Interesting Features at PWN for 9.15.14

News from the PWN Pipeline: 

'Women are given constructive suggestions-- and told to pipe down.'

Fortune's Kieran Snyder has penned a very illuminating column on how the perception of female "abrasiveness" or assertiveness plays a role in undermining women's careers in technology sector positions. Dr. Snyder assessed performance reviews gathered from men and women in tech positions, and found that women are often given negative feedback or are primarily given feedback with criticism. In contrast, men are overwhelmingly likely to receive only constructive feedback in their performance review. Furthermore, women are seldom given feedback without criticism, whereas men are far more likely to receive feedback without criticism. Overall, the findings of the review show a stark contrast between the evaluations of men and women in tech and merit a reexamination of systematic bias in review language.


'We can't 'ban bossy' if women in tech are being told to know their role.'

In reaction to Kieran Snyder's informal investigation, Jess Zimmerman from The Guardian has posted a response calling for the rise of more women in leadership roles in tech. Ms. Zimmerman rightly points out that encouraging women in early stages of STEM education to focus on their career goals and then exposing them to workplace gendered criticism, bigotry, and retrogressive attitudes regarding work performance and ability is completely counterproductive.

Interesting Features at PWN for 9.2.14

Hope you all had a fantastic summer and managed to take some time to relax and spend time away from the lab/office! We are excited for another great year with PWN and look forward to continuing to grow our network of professional women. We will be in touch soon about our upcoming annual PWN gathering during the Society for Neuroscience meeting in November.

News from the PWN Pipeline:

We absolutely need to take breaks at work

As the summer wraps up, vacations end, and we find ourselves back at our desks and in front of a computer screen, it is not too hard to rationalize taking a quick break. Fortunately, scientific studies fully support and encourage taking breaks, as these brief moments of downtime can improve productivity and facilitate more creative approaches. During the break, the brain is able to recharge and reevaluate task objectives at hand. Click the link above for more scientific reasons to prioritize downtime and great productivity-enhancing suggestions for the breaks you take.


'Women rate higher in overall competencies for senior leadership positions" 

Korn Ferry, a leadership and talent consulting firm, has found that women generally score higher than men in multiple dimensions of leadership style and, importantly, in the majority of skills and competencies critical for senior leadership success. These skills include employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and building talent. The limiting factor for women in the workplace is lack of experiences and assignments that challenge and grow their skill sets during mid-level business roles. Either women are not being offered these opportunities or they are not accepting them as frequently as they should, which is interfering with their progress in moving up leadership levels. Click the link above for more on Korn Ferry's findings and recommendations for overcoming obstacles that can stymie career growth.