MICCAI 2016 Daily - Wednesday

MICCAI Daily: Is this something that you know for sure? Lei: Well, I’ve talked to many of my female colleagues about it. They’re not getting attacked or anything, but sometimes you feel uncomfortable by people’s advances that men feel are ok to do. MICCAI Daily: Do you think that there is something in this profession that encourages this kind of negative attitude? Lei: No, but the scientific community is very international. In some countries, the role of women has not been fully established. I think scientists that come from these countries may not be used to women having a voice and speaking up. This is why I said the biggest issue is that the attitude is implicit. If you ask someone if they are in favor of gender equality, they will say, “Yea, of course.” When it comes down to it, and what that actually means in terms of everyday interaction, it might be different. I think a lot of times, it’s not on purpose. There are things that make women feel uncomfortable or that they would rather be in a different environment. MICCAI Daily: Do you want to give an example? Lei: Anytime that they are being interrupted, ignored, or advanced upon without wanting it. Those are all subtle things they we have learned to blow off, disregard, and move on, but they are not comfortable. MICCAI Daily: What do you do, if and when that happens? Lei: I think everyone has a different way of dealing with it. I think about if that was really the intention of the person. If it isn’t, then I just try to shake it off. MICCAI Daily: So it usually isn’t on purpose? Lei: I think it’s rarely on purpose, but it’s still is a kind of barrier. MICCAI Daily: Can you mention practical examples of bias? Lei: I think every woman's experience in science is different. I think for me, I've experienced a lot more of the subtle discrimination especially as I've moved up the ranks from graduate student to postdoc to faculty. If you want examples of implicit bias, I think one of the most common in science is the assumption that a woman didn’t do the coding or 'hard science' for the project, or assuming a woman isn't mathematician, physicist, or computer scientist; these assumptions can be dangerous because they imply that there are roles women can and can’t play which discourages younger women from moving into these areas where they maybe would really thrive. CVPR Daily: Thursday Women in Science 11 MICCAI Daily: Wednesday