Female researchers at SCI MUNI on the question of gender equality and science
How have you managed to combine your family and professional life since 1990, when you had a small daughter and you and your husband (Jan Šmarda) took the opportunity to go to the USA? Your husband had a job at the State University of New York; did you also get to do scientific work in the laboratory?
I went to the U.S. with the idea that I would spend my parental leave there and stay at home, just as if I were at home here. But as it happens, I ended up working. At my interview for Paula Enrietto’s laboratory, I was completely open with my future boss and told her I had a two-year-old daughter. She also had a child of about five, so she understood me completely. She also had positive experience with “people from the East”, as she called it, which proved to be very useful. She gave me confidence, encouragement and understanding, both personally and professionally. I told her honestly what I could and could not do. She said if I had the knowledge, I would learn the techniques in the laboratory and in three months I would be back teaching new people. And that’s exactly what happened. The focus of my work led me to study the eukaryotic cell and its cancerous transformation, a topic that I continue to work on.
How did you manage taking care of your child and working in the laboratory?
It was a tremendous challenge. My husband worked from day-to-day, which was impossible for me. I had a precisely set time for work, between bringing and picking up my daughter from kindergarten. My daughter was two years and three months old when she started kindergarten, which was perfect. Though I gave more or less everything I earned to the kindergarten, my daughter was very happy there, and that was the main thing for me.
prof. RNDr. Jana Šmardová, CSc. (*1961−†2023)
profesorka – Section of Genetics and Molecular Biology
Department of Experimental Biology
Photo: Irina Matusevich
Translation: Kevin Frances Roche, Jana Šmardová
I am reminded of a scene from the movie ‘Hidden Figures’. I highly recommend this captivating story of three African-American women who were given the opportunity to work at NASA while cybernetics was in its infancy. These three brilliant women were entrusted with calculations key to the success of John Glenn’s space mission, but none of their colleagues noticed that the toilets in this prestigious workplace were ‘white’s only’. As a result, the scientists had to play for time and take a cross-country run to a more distant facility during each break. With a bit of exaggeration, this is a good description of the position of women in science. While the company is well aware that it cannot squander their potential, and allows them to compete in the same discipline, the (mostly male) environment is not fully prepared for them. This is not necessarily due to any bad intention or ill will; rather, people tend not to think that old patterns of behaviour can be discriminatory. In this way, gender problems are often interconnected with generational problems. I believe that, with a gradual generational change, people less burdened with conservative thinking will enter leadership positions and the situation will improve. Not least as the issue of reconciling careers and personal lives is important for all young people today, regardless of gender.
If we lose most of the women along the way, we will lose half the talent that could move science forward. It is not about quotas; our goal should not be to have 50% of women, men, Czechs, foreigners from somewhere.… the goal should be to give talent a chance and not to lose people unnecessarily due to disadvantages. To give those who have the skills and want to work in research the opportunity to do so with a level playing field. Women, like men, must be able to decide on their path at every stage of their career; and if they choose science, they should not feel unwelcome or be made to suffer or feel underestimated. But all this begins with upbringing in the family. We need confident and tolerant young people, whether women or men.
prof. RNDr. Jana Klánová, Ph.D.
Director of the RECETOX centre
RECETOX
You can read the whole interview here.
Foto: Martin Kopáček
The academic world is not an ideal environment for working in a managerial position or conducting high-quality research and, at the same time, leading a fully-fledged family or personal life. Prioritisation is a key prerequisite for creating a balance that is sustainable in the long-run. Priorities are arranged differently for each employee. I see my role as a leader mainly in trying to find a compromise that will suit employees but, at the same time, will not affect work performance or disrupt the workplace. Home office working or remote access currently in force are two of possible strategies. In addition, various communication channels help to maintain contacts and links for solving tasks without the need to physically meet or share the workplace. In the past, the ability to take my family with me on long-term work-stays abroad also helped me a lot.
