http://mbio.asm.org/content/5/1/e00846-13.abstract
The Presence of Female Conveners Correlates with a Higher Proportion
of Female Speakers at Scientific Symposia
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<http://mbio.asm.org/search?author1=Arturo+Casadevall&sortspec=date&submit=Submit>Arturo
Casadevall
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<http://mbio.asm.org/search?author1=Jo+Handelsman&sortspec=date&submit=Submit>Jo
Handelsman
ABSTRACT
We investigated the hypothesis that the gender of conveners at
scientific meetings influenced the gender distribution of invited
speakers. Analysis of 460 symposia involving 1,845 speakers in two
large meetings sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology
revealed that having at least one woman member of the convening team
correlated with a significantly higher proportion of invited female
speakers and reduced the likelihood of an all-male symposium roster.
Our results suggest that inclusion of more women as conveners may
increase the proportion of women among invited speakers at scientific
meetings.
IMPORTANCE The proportion of women entering scientific careers has
increased substantially, but women remain underrepresented in
academic ranks. Participation in meetings as a speaker is a factor of
great importance for academic advancement. We found that having a
woman as a convener greatly increased women's participation in
symposia, suggesting that one mechanism for achieving gender balance
at scientific meetings is to involve more women as conveners.
And an article that discusses the results
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/the-easiest-possible-way-to-increase-female-speakers-at-conferences/282858/
