹⁶, Nicholas E Myers¹⁷, Karita Ojala¹⁸, Anat Perry¹⁹, Pedro Pinheiro-Chagas²⁰, Stephanie K Riès²¹, Ignacio Saez²², Ivan Skelin²³, Katarina Slama³, Brooke Staveland¹⁵, Danielle S Bassett²⁴, Elizabeth A Buffalo²⁵, Adrienne L Fairhall²⁶, Nancy J Kopell²⁷, Laura J Kray²⁸, Jack J Lin²⁹, Anna C Nobre³⁰, Dylan Riley³¹, Anne-Kristin Solbakk³², Joni D Wallis¹⁰, Xiao-Jing Wang³³, Shlomit Yuval-Greenberg³⁴, Sabine Kastner³⁵, Robert T Knight¹⁰, Nina F Dronkers³⁶

Affiliations

¹ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. Electronic address: anaisllorens@hotmail.com.
² Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Institute for Computer Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Sleep Wake Epilepsy Center | NeuroTec, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: athina.tz@gmail.com.
³ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁵ Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, University of Lyon, Lyon, France.
⁶ Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Research Hub, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁷ STEPS Program, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
⁸ NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁰ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹¹ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; The Berkeley Institute for Data Science, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹² Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹³ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Science College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
¹⁴ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
¹⁵ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁶ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
¹⁷ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Experimental Psychology and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁸ Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Center for Experimental Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
¹⁹ Department of Psychology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
²⁰ Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford Human, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
²¹ School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
²² Department of Neurosurgery, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
²³ Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
²⁴ Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical & Systems Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, Psychiatry, and Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
²⁵ Department of Physiology and Biophysics and School of Medicine, Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
²⁶ Department of Physiology and Biophysics and Computational Neuroscience Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
²⁷ Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
²⁸ Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
²⁹ Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering, Irvine, CA, USA.
³⁰ Department of Experimental Psychology and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
³¹ Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1980, USA.
³² Department of Psychology, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Neuropsychology, Helgeland Hospital, Mosjøen, Norway.
³³ Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA.
³⁴ School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 6997801 Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
³⁵ Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
³⁶ Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.

PMID: 34237278
PMCID: PMC8553227
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.06.002

Free PMC article

Review

Gender bias in academia: A lifetime problem that needs solutions

Anaïs Llorens et al. Neuron. 2021.

Free PMC article

. 2021 Jul 7;109(13):2047-2074.

doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.06.002.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. Electronic address: anaisllorens@hotmail.com.
² Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Institute for Computer Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Sleep Wake Epilepsy Center | NeuroTec, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: athina.tz@gmail.com.
³ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁵ Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, University of Lyon, Lyon, France.
⁶ Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Research Hub, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁷ STEPS Program, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
⁸ NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁰ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹¹ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; The Berkeley Institute for Data Science, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹² Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹³ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Science College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
¹⁴ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
¹⁵ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁶ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
¹⁷ Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Experimental Psychology and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁸ Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Center for Experimental Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
¹⁹ Department of Psychology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
²⁰ Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Stanford Human, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
²¹ School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
²² Department of Neurosurgery, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
²³ Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
²⁴ Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical & Systems Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, Psychiatry, and Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
²⁵ Department of Physiology and Biophysics and School of Medicine, Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
²⁶ Department of Physiology and Biophysics and Computational Neuroscience Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
²⁷ Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
²⁸ Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
²⁹ Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering, Irvine, CA, USA.
³⁰ Department of Experimental Psychology and Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
³¹ Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1980, USA.
³² Department of Psychology, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital-Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Neuropsychology, Helgeland Hospital, Mosjøen, Norway.
³³ Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA.
³⁴ School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 6997801 Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
³⁵ Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
³⁶ Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.

PMID: 34237278
PMCID: PMC8553227
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.06.002

Abstract

Despite increased awareness of the lack of gender equity in academia and a growing number of initiatives to address issues of diversity, change is slow, and inequalities remain. A major source of inequity is gender bias, which has a substantial negative impact on the careers, work-life balance, and mental health of underrepresented groups in science. Here, we argue that gender bias is not a single problem but manifests as a collection of distinct issues that impact researchers' lives. We disentangle these facets and propose concrete solutions that can be adopted by individuals, academic institutions, and society.

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Figures

**Figure 1:**
Expression of the accumulation of the different facets of gender bias throughout a woman researcher’s career organized according to when they begin to have an impact. Each line represents one aspect of the gender bias and covers the career stages it is prevalent in. The dot represents the peak in time of a given aspect.

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References

1. Abdelaal G (2020). Coping with imposter syndrome in academia and research. Biochem. 42, 62–64.
1. Alon TM, Doepke M, Olmstead-Rumsey J, and Tertilt M (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality. Working Paper.
1. AmiriRad MB (2016). Experiences of Single - Mother Doctoral Students as They Navigate Between the Educational System, Societal Expectations, and Parenting Their Children: A Phenomenological Approach (Lulu Press, Inc; ).
1. Anand R, and Winters M-F (2008). A Retrospective View of Corporate Diversity Training From 1964 to the Present. AMLE 7, 356–372.
1. Antecol H, Bedard K, and Stearns J (2016). Equal but Inequitable: Who Benefits from Gender-Neutral Tenure Clock Stopping Policies? In IZA Discussion Papers (No. 9904; IZA Discussion Papers). Institute of Labor Economics (IZA,.

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[1] Abdelaal G (2020). Coping with imposter syndrome in academia and research. Biochem. 42, 62–64.

[2] Abdelaal G (2020). Coping with imposter syndrome in academia and research. Biochem. 42, 62–64.

[3] Alon TM, Doepke M, Olmstead-Rumsey J, and Tertilt M (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality. Working Paper.

[4] Alon TM, Doepke M, Olmstead-Rumsey J, and Tertilt M (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality. Working Paper.

[5] AmiriRad MB (2016). Experiences of Single - Mother Doctoral Students as They Navigate Between the Educational System, Societal Expectations, and Parenting Their Children: A Phenomenological Approach (Lulu Press, Inc; ).

[6] AmiriRad MB (2016). Experiences of Single - Mother Doctoral Students as They Navigate Between the Educational System, Societal Expectations, and Parenting Their Children: A Phenomenological Approach (Lulu Press, Inc; ).

[7] Anand R, and Winters M-F (2008). A Retrospective View of Corporate Diversity Training From 1964 to the Present. AMLE 7, 356–372.

[8] Anand R, and Winters M-F (2008). A Retrospective View of Corporate Diversity Training From 1964 to the Present. AMLE 7, 356–372.

[9] Antecol H, Bedard K, and Stearns J (2016). Equal but Inequitable: Who Benefits from Gender-Neutral Tenure Clock Stopping Policies? In IZA Discussion Papers (No. 9904; IZA Discussion Papers). Institute of Labor Economics (IZA,.

[10] Antecol H, Bedard K, and Stearns J (2016). Equal but Inequitable: Who Benefits from Gender-Neutral Tenure Clock Stopping Policies? In IZA Discussion Papers (No. 9904; IZA Discussion Papers). Institute of Labor Economics (IZA,.

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Gender bias in academia: A lifetime problem that needs solutions

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Gender bias in academia: A lifetime problem that needs solutions

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