“Make personal sacrifices in the name of science and work 80 hours a week. Avoid taking leave so you don’t fall behind compared to your colleagues. And if you want tasks that help advance your career, be a man.”
While the above statements may be slightly exaggerated, Deniz Atan, Senior Officer of DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) at DTU, has found that a similar perception of what defines a successful research career does exist at the University. He therefore visits DTU’s departments and challenges the idea of what makes a good researcher through workshops and presentations.
“Research environments have historically been characterized by a culture that’s more focused on the performance of individuals rather than team efforts,” he says.
In 2022, the number of female professors at DTU was 14 per cent. It is the University’s goal to increase this number to a least 30 per cent. According to Deniz Atan, this will require a change in the culture.
“The work to increase the number of female researchers at DTU is about more than just gender. It’s about making a deeper commitment to creating an inclusive working and learning environment, ensuring equal opportunities for all.”
This is in line with DTU’s strategy of developing technology for all people and providing a space for research and learning for anyone willing and able. The challenges that Deniz Atan sees in the departments are in some cases about more than the gender ratio, which is why it is important to also be aware of other challenges:
“For example, it can be related to different cultures and nationalities. Some departments have a higher ratio of international employees, while others are in the opposite situation,” he says.
Workshop at DTU Chemistry
Deniz Atan recently visited DTU Chemistry, that reached out to him to put diversity and inclusion on the agenda.
“We’ve long been aware that we have great diversity among our employees while at the same time having a gender imbalance among our scientific staff. It’s important to us to focus on accommodating diversity in terms of nationality, age, and gender while simultaneously working to improve our gender ratio. We want equal opportunities for all – otherwise we risk missing out on the great potential that a diverse group offers with different perspectives, ideas, and competences,” says Erling Halfdan Stenby, Head of Department at DTU Chemistry.
During the workshop, the department’s scientific staff had the chance to share their experiences through open dialogue.
“The dialogue on gender gave us the opportunity to identify and discuss issues and inequalities. While some participants may not personally have experienced feeling excluded, it has definitely been an eye-opener for them to hear some of their colleagues share their experiences and perspectives,” says Erling Halfdan Stenby.
The workshop was an important step in the right direction for DTU Chemistry. However, Erling Halfdan Stenby stresses that the department still has a long way to go:
“We in the management can’t enforce change, but we can try to influence the culture by showing that we take it very seriously. We need to be persistent and hold each other to it in the management team so that we continue to grow.”
According to Erling Halfdan Stenby, the workshop has been particularly helpful in providing concrete methods and tools. Among other things, the distribution of tasks and a mentoring scheme have been discussed.
Find out more about diversity, equity, and inclusion at DTU.
