Female chemists start boycott of all-male paneled ICQC in June

While it's nice to the extent that it regularly gives me something to talk about, the continuing sexism in science especially obnoxious. I posted a link on Twitter and my personal Facebook earlier in the week regarding the flak female sci-fi writers get for writing about things that aren't sparkles and rainbows and ponies, and female science reporters aren't treated any better, as demonstrated by science blogger Emily Graslie's "fan" mail. It's also no surprise that women are still underrepresented in STEM, but even those who have climbed the academic ladder are facing ignorance.

Salon published an article today about a boycott of the International Congress of Quantum Chemistry, an event held by the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences because all 24 speakers on the initial and now-redacted list were male. This may have been expected, say, 50 years ago when women weren't as prevalent in such a field, but the directory hosted by the Women in Theoretical Chemistry shows more than 300 women in tenured positions or equivalent. Only four of the 110 members of the Academy are women, and only two of the 102 talks in the past three years were by women.

I'm aware that diversity for the sake of diversity is controversial. One of the responses to the boycott was that you can't possibly make every panel equal in all demographics; you pick the best people regardless of who they are. However, the numbers as they stand now aren't representative of the field. There are more women, and these women are of equal standing in their field. Even the "old white guys" that dominate the field think these highly-qualified scientists have gotten snubbed. As University of Minnesota professor Chris Cramer points out:

"What if it's a woman who has the next big breakthrough idea that advances our field dramatically? And, what if she can't get that idea recognized as quickly precisely because implicit bias slows appreciation for her scholarship? You'll suffer, too, as you won't be able to offer your clients a service that you otherwise would have become more rapidly aware of."

I'm not saying this as a STEM-involved female but as a human being who values human rights: give these women (and the rest of lady STEMers) their due. The only thing separating them from the guys is the lack of support.