Brain & health research

Find data on gender issues or discrimination in brain research and best practices on how to avoid them; but also stories of people who are contributing to the ALBA cause

Nature Neuroscience - Palser et al. show that at the top 100 journals in psychology and neuroscience, male editors and those from the USA outnumber female editors and those affiliated with other...

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Nature Neuroscience - Using data from top neuroscience journals, this study finds that women-led work tends to be undercited relative to expectations. This imbalance is driven largely by the...

Women in academia receive fewer prestigious awards than their male counterparts. Why this gender gap emerges, however, remains poorly understood. Thus, we tested multiple hypotheses about the proximate cause of the gender gap in award prestige. Our findings suggest that the gender gap in award prestige may emerge in part from gender schemas that portray women as warmer and less competent than men. Specifically, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that gender schemas lead to women’s papers receiving fewer citations than men’s papers, which in turn results in more prestigious awards for men than for women. Additionally, our results suggest that gender disparities in awards and citations may reinforce each other. Practical implications for promoting gender equality in academic awards are discussed.

Despite the fact that the percentages of women among physicians and neurologists have been rising, gender-related disparities in numerous metrics persist, notably in compensation, promotion, funding, recognition, leadership, publishing, and speaking. Simultaneously, women working in academia, including medicine, face high rates of sexual harassment. Leaders of all health care-related organizations must accept the moral and ethical imperative to expeditiously address both gender-related discrimination and harassment (inclusive of but not limited to sexual harassment) of women in medicine. At this unique time in history, there is an opportunity for leaders in neurology to strategically accelerate efforts to address workforce gender disparities and ensure harassment-free training and work environments. Leaders will have to plan an intentional path forward, using a systematic process, metrics, and strategies unique to their own organizations, to overcome barriers to an equitable and safe work environment for women. Moreover, leaders in 4 gatekeeper organizations—medical schools/academic medical centers, funding agencies, journals, and medical societies—must hold each other accountable for gender equity as their own success and financial return on investment is dependent on the efforts of those in the other categories. In short, the path forward is to focus on ethical principles and behavior when it comes to addressing workforce gender disparities for women in medicine. AAN= : American Academy of Neurology; CV= : curriculum vitae; NASEM= : National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine; ROI= : return on investment

Nature Human Behaviour - A neuroscientific approach to increase gender equality

We all have learned stereotypes that unconsciously influence how we see ourselves and others. Like perceptual illusions, some biases persist even once we are aware of them. Implicit bias impacts diverse scientific communities, ultimately limiting the potential of neuroscientists and inhibiting discovery.