METIS Lec­ture 2024

with Dr. Anna Ransiek

Introduction by Dr. Verena Namberger, Deputy Central Women's and Equal Opportunities Officer of the HU Berlin

Until now, equality between women and men in mathematics within German academia has not been achieved. Although the proportion of women has been at parity among first-year students for years, it declines steadily with each academic career level. Female mathematicians remain underrepresented in top academic and scientific positions, with the “leaky pipeline” effect still prevalent in this field.

What are the causes and mechanisms that may contribute to the reproduction of gender disparities in mathematics? How do scientists in leadership positions play a role as gatekeepers in creating career barriers for female PhD students and postdocs? These questions have been explored through a sociological research project within a mathematical Cluster of Excellence, focusing on access to a top-tier research environment at different career stages and career decisions of early-career scientists at key transition points.

In this talk, Anna Ransiek will present selected project findings, drawing on a wide range of semi-structured interviews with gatekeepers. She will highlight mindsets and behaviours that may ultimately impact women’s scientific careers, providing insights relevant beyond the Cluster of Excellence for addressing gender disparities in academia.

Dr Anna Ransiek is a sociologist and researcher at the Gender Studies in Mathematics working group at FU Berlin, currently involved in the “MATH+ as a Research Object” project. Her research focuses on gender dynamics in academic settings, particularly in STEM disciplines.

Anna Ransiek completed her PhD in Sociology at the University of Göttingen with a qualitative study on experiences of racism in Germany. From 2015 to 2019, she contributed to interdisciplinary research projects, including a collaborative study on gender-related socialisation in childhood at the Universities of Göttingen and Osnabrück, as well as a project on effective transdisciplinary research at TU Berlin’s Center for Technology and Society. She has lectured on qualitative research methods, gender studies, and sociology at the University of Göttingen, and served as a guest lecturer at Tumaini University in Iringa, Tanzania. Additionally, she leads practical seminars on diversity-sensitive reflexive research for students of social work at the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt a. M. and the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences in Berlin.

Further information can be found in the event article on METIS

The event will take place in English.