Did This Really Happen? Perspectives on Sexism in Geoscience

Believe it or not, when I graduated from my Ph.D. in 1988 there were no female faculty members in the geosciences departments I graduated from and when I started my first faculty position, my institution had five academic departments and I was one of two female faculty members in the whole college! So yes, geoscience has changed a lot. We still have a long way to go for the representation of women, but it is getting better – although the representation of other minority groups is still pretty woeful. Progress has been made but it is slow. 

I can really only talk about my truth as a woman and I am very encouraged by the number of early-career women I see in geosciences. There are still relatively few senior women in my specialism (fluvial geomorphology) but also in the wider geosciences, likely because it takes a while to move up through the ranks. So, eventually, more women will move into senior roles. I hope there will be a similar trend for geoscientists from a broader diversity of backgrounds as a more diverse pool of early career researchers move up the ranks.

Personally, I think that all along the way I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate. I’ve talked to other women who have had very bad experiences, who were discouraged and actively discriminated against. I’ve been extremely fortunate in that it hasn’t happened to me. For example, my undergraduate advisors were always very supportive. This is going to sound very naive and I know it is very individual but I never thought it was important to have female role models because in a way I thought of myself as gender-neutral: it’s just me, I’m a scientist, who are the good scientists? Who do I want to emulate? For me, that was my mentors – who were male. I’m sure it would have been different if there were high-profile women in my discipline when I started but there wasn’t anyone that I was aware of.

I am speaking as a white person in a part of the United States that has a predominantly white population and I have been lucky to have had only positive experiences. But I’ve had an awful lot of women and people of minority backgrounds tell me how important it is to have role models, and nowadays, I do see the importance of role models. I think it becomes easier to envision and accept yourself in a potential future role if you see other people with whom you can identify currently in that role.

We’re lagging behind in gender representation -and for people of minority backgrounds, it is worse. Usually, people who get invited to give plenary lectures are senior in their career, and there aren’t many senior women and even fewer people from diverse backgrounds in the geosciences in senior roles and who work on rivers. I can use Angela Gurnell as an example; she was ahead of me in terms of getting her Ph.D. and doing really pioneering research, but has retired recently. So that’s one fewer out of an already small pool of senior women. I very much appreciate being invited to give a plenary, but I do wish it was a little more evenly distributed in terms of a range of aspects of diversity, even though I can understand the challenge.

I have witnessed some awful sexist behaviours during the time I have been working in academia, sometimes by people that I’d describe as my friends and colleagues. Several times I have experienced sexist behaviours myself. The behaviours varied in severity from assaults to gas lighting, to things like a badly judged joke. From my personal experience I would argue that sexism in geoscience has changed. I’ll use two examples (happily, not extremely severe examples) that have happened to me to try and explain what I mean. 

During my PhD I did a LOT of demonstrating and teaching, the money was nice, I was pretty poor, but more than that I really enjoyed it. During a practical one day, the lead academic asked me to hold up one side of a large geological map of the Great Dyke that the class were working on, he asked me to hold his corner too while he went to fetch a pointer. I turned to do so. I heard the class laugh and then realised the academic had acted out thrusting towards my behind. I was absolutely shocked, embarrassed, belittled. Afterwards one of the male students said, “you probably shouldn’t have worn that skirt”. Another colleague said, “that’s just the way it is, you’ll know for next time.”.

Know what? Not to wear a skirt?

Many years later, I am now a Reader in geology. I wrote and led an internal application for funds and sent it to our research office. The head of the research team consistently copied in the male professor on my research team to every email. No idea why. Eventually it comes to the point of submission and the research team lead assumes that this male professor is the lead and attempts to name them as so in the application. Again, colleagues around me said “that’s just the way it is, it’s sh*t but that’s the way it is”.

The actions and assumptions of people within academic geoscience and the wider academic community normalise this behaviour and it wasn’t until I was taking part in the Aurora Leadership course recently that I realised that, for me in my experience, sexism hasn’t gone away. I could argue that perhaps its changed, maybe there are fewer academics humping the back of their demonstrators in front of a class of 40 2nd years (although this could also be a reflection on career stage too- I’m more intimidating now!). 

But the sexism and sexist behaviour is still there. The gaslighting, the assumptions, the missing you out of emails after a return from maternity leave. The “well I went through it, so you’ll be fine” attitude which is the absolute worst! It means that these behaviours are not only accepted but are something you just have go through, like getting your first paper rejection, or presenting at your first conference, is still extremely prolific. As well as, extremely shocking, as they often come from people you would assume will support you, as they have been through similar experiences.

