Jantz Maria K, Mak Jennifer, Dalrymple Ashley N, Farooqui Juhi, Grigsby Erinn M, Herrera Angelica J, Pirondini Elvira, Collinger Jennifer L
Rehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
Front Neurosci. 2023 Mar 9;17:1104419. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1104419. eCollection 2023.
Neural engineering is an emerging and multidisciplinary field in which engineering approaches are applied to neuroscience problems. Women are underrepresented in engineering fields, and indeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields generally. Underrepresentation of women is particularly notable at later academic career stages, suggesting that even though women are interested in the field, barriers exist that ultimately cause them to leave. Here, we investigate many of the obstacles to women's success in the field of neural engineering and provide recommendations and materials to overcome them. We conducted a review of the literature from the past 15 years regarding the experiences of women in academic careers, as well as reports on the number of women in fields closely related to neural engineering from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Additionally, we interviewed six women in neural engineering who are involved in initiatives and outreach concerning the inclusion and experiences of women in engineering. Throughout the literature and interviews, we identified common themes spanning the role of identity and confidence, professional relationships, career-related hurdles, and personal and professional expectations. We explore each of these themes in detail and provide resources to support the growth of women as they climb within the field of neural engineering.
神经工程是一个新兴的多学科领域，其中工程方法被应用于神经科学问题。女性在工程领域的代表性不足，实际上在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域总体上也是如此。女性代表性不足在学术生涯后期尤为明显，这表明即使女性对该领域感兴趣，但存在一些障碍最终导致她们离开。在这里，我们研究了女性在神经工程领域取得成功的诸多障碍，并提供克服这些障碍的建议和材料。我们对过去15年中关于女性学术生涯经历的文献进行了综述，以及来自美国国家科学基金会（NSF）和美国工程教育协会（ASEE）的与神经工程密切相关领域的女性数量报告。此外，我们采访了六位神经工程领域的女性，她们参与了有关女性在工程领域的包容和经历的倡议及推广活动。在整个文献和访谈中，我们确定了跨越身份和信心的作用、职业关系、与职业相关的障碍以及个人和职业期望等共同主题。我们详细探讨了这些主题中的每一个，并提供资源以支持女性在神经工程领域不断发展。
