Monthly Archives: September 2012

Social media tips for scientists

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For many scientists, the thought of spending time on social media sites is distinctly unappealing. To some it’s just a question of time: why add to that to-do list which is already long enough? For others it’s more to do with social media itself, finding the idea of sharing thoughts and ideas with the whole world pointless or self-indulgent.

If that sounds like you, it might be time to reconsider your options – social media includes much more than the usual suspects like Facebook and Twitter, and there are even sites dedicated to academics. Indeed, a vast number of scientists are using social media for tremendous gains – whether that be forming new contacts and collaborations, sharing ideas, communicating science, inspiring others or just entertaining them. Why not join them?

`Social media like

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Starting out in the world of social media can be daunting, especially when you have a serious professional reputation to uphold. So what are the rules and where do you start? At last week’s Naturejobs Career Expo in London, social media guru Nicola Osborne offered her tips on how scientists can get the best out of social media. You can find her tweeting at @suchprettyeyes if you’re already on Twitter. If you’re not, then follow her advice and you soon will be.

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Sexism in science means men more likely to get hired

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It is no secret that women are vastly underrepresented in many scientific fields, particularly the further you look up the career ladder. The explanations for this disparity vary, but perhaps one of the most common arguments is that women feel forced to choose between a family and their career, and leave science early whilst men continue to progress.

But a new piece of research suggests this reasoning may only be part of the story, instead pointing the finger at a subtle yet pervasive gender bias in the scientific community which is working against women – making them miss out not only on jobs, but also on financial and professional support when they are hired.

Corinne Moss-Racusin, a psychology postdoc at Yale University, and her colleagues, devised a simple test to work out whether there is any bias against women applying for a job in science.

The team got 127 university professors working across biology, chemistry and physics, to give feedback on what they believed were the application materials from a real student applying for a job as a laboratory manager.

Each professor received exactly the same application materials, except for the name of the applicant. Half of the professors were told they were reviewing an application from somebody called John, whilst the other half were told the applicant’s name was Jennifer. Apart from the name, all the other information was identical.

The professors were asked to rate how likely they would be to hire the applicant, as well as how competent they thought the applicant was. They were also asked to suggest a starting salary  and say how much mentoring they would offer the applicant in their new role.

Despite the fact that the application materials were identical apart from the applicant’s name, the professors – regardless of whether they were men or women – were significantly more likely to hire the applicant when they thought he was called John. Although they said they liked the female applicant, the scores suggest she was rated as less competent than the man, even though they had identical skills.

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