Abstracts

Presented by Lisa Webb - Email: webbli@missouri.edu

Data suggest that involving women in leadership roles from Fortune-500 companies to small conservation groups result in greater innovation, increased productivity, and higher project success rates. Over the past three decades there have been directed efforts at increasing womens opportunities for leadership roles through various private and government-funded programs, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Although the number of women graduating with undergraduate and graduate degrees in STEM fields has increased, this trajectory has not continued for women in leadership roles in these disciplines. The trend is particularly evident in the field of natural resource management of game species, including waterfowl ecology, where a limited number of women fill leadership roles and academic positions with agencies and institutions in the United States and Canada. Research indicates that women face bias and barriers in many aspects and stages of their scientific careers: we will discuss the specific and often unconscious nature of these biases and how they can potentially discourage women from pursuing leadership roles and academic careers, as well as limit their willingness and ability to remain in these careers. Unconscious gender bias has been documented among many of the criteria used as part of hiring and evaluation decisions, including publication and funding rates, teaching evaluations, as well as subtler measures such as visibility, impact and reputation. It is noteworthy that many of these gender biases occur among both male and female evaluators, indicating a systemic cultural issue and highlighting the importance of working collectively to recognize and proactively address structural gender bias in STEM. We will discuss strategies for fostering a broader recognition of gender bias, as well as addressing unconscious gender bias at both the institutional and individual levels.