A research scientist at the National Institutes for Health is publicly claiming gender disparity at the prestigious institution known for its breakthrough research, according to a Washington Post article.
Bibiana Bielekova, 47, has filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint against her institute’s director and two others. The Post reported that only 22 percent of the tenured research scientists at NIH are women, up from 19 percent in 2011.
Under the NIH’s broad umbrella are 25 institutes, all of them established decades ago. The one that employs Bielekova, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, was established in 1950.
Bielekova said women’s lagging prospects at NIH reflect gender bias, overt and unconscious, from the men who run the institution, the Post reported.
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Bielekova noted that she has published 52 papers in peer-reviewed journals and built an international reputation as a neuro-immunologist.
Story Landis, former director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke said tenure decisions are complicated, and not just about what a particular candidate has published.
NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research also told the Post that more men than women typically apply for positions with a tenure-track and that women who drop out do so for a variety of reasons including starting a family, work-life balance and the lack of women role models within the NIH.
Yet at the institute where Bielekova works, three women and 34 men hold tenured positions, according to the Post’s report.
“It’s not negligence,” Bielekova told the Post. “Women are considered second-rate citizens. They are fully aware that this is happening, the leadership. It’s happening with their blessing.”
NIH officials maintained that its proportions are similar to those of medical schools, where women hold 22 percent of tenured teaching jobs.
Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com
