Women and post-doctorates: life after graduation

Abstract

The reasons for the underrepresentation of women in STEM is not the focus of this paper as there is a large and growing body of research dedicated to this field of research (Lincoln et al., 2012; Sugimoto et al., 2013; Aiston & Fo, 2020). The need for this reflection paper originated from round table discussions organized by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO with L'Oréal For Women in Science Award (2019) laureates and other organizations active in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Many of the L'Oréal laureates shared their perception that once they had obtained a PhD diploma, the only possible career path was academia. The aim was to examine the career trajectory of women after they obtain a PhD in a STEM field, and to explore opportunities and avenues of solutions to better support their career paths. Here, we focus only on those who have graduated from a PhD. While this paper is mainly targeted at women in STEM, many of the reflections can be applied to other groups (races, gender orientations, etc.) and disciplines (e.g., social sciences and humanities)