Why and how does academia need to change? We ask women scientists and students

Bossing, bullying, and discouraging women from science, as well as underfunding research and using students as cheap labour. In our campaign on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we have asked women scientists and students what barriers they face and what changes they would like to see in the academic system. In this article, we share a view by an IOCB scientist, Denise-Liù Gracias Leone.

The campaign is organised in the Czech language as a part of our CZERA project funded by the Ministry of Education. You can find the other interviews with Czech scientists at this link.

What change in academia would you appreciate the most?
As a woman and mother in the scientific field, I think it would be advisable to improve policies about child care/returning to work. The system is designed for the woman to take care of her baby for 1-2 years, and kindergartens are too expensive. I think mothers should be allowed to return (full-time) after 6 months with reasonable support for childcaring.

I also think a sensibilization campaign should be conducted for future mothers to discourage part-time jobs in science. In my experience, part-time jobs are not a better choice for mothers. You end up rushing at work and rushing at home.

Also, grant agencies and sponsors should allow travel grants to support mothers going to conferences (to hire a nanny or bring some help). I think it would be great to have grant proposals only for the mother category.

Have you ever encountered any stereotypes about women or minorities in science, some forms of exclusion or non-acceptable behaviour?

No, I did not; the scientific community and people’s behaviour is very fair in this regard.

BIO: My long-term goal is to obtain an independent research position and carry out high-profile research in applied chemical biology. The Master’s degree I received in chemistry and pharmaceutical technology in Italy (Chieti, Abruzzo) allowed me to explore different disciplines, all aimed at developing new drug candidates. I was fascinated by organic chemistry mechanisms, so I decided to move to the Czech Republic for a PhD in organic chemistry in Prof. Michal Hocek’s lab (IOCB Prague), where under his guidance and with his advice, I gained experience and extensive training in organic synthesis. To this end, I continued with a postdoctoral position within the same institute under the supervision of Dr. Kvido Stříšovsky where I am currently working on designing inhibitors of intermembrane proteases. I am also a mother of 18th month-old baby girl that I had after completing my PhD and very much interested in sensitizing the scientific community to the topic of mothers in science.