Stormy, snowy Boston is the location for this year's Computing Research Association's (CRA) cohort workshop for women. My conference attendance apparently coincides with all snow storms everywhere considering my considerable layover just three months ago in London at the ICTD conference. Here I am talking about the weather when the presentation this morning on...presentation skills, specifically said to get in there and say what they need to know and skip the chit-chat. So in a nutshell, the CRA-W conference has been an excellent forum for networking and discussing difficult and women-specific topics. The conference is organized effectively, is only a day and half (I've realized longer conferences are less informative and more exhausting), and offers a great deal of flexibility on which sessions to attend, who to talk to, what research you want to explore further etc.
The only panel I have been somewhat disappointed in is the interdisciplinary research session. Being a PhD student in Technology, Media, and Society, I was hoping for some advice on dealing with the challenges that interdisciplinary poses especially in the rigid, antiquated academic system, but rather, encountered a discussion that was extremely computer-science specific and focused on authorship disputes between fields and obtaining a job (in CS) after degree completion. I had the feeling that many of the women in the session were disappointed, as almost everyone (given the poster topics and general discussion) is involved in some type of "interdisciplinary" work; that is the nature of research in today's fast-paced, dynamic, and necessarily intertwined climate. I agree with the sentiment expressed in the panel that interdisciplinary research can cause a sense of community-less-ness or isolation; something I have found to be particularly true so far in my program. Collaboration is not supposed to dislodge someone from their "core" community, but rather enhance that person's research with outside expertise. Despite the somewhat narrow discussion of interdisciplinary research, I found the biggest take home point to be: Interdisciplinarity is not a degree in itself. Identifying and developing strengths, skills, and specific areas of expertise is absolutely necessary in order to contribute to interdisciplinary ventures.
The closing panel of the day was on the very general topic of being a woman in computing. Unlike the Grace Hopper conference, whose keynote speakers exemplified female success in the field and discussed how they had overcome challenges to rise to the top, this panel was aimed directly at those more subtle and specific challenges women face. After discussing what happens if your advisor is sexually harassing you or how to deal with getting pregnant in grad school (intentionally or otherwise), the community atmosphere was much stronger than in any other panel I had ever participated in. Now the criticism. While I'm all for bonding with other women over shared experiences and support, I am adamantly against blanket gender stereotyping, which I felt raised its ugly head several times in the panel. Men = sports, women = family. I was particularly disturbed by the topic of "should you enter a male-dominated conversation with men in your field?" The rationale behind this question was phrased as following: Men only talk about sports, women don't talk about sports, women have a hard time participating in conversations that males have about sports, therefore women do not participate in conversations...even though sometimes men stop talking about sports for a second to discuss relevant technical issues. The plenary advice was "yes, stick out the sports talk to get those bits of relevant info, and you'll be participating in the community." I'd like to add my own two cents to offer a modified take home point: Don't "stick it out" through "sports talk," find common ground; it DOES exist." Every conversation I have ever had has started in an awkward sea of possible topics, which requires some sailing to find common islands. The skill that graduate students, men or women, and people in general for that matter, are gaining, is the ability to sail through the sea and find that common ground. As women, we should not underestimate the breadth of men's interests or limit ourselves to socially constructed 'female' topics. Keep sailing, the islands are there.
One highlight of the conference (besides the reservation-free, all-female dance party) has been the unstructured, small group interactions. There are many many amazingly talented and interesting women here and I am excited to be one of them. One note on the dance party: Even if you feel a little ridiculous, DANCE! Is it an amazing way to let go of your inhibitions, break down walls and start letting supportive people into your life, and just have fun. My goal for this conference was to create a strong support system, find collaboration opportunities, and commiserate with fellow female graduate students. Check, check, and check. I'm starting to understand the skills I need for this career; as I ironically noted today, I have always wondered what my career path would be not knowing that by pursuing a PhD, I was already well down that path.
This experience, more than anything else, has made me realize how lucky I am. There are many stories of difficult advisors, rigid and unchosen research topics, time-consuming and emotional personal issues, and stereotypical challenges presented by male-dominated fields. Being reminded that these situations exist is important, but simultaneously, it was refreshing to hear many stories like mine: no struggles with male colleagues, good supportive advisors, and interesting satisfying research. Times are changing, and I hope events like this continue to inspire and support women in higher education pursuits. Perspective is important, and I gained a valuable dose of it here. I appreciate the women here who told their stories, shared their successes, and exemplified the confidence and support necessary to succeed in the demanding (physically, mentally, and emotionally) process of obtaining a PhD. Thank you, you are all amazing.
