April 2003
The following letter was
sent to the Society for Neurosciences (SfN) regarding requirements for
their Women in Neurosciences travel grant competition.
I note that you require an
essay on “barriers to women in science.” Since SfN is supposed to be a
scientific organization, not a literary one, I would have hoped that a
more neutral topic could be proposed. Many of us believe that there
ARE no external barriers to women in science, and that the choices women
make are their own and are based on their abilities and preferences.
The essay title as given makes the assumption that there are other barriers,
for which I challenge SfN to provide evidence, not merely opinions.
Doreen Kimura
Doreen Kimura, Visiting
Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University, is a member and the
founding president of SAFS.
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