Gender at work in a knowledge cluster: Oxford, UK Sarah Dyer

“The production of scientific knowledge has become an economical as well as an epistemological enterprise…Science has emerged as an alternative engine of economic growth to the classic triumvirate of land, labor and capital, the traditional sources of wealth..the key economic actor is increasingly expected to be a cluster of firms emanating from or at least closely associated with a university or other knowledge producing institution.” (Etzkowitz )

Casualisation

Clustering

Mechanisms known to ‘gender’ science Differential mobility Differential access to networks In/visibility of role models Differential caring responsibilities Norms of gender appropriate behaviour (ambition, competitive)

Methods Interviews with people with PhDs in science (to date 30) At all stages post their doctorate Aim: academic and industry scientists and those who have left science but live in the Oxford area …and reflectivity

Commercialisation (better to take about mode 2) Happening differently across different areas of the university Chemistry – Biosciences - Physics

Do I think the science is better here? I think there's a very high concentration of very bright people here, an unusually high concentration. I don’t think it would be easy to match the sheer breath of number if you had to employ them. May be it's the fact that Oxford doesn't employ them that enables... I mean if you think about our department, it is literally I think there are 5 people that are paid by the department. 6 people, 3 unit heads are paid elsewhere like the NHS. And then you've got 5 unit heads who are employed on programs... that isn't common elsewhere. 6 Biomedical scientist

Casualisation So for the first time, after being here for 34 years, I had some degree of security. 4..the morale and recognition some get from 35 (4) Its hard to convince people (in other universities) that there isn't something fundamentally wrong with you. 6

Relationships The interests of pi and post docs are often at odds Post-docs talk of the need for ‘protection’, pi.s talk of paternalism I mean I was once asked... the scientific director asked me what is your boss’s view of succession planning and I said it's the same as Egyptian pharaohs. 6

Transition between posts We will invite you to put in your own program without applications at the end of the next program. So this all happened in about Over the period, sort of , we wrote our own grants. We started bringing in money, supervising people and really doing our own work. I'd like to say it was trouble free. It wasn't. It was an absolute screaming ground... and all sorts of issues as to who owned what, who should go where... it was a really difficult time. 6 (About being made a prof) It was on the knife edge, could go either way. Basically the feeling was if I carried on the way I was, then in a year or two’s time I’d be ready for this. So I said, I am 54 next birthday. Do not tell me that I’m still making it. If I’ve not made it by now, forget it, call it a day and forget it. Don’t tell me... it was just an element that I’m still a young woman in the early stage of my career. How mad was that? 4

Mobility All mobility isn’t equal You can’t stay at one university and have an academic career…it seems that you never get taken seriously at the university you studied and worked as a PhD student. 7 Departments recruiting ‘fresh blood’

Scientist-wife My first interview in UK, the prof asked me what's your career plan. I said I'm going to start my own lab in Canada. He said I see that you're married. I said yes. What does your husband think of this. I was like well, my husband is very supportive. Well, does he know the sacrifices a partner has to make? No man is going to sacrifice his own career and make those sacrifices so that you can start your own lab. I'll hire you. I see you're qualified. But just so you know you'll never have a family and a strong academic career. That was my first post doc interview. 4 (female scientist, 32)

A vacancy came up straight away (after PhD) as it happened and I applied for it. The professor came to me in the library and he said I'm going to have to tell you, you did extremely well in that application, but we had to put you second in order because you don’t need a job because you've got a husband and you're not starving. But we'll find a grant for you. That was a label that stuck to me. That conversation ruined my career in fact when I look back. It was that attitude which was so prevalent in the 1960s. You don’t need a job because you've got a husband. I can see his face. I can remember exactly his words. So they gave the job to a man. Every time that vacancy at that level came up, I applied for it and I got the same answer. We're not going to appoint you. You don’t need a job. It just went on like that. But I did get grants. But a grant is only 3 years at the most, 3 years at best. It stopped your research. (female scientist, early 66)