The role of women in academia is not easy and support is appropriate. In many countries, a women’s position in the academic environment is a direct reflection of their position in society. In my professional life, I have experienced both extremes. I have seen complete equality, with women holding leadership positions, which was completely natural for the environment, and a situation in which a woman, despite holding the role of coordinator or team leader, was not allowed to negotiate with male partners. The situation in Czech science, as in many other areas, is somewhere in the middle. While I do not see many women in leadership positions around me, I will always be allowed in meetings.
doc. RNDr. Petra Urbanová, Ph.D.
Director of the Department of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
You can read the whole interview here.
Photo: Oliver Staša
I think that many women after maternity leave – or parents after parental leave – want to work as soon as possible, perhaps only part-time. And our faculty enables them to do that. It is great that we have personalities in leading positions at the faculty, such as the director of RECETOX, prof. Jana Klánová, or NCBR director, prof. Michaela Wimmer. They offer young parents different options, respect their decisions and support them in their choices.
The possibility of working from home, which Enantis allows, makes it a lot easier for my colleagues with very young children to cope with both. Just saving the hour or two that people normally spend getting to work is a big time-saver. Also, having the possibility of flexible working hours, and especially a kindergarten, also helps a lot. It is great that the Faculty of Science MU and the various faculties on the Bohunice campus manage to have a kindergarten available not far from the place of employment.
doc. Mgr. Radka Chaloupková, Ph.D.
Head of Research at the spin-off company Enantis
Associate Professor, Department of Experimental Biology
You can read the whole interview here.
Photo: Helena Brunnerová
It was essential for me to have children in early adulthood, to raise them well and to have time for them as long as they need it. To be available to my children in the case of illness and not to rely on strangers or grandparents to care for them, even if their occasional help was very kind. Myself, my husband and his father wanted to do it ourselves. We had adapted our lives to the city centre, where everything was close, including the children’s school and clubs and our work. When they called me from school that my son was not well, I threw away the hoe or the mouse and was there in ten minutes. From the second grade onwards, the children managed to walk everywhere alone. A professional career has never come first for me.
I am glad that my husband (Editor’s note: Prof. RNDr. Milan Chytrý, Ph.D., Director of the Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University) has made a great career and put everything into it. He’s very good at it. I don’t mind looking after the rest of the family. I’m no less important just because I shop, cook, clean, wash, iron, clean shoes, take care of the garden, sort the rubbish, pick herbs, look out for the relative’s birthdays and keep in touch with the whole family, take the car for its service or call in the handyman. I am practical, I like a range of activities and quick results from work. I get no salary for it and I spend money on it, mainly earned by my husband. I value myself the most for how great our sons are today. Everywhere else we are all (men and women) replaceable, but not for our children.
Mgr. Magdaléna Chytrá
Head of the Botanical Garden Department, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University
Botanical Garden
Photo: Helena Brunnerová
I think it is difficult for a woman to combine a working career and family life. However, if you have a great partner next to you, everything can be handled and obstacles overcome with joint efforts, mutual understanding and tolerance. My husband was such a great partner. He was dedicated, responsible and empathetic with a sense for family. Women scientists don't have it easy these days either, as it takes a lot of commitment to split time for family responsibilities and for scientific work. Moreover, the limit to combining scientific work and motherhood is often finances and young women scientists postpone motherhood. We all know that academia requires a high workload. We need to create an environment and systemic measures for young women scientists to be able to start a family without fear and to be able to work part-time (address this with confidence and flexibility). Not to burden them with unnecessary agenda and administration. Young mothers should have the support of a supervisor and co-workers who should not be afraid to involve them in projects. Which means trusting them. Unlike when we were mothers, today's women in science have far more opportunities, they have the chance to take advantage of projects "tailored" to women scientists and all parents, such as the Experientia Foundation's three-year start-up grants. I think that there is still room for improvement in this respect and that we should look for inspiration for systemic solutions in universities that have successfully "tackled" the problem of women in science.
prof. RNDr. Libuše Trnková, CSc.
Professor − Department of Chemistry
Head of the Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (LABIFEL)
You can read the whole interview here.
Photo: Irina Matusevich
