Research on Women in Polar Science
This is a non-exhaustive collection of research articles about issues facing Women in Polar Science.
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David Natcher, Ana Maria Bogdan, Angela Lieverse & Kent Spiers
There is growing recognition that gender diversity within research organizations can result in innovative research outcomes. It has also been recognized that gender homogeneity can undermine the quality and breadth of the research and may allow some to cast doubt on the legitimacy of scientific findings. In this paper, we present the results of a gender-based analysis of Canada’s ArcticNet Networks Centers of Excellence… read more.
Karina Peggau
The year 1969 was monumental. It is remembered in popular culture for the Moon landing, the Stonewall riots, and Woodstock. But it also marked an important breakthrough for diversity within the scientific community. Fifty years ago, four women made history as the first all-female team to conduct research in Antarctica and to venture to the South Pole. In doing so, these brave pioneers set an example for women in polar science and beyond … read more.
Sandra Starkweather, M. Seagb, O. Leec & A. Poped
Women have made outstanding contributions to polar research in recent decades, though full engagement may be hindered by persistent inequities, including notably the prevalence of workplace harassment. Remote field settings, such as those pervasive in polar research, have been identified as particularly susceptible to cultures of harassment. It was therefore timely at the Polar 2018 Open Science Conference in Davos, Switzerland … read more.
Meredith Nash, Hanne E. F. Nielsen, Narissa Bax
Antarctica is often associated with images of masculine figures battling against the blizzard. The pervasiveness of heroic white masculine leadership and exploration in Antarctica and, more broadly, in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) research cultures, has meant women have had lesser access to Antarctic research and … read more.
Virginia Gewin
Teams should comprise all gender identities to spark the most innovative endeavours, say researchers. Gender diversity in the research environment can drive scientific discovery, but, to fully realize the potential for innovation, inclusivity must be cultivated at multiple levels — from the research team to society, suggests a Perspective in Nature Human Behaviour. Diversity, say the authors … read more.
Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv
The following chapter examines multiple aspects of including gender perspectives in Arctic research. In the chapter I discuss the definition and understanding of the concept of gender, and then move to the concept of “intersectionality” which recognizes the important linkages between multiple identities of gender, race, ethnicity, class, age, and other social categories … read more.
Jaclyn Rushing
Mountaineering became a popular, male-dominated, sport in the early 1800’s, which both reflected and propagated Victorian gentlemanly ideals of exploration, manly vigor, and scientific discovery. Alpine exploration yielded the study of alpine glaciers, thus the history and heroic rhetoric that came from mountaineering shaped much of the culture of glaciology. Historically women have been discouraged from pursuing … read more.
Meredith Nash
The study by Professor Nash found that women reported experiencing sexual harassment and feeling excluded and diminished while undertaking work in the Australian Antarctic Program, particularly while stationed in the Antarctic. The report also finds that gender inequality and a broader lack of diversity in AAD are contributing factors. Nash makes several recommendations, which were accepted in full by the AAD… read more.