Out of the Lab and Into the World: Analyses of Social Roles and Gender in Profiles of Scientists in The New York Times and The Scientist

Although representations of female scientists in the media have increased over time, stereotypical portrayals of science persist. In-depth, contemporary profiles of scientists’ roles have an opportunity to reflect or to challenge stereotypes of science and of gender. We employed content and linguistic analyses to examine whether publicly available profiles of scientists from New York Times and The Scientist Magazine support or challenge pervasive beliefs about science. Consistent with broader stereotypes of STEM fields, these portrayals focused more on agency than communality. However, profiles also challenged stereotypes through integrating communality, purpose, and growth. This analysis also found similar presence of communal and agentic constructs for both female and male scientists. The current findings highlight the importance of considering counterstereotypic representations of science in the media: Communicating messages to the public that challenge existing beliefs about the culture of science may be one path toward disrupting stereotypes that dissuade talented individuals from choosing science pathways.

Biased perceptions against female scientists affect intentions to get vaccinated for COVID-19

Based on role congruity theory, we investigated how gender bias may influence public attitudes toward the vaccine in Turkey. Using a between-subjects design, we tested whether an emphasis on the female versus the male scientist as the vaccine’s inventor in a news story influenced attitudes about the BioNTech vaccine and vaccination intentions. Partly confirming role congruity theory, three-way interaction results from 665 participants demonstrated that among male participants with a stronger belief in traditional gender roles (compared to males with lower belief), the presence of the female inventor, either by herself or together with the male inventor, decreased the perceived efficacy and safety of the vaccine and reduced intentions to be vaccinated by the BioNTech vaccine. We did not observe such differences for women. These findings highlight how gender bias may influence individuals’ information processing and decision making in a way that may have negative consequences for public health.

I am a scientist . . . Ask Me Anything: Examining differences between male and female scientists participating in a Reddit AMA session

This article investigates interactions between scientists and the online community Reddit. Given that past research on computer-mediated communication between scientists and the public found that male scientists are typically more popular in online spaces than female scientists, we examined differences in popularity as well as potential gendered differences in communication style. Specifically, we examined 269 Reddit “Ask Me Anything” sessions as well as the comments linked with each session ( n = 125,580). Overall, we find that male scientists receive more comments on their sessions, but the score an individual comment receives does not differ by gender. Similarly, we find that the message complexity of the comments does not differ by gender. Taken together, these suggest that Reddit AMA sessions might be an effective platform for both male and female scientists to engage with the public.

Trade-off between urgency and reduced editorial capacity affect publication speed in ecological and medical journals during 2020

While the speed of publication in academic journals has decreased over time, delays in the review process can still cause frustration and damage the authors’ career. During the COVID-19 lockdown, scientists struggled to manage tasks and academic journals announced possible publication delays due to reduced editorial capacity. In this context, COVID-19 research has been somewhat paradoxical, due to societal and editorial pressures for fast publication. We hypothesised that given the urgency of disseminating pandemic-related information, articles on the topic would be published as a priority in 2020. We analysed the submission-to-publication time lag for 5790 articles published between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2020 in eight ecology and eight medical journals. We also analysed patterns in the gender of first and last authors. All 16 journals were international, with relatively high impact factor (between 2.34 and 36.13) and partially or fully open access. Even though articles in general took longer to get published, the speed of publication increased in 2020, as the faster review of 419 COVID-19 articles compensated for the longer submission-to-publication time lag of non-COVID-19 publications. Manuscripts in journals with a higher impact factor and only partial open access took longer to get published during the last three years. In 2020, the ratio of articles with male and female first and last authors remained similar to that in 2019, maintaining the gender bias in scientific productivity. Female scientists, especially when they are providing maternity and other primary care, need more support for their careers, such as relief from teaching duties and adjustments on assessment criteria to access research funding. We advocate that topics besides COVID-19, particularly those that could help to solve other urgent crises, should also benefit from faster publication.

STEM IN MOVIES: FEMALE PRESERVICE TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVES ON MOVIE "HIDDEN FIGURES"

Movies are informal teaching tools to make teaching relevant to a diverse group of students. The use of movies may enhance students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). They can be effective tools to build students’ interest in STEM fields and raise their awareness of STEM and STEM careers. This study purpose was to identify STEM-related topics in the movie “Hidden Figures” and determine preservice female teachers’ views of it. The study sample included 19 female students. A qualitative phenomenological design research method was used. Data were collected using “the Movie Hidden Figures” and a “Semi-Structured Interview” forms. Qualitative data were analyzed using semiotics and content analysis. Analysis showed that Hidden Figures focus mostly on the theme of “gender perception in science” as well as “design process” and “advances in technology.” Participants believed that the movie had messages mostly of negative gender perception in science. Despite that, movies emphasized that women can be mathematicians, engineers, and scientists as men. They also stated that gender equality is crucial in education. They also advocated that mathematics and engineering are essential for technological progress and female scientists can play a more active role for achievement. Keywords: gender perception in science, hidden figures, women in movie, preservice teachers, STEM education

The Pursuit of Meaning: Placing Biodiversity and Biography at the Center of Biology

Naturalists enrich our scientific understanding of biodiversity. However, just as countries have fallen behind on commitments to provide biodiversity conservation funding, so has the focus of life science stayed arm’s length. The purpose of this article is to consider why biodiversity should be the center of life sciences education and how biographies of Charles Darwin and the incorporation of female scientists allow important findings, paintings, and journaling as part of standard teachings. The addition of female naturalists will provide role models for diverse, underrepresented student populations. This article suggests that biodiversity and biography become central to hteaching life sciences while supplemented by other practices. Such reallocations provide students an opportunity to learn not only what these scientists discovered but how these individuals “developed” into scientists.

Female voices marginalised in media coverage of science in Uganda, both as authors and sources

Studies on women's marginalisation as authors and sources of science stories in the media in developing countries are few, and fewer in the context of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Using feminist media theory, this study surmises that women are accordingly underrepresented in GMO stories. Based on a content analysis of 317 stories published in two Ugandan newspapers, findings indicate that chances of females being published as authors and sources increase if they collaborate with a male. There is a need for female scientists to collaborate with male counterparts and journalists to increase their visibility in the media in an agricultural sector where women are great contributors to the labourforce.

Scientific power in the Spanish press during the pandemic: a portrait of new leaders while explaining its risk

This work is based on the mediatisation of society theory, which establishes more attached importance and the presence of the mass media as mediators in various social processes, as well as on Production Studies, that analyse creative skills to draw an audience, to apply these theories to the media representation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective is to analyse how the generalist media have represented male/female scientists, who have become social benchmarks during the first COVID-19 wave in Spain. Our initial hypothesis considers that the purpose of the mediatisation of scientific discourse was to contribute answers to, and to keep society calm, in an uncertainty context. By content and discourse analyses with a sample formed by 172 pieces of work published between 25 January and 5 July 2020 in four Spanish digital newspapers, we observed how these specialists not only became the usual sources of journalistic information but were also the main leading figures in them. The mass media pay attention to their statements, but also to their aesthetics and communication style, which are singular compared to conventional power to date. Science enters the national section with its own image and explanatory intentionality. Nonetheless, constant overexposure and its link with governments making controversial decisions influence the image held by the public opinion of scientists with time, which dissociates them from its knowledge and identifies them with political power.