Assessing gage: an online tool for improving gender visibility in STEMM
Abstract
Introduction
Gage directory
Methods
Results
Who uses gage?
Role | Number of contacts (% of total contacts) |
---|---|
Member of the media | 58 (43) |
Educator from a preschool through secondary school | 20 (15) |
Organizer of a conference, meeting, or panel | 11 (8) |
Member of 500 Women Scientists leadership | 10 (7) |
Affiliate of a university or institute of higher education | 9 (6.5) |
Person from an organization other than educational or media | 8 (6) |
Another woman scientist | 7 (5) |
Associate of a government organization/institute | 2 (1.5) |
Other (e.g., members of the public, organizer of a mentorship program) | 11 (8) |
Why do STEMM experts join a public directory?
How do directory participants and external users use the directory?
Type of use | Number of uses (% of total number of uses reported) |
---|---|
To find potential colleagues in my own field | 138 (30) |
To find women scientists in my geographic area irrespective of specialty | 125 (28) |
To find women scientists in my specialty around the world | 113 (25) |
To find a relevant expert in another field | 60 (13) |
Other (e.g., to find research collaborators, head hunting for a professional position, to find speakers for a conference, to find reviewers for a peer-reviewed journal) | 18 (4) |
How can user feedback inform future directory development?
Type of Comment | Description | Frequency (% of total comments) | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Contact related | Described expectations with respect to contacts via the platform | 73 (22) | “I was hopeful I would be contacted by people interested in my work through the platform, but I haven’t been. I’m curious what percentage of people registered have been contacted and what I can do to spread the word.” |
Visibility of the platform | Commented on the need for greater visibility | 67 (20) | “The challenge of most sites like this—we need people beyond the women scientists to know about its existence. For journalists, teachers, or conference organizers to use it, they need to know about it. Not sure how to fix [this], it is the core issue.” |
Profiles | Gave feedback on their experience with the profile feature | 39 (12) | “My language other than English is not mentioned (American Sign Language); some of my bibliography is older—and yet still relevant—than the internet and thus doesn’t have URLs.” |
Reminders | Desire for more engagement and activity from the platform | 33 (10) | “As it grows and more people join, it will become more valuable. Also need reminders 1/quarter or something to check the platform, otherwise I tend to forget to check because we are all so busy.” |
Search | Described issues or positive aspects of the search performance | 33 (10) | “I am able to find other women scientists very easily, it makes initiating collaborations easier.” |
Organization of the platform | Described positive and negative experiences of the organization of the platform | 27 (8) | “This system is easy to use and reliable—even the teachers seem happy to use it and support expanding its use in classrooms.” |
Uses | A broad category to capture what people have used or plan to use the platform for | 23 (7) | “I was impressed that a regional organizer knew to go to this site to find potential speakers/participants.” |
Functionality | Comments on issues or positive aspects of platform functionality | 21 (6) | “Filters should be checked. Switzerland, for example, is not in the filter Location when I look for colleagues in my field. However, going by hand on to Switzerland, I found one.” |
Representation | Identified need for additional representation (e.g., age, discipline) in the platform | 12 (5) | “I was surprised how few female scientists in my region are registered.” |
Conclusion
Moving forward for gage
Acknowledgements
References
Supplementary materials
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