As much as we all like to believe in the myth of meritocracy (Perez, C.C., 2019), finding opportunities in academia can often come about because of the circles you work in, who you are introduced to at a conference, etc. Here are our recommendations for helping underrepresented genders reach the networks that suit them.

• Our first recommendation is to keep tabs on networks set up for underrepresented genders so that you can recommend them to colleagues or mentees.

• Similarly, there are mentoring schemes for specific groups that can support early career researchers. Not all mentoring relationships need to be with someone of the same gender, but they can help with certain queries or sensitive topics.

• Often people hear about certain scholarships that are available for people in specific circumstances because they happen to speak to someone who has also been impacted by those circumstances. Being aware of more niche grants means that you can recommend them when the circumstances arise.

For all the points above, it is worth noting that opportunities should be shared thoughtfully. Just because something is “for women” does not mean it will be helpful for every woman in the department!

Networks & More

Use this template to record networks, grants and scholarships and who they could be relevant to.

Think about the stepping stones between career stages, and recommend relevant grants that will help members of staff to get there.

• The Invisible Workload

There is extensive research showing that women in academia spend more time on service tasks for the university than the men in the department, meaning that they have less time to spend on research. Promotions are heavily based on research output, so this disproportionate distribution of service labour negatively impacts women’s career progression.

Why?
Babcock et al. (2022) found that women are more likely to be asked to do service tasks, and they are less likely to say no when asked. The authors suggest that there is more of an expectation for women to do this non-promotable work and if a woman does not volunteer, someone will often volunteer her anyway or she will be shamed into volunteering.

Think about tasks that are not explicitly assigned around the department but are done without recognition. For example, is there a member of staff who is the ‘go to’ whenever a student has a sensitive or personal issue that they need to discuss? If you’re not sure who this is, ask some students. How much time commitment do you think this involves for the member of staff?

Suggestions

• Institutions should clarify what comes under the category of non-promotable tasks and keep tabs on how this work is distributed. Tally the time commitment of service tasks alongside research tasks to identify any uneven distribution.

• If gender diversity is required for a task, e.g. needing a woman on an interview panel, split the preparation work so that if a woman has to do multiple panels, the time strain is reduced by someone else doing some of the background prep.

• Recognise and reward service contributions that are vital to the university in promotion and pay.

The Invisible Workload

Think about some of the non-research tasks that have to be done in your department. How is this work distributed? Is it proportional? Is it rewarded?