Conferences are awesome for technology transfer. And also for the networking that occur outside of those talks. Every networking opportunity affords glimpses into all sorts of projects, potential to meet new collaborators, mentor students and young professionals, and catch up with old classmates on their professional and personal lives, and picking their brains for strategies for either sector.
But women (inadvertently more than not) can still be shut out of conversations and introductions. It hasn’t been that long (2012) since a double-blind study showed that women applying for lab manager positions were perceived as less competent and worth less mentoring and lower starting salaries than men with identical qualifications. In a different study of online courses, where the gender of instructor could be masked, even perceived women instructors received worse ratings than perceived male counterparts teaching the same thing (see also). Women need to walk a tight rope and "prove it again" (and again). Strictly enforced gender rolls are also problematic for men (see pop culture take and that of the American Psychological Association).
We also know that it isn’t just early career folks that benefit from expanded networks; the higher women go in their respective fields, the fewer women there are, and the more isolated they may be. And, unfortunately, male dominated fields are some of those at highest risk for gender harassment and sexual assault. And if women also happens to have other differences, she may be even further isolated--both from other women and from spheres of influence (citation needed).
One of the recommended ways to change work climates so that they are less conducive to all these behaviors is through mentoring network; supporting women also can improve everyone’s job satisfaction. Some professional societies build in tracks in support of this. In this vein, a young professional breakout session has been part of the NYSAF winter meeting agenda for a while now and Diversity (and now Diversity and Inclusion) Fellows have been part of the national program agenda for even longer. A informal effort has also encouraged networking among women attendees of the national meeting, primarily through a meet-up off site one night of the convention. An advantage of this format is that the grassroots organizers retain control, and participants have space separate from possible antagonizers. Disadvantages: Some prospective participants might not get the memo; potential allies don't see that yes, even now, there is a need, and they need to change some of the way they do things so that women and other "others" aren't marginalized; and the sight of a gathering of women (or other marginalized identity) doesn't get normalized.
So, do we do it? Yes.
So, do we do it? Yes.
