There are fields of scientific research dominated by female researchers in the opinion that 'there are few female scientists'

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Only 18% of women acquire a degree in computer science, and it is pointed out that there are few women who go to fields such as science and technology. Even in scientific research fundamentally male researchers occupy more than female researchers, but behavioral neuroendocrinology is an unusual field that "female researchers are majority" and why such a reversal has occurred Written by Mr. Nicole Baran who has a doctorate in psychology whether he is doing it.

How Women Overcame Discrimination to Dominate This Scientific Field
http://nautil.us/issue/63/horizons/how-women-came-to-dominate-neuroendocrinology

It is reported in 2015 that the proportion of women in the academic field of " STEM " that refers to science, technology, engineering and mathematics will remain only 34.4% as a whole. Male researchers in many STEM fields occupy the majority, and women's assistant professors in the field are only 18%, despite the fact that women obtain more biology-related doctorates than men It is getting.

On the other hand, this is not the case in behavioral neuroendocrinology. In Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, the proportion of female professors accounts for 58% of the total, accounting for a majority. In the annual meeting of the organization that studies gender difference (OSSD), 70% of the speakers are female and the representatives of the group are female researchers.

However, behavioral neuroendocrinology was not a field where many female researchers exist from the beginning. When a meeting of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology called "West Coast Sex Meetings" began in 1965, the researcher says that he was almost a male. Frank A. A beach, a prominent animal behaviorist, even declared that he would not hide female contempt and would "put no ovaries in the lab".

Mr. Beach's attitude symbolizes harassment and discrimination treatment for women at the time. Many male researchers at the time sometimes harassed women and avoided women. Many professors who are in charge of employment seem to believe that "investing in women's careers is waste of money." Leonore Tiefer, one of the few female students in charge of the beach, says, "Because women quit their jobs and were married and believed to give birth to children." When Mr. Tiefer applied for a position as a doctoral researcher at the National Institutes of Health at Johns Hopkins University, it is said that it was told that "women are not hired" openly.

Behavioral neuroendocrinology is an area that seeks to understand mechanisms such as breeding, child rearing, development, and social connection of living things, and is an academic field deeply involved in women's life. However, the fact that the content deeply related to the life of women is being studied is that it is "result" rather than "cause" that female researchers have increased in behavioral neuroendocrinology.

This is also evident from the fact that "Mating" was exclusively focused on early behavioral neuroendocrinology. The number of female researchers increased and the contents of research changed because female researcher Josephine Ball showed that hormones such as testosterone and estrogen have a great influence on learning, spatial navigation, memorization such as memory, It is done. According to Mr. Ball's research, the focus that had been hitherto applied for mating became more general part, such as "childcare", "social connection" "development".

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For example, Mr. Sue Carter , a professor at the Indiana University and representing the Kinsey Institute , showed that oxytocin in the nervous system plays an important role in social connections, but Mr. Carter triggered childbirth We are starting research on oxytocin. Even though no one thought that oxytocin will have an impact on the brain until Carter's research, "With the entry of women, it can be said that the current behavior neuroendocrinology was created".

As the number of females increases, a culture that complements female researchers is created in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, many researchers are fascinated by the environment that "women are treated equally among men" It was.

And we should not forget the existence of feminist like Daniel S. Rareman who was active with female researchers. At the time, German behavioral scholar Conrad Lorenz was making a claim that "human behavior is instinctive, innate, genetic," but Criticism of this idea, " Human behavior is complicated and it is made by interaction between biological elements and the environment. " Mr. Lehrmann showed in scientific research for the first time that the interaction between two humans changes each other 's behavior and hormones.

Mr. Lehrman knew that his research could reduce the scientific justification of saying "a role as a mother or a caregiver and a woman" is instinctive. This can also be seen from Mr. Rahmann conducting research on African juzukekebato which male and female raising children equally.

Mr. Lehrman actively hired female researchers and worked hard to pay wages equally for work. We are also focusing on mentoring female researchers, and under the leadership of Mr. Learman, a number of female researchers have become active. Mr. Lae Silver, a psychologist at Columbia University, who is representative of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Society (SBN) at Mr. Lehrmann, said, "Danny is working hard to support women's careers just as men are supported At that time, this was not commonplace. " Two months before Mr. Lehrmann died, the Federal Education Act 9th edition stipulated "prohibit sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal subsidies and subsidies". Even Mr. Beach, who professed discrimination against women by this, became unable to accept female researchers.

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In this way, the culture of behavioral neuroendocrinology has changed due to the entanglement of multiple elements. Movement towards women's position in the science field continues even in 2018 as usual. In recent years, members of SBN and OSSD often take executionism and requested NIH policy change to seek analysis of differences in effect on sex difference in biomedical field. He said he was able to promote women's health by changing policy.

In addition, the possibility that the idea of ​​gender and sexuality influences the hormone is inherited from the idea of ​​Mr. Lehrmann is being studied. Mr. Sullivan Anders who is conducting this research is ironically also awarded "Frank A. Beach Young Investigator Award" (Frank · A · Beach young research promotion award).