It's hard to overestimate the importance of professional meetings to any scientist's career. But it is particularly crucial for women to attend, organize, and present their work at conferences, according to successful female scientists.
OBSTACLES: "Women have lower visibility, less mentorship, [and] fewer female colleagues per department," observes Lawrence Berkeley Lab's Mina Bissell. "Women have lower visibility, less mentorship, [and] fewer female colleagues per department," observes cell biologist Mina Bissell, director of the Division of Life Sciences at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Moreover, she adds, they "have to fight the perception that they are not as competitive [as men]. Thus, it is more important for women to be exposed to other colleagues' work and ideas, be seen and heard, and network outside their institutions." In order to take full advantage of meetings, Bissell and others advise women to make themselves visible by asking questions ...
