Picture a Scientist

Workplace harassment and discrimination couldn’t possibly exist within the sciences—right? After all, professionals who’ve earned PhDs have reached the top of their respective fields because they share an elite level of intelligence and expertise. In theory, such exclusivity suggests that accomplished scientists, whether male or female, have cemented their individual worth through inarguable mastery. But that’s not the reality. Unwanted sexual attention, coercion and assault constitute a mere 10% of the offensive behavior that women in science face. The other 90% comprises subtler exclusions such as being left off an email, not being invited to a collaboration where you are the clear expert, not given credit where credit is due and being made to feel that you don’t belong.

In this special InScience screening, documentary maker Sharon Shattuck’s Picture a Scientist opens the laboratory doors to confront the largely under-reported struggles endured by women scientists through candid sit-downs with a geologist, a chemist, and a retired biologist. As alarming as it is enlightening, this documentary uses its interview subjects’ candid anecdotes as fuel for change. Among others, organisational behaviorist Susanne Täuber will join us for an aftertalk about the work environment at the University of Groningen.

InScience International Science Film Festival Nijmegen is one of the biggest science film festivals in Europe. InScience offers a broad programme consisting of the best science films of the year, with talks, film debates, Q&A’s, meetings, and expositions on the cutting edge of science and art.

In collaboration with Forum Groningen and InScience.