Women in Science Celebration: Interview with Dr Lynne Kiorpes

Please tell us a bit about yourself:

I am a senior faculty member at New York University. I have been at NYU since completing my post-doc 36 years ago. I am also currently Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science. I have one daughter who was born during my post-doc years. I discovered research as an undergraduate and realized then that I wanted to spend my professional life as a researcher. I later discovered that I also enjoyed teaching, so when the opportunity presented itself, I accepted a tenure-track faculty position. I had a problem in mind when I decided to go to graduate school. I was working with people who had serious developmental intellectual disabilities; I wondered how those conditions had come about and how assessment of function in young children could be improved. That interest, and questions that have arisen as my research has progressed continue to drive my research.

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"Women often have trouble saying ‘no’ to doing more than their share."

What do you think the roadblocks are to representation of women in science? How can we improve women’s visibility in science?

In some ways, we are our own worst enemies; we keep challenging ourselves to work harder and do more. Women often have trouble saying ‘no’ to doing more than their share. When we do, we are often viewed as uncollegial or selfish. So we tend to agree to take on more responsibility even if we are already pulling our weight. This ultimately takes its toll on our productivity, reducing the time we have to devote to our research, mentoring activities, and impacts our visibility and standing in the field over the long-term. One way to improve the visibility of women and their research is, e.g., create a listing of women scientists in your field that are available and interested to give talks, colloquia, participate in panels and workshops at meetings. The lists can be used as sources to find and highlight the work of your female colleagues.

"I have seen graduate students, post-docs and junior faculty all successfully navigate the challenges of having a family at those career stages (myself included)."

What are your thoughts on the pressure that women face in having to make a choice between starting a family and progressing their career?

I don’t feel that this is a choice that women in science really have to make. I think the choice is when to start a family more so than whether. It seems like there is never a really good time because there is pressure to be productive at all stages, but the stage that works best for an individual will depend on their own situation. Science – to my mind – is more flexible and open to family matters than many careers. In general, your time is quite flexible, making the inevitable juggling of family and work responsibilities easier to manage. I have seen graduate students, post-docs and junior faculty all successfully navigate the challenges of having a family at those career stages (myself included). Certainly, some do not succeed, but the outcome would likely have been similar for these women in another field.

"If you are passionate about science, take every opportunity to continue down that path."

What advice would you give yourself if you were starting your career today? What would you say to encourage other women to persevere in their career path?

Never turn down an opportunity. If you are passionate about science, take every opportunity to continue down that path. Passion for discovery, problem solving and finding answers is what allows me to persevere. If you have that passion, you should follow it. There is more than one path to get to a position of independence. Many people have taken unconventional paths to research or faculty positions. They just kept trying until they found a way to get where they wanted to go.