Workshop on Women in Science was held on 10th October 2016, in School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad. The workshop was conducted by Dr Sandhya Sriram (https://sg.linkedin.com/in/sandhyasriram) and Dr Ann-Marie Chacko (https://sg.linkedin.com/in/ann-marie-chacko-15343420), from Singapore. The event was coordinated by Dr. Sarada D. Tetali, Associate Professor, Dept. of Plant Sciences and Prof. Pallu Reddanna, Dean, School of Life Sciences. Prof. Appa Rao Podile, Vice Chancellor of the University was the Chief Guest and keynote lecture was given by Prof. Meena Hariharan, Center for Health Psychology. Number of attendees were more than seventy, majority were women with representation of few men.
The Women in Science workshop saw some interesting insights on the misconceptions and thoughts on women in science, of various women and men who work or study in the field of science. The workshop was highly interactive and saw the various aspects of women in science leadership.
Gender disparities in sciences were noted by leadership under-representation, politics, quotas, the work environment and etc. The main reasons for under-representation of women in science was due to family and other responsibilities, social thinking, men to a certain extent, lack of awareness and the attitude and decisions taken by the community and certain times women themselves.
Awareness and the state of women in science has to be raised in the early years of education and should be a continuous process. Postdoctoral research period is an important intermediary phase between studentship and Professional career. Established scientific community including men and women principal scientists should support women during this difficult period. Young mothers should be encouraged to cope-up with highly demanding situation of raising babies, so that they can continue to pursue their career in the scientific filed, keeping long term goals alive. The presenters were very proud of UOH for encouraging more women leaders in their departments/schools and more representation by women and support from senior management as well. The workshop concluded with channels present for women in science to better showcase themselves and achieve more than what they can dream of.