Department of Neuroscience and Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027.
New York University School of Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, New York, New York 10016.
J Neurosci. 2022 Jun 15;42(24):4769-4773. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0536-22.2022.
Women have been contributing to the field of neuroscience since its inception, but their accomplishments are often overlooked. Lack of recognition, among other issues, has led to progressively fewer women at each academic stage; although half of neuroscience graduate students are women, women comprise less than one-third of neuroscience faculty, and even fewer full professors. Those who reach this level continue to struggle to get their work recognized. Women from historically excluded backgrounds are even more starkly underrepresented and face added challenges related to racial, ethnic, and other biases. To increase the visibility of women in neuroscience, promote their voices, and learn about their career journeys, we created Stories of Women in Neuroscience (Stories of WiN). Stories of WiN shares the scientific and personal stories of women neuroscientists with diverse backgrounds, identities, research interests, and at various career stages. From >70 women highlighted thus far, a major theme has emerged: there is not a single archetype of a woman neuroscientist, nor a single path to "success." Yet, through these diverse experiences run common threads, such as the importance of positive early research experiences, managing imposter syndrome, the necessity of work-life balance, and the challenges of fitting into-or resisting-the "scientist mold" within a patriarchal, racialized academic system. These commonalities reveal important considerations for supporting women neuroscientists. Through the lens of women highlighted by Stories of WiN, we explore the similarities among their journeys and detail specific actionable items to help encourage, support, and sustain women in neuroscience.
女性自神经科学诞生以来就一直在为该领域做出贡献，但她们的成就往往被忽视。缺乏认可等问题导致每个学术阶段的女性人数都越来越少；尽管一半的神经科学研究生是女性，但女性在神经科学教师中所占比例不到三分之一，全职教授更是少之又少。那些达到这一水平的人继续努力让他们的工作得到认可。来自历史上被排斥背景的女性的代表性更加明显不足，并且面临与种族、民族和其他偏见相关的额外挑战。为了提高神经科学领域女性的可见度，促进她们的声音，并了解她们的职业发展历程，我们创建了《神经科学中的女性故事》（Stories of WiN）。《神经科学中的女性故事》分享了来自不同背景、身份、研究兴趣和处于不同职业阶段的女性神经科学家的科学和个人故事。迄今为止，已经有 70 多位女性被重点介绍，其中一个主要主题已经浮现：没有单一的女性神经科学家模式，也没有单一的“成功”之路。然而，通过这些多样化的经历，我们发现了一些共同的线索，例如积极的早期研究经历的重要性、应对冒名顶替综合征、平衡工作和生活的必要性，以及在一个父权制、种族化的学术体系中适应或抵制“科学家模式”的挑战。这些共性揭示了支持女性神经科学家的重要考虑因素。通过《神经科学中的女性故事》所强调的女性视角，我们探讨了她们的职业发展历程中的相似之处，并详细介绍了具体的可操作事项，以帮助鼓励、支持和维持神经科学领域的女性。