This all sounds pretty depressing (and it is) but it is also important to note that there are many, many improvements and many people trying to do better for the community as a whole. There are more conversations, and more effort by older, colleagues to understand these issues. There is now some effort by some conference organisers, journals and funders to make sure there is some gender diversity. There are some processes for reporting unacceptable behaviours and training courses to help educate and empower. 

Geoscience has made some progress, however, culturally our academic institutions need to change and that’s just the way it is.

My first lesson into the harmful world of sexism in science happened when I was just a kid. I spent my childhood exploring the rugged beaches of the Berwickshire coastline and quickly become enthralled by the vast array of colours and textures displayed in the rocks. The area is a mecca for geologists, with groups travelling from all over the world to examine the remarkable geological history. Keen to learn more, I remember working up the courage to speak to a group of visiting geologists and asked them where I could go to find out more. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment when they started laughing and exclaimed, “Hah, geology isn’t for girls!”. 

Unfortunately, this sexism also played a prominent role throughout my time at high school. I was excited by the opportunity to study a range of different sciences, but at every turn teachers would take great delight in informing me that “people like you don’t become scientists, science is too hard for girls!” A lack of female role models meant I didn’t know any better, and whilst I recall feeling anger and frustration at the time, years of this narrative resulted in me succumbing to this deep rooted sexism. What if they were right and women shouldn’t be scientists? Especially women like me from working-class backgrounds. By the time I was ready to apply for uni I had lost all hope of becoming a scientist, and instead I went on to study English Literature at University.

Despite these experiences, I knew deep down that my true calling is palaeontology/geology. After 2 years of studying English I took a chance and switched my degree program to geology. I then went on to do a masters and got my PhD from Durham University, and now I’m a palaeontologist who gets to work with rocks and fossils all day! But guess what? Regardless of my qualifications and expertise, I still encounter sexism on a regular basis. 

I’m hyper aware that although I experienced challenges I still had it much easier than other women – even those a generation before me. Sexism and outdated stereotypes are still prevalent and silently accepted in science, albeit it’s slightly more subtle than it used to be. I now dedicate a huge proportion of my time to public engagement and outreach to try and highlight these issues. I hope that by being myself and sharing my passion, I can convince other girls that there is people just like them in science. It’s been proven time and time again that representation matters. 

Attracting more women to pursue geology/palaeontology also requires a commitment from all of us. A commitment to call out and stand against the ingrained sexism and discrimination, and to continue dismantling these barriers for future generations. Science is for everyone.

I live in Belfast. I’m a mature geology student with the Open University. I’m also a huge geology nerd who loves to wax lyrical at every chance I can. The sexism I see is going to local events (and further afield) where most of the people there are well-off, old, retired white guys. I feel that I am looked down on and ignored, because not only am I a younger (than them) female, but I’m also tattooed with dyed black hair and a love of band t-shirts. Hardly anyone talks to me at these events, which frustrates me because I’d love to tap into their knowledge, but I think it’s because I’m just unacceptable to them. 

Sexism can sometimes be subtle, leaving you wondering if you imagined it, other times so blatant that it leaves you with no doubts. It can take many forms, from sly comments, to microaggressions or direct harassment. Whether you directly experience it, or are a witness to it, it can often make you think “Did That Really Happen?!”. 

This feeling is the inspiration for our project which aims to document stories of everyday sexism in science. For the past seven years we have been creating comics based on testimonies submitted anonymously to our website. We work with the author of each testimony to create a comic that represents their lived experience without compromising their safety or identity. 

Since the project’s inception, we have received over 150 testimonies which have been turned into over 50 comics, with many more in various stages of preparation. Comic topics have ranged from treating women as objects, to questioning female competencies and confining males to stereotypical roles. The increasing number of testimonies we receive, together with the range of experiences they document is a stark reminder that despite better legislation, improved awareness and changing attitudes, projects such as ours are still required. This is especially important given that not everyone feels they have experienced, or even believes in sexism, with many people oblivious of their own behaviour.

Over the years our comics have proven to be a powerful vehicle in starting difficult conversations in a non-confrontational manner. They serve to highlight the extent of gender-based discrimination in the scientific world, both in academia and industry, while attempting to challenge this unacceptable behaviour. Our comics are free to use and share, and we encourage anyone to put them up in their classroom, office or coffee room to help get people talking about this issue. If you would like to follow our work, you can find us on Instagram or X (formally Twitter) as @team_dtrh. You can find out more about our project or submit your story at www.didthisreallyhappen.net.