Academic conferences are ideal platforms to promote the advancement of scientific discovery thought networking, but also important cultural events that promote the visibility and career progression of the researchers that attend. Given the key role that these events have in academia, it is essential to ensure that they support the equal involvement of all participants. In the last paper of the Gender and Science Group of the Iberian Association of Limnology, the authors evaluated the 1st SIBECOL Meeting (Barcelona, 2019) from a gender perspective. The conference, which gathered 722 researchers, was gender balanced in terms of attendees and presenters. However, the most prestigious roles in the conference, including keynote speakers, sessions’ conveners, and senior authors positions were mostly held by men. Further, their results also show that women only asked one third of the questions, even when there was gender balance in the audience. Unfortunately, according to a post-meeting survey, most attendees failed to detect these gender biases; yet women generally reported to have heard more gender stereotypes than their male counterparts. These findings bring to the spotlight some of the unconscious biases that women face during conferences, and stress the urgent discussion about how to move towards a more gender inclusive conferences. It is the responsibility of all of us to promote inclusive meetings where everyone has equal opportunities.

Read the full study here:

Lupon A, Rodríguez-Lozano P, Bartrons M, Anadon-Rosell A, Batalla M, Bernal S, Bravo AG, Capdevila P, Cañedo-Argüelles M, Catalán N, Genua-Olmedo A, Gutiérrez-Cánovas C, Feio MJ, Lucati F, Onandia G, Poblador S, Rotchés-Ribalta R, Sala-Bubaré A, Sánchez-Montoya MM, Sebastián M, Zufiaurre A, Pastor A (2021) Towards women-inclusive ecology: Representation, behavior, and perception of women at an international conference. PLoS ONE 16(12): e0260163. 

Text written by Anna Lupon and edited by Clara Ruiz and Félix Picazo