It would be interesting if a male scientist of Tim Hunt's profile would speak out, not only to encourage more women into science( which has become the easy speech to make) but also to question the culture which has such a "leaky pipeline" of highly qualified women.

And to take action themselves to change this.

Sexism in the lab may play a part  but surely a wider culture change is needed (not just in STEMM ) which brings men into the conversation.

We do a lot of work with female role models in STEMM to inspire others to seniority and promotion. But men should be role models in this too, to both male and female colleagues. Do you have to be in the lab till 10 every night to be a "good scientist"? Is it okay to admit that you cannot make that late afternoon meeting because you are picking up your child from school?

Or do we still have to pretend we have " an appointment elsewhere " ?

Do male scientists feel unafraid to ask for flexible hours to look after their families and fulfil other caring responsibilities? 

Or do they fear that, to put it bluntly, they may be heading for the leaky pipeline , like their female counterparts ,if they do.

Men need role models too if we are to make a culture change that gives equal opportunity to every scientist. That means flexible hours, parental leave being just as accessible to anyone. 

It would be great to hear from anyone, especially managers and those with seniority how they combine success with taking their share of responsibilities themselves. And to hear them encouraging and thereby authorising those who work with them to do the same , regardless of whether they are female or male.

Now that Tim Hunt is yesterday's news, let's hear from all those forward thinking people who will make change and progress in this much faster than at its current, glacial pace. 

Barbara 

Sent from my iPhone

On 13 Jun 2015, at 10:36, Luca Tancredi Barone <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hallo,

I have to confess that I disagree with Fiona Fox's very well argued article. She has very good points - and it's clear that we are in a society that tends to react in a very instinctive way, and often unfairly.

But this is not the case here, I am afraid.

First of all, I find that Tim Hunt's phrases mean something more than just an "ill-judged" remark given in the wrong place and to the wrong neighbors.

The "apologies" he gave the day after confirm to me that his words meant something more than just two silly remarks given after too many drinks. I am actually more outraged by his excuses than by his original words - for which I gave him the benefit of the doubt at first. 

Secondly, even if he had meant his words as a "joke", something that he denied the day after ("I meant to be honest"), that would also be unacceptable. Nobody believes it is ok to make jokes with black people or Jews, someone in his position and with his visibility should be aware that "it is not right" to make jokes with women in the labs. And if he is not, someone should tell him. The entire world did.

Thirdly, I find perfectly fair that he was asked to step down from his responsibility positions. Someone who is suspected of not being fair in his judgement towards 50-60% of the scientists in his field cannot reasonably sit in committees which take decisions precisely with this group of people. Nobody doubts that his contribution to science has been very important - for some reason he was given the Nobel Prize - and that he is a nice man (I can confirm that). But that does not excuse him from being sexist (which I hear that is believed by many other scientists). I agree it would be really interesting to contact the women he has met in his career and ask them what they felt during their years working in his lab. But that does not change a bit the bulk of the question: with his words, he demonstrates that he is not fair, or at least that he does not care about an issue that worries many scientists - of all sexes. And for this, sacking him out of the committees where he is sitting and he might take biased decisions is the least that a responsible institution can do and does not look to me exaggerated at all.

All the human understanding to someone who is 72, probably a bit naive and has given an important contribution to science and has done very many nice things for science and young scientists. But politically, what happened to him is normal and, in my opinion, fair.

Luca

2015-06-12 22:28 GMT+02:00 Michael Kenward <[log in to unmask]>:

A key point in Fiona’s thoughtful think piece is where she writes:

 

“The media love a row about sexism in science, and when it’s a colourful Nobel Prize winner it’s even more fun.”

 

Had Hunt not been a Nobelist, there is a good chance that his utterings would have passed unnoticed. Then again, had he not been a Nobelist no one would have invited him to talk at the WCSJ.

 

Nobelists are a funny bunch. I’ve met a fair share over the years. Some are downright loopy. Many are politically naive and socially inept. Had they not done some neat science many years before the Nobel prize thrust them into the limelight, they would just have been yet another “boffin” that no one in the senior common room paid much attention to.

 

I always remind myself of this whenever I see a letter to the press signed by a gaggle of Nobelists. They aren't that special. They deserve no more attention than most scientists

 

MK

 

 

 

From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Walsh
Sent: 12 June 2015 15:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PSCI-COM] Science Media Centre Tim Hunt Blog

 

Hi all,

 

Thought some of you might be interested to see a blog on the Tim Hunt row from Fiona Fox at the Science Media Centre.

 

http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/call-off-the-hunt/

 

Best wishes,

Michael

Michael Walsh
Science Information Officer
Science Media Centre
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The Science Media Centre is an independent venture working to promote the voices, stories and views from the scientific community to the news media when science is in the headlines. Over 90 supporters including scientific institutions, media groups, charities, universities, corporate organisations and individuals fund the Centre, with donations capped at 5% of income to preserve its independence.

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